8A March 18, 2016 Seaside Signal seasidesignal.com
Seaside Chamber, Executive
Director Huntington sever ties
Technology skills drove decision,
President Brian Owen says
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
Executive Director Susan Huntington
and the Seaside Chamber of Commerce
have severed their relationship, cham-
ber President Brian Owen announced Fri-
day. Huntington was hired in March 2013.
“It was time for the chamber to look for
somebody with more experience with tech-
nical ¿elds,´ Owen said. “:e would like
to see more technology forward interfacing
with our membership, more on the website,
more Twitter-type products, more Facebook
connectivity. It’s there, but it needs to be tak-
en to the next level.´
Owen said the board and Huntington
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
“left on good
terms.´
“I truly ap-
preciate where
she
brought
us,
moving
us into new
events.
She
really ramped
where we were
and I really
FILE PHOTO
hope to work
on the build- Susan Huntington at the
ing blocks she time of her hiring in 2013.
helped create.´
Owen said the chamber would look for
a new executive director active in this or
another community who can bring in those
skill sets, and “bringing some energy, some
enthusiasm to that technical side. :e have
a great connection with our businesses. It’s
time to do more things like the visitors’ cen-
ter is doing with their online applications,
with their connectivity, client-based, busi-
ness or businesses.´
The board will meet to put together a
full spectrum of work to put together a time
frame for the hiring process. Candidates will
be sought from the U.S. Chamber of Com-
merce, from communities both local or out-
side the state.´
He said the Seaside Downtown Develop-
ment Association, which is also in the pro-
cess of looking for a new director, has found
a “good group´ of candidates and anticipates
success in ¿lling the role. Salary details were
not available, he said.
The next big event for the chamber is
“Pouring from the Coast,´ March 1-1. It is
described as “the perfect pairing of beer and
beach´ and consists of a brewer’s dinner and
awards program.
New downtown development director in Seaside
Board cites Dailey’s ‘well-
rounded background’
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
:eeks after the departure of
the Seaside Downtown Develop-
ment Association’s Tita Montero,
the organization’s nine-member
board selected Sarah Dailey to
head the group. Dailey was serv-
ing as the association’s interim
executive director. She began
March 7.
The board praised Dailey’s
“well-rounded background´ and
good working relationship with
the development association’s
board, its membership, and the
downtown Seaside business com-
munity.
Dailey was originally hired
last June as an administrative as-
sistant.
The transition has been “very
smooth,´ Dailey said Friday,
March 11.
“Tita did a lot of good things
here,´ she said, “and she left us in
a very good place.´
Barn owner Smith
gets more time
Sarah Dailey
The association receives par-
tial funding from the city and
member fees.
Donations are welcome, Dai-
ley added, and usually go for a
special event or production.
Seaside Muscle & Chrome,
Seaside :ine :alk, a Halloween
event and Àower basket cam-
paigns are among the associa-
tion’s signature projects.
The development associa-
tion’s beauti¿cation committee
prepares Àower baskets and is
helping select art for new trash
receptacles. The group contracts
for the maintenance of the city’s
pocket gardens.
“:e have an emphasis on sup-
porting those businesses here in
the downtown area, as de¿ned by
the maintenance district,´ Dailey
said.
“And if our membership says,
µ:e have concerns,’ we take
them to the city. The city doesn’t
want 10 different opinions.´
Dailey holds a bachelor of
science degree with a minor in
business from :illiam :oods
University in Fulton, Missouri.
Originally from the Portland
area, she graduated magna cum
laude and returned after gradu-
ation, moving to Astoria shortly
after.
Dailey spent the next ¿ve
years with the Sunset Empire
Transportation District, ¿rst as a
customer service representative,
then as an executive assistant.
:hen her husband, Adam,
was laid off during an economic
downturn, they moved to Randle,
:ashington, where he worked
for the U.S. Forest Service and
she was a stay-at-home mom for
three-and-a-half 3½ years. Sarah
Dailey re-entered the workplace
as a production manager for a
nonpro¿t, designing materials
for “Discover <our 1orthwest,´
which provides interpretative lit-
erature and materials for conser-
vation education.
After Adam Dailey was of-
fered a return as a civil engineer
with Otak in Gearhart, the family
returned came back to the area.
Their daughter will be 4 in June.
As the former assistant, the as-
sociation is looking for a replace-
ment “helping us to do what we
do here,´ Dailey said.
In the meantime, the associa-
tion’s special events coordinator
and former executive director
Laurie Mespelt will provide con-
sulting advice.
Mailings, getting out infor-
mation and a new website are a
big part of the job “that I can’t do
alone,´ Dailey said.
Volunteers are welcome,
Dailey added. “:e always have
something for you to do.´
SDDA’s Seaside Downtown
Development Association’s next
event is Spring :ine :alk, May
14. The group meets every Thurs-
day at 30 a.m. at The Pig ’1
Pancake in Seaside.
Clatsop County Circuit Court Judge Cindee
Matyas extended a stipulated injunction at the
Gearhart barn used for parties and special events.
The extension will keep the Paci¿c :ay
property off limits for commercial use until own-
er Shannon Smith provides Gearhart with plans
to obtain a valid certi¿cate of occupancy.
And with a new attorney, Smith hopes to rec-
oncile with the city. Smith, the owner of Neacox-
ie Barn, a former livery stable turned into a party
space, is now represented by Dean Alterman of
Folawn, Alterman & Richardson of Portland.
“She and I had a very productive meeting
with the city two weeks ago,´ Alterman said
Tuesday. “:e are looking forward to working
with the city to get the situation sTuared away.´
The injunction’s March 1 extension follows a
long and tangled legal path.
Smith repeatedly challenged the city’s de-
mand for a conditional use permit and rented out
the barn for weddings, family reunions and other
special events. :ithout toilets, sanitary facilities
and safety measures, the city cited the barn for a
string of building and zoning violations.
Along with local zone and municipal code
actions, Gearhart of¿cials ¿led a motion in Cir-
cuit Court to close the barn from commercial use
until health and safety violations were addressed
and a certi¿cate of occupancy delivered.
An additional $5,000 administrative penalty
is pending, the ninth state building code viola-
tion delivered by the city to the barn for holding
events without an occupancy permit, Gearhart’s
City Administrator Chad Sweet said.
A hearing on that matter is scheduled in Gear-
hart City Hall in late April, Sweet said.
The stipulated agreement between the city
and Smith was delivered New Year’s Eve.
The March 1 extension gives Smith two more
months to satisfy city requirements, Sweet said.
Any commercial event at the barn would face a
full injunction through the Circuit Court.
Alterman said Smith’s next steps will proba-
bly include submitting building plans and ¿ling
for permits to bring the event space up to code.
“More than that I can’t tell you because I
don’t know myself,´ Alterman said. “It’s the sort
of thing where the building and the zoning code
are not quite in sync. They weren’t designed to
work with unusual and unique properties such as
this one.´
Alterman said he is assuming Smith will ob-
serve the terms of the stipulated injunction prior
to its expiration May 1.
“There are a number of different ways we
might ¿nd agreement with the city,´ Alterman
said. “:e’re just not sure which ones they are yet.´
Together, we weathered
the storm.
On March 9, a storm with hurricane-force winds pounded the Oregon Coast, knocking out power for thousands
of customers in Clatsop County. The power line serving Warrenton, in particular, sustained significant damage.
We immediately sent out 50 Pacific Power crew members, who worked through the stormy night and the
following day to restore power. Thank you for your patience and support while we turned the lights back on.
Help prepare for the next storm by downloading our free mobile app. Learn more at pacificpower.net/outage.
NEAL MAINE/FOR EO MEDIA GROUP
A tree fell onto this car in Seaside Wednesday night. March 9.
Portland man killed by
fallen tree during storm
EO Media Group and Associated Press
Hurricane-force winds and
heavy rain lashed the Colum-
bia-Paci¿c region on :ednes-
day, March , in a storm that
toppled trees, left thousands
without power and killed a
Portland man driving near
Seaside.
A Portland man died after
a large alder tree fell onto his
vehicle on U.S. 26 near Sea-
side. Oregon State Police said
37-year-old Nicholas Harris was
pronounced dead at the scene
early :ednesday evening.
The highway was closed
for about 2½ hours during the
investigation.
Volunteers with the Ameri-
can Red Cross Disaster Action
Team responded to a disaster
Thursdays in the 1000 block
of 24th Avenue in Seaside.
The team responded to a call
from an adult male whose RV
suffered damage as a result of
:ednesday night’s storm.
Seaside Fire & Rescue was
called to the scene to determine
the condition of the vehicle.
There were no injuries as a
result of the incident.
Ted McLean, Clatsop Coun-
ty assistant public works direc-
tor, said almost every county
road was impacted by the storm
with trees falling and momen-
tarily blocking the roadways.
County crews went out four
times last night, he said.
Photo courtesy of KOIN6
Storm leaves one dead,
damage to Seaside home
music fi rst
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