Friday, February 21, 2020 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3
It’s offi cial: 45 properties annexed in south Seaside
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Meet your new neigh-
bors. Residents of 45 prop-
erties on the south end of
town are now offi cial resi-
dents of the city of Seaside.
The third and fi nal read-
ing of an ordinance annex-
ing their property on east
and west sides of U.S.
Highway was unanimously
adopted by City Council
on Feb. 10. The annexation
plan covers 45 properties
on Avenue U to Avenue S,
about two-thirds of those on
the east side of U.S. High-
way 101.
“We all have to work
together to get these things
done and this is a big step
forward,” Mayor Jay Bar-
ber said. “The annexation
of south Seaside is some-
thing we’ve all been pas-
sionate about because that
is the welcoming corridor
into our community.”
A separate ordinance
exemption allowing the
existing Trucke’s RV Park
to operate as it has before
annexation also received a
unanimous adoption.
Driving the adoption of
the annexation ordinance
was the city’s longtime goal
to eliminate “checkerboard
zoning,” where neighboring
parcels are served by differ-
ent governments.
Residents now under
county jurisdiction would
see an increase of about
$1.80 per thousand of their
home’s assessed value.
Police
service
for
non-emergencies
would
shift from the county sher-
iff’s offi ce to the Seaside
Police Department.
Sewer, water and other
infrastructure projects will
be considered in coming
months, Winstanley said.
Any improvements or
changes in the annexed
area, however “are things
that everyone who is
annexed will have to pay
attention to,” City Manager
Mark Winstanley said.
The
most
immedi-
ate change, City Coun-
cilor Tita Montero said,
will be a decrease in water
rates for annexed proper-
ties, as they go from out-of-
town customers to in-town
customers.
“We’re going to see
improvements in that area
as we come forward,” Bar-
ber added. “It’s going to
take time but we’ll get
there. Change is diffi cult
and it’s hard work, but it
pays off.”
City of Seaside
Area of annexation in south Seaside.
Activities director Grace Lee leaving Sunset Park and Rec District
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Grayson Lee and mom Grace Lee. Lee announced her
departure from the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation
District at the Chamber of Commerce morning meeting on
Wednesday, Feb. 12.
Grace Lee is a big reason
why “it’s easy to Seaside”
— as manager of recreation
and community programs
at Sunset Empire Park and
Recreation District, she
programs and supervises
sports leagues, fi tness pro-
grams, the farmer’s market
— even pickleball.
Lee, who came to Sea-
side in 2014 after serving
as recreation leader for the
City of Astoria Parks and
Recreation
Department,
announced plans to leave
the North Coast.
Lee will serve as special
events director with the
city of Hillsboro Parks and
Recreation
Department,
where she will help open a
new rec center.
Her takeaway from fi ve
years in Seaside?
“This was my fi rst full-
time job in park and rec,
and I got to do amazing
things,” Lee said. “Plan
awesome events, and do a
lot of new recreation activ-
ities. And all the people
who partnered with me and
made it possible — just
awesome people to work
with.”
Members sought for Sunset
Empire Park and Rec
District budget committee
Seaside Signal
The Sunset Empire Park
and Recreation District is
seeking district residents
interested in becoming a
Budget Committee mem-
ber for the 2020-21 fi scal
year. The commitment is
three hours per month
(one meet-
ing monthly)
starting in
April and
ending with
the budget
adoption
at the June
meeting.
Pick up
an appli-
cation at
the front
desk of
the pool or at https://
www.sunsetempire.com/
board. Applications must
be received by 5 p.m. on
Friday, March 6, to be
eligible.
Contact
executive
director, Skyler Archibald
at 503-738-3311, ext. 103,
or by email sarchibald@
sunsetempire.com.
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Historic photo of the Mill Ponds.
Bringing art, accessibility to Mill Ponds trails
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
On Saturday, April 18,
Seaside’s Parks Advisory
Committee will host “Art in
the Parks ... Naturally.”
The event is designed to
celebrate and raise funds for
an ADA-compliant trail in
the Seaside Mill Ponds Nat-
ural History Park.
The Mill Ponds at the
south end of Seaside origi-
nated early in the 20th cen-
tury as rock borrow pits for
construction of the Asto-
ria airport; later the ponds
became part of a lumber
planing and shingle mill
operation.
After the mill burned
down and the site’s new
owner proposed a light
industrial park at the site, the
North Coast Land Conser-
vancy began exploring the
possibility of conserving the
ponds, which are connected
to Neawanna Creek and
provide habitat for a wide
range of wildlife, including
migrating salmon.
The
conservancy
acquired the site in 1999
and began extensive wetland
restoration efforts. The Mill
Ponds are now owned by the
city of Seaside and managed
for their natural values.
According to Seaside
Park Advisory Commit-
tee’s chair Nancy Holmes,
the 30.4-acre park will be
more available to the pub-
lic through ADA-compli-
ant trails and parking area,
allowing people with dis-
abilities to access the trails
for the fi rst time. Other fea-
tures include interpretive
public art, historical and
nature interpretive signage
in a peaceful water setting.
The park is the anchor of
the Necanicum Estuary His-
tory Park, which goes from
the Mill Pond to Neawa-
nna Point at the north end of
Seaside.
In addition to a celebra-
tion at the Mill Ponds, each
of Seaside’s 12 city parks
will be open for guided
tours, maps and quizzes from
11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Neca-
nicum Watershed Council
will be at Broadway Park on
the Neawanna Creek.
Committee
members
will present speakers, an
art auction and plein air art-
ists along the proposed trail,
a barbecue and live music.
The “Plant a Tree” campaign
will be launched to combat
climate change, as the com-
mittee gives 2,020 trees that
have been donated to the
committee.
“This will be a celebra-
tion of our parks,” Holmes
v
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