April 28, 2017 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 7A Proposed district budget jumps 9 ½ percent Budget from Page 1A manager, geotechnical engi- neering, site work, civil en- gineers and surveying firms, among other expenses. The bond’s capital fund balance will reach almost $90 million by June 2018, Hill said. R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL Pension costs Seaside School District Jus- tine Hill presents the 2017- 18 proposed budget. Proposed increases in dis- trict expenditures comes with new hires, software licensing fees and employee benefits. All employee groups are scheduled to receive 2.5 per- cent salary increases with regular step increases when applicable. Public Employee Retire- ment System rates will see an increase July 1 with a need for additional higher contri- butions. Under the proposed budget, the district’s contri- bution rate will increase from 11.76 percent to 16.64 percent for Tier 1 and Tier II members — about a 4.88 percent year- to-year increase. The district’s contribution to employees participating in the state’s public retirement plan will increase from 7.07 to 11.31 percent. “Our budgeted PERS rate increases, including the cost of both those funds, are slat- ed to cost the district about $473,000,” Hill said. ALEKS, a math software program, will cost the district $20,000, Hill said. Total costs for Microsoft licenses for students could reach $6,000, she added. The district allocated $250,000 to the new Can- non Beach Academy, which requires an enrollment of 34 students to open in Septem- ber. While enrollment is “pick- ing up,” Roley said, numbers must be determined by May 1. Savings, revenue Savings under the pro- posed document come from lower maintenance costs at older school buildings — Broadway Middle School, Gearhart Elementary School and Seaside High School — as the district transitions to the new campus adjacent to Seaside Heights Elementary School. Reductions will also come with lower budgeted mainte- nance costs at Seaside High School, Gearhart Elemen- tary and Broadway Middle School. Potential revenue from the sale of the older buildings is not included in this year’s budget package. The district received $1.8 million in timber revenues in 2015-16, with $1.5 million expected this year, Hill said. The lowered estimate comes as a result of fluctu- ations in the industry and changing harvest timelines, she added. On May 16, the budget re- turns before the committee, with an opportunity for addi- tional public input. “Now there’s a 30-day period in which committee members can take this back, study it, ask questions either of me or of Justine, and we’ll try to get all of their questions answered,” Roley said after the meeting. A budget must be deliv- ered by June 30. “Sometimes the committee is ready to adopt at the May meeting, sometimes at the June meeting,” she said. Council waits on proposed zone change Council from Page 1A But a conceptual plan for a high-density zone change to allow 40 units on 2 acres at 2145 N. Wahanna Road has met with resistance. The plan indicates the type of development that might be possible if the zone change is approved. The Planning Commis- sion, over the objections of residents, advised the City Council to approve the zone change in March after hold- ing a public hearing. Opponents returned to City Hall Monday night. “Please consider the im- pact this will have on the surrounding environment and homeowners,” resident Susan McDonald wrote councilors. McDonald, along with other residents, said the proposed change could lead to greater traffic and safety concerns. The project could also fail to meet the need for affordable homes for the la- bor force. “This is a huge project,” Seaside resident Dawn Mill- er said. “I’m not against change, but this is a little bit too much,” Five buildings The 3.75-acre property, of which 2.5 acres is build- able, is located between North Wahanna Road and the wetlands along Stan- ley Lake. The property is bounded to the north by the North Coast Family Fellow- ship and to the south by a single-family home. Owner James Folk seeks to create two parcels — one west of North Wahanna Road and the other east of the road. Upon completion of the zone change, Folk’s Sierra Partners IV intends to construct an apartment complex consisting of five buildings, each containing eight units, with a total of 40 one- to three-bedroom units. At a February Planning Commission meeting, Folk said units would rent for between $800 and $1,300 a month. Folk said he anticipates a total of 104 residents could live in the five-building complex. Monday, Donna Lyons of Warrenton expressed con- cerns about congestion, traf- fic and affordability. “Forty units on less than 2 acres is ridiculous,” she said. “Wahanna Road is an extremely busy road.” Lyons said those earning minimum wage would be unlikely to afford the rents asked. Like other opponents of the plan, Lyons urged a low- er density zoning designa- tion for the property. “The traffic is a big con- cern now,” neighboring property owner Billie Win- sor said. “It doesn’t work for me.” Rents questioned Lyons, Winsor and oth- ers said the proposed rents SUBMITTED PHOTO/AT THE WATER’S GATE Seaside High School senior Marysol Alcantar feeds coins into a machine at the Laundromat in Seaside for a client during a Laundry Love event on April 8. Alcantar is helping with the local Laundry Love program for her Pacifica Project. R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL Jennifer Bunch of Wicki- up Consulting speaks on behalf of owner James Folk at Monday’s City Council meeting in Seaside. ‘We’ve heard a lot of legitimate concerns, but those concerns are not addressing specific criteria relevant to the zone change.’ — Jennifer Bunch, of Astoria’s Wickiup Consulting were still too high for those earning minimum wage or slightly above, and would fail to address the city’s housing needs. Jennifer Bunch of As- toria’s Wickiup Consulting responded on behalf of the owner. “We’ve heard a lot of legitimate concerns, but those concerns are not ad- dressing specific criteria rel- evant to the zone change,” Bunch said. Sewers would be im- proved prior to construction, Bunch said, and public fa- cilities would be installed at the owner’s expense. The proposed development would have no greater im- pact on traffic than a condi- tional use under the current zoning designation. A lower zoning density proposal would likely be un- profitable for the owner, she added. City councilors tabled the discussion until the council’s May 8 meeting. If the zone change is granted, the land would then be annexed into the city for police, fire and wa- ter. The annexation would also need City Council ap- proval. Students step up for Laundry Love Laundry from Page 1A p ronounced as some of the Laundry Love attendees bring their school-aged children. Alcantar discovered that “for them to struggle not to be able to have clothes or wash them as often, they could get bul- lied at school for it,” she said. Prendergast’s paper ex- plored the idea of gender equality in the workforce. During her time assisting with Laundry Love, she came to find most of the other vol- unteers also were women. A question she addressed in her paper was whether socially reinforced stereotypes about compassion or nurturing be- ing feminine qualities played a role in that outcome. “I discovered it’s mostly society that stereotypes gen- ders into thinking they have to do things,” she said, adding these stereotypes then often perpetuate themselves. A change of perspective Both students expressed how their experiences have led to greater insight into concepts of homelessness, gratitude and service. “You always know not ev- erybody has everything you have, but it’s more realistic once you’re there and see peo- ple struggling,” Prendergast said. “You realize how good you actually have it. It makes you want to appreciate the things you have, even a thing as simple as being able to wash your clothes at home.” Going forward, she wants to continue to target her do- nated time toward organiza- tions or service projects that benefit homeless individuals, such as food banks, building homeless shelters or programs like Laundry Love. Alcantar agreed that was a population that is underserved. “People don’t really take them into consideration, and they don’t get as much help as they should,” she said. There is even a tendency for people of privilege to dehuman- ize those struggling with home- lessness, Prendergast added. “They just kind of see them as not helping themselves, so we shouldn’t help them,” she said. “They don’t realize that some people need a little bit of help before they can help themselves.” The next Laundry Love will be held May 13. Alcantar recommends people interest- ed in the program attend, even just to watch the process. “You will see the differ- ence that it makes in [peo- ple’s] lives, just by giving them three quarters to put into the machine,” she said, adding no matter how many times a person hears about the benefits of the program, “you won’t really realize it until you’re there helping.” A final farewell for a fallen hero Farewell from Page 1A Ferry into custody on a war- rant tied to an earlier assault on a police officer. Ferry fired one shot at Goodding, a 13- year Seaside police veteran, before Goodding’s partner, David Davidson, returned fire. Goodding died later Friday at Providence Seaside Hospital. Goodding is survived by his wife Amy and two daugh- ters, Joslyn and Jayden. Goodding’s name was re- cently etched into the memo- rial in Salem under the vigil of law enforcement honor guard members. The memorial honors 183 fallen Oregon law enforce- ment officers who have died in the line of duty since the 1880s. Among them are of- ficers from law enforcement officers, corrections officers, and parole and probation of- ficers. Most of Seaside’s police staff and fire department will be attending the Tuesday, May 2, ceremony at the Ore- gon Public Safety Academy, Ham said. The memorial is open to the public. Ham, who attended last year’s ceremony, said an area will be reserved for the Good- ding family and other families of officers who have fallen before. He advises attendees to arrive promptly for the 1 p.m. event and be prepared for outdoor weather. A shuttle service will be available for parking. For now, Ham is preparing to deliver a speech for the mil- itary-style event. “There’s been so much said over the last year,” he said. “I think there’s going to be a period of thank-you’s to everybody who’s been part of the support, not only for our department but the city.” A candlelight vigil during National Police Week start- ing May 13 at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., will conclude the year of remembrances, Ham said. At that event, officers and families nationwide attend a formal dedication of the en- graved memorial to officers who have fallen nationwide. Goodding’s name will be add- ed to that wall. “Not that he will ever be forgotten or it will be a closed case,” Ham said. “There have been so many things that came out of this: Whether it be the scholarship in his name in Sherwood, the foundation, the remembrances, the memo- rials — that will be his legacy. Everything Jason would have been absolutely proud of.” R.J. 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