January 5, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 5A
Inspired by my parents, looking ahead to a new year
G
rowing up, and even well into
adulthood, I never imagined
penning my own column. In
retrospect, I had some help along the
way. My dad would bring the sports
section into my bedroom to get me
up on Sunday mornings while my
mom taught English and creative
writing at my local high school for
30 years. Reading and writing were
very important to them and in the
past two-and-a-half years, I’ve lost
them both.
Yet, with loss, comes remem-
brance and I think about the little
things they did for me, my sister
and our families quite often. When
I sit down to write this column, it’s
thoughts of them instilling in me
the value of the written word. Mom,
always telling me I could write well.
Dad, understanding what I really liked
to read, and fostering that good habit.
As we tie a bow on one year and
welcome a new one, reflection is
common. It’s healthy and important.
I love that it draws me closer to my
SIDE RAIL
JON RAHL
folks. I also love that it allows us
to recap accomplishments and plan
for the future. With that, here’s year
seven of my look back and glimpse
ahead. Happy New Year, Seaside!
Convention Center
expansion
In 2016 it became an official proj-
ect. In 2017, we hired a project man-
ager, architect and local construction
company to push the needle further.
Schematic and design development
have been the tasks at hand for the
past six months and are coming to a
quick close. Construction is expect-
ed to begin this spring. Follow the
project at seasideconvention.com/
renovations.
Growth at the visitor
information center
Watch them all at seasideor.com/sea-
side-stories.
One of my favorite projects this
past year was engaging with Seaside
High School and shop teacher Jeff
Corliss to have them help us build an
oversized Adirondack chair. Thirty
students drafted, crafted and painted
the furniture art that now adorns the
front lawn of the visitors center. It’s
already produced countless photo
ops and spiked traffic into our info
center.
Even more video ahead
New video assets to
promote Seaside
Thanks in part to a grant from
Clatsop County, we earmarked funds
to create a series of how-to videos
that tell people just how easy it is to
visit and play in Seaside. Produc-
tion yielded four videos in May and
two in September. Advertising with
three of the spots followed in the
fall and more will come this spring.
Our Facebook page, Visit Seaside
OR, took a stab at Facebook Live
during the final half of 2017. You’ll
see more of that and then some this
year. With our tagline, “It’s Easy
to Seaside,” as the guiding light,
we envision more spontaneous and
entertaining storytelling that shows
people how and where to enjoy this
coastal wonderland. Watch at face-
book.com/VisitSeasideOR.
Destination
management
Are we at a crossroads with tour-
ism? One in three jobs in Seaside
is tied to leisure and hospitality. It’s
beyond vital to our community. Yet,
we need to ask if there’s a breaking
point. Generations have visited
Oregon’s North Coast and we want
generations beyond to enjoy the
same benefit. An Oregon Sustain-
ability Studio is already established
on this topic for our area and that’s
an important first step.
Signage and wayfinding
It’s been two years in the making,
but new town entry signs will greet
locals and visitors arriving from the
north and south by early January.
The goal was to create a more invit-
ing and inspiring welcome message,
evoking the bright colors that reflect
our 2015 rebranding efforts. Visitor
Center signage and downtown
wayfinding is the next item we’ll
look at to create even stronger brand
unification in 2018.
Have a thought or a question
about tourism in Seaside, or maybe
an idea for a future column? Drop
an email to jrahl@cityofseaside.us.
Jon Rahl is the director of tourism
for the Seaside Visitors Bureau
and assistant general manager of
the Seaside Civic and Convention
Center.
Looking ahead in 2018 as city undertakes major development
Seaside Signal
F
or a city the size of
Seaside, the community
undertook major steps
in building, development
and rehabilitation in 2017.
With the passage of the $99.7
million bond for a new school
campus approved by voters in
November 2016, the starting
gun was fired and a process
that will stretch at least until
fall 2020 and the schools’
projected opening began.
At the same time, a multi-
million dollar renovation and
expansion was approved by
the City Council, to be paid
for by an increase in the city’s
room tax, from 8 percent to 10
percent. Bonds for the project
went out for sale in Novem-
ber.
The third major project in
the city is the establishment of
an urban renewal area in parts
of southeast Seaside. The
plan, which uses tax incre-
ment financing —not bonds
or property tax hikes —could
help the city improve bridges
and schools.
And more building could
be on the horizon. The Sunset
Empire Park and Recreation
District is in the midst of the
Bob Chisholm Community
Refresh — delayed by high
bids to improve acoustics and
upgrade main areas. Discus-
sions on a future renovation
of the rec center by the dis-
trict are ongoing, and with the
phasing out of Seaside High
School, Broadway Middle
School and the South Franklin
administrative building, out-
of-the-box possibilities could
be ahead.
Urban renewal
Covering almost 560 acres
of land along South Holladay,
Avenue S from U.S. High-
way 101 east and the south-
ern section of Highway 101,
the Southeast Seaside Urban
Renewal District makes up
about 21 percent of the city’s
total acreage and 22 percent
of Seaside’s assessed value.
Projected funds of up
to $62.4 million — more if
matched by state funds or
grants — could help build
bridges, add traffic enhance-
ments and provide infrastruc-
ture needs for Seaside School
District’s new campus in the
COURTESY DOUG DOUGHERTY
Ground was cleared for the new Seaside School District campus over the summer. The new
campus aims to provide seismic safety and sheltering capabilities.
School bond
SEASIDE CIVIC AND CONVENTION CENTER
Design plans for the remodeled convention center.
city’s southeast hills.
Past urban renewal pro-
grams helped provide financ-
ing for The Turnaround and
Prom, the city’s sewage plant,
12th Avenue improvements
and construction of a new li-
brary.
Urban renewal is a financ-
ing program authorized under
state law and implemented lo-
cally that allows for the use of
property tax revenues to grow
the economy in blighted areas.
Property taxes on the growth
in assessed value in the urban
renewal area are frozen and
increases are allocated to the
city’s urban renewal agency
and not city and county tax-
ing districts. Subsequent im-
provements can lead to higher
home values and in turn high-
er assessments, generating
more funds for the urban re-
newal district. Funding comes
through increases in assessed
values of local properties.
Infrastructure goals in-
clude a pedestrian bike bridge,
parks projects and upgrades to
unincorporated properties in
the area.
The urban renewal plan,
adopted Aug. 29, sets a limit
on the amount of money which
can be used to fund projects,
with a maximum indebtedness
of $68.5 million. The plan has
a duration of 25 years.
Sale of the bonds now
heads to the markets, with
sales anticipated in February,
City Manager Mark Winstan-
ley said at the council’s De-
cember meeting.
In November 2016, Sea-
side voters passed a $99.7
million bond to replace the
district’s aging and unsafe
schools at risk in the Cascadia
Subduction Zone, at risk for
earthquake and tsunami.
With that, the starting
gun was fired and a team as-
sembled to bring the campus
dream into reality.
In 2017, the school dis-
trict went before Seaside
City Council and the Clatsop
County Board of Commis-
sioners to achieve a needed
expansion of the urban growth
boundary. The 89-acres ex-
pansion included 49 acres
designated as county forest
and 40 acres designated as
low-density residential. After
consideration by the Planning
Commission, the commission
recommended adoption of
zoning and ordinance changes
to rezone the property as in-
dustry-commercial.
After the August recom-
mendation, amendments to
the city’s comprehensive
plan, zoning ordinance and
zoning map were subse-
quently adopted by the City
Council which in October. In
November, the county Board
of Commissioners adopted
an ordinance amending the
Dem chair sees no clear replacement for Boone
Boone from Page 1A
Rep. Deborah
Boone carries
a resolution
honoring Sgt.
Jason Good-
ding. Boone
announced her
plan to retire in
January 2019.
honor and privilege of serving
as their state representative.”
State Sen. Betsy Johnson,
D-Scappoose, praised Boone
for her focus on coastal con-
stituents and issues.
“She has been the quint-
essential citizen legislator,”
Johnson said.
New hopefuls
Tim Josi, a Democrat who
served in the state House from
1991 to 1998, announced
Tuesday he would not seek
re-election to the Tillamook
County Commission and
would instead run for Boone’s
seat. He has been on the coun-
ty commission since 1999.
“If elected, I would hit the
ground running,” Josi said in
a news release. “Fortunately,
FILE PHOTO
I know the legislative process
very well through almost 30
years of experience. I also
have a solid understanding
of the issues and problems
that we face at the local, re-
gional, state and national lev-
els. Most importantly, I have
learned how to work collabo-
ratively with both Democrats
and Republicans to forge
solutions that fit our needs
and move us in a positive di-
rection.”
Boone, a longtime staffer
in Salem, previously worked
under Josi. He was also en-
couraged to run for the Legis-
lature again by Johnson, who
called him “an excellent pub-
lic servant.”
Brian Halvorsen, a com-
munity organizer who found-
ed North Coast Progressives
last year, filed as an indepen-
dent in September. On his
campaign site, Halvorsen
took aim at the two-party sys-
tem and Boone’s history. He
struck a populist tone, listing
among his campaign priorities
lowering income inequality,
increasing taxes on corpora-
tions and the wealthy, ending
the use of fossil fuels in Or-
egon, reforming campaign
financing and making educa-
tion affordable.
Doug Thompson, chair-
man of the Clatsop County
Democratic Central Commit-
tee, said he hopes for con-
tested primary and general
elections and sees no favorite
to replace Boone. Jim Hoff-
man, chairman of the Clat-
sop County Republican Party
Central Committee, said the
party is still figuring out who
will run, and might know next
month.
The filing deadline is
March 6.
county’s comprehensive plan
expanding Seaside’s urban
growth boundary to accom-
modate the new campus.
DAY CPM, a Beaver-
ton-based owner’s represen-
tative consulting firm, was
contracted to administer con-
struction management ser-
vices on behalf of the district.
In June, general contractor
Hoffman Construction was
named to the team.
In July, Weyerhaeuser Co.
cleared trees on the hillside.
Land soil testing and sur-
veys continued throughout
the fall.
In December, the first
schematics of the new project
were delivered. The project’s
first schematics and drawings
include interior renderings of
the elementary, middle and
high school campuses and
maps of playing fields and
outdoor spaces.
Architects anticipate the
design phase to reach next
June, when construction
could begin. The campus is
slated for opening in the fall
of 2020.
Convention Center
Spring of 2019. That’s
when Convention Center
General Manager Russ Van-
denberg hopes to have the
convention center’s $15
million construction project
complete. The rationale for
the expansion is to meet the
growing need to accommo-
date larger groups, provide
state-of-the-art facilities and
amenities.
Vandenberg and team suc-
cessfully won approval for the
improvements, to be financed
by an increase in the city’s
lodging tax from 8 to 10 per-
cent.
Changes include revamped
entrances, new stairway loca-
tions and exterior improve-
ments. The convention cen-
ter, at nearly 46,000 square
feet, will expand to more than
54,000 square feet, a net gain
of about 19 percent. A com-
plete exterior update will tie
the additions together.
Lobby restrooms will be
relocated to a portion of the
current administrative area. A
stairway will be moved and a
reception or registration area
added to the east side of the
lobby. Administrative offices
will be reconfigured, as will
the concession area.
Portland-based Holst Ar-
chitecture and Convergence
Design of Kansas City, Mis-
souri, will team with local
architects O’Brien and Co.
Construction to finalize de-
sign elements throughout the
winter months.
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