4A • August 17, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
SignalViewpoints
Wanted: $35M to save lives in Seaside
G
eologist Tom Horning deliv-
ered a 90-minute presentation
to councilors on the topic in
2007. At the end of his talk, a coun-
cilor summed up: “Now let’s get on to
more important things.”
“That made me so mad,” Horning
says today.
He intends to remedy that.
“Ultimately, I want to identify
the nature of the hazard, its proxim-
ity — how soon it will strike — and
I’m going to try to justify using room
taxes to build bridges.”
New, resilient bridges, he hopes,
will help residents and visitors
survive the wave from an even
medium-sized tsunami, a Cascadia
Subduction Zone event in which
thousands may perish.
The threat
The city’s history of tsunamis
is carved in the land. Stretches of
sand have been washed over by rock
thrown by waves, and trees pulled
from the ground like toothpicks
clogged waterways. All this formed
moats, meadows and other features
we take for granted. Former marshes
are filled with sediment from the
Necanicum River and now serve as
land for homes. Springs near Avenue
N drain and flood houses in a nearby
depression. Shoals of round rock
or cobbles were carried, swept and
deposited in a northeasterly surge
corridor.
“The town gets overtopped easi-
ly,” Horning said in a tsunami history
tour in late July. “What’s done in the
past is likely to occur in the future.”
There is no “gentle” Cascadia
Subduction Zone earthquake and
tsunami, Horning said.
While a tsunami originating near
Alaska or Japan might cause tidal
activity here, it’s nothing like the big
one.
“We’re out at the very leading
edge of a seriously massive block of
tectonic plate that extends all the way
to the Atlantic Ridge.”
More than four-fifths of the
buildings in Seaside are expected
to be inundated by a medium-sized
tsunami wave.
“We can’t afford to be wrong and
we don’t have much time,” he said.
But the city’s bridges haven’t
kept up with the threat. Substandard
bridges will collapse during the first
earthquake, making them useless in
the 20 to 30 minutes we have to get
to high ground before the tsunami
hits. Bridges at Avenues S, U and G,
all of which were originally built to
the standards of the early 1960s.
The extra minutes to find another
bridge — there are none considered
able to withstand the impacts of a
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
R.J. MARX
predicted 9.0 Cascadia earthquake
south of Broadway — could be a
matter of life and death.
“If we fix the bridges, we reduce
the fatality rate from a high number
to a low number,” Horning said.
“That’s the bottom line.”
According to the city’s 2011
Transportation System Plan, the
bridge over the Neawanna Creek
between the two intersections lies
inside the 100-year floodplain,
requires a seismic retrofit and has
“deficient facilities” for pedestrians
and bicycles.
Other bridges, built decades ago,
are equally vulnerable. The city had
applications out for grants and Or-
egon Department of Transportation
funding to rebuild its most vulnerable
bridges.
But Seaside “often falls through
the cracks” when applying for grant
money, City Manager Winstanley
told the Signal’s Brenna Visser in a
July interview.
The city is either too small to
compete for projects or has too
healthy of a budget to qualify for
need-based grants intended for small-
er, rural communities.
Applications, reports and projec-
tions from researchers, the city, state
and federal government remain on a
back shelf of the library or city offic-
es, or more likely, in a forgotten PDF
file on a computer hard drive.
Who will pay?
When I rented a car this summer
on my vacation in New Mexico, I got
hit with a vehicle license fee and an
energy recovery fee and a shocking
11.25 percent “customer facility”
charge.
It shows you that there is always
one more surcharge that can be add-
ed to unsuspecting tourists who have
little to no leverage.
Seaside doesn’t event the highest
lodging tax in the state or even the
county — Bend’s stands at 10.4
percent; Astoria collects 11 percent.
Portland’s city and county room
taxes reach 11.5 percent.
In 2012, Horning, asked hotels
and motels to establish a voluntary
user fee of $1 or $2 giving guests an
opportunity to help cover the cost of
emergency preparations. The money
raised would fund replacement
of bridges in Seaside designed as
escape routes.
Horning believes that between
TOM HORNING
Repairs on the 12th Avenue bridge undertaken in the late 1990s. The bridge is only one of a few in Seaside con-
sidered able to withstand a Cascadia Subduction Zone event.
$18 million and $35 million today
could make a big difference in
improving the city’s most at-risk
bridges.
Horning has modified his “$1
a head” plan from 2012, but still
targets visitors as the best way to go
about it. With a room tax increase,
lodging owners aren’t bearing the
costs — tourists are.
Councilors agree it needs to be
done; the days of disputing tsunami
science are over.
But at the city’s July workshop,
they showed little appetite to passing
the costs along to visitors.
While the council has authority
to raise room tax on its own, if they
decide not to, voters could initiate a
room tax hike without council back-
ing, City Manager Mark Winstanley
said early this month. “But it would
certainly be unusual,” he said.
And while it’s tempting to spend
other people’s money, I agree with
Terry Bichsel — owner of Best
Western Plus Ocean View Resort and
Rivertides Suites — this should be a
shared responsibility.
Raising the lodging tax is “always
easy,” Bichsel said at the workshop.
“Something like this should be
shared, because it does affect our
community, not just the businesses
and the tourists.”
A more likely and less controver-
sial source of funding could come
from urban renewal funds intended
REBECCA HERREN
Tom Horning holds a sprig of edible Salicornia (pickleweed) on a tour of
Neawanna Point marsh in Gearhart. The area was formed by past tsunamis.
to improve the Avenue S corridor
between the Highway and Wahanna,
Winstanley added.
Approved in 2017, 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 infrastructure
needs for Seaside School District’s
new campus.
“I would think that would be an
area the urban renewal agency would
be very interested in doing work,”
Winstanley said this month. “That’s
right in the middle of the urban
renewal district.”
Another pathway could come
through a road levy, initiated by
residents or members of the City
Council, he added.
For concerned residents and visi-
tors, is there a Plan B?
If necessary, Horning is ready to
“wait a while and try again,” he said.
“There are fees you can generate,
road levies — but then you have to
go through the political process of
convincing people to support it.”
Dining al fresco at the Seaside Farmer’s Market
T
he season for dining al fresco is
brief on the north Oregon Coast;
one should take advantage of
every opportunity. I know, I know, real
Oregonians (and you’re right, I can’t
ever be a real Oregonian since I came
here from New York) know it’s possi-
ble, even desirable to eat outdoors in
every weather, including heavy wind,
drenching rain, fierce fog. Being made
of less stern stuff (OK, you can call me
a wimp), I prefer outdoor dining when
it’s not raining. Or drizzle. Which hap-
pens not that much.
While there are multiple op-
portunities in Cannon Beach and
Seaside to dine on restaurant patios
— Pelican Brew, Angelina’s Pizza,
the Wayfarer, the Driftwood, the U
Street Pub — my current favorite al
fresco dining happens to be at the
various farmer’s markets. I’m loving
the Seaside market right now, which
happens every Wednesday.
The Seaside Farmer’s Market is
growing all the time. There are over
25 vendors selling fresh produce, nut
butters, fudge, roasted nuts, berries
fresh and dried, fresh eggs, vodka,
and wine. Coast Community Radio
has a presence, as does the Seaside
Museum and Historical Society, the
North Coast Land Conservancy, and
the Clatsop Casa Program. SNAP,
the supplemental nutrition assistance
program has representatives on hand.
There’s live music and it’s good.
The big draw for me, however, is the
opportunity to enjoy a simple but
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
Kari Borgen
R.J. Marx
ABOVE Albacore tuna tacos from Roll and
Bowl at the farmers market.
LEFT The garlic toast is great, but even
better with the salmon chowder from
Smoked Salmon Chowder Co. at the farm-
ers market.
EVE MARX PHOTOS
Outdoor dining options at the farmers market.
VIEW FROM
THE PORCH
EVE MARX
excellent al fresco dinner because
let’s face it, after decades of cooking
dinner, I’m kind of over it.
I really appreciate excellent pre-
pared food and the Seaside Farmer’s
Market does not disappoint. Right
now my favorite thing is the fish
tacos made with fresh albacore tuna
at the food cart called Roll and Bowl.
The culinary team of Bryan Tiller,
CIRCULATION
MANAGER
PRODUCTION
MANAGER
Jeremy Feldman
John D. Bruijn
ADVERTISING
SALES
SYSTEMS
MANAGER
April Olsen
Carl Earl
CLASSIFIED
SALES
Danielle Fisher
Jonathan Hoffman, and Brae Bartlett
is a winner. Other folks seem equally
excited by their pork belly ramen,
their poke bowl, and even their
grass-fed beef burger. The fish tacos,
which are sublime, are a lot of fish
garnished with a spicy Asian-style
slaw. They come three to an order,
which is ideal for one fairly hungry
person who doesn’t care to share. I
like to wash this down with a glass
of their probiotic lemonade, which
has a tart, tangy edge.
When I’m not scarfing down fish
tacos, I like a cup of smoked salmon
chowder made by the Smoked Salm-
on Chowder Co. out of Astoria. The
STAFF WRITER
Brenna Visser
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
Skyler Archibald
Rebecca Herren
Katherine Lacaze
Eve Marx
Esther Moberg
Jon Rahl
chowder is dense and packed with
fish; it’s especially good with a slab
of garlic toast ($1) on the side. The
chowder folks, Dan and Tina Delay,
are a husband wife team, who make
their chowder from a family recipe,
fresh batch by fresh batch. They use
their farmer’s market earnings to feed
their beef cattle through the winter.
If we’re still feeling peckish, there
are some good choices for dessert.
You can have a sweet scone or muf-
fin from Dough Dough Bakery, or
gelato or a bag of Pilgrim’s Roasted
Nutz, or naturally sweetened Cran-
nies. I have a personal weakness for
the chocolate covered toffee made
by the Columbia Candies Company.
Naked Winery, Buddha Kat Winery,
Gresser Vineyards, and Nehalem Bay
Winery are also represented. You’re a
teetotaler? No worries. Pacific Roots
Coffee is also here.
The Seaside Farmer’s Market is
open Wednesdays until Sept. 29 from
3 til 7 p.m. From Sept. 5 through
Sept. 19, the hours of operation are
Wednesdays, 4 to 7 p.m. The market
is located at 1120 Broadway in Sea-
side. Parking’s easy. The market is
sponsored by the Sunset Empire Park
and Recreation District. They do a
good job and it’s a great place once a
week to duck out of cooking dinner.
Seaside Signal
Letter policy
Subscriptions
The Seaside Signal
is published every other week by
EO Media Group,
1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside, OR 97138.
503-738-5561
seasidesignal.com
Copyright 2018 © Seaside Signal. Nothing
can be reprinted or copied without consent
of the owners.
The Seaside Signal welcomes letters to the editor. The
deadline is noon Monday prior to publication. Letters
must be 400 words or less and must be signed by the
author and include a phone number for verification. We
also request that submissions be limited to one letter
per month. Send to 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside, OR
97138, drop them off at 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive or fax to
503-738-9285, or email rmarx@seasidesignal.com
Annually: $40.50 in county • $58.00 in
and out of county • e-Edition: only $30.00
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Seaside
Signal, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103. Postage Paid at
Seaside, OR, 97138 and at additional mailing offices.
Copyright 2017 © by the Seaside Signal. No portion
of this newspaper may be reproduced without written
permission. All rights reserved.