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 © 2016 Pacifi c Power powered by