May 13, 2016 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 5A
Website additions are great for visitors and locals alike
I
n February, I told you about a
new website the Visitors Bureau
had just launched. Our most visi-
ble asset — with more than 300,000
unique visitors every year — had
received a complete facelift and we
were just starting to show it off. The
project, which came on the heels of
our fall rebranding effort, was only
a fraction of the way done though.
Late last month phase two went live,
and with it came the additions we’d
been anxiously awaiting.
The initial launch comprised our
most critical and popular content.
Items like “things to do,” our “tide
tables,” “virtual visitor guide,” and
“events calendar” were huge draws
for us and we could not launch a
new website without capturing our
core strengths. Up to 50,000 people
SIDE RAIL
JOHN RAHL
a month will access our site during
the peak season and we had to make
sure we were placing the most criti-
cal content front and center.
Phase two ushered in all of our
hotel listings, business listings and
an entirely new feature for sea-
sideOR.com: recreational trails for
hiking, biking and kayaking.
This content was previously
housed at seasidenaturally.com, a
sister site of our core website, and
migrating all of this took some time.
It made the most sense for us to have
all of our content on one visually
stunning and information-fi lled site.
And so that’s what we did.
Our biking section features 12 rides
in and around Seaside. In addition to a
thorough description of each trail, the
details include total mileage, elevation
gain, maximum elevation and a GPX
fi le (a special fi le that users can load
onto a GPS device – especially good
in areas where cell phone coverage
can be spotty or non existent).
The hiking and kayaking sections,
offering eight and four trails respec-
tively, follow a similar outline. All
three sections also feature a diffi culty
meter, telling users if the trail is easy,
moderate or hard. Last but not least,
we’re also working to secure at least
three photos for every single trail
we have listed on our site. It’s great
content and shows off some of the
incredible recreational beauty we
have throughout the Seaside area.
I made the analogy in my Febru-
ary column of our new website being
similar to moving into a new house.
Well, a similar thing happened with
the phase two development. As we
added bells and whistles, budgeted
time and expenses for the work, we
ultimately got to a point where we
had to make a few concessions.
So our blog (which will feature
general stories, historical posts and
industry information) won’t be
unveiled until we complete phase
three. We’ll also introduce a birding
section in this next phase.
I like to tell people a website is nev-
er really complete, and I don’t believe
it should be. There’s always content
Two major capital projects
loom on the city’s horizon
Budget from Page 1A
An improved economy has helped
the city build up reserves, he said, and
community development — building
and planning departments — moved
into the black a year ahead of sched-
ule.
“Financially we’re in much better
shape,” he said. “When the economy
tanked in 2008, it caused significant
problems not only for the private
sector, but for the public sector also.
We’re back in a position where our
reserves are pretty good and we don’t
have to worry if there’s a downtick.”
Public safety remains the city’s
No. 1 expense, Winstanley said.
The Seaside Police Department’s
proposed budget of $3.4 million
represents the largest portion of the
$4.4 million Public Safety total. Fire
Department expenditures are about
$731,000, with lifeguard and courts
costs completing the sum.
The preliminary budget sets aside
about $225,000 for the Bob Chisholm
Community Center Main Hall refresh,
Winstanley said, with another $80,000
of the project cost coming from the
partnering Sunset Empire Park and
Recreation District.
Capital projects
Two major capital projects loom
on the city’s horizon — the Avenue U
Bridge and a proposed Seaside Civic
and Convention Center renovation —
but the impact will not be felt in the
new year’s budget.
Representatives of the convention
center went before the City Council
in April with plans for a $15 million
upgrade to accommodate more guests
and update facilities.
That renovation is not in the bud-
get as councilors have yet to weigh in
on the plan.
“They might say we’re not pre-
pared to do a renovate, in which case
it doesn’t require any budget adjust-
ment,” Winstanley said.
If the city does approve a proj-
ect, costs could be paid “a number of
ways,” including a bond, he said.
The city is in the design phase to re-
place the Avenue U Bridge at an expect-
ed cost of about $3.5 million, Winstan-
that can be improved or added. Our
focus is making a site that not only en-
tices visitors to come to the coast, but
also acts as an informative and guiding
light for when they are in town.
Just a few days after phase two
went live, I attended the Oregon
Governor’s Conference on Tourism.
During the opening dinner on April 24,
we were presented with the Outstand-
ing Oregon Tourism Website Award.
So if you haven’t checked out, please
do so, and tell me what you think!
Have a thought or a question
about tourism in Seaside, or maybe
an idea for a future column? Drop
me an email at jrahl@cityofseaside.
us. Jon Rahl is the director of tour-
ism for the Seaside Visitors Bureau
and assistant general manager of the
Seaside Civic & Convention Center.
Visitors Bureau awarded for website
ley said, as Seaside awaits responses for
federal or state funding. “My experience
is that a lot of times when the federal
government starts passing down money,
ODOT (Oregon Department of Trans-
portation) says, ‘If you’ve got a project
ready to go, we’ve got some funding.’”
But, he added, “I don’t know if
they’re going to give us any at all.”
Other factors
The city has budgeted $27,000
from its general fund for donations
and contributions. Where those funds
are headed will be the subject of fu-
ture Budget Committee meetings.
While cigarette taxes generate
$7,000 in revenue and the city re-
ceives $1,800 in liquor license fees,
taxes from the city’s three cannabis
dispensaries will not be budgeted
next year.
“The state of Oregon has been
fairly clear on this,” Winstanley said.
“They’re going to keep it all until
they decide that they’re going to pass
some of it down. I’m going to wait
for them to pass it down before I start
budgeting money for it.”
LETTERS
SEASIDE SIGNAL/SUBMITTED PHOTO
Todd Davidson, Travel Oregon CEO; Jon Rahl, Seaside Visitors
Bureau; Alana Hughson, Oregon Tourism Commission.
The City of Seaside Vis-
itors Bureau was presented
with the Outstanding Ore-
gon Website Award at the
2016 Oregon Governor’s on
Tourism in Pendleton. The
Visitors Bureau earned the
award for seasideOR.com,
its new website that debuted
after a fall 2015 rebranding
effort.
Jon Rahl, director of tour-
ism marketing for the Visi-
tors Bureau, was on hand at
the April event to accept the
award.
BUSINESS
DIRECTORY
F LOORING
Rentals: Setting the
record straight
Over the last year, I have
attended every Gearhart City
Council and Planning Com-
mittee meeting dealing with
vacation home regulations. I
think it is now time to correct
conclusions presented by some
residents and exaggerated sce-
narios presented by a member
of the Planning Commission in
public and in these pages.
Let’s deal with reality. Ac-
cording to the 2010 census,
Gearhart had 1,450 housing
units but only 649 households.
The remaining 801 housing
units included 723 for vacation
use. The balance was vacant
as either for sale or rent. Only
about one-third of the housing
units in Gearhart are owner-oc-
cupied primary residences. 50
percent are seasonal and vaca-
tion homes. There is a large de-
mand for seasonal and vacation
housing in Gearhart which fur-
ther demonstrates that this is the
dominate land use in Gearhart.
At the March 15 Planning
Commission meeting, Com-
missioner Graff posited that
with 100 percent occupancy of
all the vacation rental homes
in Gearhart, the population
would swell to over 53,000
with over 17,000 cars. In his
March 31 Daily Astorian col-
umn he reduced that to number
to 751 guests using 85 vaca-
tion homes. Infl ammatory un-
founded numbers are just that
— made up, speculative and
always changing.
Mr. Todd’s recent letter in
the Seaside Signal referenced
“small investors, who realized
they could buy single fam-
ily homes and capitalize on
their investments by renting
them out regularly.” He also
referred to the “onslaught of
commercial use in residential
neighborhoods.” This is to-
tal hyperbole and unfounded
speculation.
We purchased our home in
2005. At the time it was a long
term rental in an extreme state
of disrepair. It took a substan-
tial investment of time and
money to return the home to a
livable condition. I can proud-
ly submit that the major land-
scape renovations beautifi ed
our area on North Marion as
evidenced by the many favor-
able comments we received.
This investment helped Gear-
hart, it did not hinder it.
There is a grave miscon-
ception that vacation home
owners are rich Portlanders
who have no regard for the
city or their neighbors and
only care about making mon-
ey. Nothing could be farther
from the truth. We knew our
purchase would require a life-
style change which we were
willing to accept. We have
never made a profi t renting
our home, quite the contrary.
I would be happy to private-
ly submit audited P&L state-
ments showing losses in ex-
cess of $15,000 per year (and
some years more). Our intent
was not to create a “commer-
cial business.” It was to buy a
ROBERT CAIN LD,
home for our family to enjoy
for a lifetime. Renting our
home for only 95 days a year
relieves a bit of the fi nancial
sting. It is a home, not a com-
mercial commodity to be dis-
carded but to be treated with
care. And that is what we have
done to the betterment of the
city of Gearhart.
Jim Whittemore
Gearhart
Thanks to job
fair volunteers
Last month, the second annu-
al Clatsop County High Schools
Career and Job Fair was held at
the Clatsop County Fairgrounds.
The focus of the career and
job fair was threefold: 1) Em-
ployers from throughout Clat-
sop County hiring for positions
for immediate employment,
and summer jobs. 2) Sharing
vocational and career technical
careers available that provide
family wage jobs, including
a pathway through Clatsop
Community College and 3)
Sharing with our students go-
ing away to four year colleges
and universities that they can
come home after graduation
and fi nd a fulfi lling career in
Clatsop County.
More than 700 students
from Astoria, Jewell, Knappa,
Seaside & Warrenton High
Schools attended.
Sixty-eight businesses par-
ticipated, more than last year.
Many companies hired stu-
dents on the spot!
Business evaluations were
very positive, and said the
kids were very well organized
this year. The student respons-
es continually stated they were
unaware of all the job and ca-
reer options we have in Clat-
sop County, and were excited
of the potential
Clatsop Economic Devel-
opment Resources (CEDR)
partnered with the Oregon Em-
ployment Department (Work-
Source Northwest Oregon and
Pacifi c NW Works) to orga-
nize and facilitate this event,
but we could have not done it
without the over 20 community
volunteers who came to twice
monthly planning meetings
for months, and of course the
schools who invested their time
with us to make this experience
for our kids so memorable
Everyone worked collab-
oratively to ensure success of
this county wide event for our
students, and inspired all in-
volved!
Take a look at www.clat-
sopjobfair.com for more infor-
mation. This is the new “go to”
website, created by Jim Servi-
no from the Astoria-Warrenton
Chamber of Commerce.
We are already starting
planning for next year, but I
could not let the fi le close on
this year without acknowledg-
ing our volunteers.
Kevin Leahy
Executive director, Clatsop
Economic Development
Resources (CEDR) and
Clatsop Community Col-
lege Small Business Devel-
opment Center
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