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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2022)
OUR 115th Year February 18, 2022 $1.00 SEASIDESIGNAL.COM Site set for emergency operations center Building located above high school and middle school campus By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal The city will debut an alternate emer- gency operations center in the southeast hills above the new high school and mid- dle school campus. The building, a trailer above the new high school and middle school, is adjacent to the city’s new 2-million-gallon water tank. The center will provide a single loca- tion where city staff and stakeholders — the Clatsop County Sheriff ’s Offi ce, the Oregon Department of Transportation— can help support an incident. The city’s primary emergency opera- tions center in the police station has the advantage of having police and dispatch in one location near the downtown core, City Hall and public works. “But we know that it’s not going to withstand the earthquake and the tsu- nami,” Anne McBride, the city’s emer- gency preparedness coordinator said. “If there was an incident in the downtown core, you’d have to have someplace else to go and deal with the emergency.” A modular building used to house staff during the remodel of the Seaside Civic and Convention Center became available after renovations were complete. Public Works Director Dale McDow- ell proposed building a foundation and Soft ball solution? School district needs to create more equity By KATHERINE LACAZE For Seaside Signal The Seaside High School softball fi elds could be relo- cated to a new location. After evaluating four potential sites for the Sea- side School District’s new softball complex, the proj- ect team has recommended the fi elds off Wahanna Road with signifi cant upgrades. The school district has until June 2023 to build the facility and provide more equity between girls and boys athletics. Going forward, design eff orts will primarily focus on the Wahanna site, keeping the other sites open for dis- cussions as alternative sites if design issues arise at Wah- anna, according to project manager Brian Hardebeck of DAY CPM. Hardebeck was joined by Josh Modin, with ZCS Engi- neering and Architecture, to present the fi eld recommen- dation to the school board at Task force mulls aff ordable home options By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal Are lenders still “bullish” on Seaside real estate? Yes, said Tara Jarrett, branch manager of Seaside’s U.S. Bank. “I’ve done a lot of refi nancing and lending to the local com- munity which has been a lot of fun,” she said. “I’m always just super excited to save people money and get them out of debt, so that’s what drives me.” Jarrett’s visit to the Seaside Housing Task Force, a committee chaired by City Councilor Steve Wright, came as the city wrestled with an array of concerns, from vacation rental dwelling regulations to shelter for the homeless. Residential housing is “very strong‚” in Seaside, she said. Lenders “love apartment complexes,” she said. “Anything over a fourplex is commercial. And so that is something that they are heavily looking into and want to lend on.” Lending for hotels is tighter, Jarrett said, largely because of the pandemic. “It depends on the deal and where we are and how it fi ts,” Jarrett said. Lending for restaurants, especially equipment fi nancing, is also strong. Committee member Erin Barker, a property manager, suggested creating a link between city resources and banks to See Housing, Page A6 their January meeting. Over the past several weeks, the project team, along with school district staff , reviewed four potential sites for the new fi eld: on the hill by the new campus; on the city’s property north of the old high school, referred to as the North 40; at Broad- way Field; and the Wahanna location, which is owned in part by the school district and by the Union Health District. Providence Seaside Hospi- tal leases the land from the health district. Taking into consideration development costs, property ownership and other factors, the project team believes upgrading the fi eld at Wah- anna is the best solution — particularly with the June 15, 2023 deadline looming per the school district’s reso- lution with the U.S. Depart- ment of Education’s Offi ce See Fields, Page A5 Chamber honors top businesses By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal See Center, Page A6 Taking Seaside housing to the bank R.J. Marx Wahanna Fields in Seaside. More than 100 audience members showed their sup- port for local businesses at “Once Upon a Time ... Sea- side Annual Awards and Auction, with food, drinks, awards, silent auction and raffl es, as the chamber’s big night returned live last Thurs- day after a year’s hiatus to the Best Western Plus Oceanfront Resort in Seaside. “I’m just excited about the turnout,” Owen said at the eve- ning’s start. “This has been a wonderful experience.” While the room was fi lled to less than capacity because of social distancing, the show sold out in three days, he said. “People really want to come and celebrate Seaside. I’m really excited to see the energy that our community continues to have.” Notables in the room included Mayor Jay Barber, city councilors Steve Wright and Tita Montero, Seaside Civic and Convention Cen- ter general manager Russ Van- denberg, Seaside Fire Chief Joey Daniels and City Manager Mark Winstanley. The chamber represents local businesses and presents the Seaside Beach Vol- leyball Tournament, the Hood to Coast Relay, Fourth of July fi reworks, the Parade of Lights and Pouring at the Coast, among an array of events. Rachelle Minoza and sales manager Jennifer Blecha accepted retailer of the year for their Broadway business, C&R Mercantile. “I do want to thank the Sea- side community,” Minoza said. R.J. Marx See Chamber, Page A6 Robin Knoll tears up as he receives the Byron Award for community service. Pacifi c Way owners to lease restaurant, bakery spaces By R.J. MARX Seaside Signal A lucky few stopped by Valentine’s Day for the choc- olate-dipped shortbread cook- ies. Others set clocks for early mornings on the week- end to get there in time for the chicken pot pie and veggie tart. For those who waited in lines for favorites like apple turn- overs, raisin snails or choco- late croissants, it was always worth it. This week, Pacifi c Way Bakery and Cafe owners Lisa and John Allen announced they will be leasing the iconic bak- ery to Jennifer and Alan Arora of Lake Oswego. “We are beyond ecstatic R.J. Marx that we have found a wonder- John Allen announced his former ful couple to take on the Pacifi c restaurant and bakery will be Way Bakery and Cafe,” Lisa leased to Jennifer and Alan Arora. Allen posted on Instagram. “Join us in giving them a warm welcome.” The Allens opened at the corner of Cottage and Pacifi c Way in Gearhart in the late 1980s, and the restaurant gained favor with locals, vis- itors and foodies from all over, gaining glowing reviews from leading food and wine publications. The bakery, with its signa- ture items designed and pre- pared by Lisa Allen, became a social headquarters for locals, with visitors and regulars alike engaged in conversation and issues of the day. At the start of the pandemic, the restaurant closed, but the Allens reopened the bakery, and with only themselves as staff , found success as a bakery and micro-market. They have been in nego- tiations with the Aroras for about six months, John Allen said. “He fi rst approached me last summer, so we’ve been working on it slowly and qui- etly here. It all fi nally came together a couple of weeks ago. As far as I know, he’s plan- ning on reopening the bakery immediately, or fairly immedi- ately, and then also getting the restaurant back up and running too.” The Allens will operate the bakery this weekend, then plan on assisting the family with the reopening. “Then I plan to relax after 35 years of being on call, 24/7, 365 days a year,” John Allen said. Lisa Allen will hang up her apron for good on Mon- day afternoon, her husband said. “I don’t know what she’s going to be up to, but for now we’re going to try to fi gure out what it’s like not to work 70, 80 hours a week.” Feb 19th & 20th Saturday: 9 am- 3 pm ◆ Sunday: 10 am- 3 pm Seaside Convention Center You Never Know What You’ll Find At A Collectors West Gun & Knife Show! 415 1st Avenue, Seaside collectorswest.com $ ADM 8 ISSIO N