Friday, February 15, 2019 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A5
Got an idea for a great project in Seaside?
T
he application window for
the annual tourism grant
program in Seaside is now
open.
I encourage anyone working on
a project, program, or event that
results in visitation and overnight
stays in Seaside to apply for up to
$5,000 in grant funding. For this
year’s cycle, the deadline to apply
is May 10.
The city of Seaside Visitors
Bureau in collaboration with the
Tourism Advisory Committee will
review applications at our May
meeting and make award rec-
ommendations. Applicants will
be notifi ed of their status shortly
thereafter.
I’m particularly excited about
this long-running program because
it allows a portion of our adver-
tising budget to directly support
community-driven events and ini-
tiatives, and diversify the very
attractions that bring new people to
Seaside in the fi rst place.
As far as grants go, the applica-
tion requirements for this one are
relatively straightforward. The big-
gest obstacle I see is simply getting
the word out so dreamers, doers,
planners, and project managers
know this seed money is avail-
DIRECTOR’S
CHAIR
JOSHUA
HEINEMAN
able to get fl edgling ideas off the
ground, spur further partnerships,
or expand on existing offerings.
It’s worth mentioning, though,
that there will be a strong pref-
erence given to shoulder- and
off-season funding applications.
Anything falling between mid-
June and early September on
the calendar, if awarded, will be
capped at $3,000 in maximum
funding. We all agree that spread-
ing visitation throughout the year
is preferable.
Last year’s grant recipients
included the Times Theatre & Pub-
lic House, Sunset Empire Park and
Recreation District, Tsunami Skip-
pers Jump Rope Team, and the
Seaside Chamber of Commerce
for that fantastic fi rework show
you might have heard about once
or twice.
Full guidelines and applica-
tion materials can be found at sea-
sideOR.com/industry or by con-
tacting the Visitors Bureau via
email, phone, or in-person (we’ll
print you copies like it’s 1999).
GOOAAALS!
Mayor Jay Barber gave a great
summation of the City Council’s
current two- and four-year goals
at a recent Seaside Downtown
Development Association meet-
ing. From economy to infrastruc-
ture and from operations to quality
of life, it’s nice to see which direc-
tion city leaders are trying to move
the needle.
In that spirit, I thought it worth
sharing the goals that I put forth in
December for the Visitors Bureau
in the coming year (or two).
Goal No. 1 — Add and align
signage onsite at the Visitors
Bureau/Chamber of Commerce
building to make our services more
visible, refl ect our current brand,
and serve as a midpoint beacon
between the north and south wel-
come signs.
This one is pretty self-explana-
tory. We absolutely have to update
the outdated font on the main
Chamber sign to signal drivers
familiar with our branding and also
rethink the front entryway to the
building so it’s more inviting from
the street. Already we’ve got some
repainting scheduled for the spring
and even some ideas on how to
bring more of our fair-weather
Adirondack chair crowd into the
welcome center.
Goal No. 2 — Honor the dance,
jazz, and rock music heritage of
Seaside in ways that add to the his-
torical legacy of Oregon’s fi rst
resort town and open opportunities
for future development.
On fi rst blush, this one might
seem a little far-fetched, but stick
with me. Did you know Duke
Ellington played the renowned
Bungalow Dance Hall, which
existed in the space now occupied
by the Carousel Mall? Did you
know The Fabulous Wailers of
“Doin’ the Seaside” fame staged
an impromptu rooftop show near
the Turnaround in 1962 to pacify
angsty teenagers? Did you know
there used to be a fantastical dance
hall called the Hippodrome along
the banks of the Necanicum in the
early 1920s? There’s a deep musi-
cal heritage here and I think it’s
worth fi nding ways to bring that
history to the surface – whether
through historical markers or
establishing off-season retreats
for musicians — when talking
about what Seaside represents to
visitors.
Goal No. 3 — Position the Vis-
itors Bureau as a future-forward
institution, exploring novel meth-
ods and new technologies to bet-
ter serve visitors to Seaside and the
North Coast region.
If you’ve been reading any of
my columns in the last six months,
you probably know our web-
site – seasideOR.com – is reach-
ing a record audience these days.
In 2018, for instance, there were
362,000 unique users on the site
compared to “just” 271,000 in
2017. The brick-and-mortar visitor
center, while extremely valuable,
isn’t seeing that growth. We have
audited our website to understand
how to optimize for voice-search
traffi c from the growing Google
Home and Amazon Alexa crowd,
but that’s only one small step.
The possibilities are wide open
as far as mediums and potential
applications are concerned. The
only guarantee is that things will
change, and we shouldn’t be afraid
to reach people through creative
nontraditional and digital means.
That’s the future.
Got a tourism-related comment,
tip, or project? I’d love to hear
about it. Write me at jheineman@
cityofseaside.us.
Lesley Miller Park is not suited for new fi re station
G
earhart needs a new
fi re station. The exist-
ing building is antiquated
and constructed of unreinforced
masonry that will not perform
well in an earthquake.
A new fi re station should be
in a location that best serves the
community, has the support of
the community, and is designed
to contribute to making Gearhart
safer and more resilient.
The Lesley Miller Dunes
Meadow Park (aka Gearhart
Park) is at the center of Gearhart’s
oceanfront, and one of the places
being considered for the fi re sta-
tion. It is also one of the places
that makes Gearhart special. In
this unique beautiful park, as Mrs.
Miller had dreamed, everyone is
able to have “a place to play base-
ball, football, have a picnic, or
just sit, relax and watch the sun-
set.” People have even been mar-
ried in the park.
Parks are important for towns
— we should make more of them,
not pave them over. The park
should not even be considered for
a fi re station, unless there are no
other options.
There are also many pragmatic
reasons to not site a fi re station in
the park.
• Gearhart residents deserve a
new fi re station that uses taxpayer
money wisely. Contrary to what
the city of Gearhart estimates, I
and many others believe that the
“Gearhart Park station” option
will end up being extremely
GUEST
COLUMN
STUART
EMMONS
expensive, probably well more
than the other options being con-
sidered, due to the numerous
complex regulatory and legal
challenges with the site. There is a
good chance of costs spiraling out
of control with this option.
• The Lesley Miller Park is
in the State DOGAMI (Oregon
Department of Geology and Min-
eral Industries) tsunami inunda-
tion zone. Oregon law prohibits
new fi re stations from being built
in these zones. An exception will
clearly be required. Yes, excep-
tions are possible to get approved,
but primarily if there are no other
strategic alternatives, which is
clearly not the case here.
• The park was deeded to the
city by the county in 1947 with
the agreement that it always
remain a park. I don’t see why
the county would vote to modify
the use, especially with so many
county residents opposing this
modifi cation, unless there were no
other site options, which is clearly
not the case here.
• The city has stated in its lit-
erature to residents that park loss
would be “minimal.” Apparently
they want to bring in a fl eet of
dump trucks after cutting down
most of the trees on the site and
Stuart Emmons
An artist’s rendering of the proposed fi re station site plan in Lesley Miller
Dunes Meadow Park.
fi ll in a large area of the dunes for
a replacement park in sensitive
dune areas. Creating open space
on already open space. The real-
ity is that a 13,000-square-foot
fi re station and large unsightly
asphalt parking lot on one of the
most beautiful places on the North
Coast will have a massive neg-
ative impact on the park, effec-
tively ruining a place that people
on the North Coast have enjoyed
for generations. This park is the
wrong place to put a fi re station.
The city has spent several
years trying to fi nd a suitable site
For Valentine’s Day, ‘put your
own oxygen mask on fi rst’
By JENN VISSER
For Seaside Signal
Valentine’s Day is such a
wonderful time of year to let
the one we love know how
much we value them, And,
with the desire to express
our love, sometimes we may
overlook the most important
piece of the “love puzzle.”
That piece is found in the
way we take care of our own
selves. The way we care for
ourselves directly infl uences
our ability to love another
person. If we do not love
our self, it can diminish the
way that we nurture another
human being.
The well-worn phrase,
“put your own oxygen mask
on fi rst” remains the best
reminder for developing a
daily guideline to begin to
improve the way that we
practice self-care.
So this season, whether
you are in a relationship or
not, be sure to focus on your
own well-being.
Each day, start with little
steps:
Inspire yourself to fi nd
one small challenge that
moves you out of your com-
fort zone. This could be
something as small as tak-
ing a different way home,
attending a community
event that you never thought
would interest you, or buy-
ing a fruit or a vegetable that
City of Seaside
you have never eaten, just to
try it.
Amuse yourself by doing
something small that is out
of your ordinary routine.
Discover something new
that is fun to do. Perhaps,
merely pulling over in your
car to stop and gaze at a
vista that you never noticed
before or deciding to read
about a simple topic online,
such as the history of com-
edy. Go play skee-ball at the
arcade, no matter how old
you are.
Make a new connection.
Seek out and say hello to a
neighbor that you do not
know. Invite a neighbor that
you do know to walk around
the block with you.
Be active. Engage with
nature. For example, walk
500 steps from the Ecola
parking lot wooden bridge,
up the incline. Count your
steps. Stop at the chain link
overlook point and take
in your proximity to the
Lighthouse.
Be grateful. Find and
focus on points of gratitude
in your life as you move
through the day. Be sure to
count your blessings every
time you have a meal.
Get good rest. No matter
how hectic you think your
life is, carve out even the
smallest moment to practice
the art of resting.
Don’t forget to breathe.
A happy, healthy insider
tip for the Best Valentine’s
Day ever: It’s OK to fall in
love with taking care of ….
you!
Jenn Visser is a mind/
body coach based in Seaside.
for a new fi re station. It would be
a very diffi cult undertaking for
any group. The Gearhart Fire Sta-
tion Committee has worked long
hours and we are grateful for their
work, along with city staff and
elected leaders working hard on
this diffi cult problem. Let’s now
all come together around a solu-
tion that has broad community
support.
Fortunately, Gearhart has sev-
eral viable options for locating a
fi re station. The city has higher
ground outside of the state-de-
fi ned tsunami inundation zone,
between 60 and 70 feet above sea
level, and these areas should be
considered fi rst. The largest area
outside of the tsunami inunda-
tion zone is around McMenam-
ins, sometimes called Palisades
or Highlands, at 60–70 feet above
sea level. The other is at the south
end of South Ocean Avenue. If we
have an earthquake, I’m certainly
not going to Lesley Miller Park to
ride out a potential tsunami. I am
going to the Palisades or South
Ocean Avenue, like everyone west
of 101 should. They are the high-
est places in Gearhart west of the
foothills.
The sooner residents say “no”
to a fi re station in Lesley Miller
Dunes Meadow Park, the sooner
everyone can focus on fi nding the
best site and getting the fi re sta-
tion built.
As Joni Mitchell sang in Big
Yellow Taxi: ”Don’t it always
seem to go ... That you don’t know
what you’ve got ... ‘Till it’s gone
... They paved paradise ... And put
up a parking lot.”
The park is a paradise for
many of us. Let’s forget about
destroying the park for a fi re sta-
tion, come together to fi nd the
best solution, and build some-
thing that makes Gearhart safer
and more resilient. And then, let’s
all watch one of those magnifi cent
sunsets from the park, together.
Stuart Emmons is an architect
and planner who used to have a
woodshop on the North Coast and
now comes to the coast frequently.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Jenny Frank joins
Windermere
Windermere Realty Trust
welcomed a new real estate
broker in the company’s
Gearhart offi ce.
Jenny Frank is a Cannon
Beach native and has man-
aged and sold family owned
properties in Cannon Beach,
Seaside and Gearhart for the
last 18 years.
Frank comes to Winder-
mere from Wyndham Desti-
nations, where she managed
the Seaside staff and served
her own clients. Her top
honors include president’s
club inductee; top presenter
and highest sales volume
representative.
Coast Family Law
comes to Gearhart
Coast
Family
Law,
LLC is a local, family-law
focused law fi rm is now
open at the corner of High-
way 101 and Pacifi c Waym
in Gearhart, Coast Family
Law is centrally located to
serve the needs of the sur-
rounding communities.
Contact Coast Family
Law at 503-440-7616 or
visit www.coastfamilylaw.
com.
Providence gains
new providers
Three new providers
have joined the Providence
hospital’s professional staff:
family nurse practitioners
Dianna Doyle, FNP, and
Debra White, FNP, and fam-
ily physician with obstetrics,
Jiyeon Jeon, M.D.
Doyle will see patients
at primary care clinics in
Cannon Beach, Seaside and
Warrenton.
Jeon is accepting new
patients including obstet-
rics at Providence Seaside
Clinic. For more information
or to schedule an appoint-
ment, call 503-717-7060.
White is accepting new
patients at Providence War-
renton Clinic. For more
information or to sched-
ule an appointment, call
503-717-7060.
Writers to read
essays and poems
Life on the North Coast
will be the topic of essays
and poems read by local
writers during the Writers
Read Celebration March 1 in
the Cannon Beach Library.
The event begins at 7 p.m.
The 10 writers’ resi-
dences range from Gray’s
River on the Washington
coast to Nehalem in Oregon.
powered by
music fi rst