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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2020)
Friday, August 21, 2020 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3 Foreclosure could complicate school sale By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal One tax lot for sale at the former Seaside High School campus may not actually be the school district’s to sell. Lot 4900, a parcel included in the marketing package for the sale of the high school, is owned by Clatsop County, the county’s property manage- ment specialist, Sirpa Duoos, said earlier this month. “There’s a confl ict with how the school district has been handling that piece through their marketing of the rest of the property,” Duoos said. Tax lot 4900 was originally deeded to the Seaside School District by its owners, Leonard and Eleanor Kiser, in 1956. But when the school district failed to pay property taxes on the 0.82-acre property, the county foreclosed in 1961. The county retains own- ership, even as the parcel is included in the school’s sales packet. The disclosure comes after the school district’s board of directors authorized the super- intendent to negotiate and exe- cute a $3.2 million contract for the sale with Harry Henke, a registered agent of HTA Prop- erties LLC. When the former high school property is sold, almost 8 acres used as ballfi elds at the north end of the high school campus will also revert to the city. Referred to as “the north 40,” the property, zoned medium residential, is not included in the school district sale. “Staff has been informed the city of Seaside is inter- ested in these properties to use as recreational fi elds,” Duoos said. While other school proper- ties for sale have no reversion- ary clauses, there’s “no con- fl ict there,” Duoos said. “But we do have to fi gure out how to resolve tax lot 4900.” Commissioner Lianne Thompson, who represents District 5, leaned to turning tax lot 4900 over to the city for park space. “It makes sense we allow them to use it for recreational purposes and still have the reversionary clause, so that we have both fl exibility and accountability to happen in a humane way and a sane way,” Thompson said. Commissioner Sarah Nebeker, who represents Dis- trict 4, agreed that recre- ational use is benefi cial for the community, but added the county should seek some compensation. The land could be sold for public auction, Duoos said in her summary to commissioners. “Most of all I’d like to hear from the school district and the city of Seaside,” Pamela Wev, county commission chair- woman, said. “I’d like to hear what their wants would be from this.” City eyes role in elementary school future By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal As Gearhart Elemen- tary School moves closer to sale, city offi cials are seek- ing ways to retain portions of the land for playground and athletic fi eld space. Mayor Matt Brown said he and City Administrator Chad Sweet met with with Robert Morey, a potential owner of the property, to discuss a possible role for the city if the transaction takes place. That could involve a zoning change for a portion of the property and use of the park space, soccer and baseball fi elds for the city, Sweet said at the August City Council meeting. “They want to do a proj- ect at the site knowing that it’s going to be diffi cult to go through zoning that will benefi t both the community and maybe get a little bit of this person’s money back out,” Sweet said. If Morey does purchase the former school, the city could partner after the pur- chase helping to maintain the park space, the soc- cer fi elds and the baseball fi elds. “Matt and I thought that was pretty interesting,” Sweet said. Gearhart Elementary School sits on 8 1/2 acres with almost 32,000 square feet of building space. S tu- dents will move to the new Pacifi c Ridge school in Seaside. Seaside Signal Gearhart Elementary School in July. Originally listed at $1.9 million, the dis- trict lowered the price to $1.2 million earlier this year before authoriz- ing the sale to Morey at $750,000. Designated public-/ semi-public, zoning code limits uses to a gov- ernment facility, com- munity meeting build- ing, public service use or educational purposes. The property is not zoned for residential or commercial use, which would require a zone change. Maintenance of the fi elds would require “simple maintenance one or two days work a month for our staff, Sweet said. “We can pretty well maintain that for the pub- lic until we can as a com- munity fi gure out what Landmark outdoors law will boost Arch Cape water project By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Astorian Local efforts to conserve the Arch Cape watershed received a crucial boost this week from the Great Amer- ican Outdoors Act. The landmark measure, signed into law Aug. 4 by President Donald Trump, gained bipartisan support and will put funds toward deferred maintenance at national parks and other projects in Oregon and across the United States. The Arch Cape Water District is set to receive $1 million this year and — with the law fully and perma- nently funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund — appears to be on solid foot- ing for a request for $2.5 million next year. Phil Chick, the dis- trict manager, estimates it will cost around $5.5 mil- lion to purchase 1,521 acres of commercial timberland around the source of Arch Cape’s drinking water. But the news was huge. “This was the whole proj- ect,” Chick said. “I don’t think there’s a whole lot that’s in our way for doing it now. … It defi nitely opens up the door for optimism.” The Great American Out- doors Act is the most signif- icant investment in decades for national parks and pub- lic lands, according to Ore- gon Outdoors, an advocacy coalition representing the outdoor recreation indus- try, nonprofi t recreation groups and conservation organizations. The Arch Cape Water District is in a due diligence period with property owner the best project,” he added. “By community, I mean the Planning Commission, City Council, the buyer and city staff. Insurance is covered, and I think that would work out really well.” Whether a deal would include the playground equipment is unclear. Coun- cilor Dan Jesse said moving the equipment would likely be “cost prohibitive” for the school district. “I think they’ll leave it,” Jesse said. “I think we should consider that before we offer to pay anything for it.” BUSINESS Directory FLOORING CCB# 205283 Luxury vinyl planks and tile. you walk on our reputation Flooring Installation 3470 Hwy 101 Suite 102 • Gearhart, Oregon 503.739.7577 • carpetcornergearhart.com FLOORING Randall Lee’s 0% FINANCING AVAILABLE Window Treatments, Fabric, Designer Wallpaper, Counter Tops, All Flooring and Miele Vacuums Visit Our Outlet! Randall Lee’s Seaside • 2311 N. Roosevelt Dr. • 503-738-5729 rlflooring@yahoo.com • www.RandallLeesFlooring.com Randall Lee’s Flooring Outlet • 3579 Hwy 101 Gearhart • 503-738-6756 Warehouse pricing • Open to the Public • Hundreds of instock rolls & remnants • In House Binding CONSTRUCTION B oB M c E wan c onstruction , inc . E xcavation • u ndErground u tiitiEs r oad w ork • F ill M atErial s itE P rEParation • r ock owned and operated by M ike and C eline M C e wan 503-738-3569 34154 Hwy 26, Seaside, OR P.O. Box 2845, Gearhart, OR S erving the p aCifiC n orthweSt S inCe 1956 • CC48302 LANDSCAPING YAR D D E B R I S D R O P -O F F Colin Murphey/The Astorian A stream helps feed the Arch Cape watershed. Onion Peak LLC to pur- chase the acreage by 2023, but they do not have a pur- chase price yet. The information the water district is collecting now all seems to be pointing to go, Chick said. Like many coastal com- munities, Arch Cape does not have full control of its watershed and residents have worried about how to ensure water quality long term while commercial log- ging is still a possibility on the land. The Arch Cape Water District oversees 290 water connections. The water district hopes to create a community for- est on the acreage, managing the forest for both social and ecological benefi ts. The property the district hopes to purchase would tie into an additional 3,500 acres the North Coast Land Conservancy is in the pro- cess of acquiring for its $10 million Rainforest Reserve project. That project also received signifi cant funding this year in the form of a $2.1 million Oregon Watershed Enhance- ment Board grant. This year has highlighted another need besides water quality, Chick noted. When much of the state shut down in the spring to slow the spread of the coro- navirus, outdoor recre- ational options were lim- ited in the southern portions of the North Coast. Large state parks like Oswald West, Ecola and Nehalem and other state lands closed, restricting access to beaches and forests. The proposed community forest property was one of the few places people could go, Chick said. “It’s a really vital recre- ation area for people from all over,” he said. ( no S cot ch B room) • Laurelwood Compost • Soil Amendments • Planting MacMix • Mulch 503-717-1454 34154 HIGHWAY 26 SEASIDE, OR Laurelwood Far m TIRES/WHEELS DEL’S O.K. TIRE YOUR #1 SOURCE FOR TIRES After 44 years, we are closing our doors Sale starting August 24th 172 N Hemlock St., #4, Cannon Beach We ask quietly. 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