Friday, June 5, 2020 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3
Falcon Cove
Water District
to extend
moratorium
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
When the Falcon Cove
Beach Water District board
voted to extend a morato-
rium for another six months
in December, they said they
believed it would be the last
time.
But Charles Dice, the
water district’s system oper-
ator, told property owners
during a May teleconference
that the moratorium would be
extended again.
The water district declared
an emergency in Decem-
ber 2018 after reporting that
water production had been
at record low levels for the
past several years during late
summer months. The board
attributed the water shortage
to increased use at vacation
rentals.
Property owners who
want to build in Cove Beach
and Falcon Cove, an unin-
corporated area on the bor-
der of Clatsop and Tillamook
counties, have been limited in
their ability to obtain build-
ing permits because of the
moratorium.
Separate investigations
The board’s actions have
drawn criticism about trans-
parency and possible ulte-
rior motives to limit devel-
opment. Some property
owners have conducted their
own investigations, which
have contradicted the board’s
fi ndings.
Guido Paparoni, a geolo-
gist, and his wife, Margaret
Rozendaal, a climate scien-
tist, own a lot in Cove Beach
and spent months analyzing
data obtained through pub-
lic records requests. They
came to the conclusion that
there is no drought or water
shortage in the late summer
months. David Livermore, a
hydrogeologist and longtime
homeowner in Cove Beach,
came to the same conclu-
sions. They shared their fi nd-
ings with the water district
and Clatsop County last year.
Dice walked back claims
of a water shortage in Decem-
ber after he said the water dis-
trict discovered an obstruc-
tion in its well that led to false
data. He said he felt confi dent
another extension of the mor-
atorium would not be needed.
But Dice told property
owners that the water district
is waiting on a water rights
permit from the state for the
well, which is why the board
is extending the moratorium
for another six months.
“As soon as we have fi nal
approval, then as the board
has discussed, we will take
the risk, sort to speak, and lift
the moratorium even before
we have fi nished the con-
struction of the integration
with well No. 1,” Dice said.
“That’s our intent.”
But Paparoni and oth-
ers told the board in May
that they emailed the Ore-
gon Water Resources Depart-
ment and found that no per-
mit application process is
needed because the water dis-
trict qualifi es for exempt use.
Clatsop County Commis-
sioner Lianne Thompson,
who represents most of South
County and lives in Cove
Beach, told the water district
board during a public hearing
Saturday that the purpose of
the board is to deliver water.
“To the extent that it strays
beyond that — speaking
hypothetically, of course —
into areas such as constrain-
ing growth, that is beyond the
scope of the legal authority of
the water board,” she said.
“Working with my expe-
rience and listening to the
myriad of phone calls and
emails — please, I have so
many during the past months
and years — I would say
that this district is at risk for
lawsuits because people see
illegal taking of their prop-
erty rights. I also have heard
the risk of ethics complaints
with the Oregon Ethics Com-
mission, but most of all I
have seen exacerbating con-
fl ict between neighbors. To
the extent that we are liv-
ing together here as neigh-
bors, I beg you, I plead with
you, look for ways to listen to
others.”
‘Appropriate data’
Residents and property
owners also spoke out against
the board’s plan to install a
second well. The water dis-
trict has identifi ed a subdivi-
sion called Cove Creek as a
location for a second well.
Jim Caldwell, who lives in
Cove Creek, asked the board
to consider delaying spend-
ing money on studies for a
second well.
“From what I know of
the other folks here, I think
there’s pretty much consen-
sus that we’re not interested
in pushing forward with that
until we have good evidence
and the water is actually
needed,” he said.
“I think the main ques-
tion that arises for many of
us here and in Cove Creek
is that, you know, this report
that Guido Paparoni and
Margaret Rozendaal have
submitted in the past to the
board has not really, as far as
we can tell, been addressed,”
he said.
Krista Shipsey, who
also lives in Cove Creek,
told the board she wants to
understand the discrepan-
cies between Paparoni and
Rozendaal’s fi ndings and
the water district’s fi ndings,
especially since the morato-
rium is driving the district’s
budget.
“And what I’m asking for
is an opportunity to really ask
questions regarding kind of
both datasets, because I think
in order to justify the mora-
torium and everything that
goes toward that in terms of
the budget, there needs to be
appropriate data and there
needs to be the ability to
question that,” she said.
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Masudur Khan stands outside one of his hotels, the River Inn at Seaside, which features signs at the entrance about hand
sanitizing stations and social distancing.
Hoteliers feel ready to salvage summer
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
Masudur Khan, who
runs several hotels in Sea-
side and Cannon Beach
with his wife, Taslema
Sultana, was eager to show
off the sanitation and other
safety protocols he has
installed at the River Inn
at Seaside to prevent the
spread of the coronavirus.
He was even more
eager to welcome back
the hotel’s staff, which has
been training in advance of
reopening last week.
Regional hoteliers like
Khan are scrambling to put
in place stringent safety
measures
to
reassure
guests, avoid contribut-
ing to an outbreak and sal-
vage an increasingly tenu-
ous tourist season.
South County lead-
ers, their economies heav-
ily dependent on lodg-
ing and tourism, departed
from their peers in Astoria,
Warrenton and Gearhart,
who with Clatsop County
waited to reopen lodging
at 60% capacity starting
Friday.
At the River Inn, Khan
has installed hand-sanitiz-
ing stations throughout the
property, sourced masks
for his employees, started
taking temperatures and
installed plexiglass barri-
ers in the lobby.
Cleaning staff have
trained on increased san-
itation practices for all
high-touch areas, down to
bagging remote controls
in plastic to ensure guests
they are sterilized.
The hotel has instituted
check-in systems to con-
trol and track the usage of
The Federal Trade Com-
mission has issued a warn-
ing about a text messaging
scam involving people pos-
ing as government coronavi-
rus contact tracers.
Clatsop County is urg-
ing people to use caution and
not click on any links in a
text message about contact
tracing. Clicking on the link
downloads software onto the
phone that allows scammers
access to personal and fi nan-
cial information.
Offi cials say legitimate
text messages from a health
department say that a call
will be coming from a spe-
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
A Seaside man is seek-
ing more than $1.1 mil-
lion for negligence after
being seriously injured in
a crash in December.
Justin Powell was
walking across 12th Ave-
nue and N. Holladay
Drive in Seaside when he
was allegedly struck by a
vehicle driven by Erick
cifi c number. The contact
tracer will not ask for money
or any personal informa-
tion like a Social Security or
credit card number.
People who are unsure
if a text message is legit-
imate should call the
Clatsop
County
Pub-
lic Health Department at
503-325-8500.
Fre
e
Est Fast
ima
tes
Call me
ti
Any
Jeff Hale Painting
•
•
•
•
Residential
Commercial
Cedar Roof Treatments
Exterior Repaint Specialist
Over 25 years local experience
503-440-2169
everything from the gym
and fi re pits to bike rent-
als, all sanitized between
every use.
Khan and his staff
acknowledge the unpre-
dictability of guests, who
can come from anywhere
and with any health issues.
Sherry McCroskey, the
general manager at the
River Inn, said it’s one of
her husband’s biggest fears
for her as guests return.
“We’re approaching the
training as if you have to
assume every guest could
be carrying it,” she said
of the virus. “So you have
to do everything you’re
supposed to do to protect
yourself.”
Khan and Sultana have
phased in the reopening
of their properties. They
started May 26 with the
smaller, 11-room historic
Gilbert Inn and moved on
to larger properties May
28 . Sultana’s properties in
Cannon Beach reopened
May 29.
Khan and his investors
are also trying to open the
65-room boutique Saltline
Hotel, under construction
on Downing Street in Sea-
side, by the end of June.
Khan
and
Sultana
believe hoteliers have a
clear incentive to do their
utmost to protect employ-
ees and guests from
spreading the virus.
“It’s for everyone’s ben-
efi t,” Sultana said. “If it
doesn’t work, then every-
body loses, right? People
cannot come to the beach,
and we cannot run the
business.”
Greg Staneruck, a
regional membership rep-
resentative for the Ore-
gon Restaurant & Lodg-
ing Association, said the
industry has coalesced
around a unifi ed set of
best practices put out
by the American Hotel
& Lodging Association
that go beyond Brown’s
recommendations.
“Of course they want
people there, but they
don’t want to go back-
wards either,” Staneruck
said. “So they are laser-fo-
cused on keeping every-
body safe, and they will do
what they have to do.”
Hoteliers have been
Seaside man seeking $1.1M for negligence
County warns of contact tracing scam
The Astorian
Masudur Khan
Employees of hotelier Masudur Khan in Seaside have been
training on enhanced sanitation procedures in advance of
reopening.
frustrated by the govern-
ment’s lack of confi dence
in their ability to operate
safely, Staneruck said, and
by the opening of beaches,
drawing in tourists anyway
while not providing them a
safe place to stay.
Despite the industry’s
concerted effort to be
safe, worries persist about
how hoteliers can gov-
ern the behavior of trav-
elers potentially coming
from more infected areas
or fl aunting social distanc-
ing rules.
The U.S. has experi-
enced a spike in cases as
most states have started
easing travel, business
and other restrictions
meant to stem the spread
of the virus. Crowds could
already be seen on Sea-
side’s busy Broadway last
week, most of them not
wearing masks recom-
mended to help protect
others.
Khan is offering his
guests disposable masks
but not requiring them. He
feels confi dent that guests
will be more cautious after
seeing all his employees
are doing to be safer.
He sees little choice
in hotels reopening, with
government
assistance
only lasting so long and
much of the region’s econ-
omy dependent on the
summer months. He has
already dropped his rates
up to 25% compared to last
year and expects a slower
summer altogether.
“It’s going to be a chal-
lenge, but we have to fi g-
ure it out how we can go
through this year,” he said.
“Survival for this year,
and get ready for the next
year.”
Jeff Hale,
Contractor
LICENSED
BONDED
INSURED
CCB#179131
Yetzael Mendez Lopez.
Powell was struck at a
high rate of speed, which
threw his body over the hood
of the vehicle, according to
a court fi ling. He suffered
numerous fractures, a lacer-
ation, a concussion and other
injuries that have required
surgeries.
Mendez Lopez, 23, of
Seaside, was arrested and
later charged with assault in
the second degree, failure to
perform the duties of a driver
to injured persons, driving
under the infl uence of intox-
icants, failure to perform
the duties of a driver with
property damage, recklessly
endangering another person
and reckless driving.
The lawsuit also accuses
Naked Wines of negligence
for allegedly serving Men-
dez Lopez alcohol prior to
the crash while he was visi-
bly intoxicated.
Powell’s
attorney
declined to comment.
Mendez Lopez’s attorney
and Naked Wines could not
be reached for comment.
Ruby Q
2020
You are a Rock Star!
(also pretty good with paper & scissors)
conGRADulations!