July 7, 2017 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 3A
Gearhart hunts for the
perfect firehouse location
Public sour on
park site
Mylar balloons
remain outage threat
Firefighters
see greater risk
in fireworks,
illegal parking
By R.J. Marx
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Seaside Signal
The city is looking for al-
ternatives to a new firehouse
on public parkland, a proposal
that met with strong pushback
at a public forum in May.
With some willing property
owners, conversations about
potential sites are underway.
The current firehouse con-
sists of a cinder-block build-
ing at 670 Pacific Way, built in
1958, and is considered out-
dated and vulnerable to earth-
quake and tsunami. While
built “fairly stoutly,” accord-
ing to geologist Tom Horning,
who has served as a consultant
for the city and is a Seaside
city councilor, the property is
likely to flood even in a mod-
erate tsunami, prompting dis-
cussion of a new location.
Gearhart has two and pos-
sibly three potential sites
for acquisition, Mayor Matt
Brown said Tuesday, June 27,
and talks with property own-
ers have begun.
Brown said he hopes to
present the new locations,
along with cost breakdowns,
to the public this fall.
“The park can be an option,
but I believe we need to pres-
ent three options to the general
public in a town hall meeting
later this year,” Brown said.
Limited options
After a two-year study
of nine locations, the fire-
house committee narrowed
the choices down to three:
Gearhart Park at the corner
of South Marion and Pacific
Way; the current firehouse on
Pacific Way; and Trail’s End,
directly across from the fire
station on the south side of Pa-
cific Way.
“Unfortunately the current
location of the fire station
would not be approved by
R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL
Of the sites considered by the city for a new firehouse, Gearhart Park remains the only one
still under consideration.
DOGAMI (Oregon Depart-
ment of Geology and Mineral
Industries) to build there, and
the current condition of the
building there is not good,”
Brown said.
The Trail’s End site was
eliminated because of low el-
evation, poor soil quality and
public opposition. Locations
to the east are vulnerable to
flooding from the Neacoxie.
Now, the city is left with
only the park site. But at a
May public forum, many res-
idents expressed their discon-
tent with the park even being
considered as an option. De-
spite the park’s 48-foot eleva-
tion — the fire station proper-
ty stands at an elevation of 27
feet — the proposal met stiff
resistance. Many of those who
spoke said they considered the
park a part of the “character of
the town.”
Is park best choice?
Some city councilors and
fire committee members still
consider the park location the
most optimal for a new fire-
house.
City Councilor Sue Lorain,
a member of the firehouse
committee, said misconcep-
tions arose over the park site
in terms of its size, location
and elevation. The park is
higher than the current fire sta-
tion, she said at a City Council
discussion in early June, and
the location is far more secure
in an earthquake or tsunami.
“I would recommend we
go ahead with the park, and
get rid of misconceptions, and
have another town hall meet-
ing at the end of September,”
Lorain said. “If nothing comes
up, I think we go with the
park.”
Lorain asked councilors to
extend the search process until
September, and eliminate the
current firehouse as a potential
location.
“I feel it’s important to
keep this ball rolling,” City
Councilor Dan Jesse said at
that meeting. “At some point
a large earthquake is going to
happen. I don’t know when
that’s going to be. But we
should keeping propelling this
forward. At some point we
will have to decide, ‘This site
is the best we’re going to get,’
and be willing to move for-
ward, even if we lose.”
What’s ahead
At the City Council’s June
meeting, councilors agreed to
continue the location search.
One privately owned site
under consideration reach-
es an elevation of 75 feet,
Gilligan graduates from Coast Guard Academy
On May 17,
Carrie
Gilligan
graduated from the
U.S. Coast Guard
Academy, sixth in
her class with high
honors. Gilligan
graduated valedic-
torian from Seaside
High School in
2011.
Carrie Gilli-
gan accepts
congratulations
from President
Donald Trump
at her grad-
uation from
the U.S. Coast
Guard Academy
in May.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Brown said. The property is
close to the condos on North
Marion and across from the
golf course, Brown said, and
conversations with the owner
have begun.
“We’re starting another
conversation with another
property owner on North Mar-
ion,” City Administrator Chad
Sweet said Tuesday. “We want
to make sure everyone’s com-
fortable with the deal before
making it public.”
Once new locations are
determined, the City Council
intends to provide $5,000 to
conduct studies of alterna-
tive properties. Money would
come from the hazard mitiga-
tion or building reserve funds,
Sweet said.
That money could be spent
on an architectural rendering,
geotechnical studies, deter-
mining basic costs or toward
an estimator to take a look at
the building, location and type
of ground to determine what
costs would be, Sweet said.
“I would be happy if we
could find another spot that
was not the park, because I
understand all of our attach-
ments to that park,” Sweet
said. “I’m anxious to see if
one of these other real estate
dealings and locations could
be worked out.”
The city’s 2015 July
Fourth celebration saw
plenty of fireworks, but one
piece of pyrotechnics went
awry. Then Pacific Power
spokeswoman Sheila Hold-
en called it “Mylargate.”
When a metal-coated bal-
loon made contact with a
Pacific Power substation,
sparks flew and the South
County went dark for hours,
disrupting celebrations, pic-
nics and parades.
More than 8,000 custom-
ers were affected by a metal-
lic-skinned helium balloon
that got away, according to
Pacific Power. Crews found
“unmistakable red, white
and blue Mylar shreds”
when doing repairs, Pacific
Power reported at the time.
The balloon from a near-
by celebration caused a
main substation transformer
to short circuit near Seaside
Factory Outlet Center. Other
equipment was also dam-
aged on nearby poles.
Seaside, Gearhart and
parts of Warrenton were
without power from about
4:40 to 10:20 p.m. as Pacif-
ic Power crews replaced the
damaged equipment.
Pacific Power wants In-
dependence Day events this
year to be Mylar-free. So far
in 2017, Pacific Power has
recorded 13 instances where
balloons have caused outag-
es somewhere in the three
states — Oregon, Washing-
ton and California — the
company serves. In 2016,
there were 26 such outages.
“Mylar is particularly
bad as it is a conductive ma-
terial,” Regional Business
Manager Alisa Dunlap said
Friday. “However, all items
that can get tangled in our
lines can cause problems.”
Mylar balloons can pose a
threat to transformers.
The 2015 Seaside Fourth
of July outage was an “un-
avoidable fluke,” Dunlap
said. Nevertheless, precau-
tions must be taken.
“We always try to com-
municate with the commu-
nity at large that balloons,
kites and drones don’t mix
well with power lines,” she
added. “We have done our
best to education.”
In issuing a list of safe-
ty tips, the power company
advises residents to keep
the balloons indoors where
they can’t rise into overhead
power lines or drift into
contact with transformers
or substations. Make sure
the string for each balloon
is securely attached and
short enough to control its
direction, power company
officials recommend attach-
ing a weight to the balloon’s
string. Never intentionally
release metallic balloons,
they warn.
In 2015, as soon as the
power went out, the Sea-
side Fire Department called
the substation to respond
to the incident. While there
was smoke coming from
the failed transformer, there
were no flames.
While Seaside Fire Chief
Joey Daniels has not com-
pletely discounted the pos-
sibility of another Mylar
incident, he and department
members are focused on oth-
er safety measures. “That’s
the first time any of us had
ever heard of something like
that,” Daniels said Friday.
“It’s such a fluke. We have
more issues with people let-
ting off illegal fireworks and
illegal parking.”
Top Brands. Factory-Direct Prices.
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RV accident on Highway 26
EO Media Group
An accident Wednesday involving a rolled
over motor home complicated traffic on U.S.
Highway 26 south of Saddle Mountain.
Reports of an accident in the area trick-
led in to Astoria 911 just after 10:15 a.m.
Initially, several vehicles were thought to be
involved.
Drivers, many of whom are traveling after
the Fourth of July holiday, were warned to
expect delays.
Horning, Stacey leave Sunset Empire board
Long-time board Sunset
Empire Park and Recreation
District members Tom Horning
and George Stacey passed the
torch to incoming board mem-
bers Jeremy Mills and Veroni-
ca Russell during the district’s
regular board meeting this past
Tuesday night. Mills and Rus-
sell won the seats during a spe-
cial election this past May.
Horning, a board members
since July of 2009 was voted
in as a Seaside City Council
member during the general
election last fall. Stacey, who
has been serving since he was
appointed to fill a board vacan-
cy in July of 2010, was also an
original SEPRD board member
during its early formation.
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