Friday, July 23, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3
Cannon Beach will go to voters on food tax
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
CANNON BEACH — It
looked like the City Coun-
cil was about to pass a con-
troversial local tax on pre-
pared food — until suddenly
it didn’t.
City councilors had voted
3-2 last week in favor of
drafting an ordinance to enact
a 5% tax rather than putting
the question to voters in the
November election.
But at a special meeting
last Wednesday night, City
Councilor Brandon Ogil-
vie, who had voted in favor
of pursuing the ordinance at
a previous meeting, changed
his mind. Now, the city will
race the clock to get a tax pro-
posal ready for the Novem-
ber ballot.
The switch suits a num-
ber of restaurant, coff ee shop
and bakery owners and ser-
vice industry workers who
urged city councilors to put
the matter to a public vote, or
at least hit pause on passing
the ordinance.
City leaders estimate the
local tax would raise about
$1.7 million per year. The
city planned to split the rev-
enue with the Cannon Beach
Rural Fire Protection Dis-
trict to help with operational
costs. The city’s cut would
go toward funding a new
City Hall and police station
— to replace the aging facil-
ity with one that can function
as a center for emergency
operations.
Other Oregon cities have
passed or have considered
passing similar taxes to pay
for infrastructure.
‘There’s time’
At a meeting last week,
the City Council heard over-
whelmingly from people in
favor of the tax, who agreed
with some city leaders that
it was the best way to spread
out the costs of infrastructure
needs and emergency ser-
vices fairly between visitors
and residents.
The tax was small, they
said, and most visitors, com-
ing from places with state-
wide sales taxes, would be
unlikely to notice.
But the food service
industry rallied ahead of last
Wednesday’s special meet-
ing and there were only a few
present who spoke in favor of
the tax.
Those against it listed a
number of concerns. They
said their businesses already
exist on slim margins and
the coronavirus pandemic
took a heavy toll. Now, they
are struggling to regain their
footing and fi nd workers.
Some businesses were forced
to restrict their hours or their
capacity because they can’t
secure enough employees.
They worried that the tax
would aff ect how people
tipped staff .
With supply chain disrup-
tions and workforce issues
across a variety of indus-
tries, it has also been diffi cult
to stock the products needed
to create the goods they sell,
added Deanna Hammond,
the co-owner of Cannon
Beach Bakery.
The pandemic is far from
over and who knows how
long these other eff ects will
last, she told the City Coun-
cil. She questioned why the
tax needed to be passed now.
“There’s time,” she said,
“but this isn’t the time.”
Others worried about how
the tax would impact North
Coast residents’ ability and
interest in dining out in Can-
non Beach. The businesses
rely on locals during the off -
season, but a tax could drive
those customers elsewhere.
Some business owners
asked the City Council to
look into other ways to raise
the money. They suggested
paid parking or an increase to
the local lodging tax.
‘My vote is no’
City Manager Bruce St.
Denis said that city leaders
have looked at several options
since the prepared food tax
was fi rst discussed two years
ago. The tax emerged as the
best option in terms of the
amount raised and the fl ex-
ibility the city would have
in how it used the money,
he and City Councilor Mike
Benefi eld said.
Mayor Sam Steidel sup-
ported the tax but wanted it
to go to voters, as did City
Councilor Robin Risley.
They said it was a huge deci-
sion with the potential for
major impacts on businesses.
City Councilor Nancy
McCarthy, however, was
adamant that the decision
should be made by the City
Council. She believed it was
the council’s job to ensure
there was adequate fund-
ing for city projects and the
health and safety needs of
residents, visitors and city
employees.
The prepared food tax is
an extremely important deci-
sion, she said Wednesday.
“And it’s our decision that
we have to make,” she said.
Ogilvie was initially reluc-
tant to put the matter to vot-
ers, as well, and he believed
enacting the tax was the right
decision.
He also referenced a large
organization that he expected
would put its weight behind
trying to defeat any local
food tax proposal on the
November ballot. The Ore-
gon Restaurant and Lodg-
ing Association released a
statement following the City
Council’s last meeting saying
the proposed tax was “uncon-
scionable” at this time.
Given the association’s
likely involvement, “that, to
me, does not feel like a vote
of the community,” Ogilvie
said.
But when it came time to
vote, Ogilvie paused for a
long moment.
“I’m going to change my
vote,” he said fi nally. He
apologized to the people who
had supported him in his ear-
lier stance.
But, Ogilvie said, “I’m
going to insist that this does
go for a vote and that’s all I
have to say. My vote is ‘no.’”
Most new county virus cases involve the unvaccinated
By GRIFFIN REILLY
The Astorian
Most new coronavirus
cases in Clatsop County
involve people who are
unvaccinated
against
COVID-19, a pattern found
across Oregon and the
United States.
Of the last 11 reported
virus cases in the county
as of last Friday, nine were
unvaccinated,
accord-
ing to the Public Health
Department.
The pattern is playing out
on the North Coast as most
government restrictions to
contain the virus have been
lifted and locals and visi-
tors are engaged in summer
activities.
Mass vaccination events
in the county have ended
and the pace of vaccinations
has slowed over the past
several weeks.
“It’s going to be a very
slow, uphill climb for our
county,” said Margo Lalich,
the county’s interim public
health director. “And I don’t
know if we’ll get there.”
Clatsop County set a goal
of having 70% of the popu-
lation — 27,533 people —
vaccinated to try to achieve
herd immunity against
the virus. As of last week,
55.2% — 21,772 people —
had been fully vaccinated.
The county announced
that last Friday’s weekly
update from the vaccine
task force would be the last.
Instead, the county said it
would share vaccine updates
and related information on
the county’s website and on
social media.
Last week the Oregon
Health Authority, which
tracks county vaccination
rates among people 18 and
over, lists Clatsop County
as having 65.5% with at
least one dose of vaccine
and 60.8% as fully vacci-
nated. The rates place Clat-
sop County in the top third
of Oregon counties for
vaccinations.
As of Wednesday, the
county has recorded 1,113
virus cases, 25 hospitaliza-
tions and 10 deaths since the
pandemic began.
Despite a surge of virus
cases in late June, which
prompted the state to put the
county under caution, and
about 40 new virus cases
observed that many people
were reluctant to get vacci-
nated because they wanted
to see how others would
respond to a vaccine. Oth-
ers changed their view after
someone in their personal
circle tested positive for the
virus.
She hopes people recog-
nize that many of the health
precautions the county has
asked people to take are
not necessarily unique to
COVID-19.
“I just want to reiterate
that many of the things we
have in place for COVID
are things we have had in
place for years during fl u
season,” Lalich said. “You
stay home if you’re sick,
proper hand-washing, don’t
go to work if you’re sick.
That is not new information,
it’s just that people are pay-
ing more attention because
we have a novel virus circu-
lating in our community and
around the globe.”
The
Public
Health
Department expects virus
cases to rise as more things
return to normal. Offi cials
believe the risk of expo-
sure from new cases is as
good a reason as any to get
vaccinated.
“Even though Oregon has
opened up, many restrictions
are still in place,” Lalich
said. “Being vaccinated, we
know, can prevent infection
most of the time. If someone
does get infected, the risk
of illness or hospitalization
goes down when someone is
fully vaccinated.”
Challenge to raise funds
for the city’s Play Equip-
ment Fund. The goal was
to collect enough quar-
ters to stretch the length of
one-quarter mile. According
to Sturgell’s estimate, that
was about 17,160 quarters,
or roughly $4,290.
Sturgell’s eff orts brought
three times that, more than
$12,000. With outside dona-
tions large and small, a total
of $31,000 has been raised
so far. Mayor Paulina Cock-
rum said at last Wednes-
day’s City Council meeting.
That brings the play-
ground closer to fruition.
“We have selected a
likely vendor and have a
couple designs that I have to
review,” Cockrum said.
Costs have not been
determined.
Upon ordering, equip-
ment delivery is expected in
about eight weeks.
‘Because of the loss of
the school system we want
to get this done sooner rather
than later,” City Administra-
tor Chad Sweet said at the
meeting.
After looking at designs
and costs, the city will see
what the funding gap might
be. Construction should
begin “as soon as possible,”
he said.
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
More than 55% of Clatsop County residents have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
over the past three weeks,
the urgency to take precau-
tions has appeared to wane
since the state lifted restric-
tions at the end of June.
The county has transi-
tioned to a more targeted
approach to close in on the
vaccination goal. New out-
reach will identify smaller
communities across the
county that may be experi-
encing accessibility barri-
ers, Lalich said.
“These events are open to
the community, but we are
also meeting people where
they live in case there could
potentially be transportation
barriers or with individual
work schedule,” she said.
Lalich said her team has
NEWS NOTES
Rare to Coast,
opah found at
Sunset Beach
A large fi sh, rare to the
Oregon Coast, was found on
Sunset Beach last Wednes-
day morning. The 3.5-
foot, 100-pound opah was
reported to the Seaside
Aquarium at 8 a.m.
After seeing photo-
graphs of the unusual fi sh
they quickly responded and
recovered the fi sh. It cre-
ated quite the stir at the
Aquarium where folks were
encouraged to come take
a look at this beautiful and
odd-looking fi sh.
The fi sh will be frozen
until the school year starts.
Partnering with the Colum-
bia River Maritime Muse-
um’s educational director,
Nate Sandel, a school group
will dissect this large fi sh.
While rare this far north
it is not unheard of. Accord-
ing to The Oregonian, a
97-pound opah was caught
37 miles off of the Colum-
bia River Mouth in 2009.
Opahs can grow to over
6 feet and weigh over 600
pounds. They inhabit the
open ocean in tropical and
temperate waters where
they feed on krill and squid.
Council
proclamation
honors city
‘turning point’
“A turning point in the
civic and cultural history of
the state of Oregon,” is how
a proclamation celebrating
the 100th year of the Sea-
side Prom.
The promenade marked
Tiff any Boothe/Seaside Aquarium
A 100-pound opah was found on Sunset Beach last Wednesday morning.
a turning point in the civic
and cultural history of the
state, reads a proclamation
delivered at last Monday’s
City Council meeting, cel-
ebrating the 1.5-mile sea
wall and promenade. The
Prom plays “a vital role in
the tourism industry that
generates millions of dol-
lars for the local and state
economy.”
Mayor Jay Barber and
council members unan-
imously supported the
proclamation.
On Aug. 7, the city will
celebrate the centennial
with a parade at 10 a.m. and
a public ceremony on the
Turnaround at 1 p.m. State
Sen. Betsy Johnson is the
keynote speaker.
The proclamation was
part of a year-long celebra-
tion of the Prom Centennial,
the Sunset Empire Park and
Recreation District is host-
ing a chalk art contest on
the Seaside Promenade on
July 30. On Saturday, July
31, artists will create art on
the Seaside Promenade near
the Turnaround starting at
9 a.m., with judging and
an awards ceremony with
prizes that afternoon.
“It’s so important for us
to remember our history
and here’s a great quote that
really underscores that the
past shapes our future,” Bar-
ber said at the council meet-
ing’s close. “Whether we
realize it or not, remember-
ing well, is as important as
doing well.”
year-old Berkley Sturgell
launched a Quarter Mile
With more than
$31K in donations,
playground close
to fruition
A Gearhart girl’s dream
looks closer to reality as the
city prepares to bring a play-
ground to Pacifi c Way.
When the former Gear-
hart Elementary School was
shut down, the playground
equipment was transferred
to the new Pacifi c Ridge
Elementary School. Ten-
OREGON CAPITAL
INSIDER
Get the inside
scoop on state
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It’s getting warm outside! Cut
your risk of having painful
kidney stones this summer:
• Drink at least
2 liters of water per day
• Decrease sodium
• Eat less meat
columbiamemorial.org/urology-clinic