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
$
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