A6 • Friday, May 7, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
Forum: Transparency, school purchase at issue Budget: District
Continued from Page A1
“It used to be a crown
jewel in this town and it’s
not anymore,” he said. “The
stewardship on the part
of this board of directors
toward that pool is simply
lacking.”
Jackie Evans, who is run-
ning against board mem-
ber Erika Marshall-Hamer,
agreed she was displeased
with the state of the pool,
adding the board should
“always make sure there is
pride in the staff , pride of
ownership and pride within
the membership.”
For the other three
challengers — Patrick
Duhachek, Stephen Morri-
son and Al Hernandez — a
perceived lack of transpar-
ency and fi nancial misman-
agement are the sticking
points.
Hernandez, who is run-
ning against board mem-
ber Su Coddington, claims
there are too often mistakes
or omissions in fi nancial
documents, going so far as
to suggest board members
are “hiding” something. He
also brought up concerns
about the board adding line
items during meetings and
not following parliamentary
procedure.
“My goal is to get trans-
parency,” he said. “Too
many of my questions have
gone unanswered by the
board and staff .”
In response, Bodner
explained the park dis-
trict works with the highly
respected accounting fi rm,
Kern Thompson, for its
audit, and the board mem-
bers
review
fi nancials
monthly and adhere to appli-
cable laws.
“For you to make a claim
that we’re trying to hide
something is unacceptable,
in my opinion,” she said.
Cultivating decorum
During the forum, the
incumbents provided histor-
Katherine Lacaze
Al Hernandez, Su Coddington and Celeste Tuhy Bodner at the
public forum.
ical context relevant to the
board, which over the past
few years has experienced
high turnover, sexual harass-
ment complaints against for-
mer board members, alle-
gations of mismanagement,
personal interests taking
precedence over district
goals and a lack of decorum.
“I feel like a survivor,”
said Michael Hinton, the
longest sitting board mem-
ber, who is being challenged
by Duhachek.
When two board mem-
bers resigned last year and
Bodner and Marshall-Hamer
were appointed, the new
group “committed our-
selves to better self-gover-
nance,” Bodner said. They
adopted four main values:
teamwork, diverse program-
ming, a bold vision and fi s-
cal responsibility.
Part of that vision
included purchasing the old
middle school building from
the Seaside School District
this year for $2.15 million.
Evans said she believes
the purchase was “well-in-
tentioned,” but during her
campaign, she said she has
heard from residents who
are upset by the decision.
The building, which is being
used for some of the dis-
trict’s youth programs, will
need extensive work.
“I would like to see that
building be something that
is useful for our commu-
nity, but I have some great
concerns about how you’re
going to recoup those costs
and off set them,” Evans
said.
Morrison, who is chal-
lenging
board
mem-
ber Katharine Parker, also
expressed concern about the
cost to taxpayers and a lack
of information surrounding
the acquisition.
“There should be a huge
amount of openness,” he
said. “There shouldn’t any
rumors out there about
what’s going to happen
with this new building. That
should all be addressed
now.”
Huismann
doesn’t
believe the building should
be occupied at all without
certifi cation from an engi-
neering fi rm because of
issues with asbestos, lead
and black mold.
According to the incum-
bents, children are only in
the part of the building con-
structed in the 1990s, after
asbestos and lead paint were
banned in Oregon, and they
acquired the proper per-
mits from the city and Clat-
sop County to occupy the
space. In areas where there
is asbestos, they said, it is
contained.
Additionally, they said
the park district won’t raise
taxes to cover the purchase
or cost of repairs, inspec-
tions and consultation,
as they secured a type of
fi nancing available to spe-
cial districts that was previ-
ously used for construction
of the warm-water pool.
“We felt we could very
easily justify using that type
of fi nancing again to support
the middle school,” Parker
said.
Marshall-Hamer added
that it’s “important right
now to stay positive, to
come together and to actu-
ally have a solution rather
than continuing to talk about
all the problems without
doing something about it.
“Let’s be bold as a com-
munity, let’s go to the next
level,” she said.
Financial concerns
In Duhachek’s opin-
ion, park district decisions
should not be made in a
vacuum but with consider-
ation for the community as
a whole. For example, he
said taxpayers are already
paying “a hefty price” for
the new school campus.
He claims the park district
doesn’t manage funds prop-
erly, referring to the district
having a surplus that has sig-
nifi cantly declined.
“Even when they have a
surplus of funds, they con-
tinue to whittle them away,”
he said.
He also took issue with
some staff members seeing
a substantial salary increase
over four years.
Marshall-Hamer
responded that stating num-
bers without providing con-
text was misleading and
shortsighted. The salary
increase, for example, is a
refl ection of making adjust-
ments according to the mar-
ket and what is equitable.
“The public needs to
not just take those numbers
at face value, but to ask us
questions,” she said.
Hernandez: Win could lead to board vacancy
Continued from Page A1
of votes will be mailed to
each district, showing the
results for each position
that was on the ballots.
The park district would
then verify receipt of
the abstract of votes and
determine that “those per-
sons having received the
highest number of votes
are qualified to hold the
office.”
Any exceptions would
be noted by the park dis-
trict, she said. “This is
where you would indicate
any candidate that had the
highest number of votes
does not meet the require-
ment to hold the position
for your district.”
If Hernandez was the
higher Position 1 vote-get-
ter but determined to reside
outside of the district, the
position would become
vacant as of July 1.
“Your board can then
proceed with the pro-
cess of appointing some-
one to fill this vacant posi-
tion,” Holcom said. “This
position that is filled by
appointment would be a
two-year unexpired term
position, and be on the bal-
lot again in May 2023 reg-
ular district election.”
An appeal process is
limited to only those who
are
district
residents,
according to Holcom.
Last week, Hernandez
said he did not know how
or where the record of his
permanent place of resi-
dence changed. He said
he was in the process of
working to correct records
to reflect the reality of his
permanent residence.
At the meeting, he
asked that any decision
on his residency be taken
after the election.
“I feel the current board
has a conflict on this issue
and should recuse itself
from making any decision
on this matter, but rather
table the matter until after
the election, and let the
new board make any deci-
sion that may be.”
Continued from Page A1
The total assessed valu-
ation of the park district —
the sum of all taxable prop-
erties — is nearly $2 billion,
a 2.4% increase from 2020-
21. The permanent tax rate
for the district is 92 cents per
$1,000 of assessed property
value. Of the entire budget,
the district generates about
22% through user fees.
The bulk of the dis-
trict’s revenue is generated
by property taxes of $1.8
million, with the remain-
der derived from timber tax,
donations, program fees,
and facility rentals.
Expenditures of $2.7
million are divided into
administration, aquatics, the
Bob Chisholm Community
Center, recreation, special
events, youth center and
maintenance.
Other
expenses
include $120,000 of cap-
ital improvement funds,
$16,400 Broadway Field
fund and the Sunset Rec-
reation Center capital
improvement fund, bud-
geted at $125,400.
The district added three
positions: director of oper-
ations, director of facilities
and maintenance and direc-
tor of programs, fi lled by
Darren Gooch, Levi Con-
ner and Justin Smith. Each
reports to the executive
director.
District staff includes
nine full-time and 55 part-
time staff . The district has
seen rising costs for payroll
and labor since 2016, when
the minimum wage rose
annually to $12.75 per hour
this year and $13.50 in fi s-
cal year 2022.
The largest department
expense, aquatics, is bud-
geted at $614,000, up from
last year’s coronavirus pan-
demic level of $507,000
but down from a high of
$966,000 in 2017-18.
Overall, the administra-
tion budget represents a 1
.3% decrease in budgeted
personnel expense and a
13.9% overall decrease in
budgeted total expense.
Among administrative
personnel, the district will
see a 1.3% decrease and
13.9% decrease in total
expenses.
The senior meal site
program served more than
21,000 meals last year,
about 18% more meals
served over the course of
the previous year.
Revenues are up for
youth programs, partic-
ularly learning ladder
and preschool education
programs.
The Sunset Recreation
Fund, at about $421,000,
includes expected revenue
from facility rental, general
fund transfers and account-
ing for a strategic building
consultant under contract
services.
Future recreation cen-
ter costs remain to be deter-
mined. “Staff is anticipat-
ing the high probability
of another supplemental
budget, depending on
the outcome of the con-
sulting processes, public
input, and direction from
elected offi cials,” said Sky-
ler Archibald, the park dis-
trict’s executive director.
With restrictions in
place in 2020 as a result
of the pandemic, the dis-
trict shifted some events to
a virtual format. The dis-
trict anticipates revenue
for leagues and fi tness pro-
grams to return, includ-
ing pickleball and indoor
soccer.
The Seaside Farm-
ers Market, budgeted at
$15,000 was one event
that was able to occur with
almost no interruption. The
market continues to grow,
with more than 30 vendors
and more than 650 attend-
ees weekly.
An additional commit-
tee meeting will take place
on Tuesday, with board
approval of the budget
expected later this month.
The budget is scheduled for
adoption in late June.
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Est Fast
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NOTICE OF BUDGET
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SOLICITATION FOR BIDS
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qualified firms to provide
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will be at Seaside Civic & Con-
vention Center, 415 1st Ave,
Seaside, OR. The meeting will
take place on May 12, 2021 at
10:00 am. The purpose of the
meeting is to receive the bud-
get message and to receive
comment from the public on
the budget. This is public
meeting where deliberation
of the Budget Committee will
take place. Any person may
appear at the meeting and
discuss the proposed pro-
grams with the Budget Com-
mittee. A copy of the budget
document may be inspected
or obtained on or after May
3rd, 2021 at 610 18th St, Asto-
ria, OR, between the hours of
9:00 am and 5:00 pm.
Published: The Astorian
May 4 & 6, 2021 and the
Seaside Signal May 7, 2021.
anticipates revenue
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