March 30, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 3A
Focus group report offers school district insights
Comments
range from
academics to
core values
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
As Seaside schools embark
on a plan to move endangered
schools out of the tsunami
zone, school district officials,
business and community lead-
ers and others launched the
first step in the development of
a multiyear strategic plan.
Under the direction of Col-
onna, principal of Colonna
Strategic Planning Services,
based in Bend, the district ap-
proved the $15,000 cost for the
plan in December, to be paid
out of existing areas of the
R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL
Educator and consultant
Jerome Colonna
budget, including the district’s
professional training budget,
Superintendent Sheila Roley
said.
“The board members met
as a group with Jerry Colonna
and he took us through his pro-
cess of developing the strategic
plan for the district,” Seaside
School District Superintendent
Sheila Roley said at the Tues-
day, March 20, meeting of the
district’s board of directors.
“He took us through the first
phase of the process. Our first
ask was to have teachers, prin-
cipals and community mem-
bers generate questions for
members of the community.”
The district held open fo-
rums and focus groups dis-
trictwide.
“We were just listeners,”
Roley said. “It was really won-
derful. We had everywhere
from two to 20 in the groups.”
One-hundred-eighty people
responded overall, she said.
The March report is a sum-
mary of those sessions, she
said, intended to present the
core beliefs of the community
and our school community —
“what can they look forward to
from our district,” Roley said.
“Some themes emerged: Peo-
ple really value the things we
do well.”
She said respondents of-
fered “lots of compliments on
the quality of our staff and our
board, and in general the oper-
ations and personnel.”
The district looks at stu-
dents as individuals, she add-
ed. “It’s not one-size-fits-all.
People also recognize the im-
portance of our extracurricular
activities like athletics, arts,
and other activities.”
Focus group participants
showed concerns about raising
graduation rates absenteeism,
standardized testing and devel-
oping “real-world skills,” from
balancing a checkbook to buy-
ing car insurance.
Campus construction causes concerns
School from Page 1A
The district expects 8,000
concrete trucks and 10,000
truck loads of imported
gravel, he said. With added
asphalt, rebar and structur-
al steel, construction traffic
could exceed 25,000 truck
trips, the equivalent of 1.5
million automotive trips over
an 18-month period, which
could significantly reduce the
life of roadways.
Carpenter suggested traffic
be diverted to logging roads
to mitigate some of these im-
pacts, which would be great-
est on Spruce Drive leading to
the campus.
Traffic is dependent on
the weather and the sequenc-
ing of the work, school dis-
trict architect Dan Hess re-
sponded. “The contractor
would rather not use Spruce
if they could avoid it.”
But in bad weather, logging
roads may not be an option.
“Contractors want to stay off
Spruce, but they have to be
practical about how they do
their work as well,” Hess said.
Commissioners addressed
concerns of backups along
Avenue S near Highway 101,
especially delays that could
COLIN MURPHEY/EO MEDIA GROUP
Seaside School District board members toured the school construction site during logging
operations.
be caused by buildup of con-
struction traffic.
“The number of cars that
line up along Avenue S and
101 is incredible,” Commis-
sioner David Posalski said.
“Getting around that corner
could be extremely problem-
atic.”
At the commission’s March
6 session, traffic impacts and
safety were elements of dis-
cussion. District consultants
said they hope approval of their
conditional use permit will be
delivered at a third commis-
sion meeting on April 3, which
would keep construction on
track for a June 1 groundbreak-
ing. The district hopes to open
for students in September 2020.
Commissioners
unani-
mously voted to keep the
record open for the April 3
meeting, which would in-
clude written testimony and
responses from the district.
Residents grumble about flood-control demands
County
changes a
result of federal
insurance
requirements
By Jack Heffernan
The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County may make
alterations to land use rules
this year that would affect sev-
eral hundred property owners
in flood-prone areas, citing
new federal insurance require-
ments.
The county has participated
in the National Flood Insurance
Program since the 1970s. For
residents to remain eligible for
the 50-year-old program that
guards against flood losses,
the Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency has required
that the county adopt updated
flood-hazard maps and make
revisions to its land use rules.
As a result, roughly 700
property owners in unincorpo-
rated areas of the county may
be required to, among other
things, pay for a permit when
developing their land or seek
approval before altering struc-
tures.
FEMA has required the
county to make the revisions
by June 20. The agency first
released the updated maps and
flood-insurance requirements
in 2016.
The county Planning Com-
mission voted 4-1 on March
20 — with Commissioner
Thomas Merrell the sole op-
posing vote — to recommend
the changes to county commis-
sioners, who will have the final
say. Prior to the vote, several
people spoke in opposition to
the changes during a packed
public hearing at the Judge
Guy Boyington Building. In
addition, county staff have
fielded more than 200 com-
plaints from residents since
notices of the changes were
EDWARD STRATTON/THE DAILY ASTORIAN
Some residents are unhappy about potential county land use
changes to comply with federal flood insurance demands.
‘Frankly, staff isn’t any more
enthused about having to go through
this process and working language
changes into the code any more than
you want to see them there.’
Gail Henrikson
Community development director
mailed out in February.
Throughout the hearing,
Bruce Francis, the Planning
Commission’s chairman, re-
iterated that he sympathized
with the residents but felt it
was necessary to maintain
access to the flood-insurance
program.
“We’re confronted with a
problem that has been placed
upon us to make a decision for
the overall good of the major-
ity, hopefully, to obtain flood
insurance,” Francis said while
addressing the crowd’s disap-
proval. “Maybe it is that we
need to be attacking the polit-
ical angles of this, rather than
making that request here at this
hearing.”
A few of the residents sug-
gested the county break away
from the national insurance
program altogether.
“They’ve got you by the
throat on the insurance as-
pect, but I would suggest that
you think about altering an
approach on insurance,” said
Henry Willener, who owns
property south of Seaside.
“Maybe get Washington and
Idaho — forget California —
and form a consortium to have
your own insurance group.”
Along with the recommen-
dation for county commission-
ers to approve the rule chang-
es, the Planning Commission
advised that county legal ex-
perts explain the changes and
work with the federal agency
to roll back some of the regu-
lations.
The
most
unpopular
change discussed at the meet-
ing would be an expansion of
the definition of developments
that would require property
owners to pay an $85 permit
fee. Previously exempt activi-
ties — including minor repairs
to a structure that don’t alter its
size, new driveways that don’t
change the topography of the
land or signs placed by local
public agencies — would re-
quire the permit once the rules
go into effect.
“They come up with these
ideas. They force it on the lit-
tle guy,” said Edwin Owen, a
farm owner. “I’m just afraid
that you start changing the
rules, not only do I have to
go beg for a permit, but then
you start talking about, ‘Oh,
you can and can’t do this,’ you
know, on a farm. It just bothers
me.”
But it’s unlikely FEMA
will buckle on the expanded
permit requirements, Com-
munity Development Direc-
tor Gail Henrikson said. She
called the permit requirements
“non-negotiable,” along with
mandates to seek permission
for structure updates in certain
areas.
“Frankly, staff isn’t any
more enthused about having
to go through this process and
working language changes
into the code any more than
you want to see them there,”
Henrikson said.
She said staff has worked
with FEMA to determine how
much latitude the county has in
reworking the changes, citing
an email the agency sent to the
county earlier this month.
“FEMA’s stand is that the
exclusions that Clatsop Coun-
ty has offered in their defini-
tion of development makes
their definition of develop-
ment noncompliant with the
National Flood Insurance Pro-
gram,” wrote Roxanne Pilken-
ton, a flood plain management
specialist for the agency.
“FEMA takes the definition
of development seriously and,
currently, push back from the
state of Idaho has them facing
suspension if they continue to
allow exemptions that are ex-
pressly included in the defini-
tion of development.”
County commissioners are
tentatively scheduled to hold
a public hearing on the subject
in April. If that hearing is con-
tinued, commissioners would
hold another hearing in May,
when they would potentially
adopt the changes.
Improvements also sought
stronger guidance programs,
more focus on academics and
safety and security improve-
ments.
Main indicators of success
as described by respondents
included up-to-date technolo-
gy, an understanding of how
education is tied to future suc-
cess and sharing schools.
“Interestingly, most of
those comments are not about
academics,” Roley said. “You
know kids are successful if
they love fifth-grade loving
school and wanting to come
back, or knowing how to advo-
cate for themselves. … People
see our role as being very ho-
listic in the community and are
not an organization that lives
in isolation.”
The goal of the strategic
plan is to take the district “to
the next level of effective-
ness,” she added.
Since approval by the
school board, students, teach-
ers and others have regis-
tered input in focus groups
and online. “The focus group
comments will help form dis-
trict core values and beliefs,”
Colonna wrote in his report.
“The core values and beliefs
will create a foundation for the
plan’s mission, vision, goals
and performance indicators.”
Mark Truax, a member of
the planning committee, said
the process is “going well.”
“It’s really interesting,”
Truax said. “It’s kind of a slow
pace, but it’s what needs to be
done. It’s the kind of project
that needs to be step by step
and kept on task.”
Completion of the strategic
plan is expected by November.
Registration opens for third
annual CoastWalk Oregon
Registration is underway
for the third annual Coast-
Walk Oregon, a fundraiser
for North Coast Land Conser-
vancy, set for Sept. 14 to Sept.
16. This year’s theme, “Two
Capes, Two Bays, Three
Days,” refers to the spectac-
ular stretch of coastline par-
ticipants will hike, from the
mouth of Nehalem Bay to the
south side of Cape Lookout,
the heart of the scenic Three
Capes region on the Tilla-
mook Coast. Registration is
limited to 90 participants.
CoastWalk Oregon par-
ticipants spend three days
walking roughly 10 miles
a day on the Oregon Coast
Trail. This year’s event has
some new twists. In addition
to buses, boats from Garibal-
di Marina and a vintage train
from Oregon Coast Scenic
Railroad will be among ve-
hicles shuttling participants
at the beginning or end of
each day’s hike. Every day
will start and end in Garibal-
di. Day One spans the beach
from Nehalem Bay to Tilla-
mook Bay. Day two begins
on Bayocean Spit and climbs
Cape Meares before ending
at the beach near Oceanside.
Day Three takes participants
down Netarts Spit and over
Cape Lookout.
The registration fee cov-
ers wayfinding, trailhead
shuttles, snacks, and a cel-
ebratory lunch at the end of
third day. Lodging and most
meals are not included. Most
of the registration fee rep-
resents a tax-deductible do-
nation to North Coast Land
Conservancy, which is work-
ing to create a vast Rainforest
Reserve in the mountains ad-
jacent to Oswald West State
Park — a private land con-
servation effort unprecedent-
ed in size in western Oregon.
For more details or to
register, visit CoastWalkOre-
gon.org.
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