OUR 115th Year
March 18, 2022
SEASIDESIGNAL.COM
FOCUS ON HOMELESSNESS
Task
force eyes
overnight
camping
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
The city’s homeless task force
met last Wednesday to consider
updates to ordinances regard-
ing camping in Seaside, designed
to adapt to federal and state reg-
ulations regarding camping and
homelessness.
Seaside’s ordinances, like oth-
ers throughout the state, have
been struck down by the courts at
this point. Without an ordinance,
officials say they have no way to
enforce overnight camping rules
without being subject to liability.
“Unless a sheltering/housing
option is available, the city can-
not forbid use of public property,”
task force member Tita Montero
said.
Ordinance No. 2021-06 would
establish camping regulations,
definitions, and details of a tem-
porary camping program, as well
as lay out prohibited areas, penal-
ties and enforcement.
City camping programs would
permit overnight camping from
8 p.m. to 8 a.m.
Police Chief Dave Ham and
See Homeless, Page A3
Bike ban on
Ridge Path
is proposed
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
On Jan. 11, Gearhart Police
Chief Jeff Bowman reported a tree
down in Gearhart.
“Whoever cut this tree down,
had no right to do so. Their action
was self-serving and did little to
serve the community,” he wrote on
the city blog. “I am sure they think
their actions were excusable, as
this is the growing trend for crimes
being committed by citizens.”
While the perpetrator hasn’t
been caught, the cutting drove
action from the City Council to
lessen the incentive for more
cutting.
The reason the city is con-
sidering a bicycle ban, Mayor
Paulina Cockrum said, is that
recently a favorite tree on the new
north Ridge Path was cut with a
chainsaw.
“It was an arched tree you had
to duck a bit to get by,” Cockrum
said. “It was in a very special place
(to me) near the river.”
Cockrum said she had seen
bicycle tracks on the Ridge Path
the same week as a tree was cut
on the north Ridge Path. “I don’t
know who did it, but someone on
a bicycle may have. Because the
arch was right at about 5 feet tall,
it would be hard to get by on your
bicycle.”
In following up with Bowman,
See Ridge Path, Page A3
$1.00
‘A Knight Out’
Family dance
brings smiles,
laughter
By KATHERINE LACAZE
Seaside Signal
The
Sunset
Recre-
ation Center gymnasium
was aglow with smiles and
laughter Saturday evening,
as dozens of families from
the community gathered for
“A Knight Out.”
Roughly 200 people
attended the family dance,
sponsored by Runkle Con-
sulting Group and Pacific
Power, and enjoyed an array
of music, dancing, cupcakes
and crafting crowns and
tiaras to go along with the
theme.
“It was awesome to see so
many people there, having
a great time,” said Melissa
Ousley, manager of mar-
keting and special events
for the park district. “But it
didn’t feel overly crowded,
and that was probably good
since we’re coming out of a
pandemic.”
The dance is a longstand-
ing tradition of the Sunset
Empire Park and Recreation
District, although last year’s
event was canceled because
of COVID-19. In the past,
they’ve also hosted a dad-
dy-daughter dance and a
mother-son dance.
This year, they took a dif-
ferent approach to make the
event more inclusive and
accessible, recognizing “not
all families look like that,”
Ousley said. It became sim-
ply a family dance, with
children attending with par-
ents of all genders, uncles
and aunts, grandparents, and
family friends.
“Family is really how you
define it, and it’s not one
particular definition,” Ous-
ley added. “Family is fam-
ily. It’s all about having lov-
ing, supporting relationships
with children. … We wanted
to celebrate that and let peo-
ple define it for themselves.”
The shift was met with
Katherine Lacaze
Above, a dad spins his daughter around at the family dance. Below, families gather on the dance
floor.
COMING UP
The park district has two
upcoming events:
• It’s About Time: Fun All
Comer Swim Meet, 4 to
5 p.m., Friday, April 1, and
Splash-a-Thon, 10 a.m. to
2 p.m. Saturday, April 2.
This is a fundraiser for the
swim team.
• Seaside’s Free Annual
Community Egg Hunt,
10 a.m. to noon,
Saturday, April 16, at
Broadway Park.
See Dance, Page A6
Auditors: Gearhart ‘going in right direction’
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Gearhart’s financial audit
results look good, Kori Sarrett of
Accuity LLC, said at the March 2
City Council meeting.
“I’m happy to present the
results of the audit for June
30, 2021 for the council,” Sar-
rett said. “Things are much bet-
ter than they were last time we
visited, and moving in the right
direction.”
The city contracted with Accu-
ity to prepare the required annual
audit reports, required by Oregon
law.
“Overall, in their opinion, the
financial information was fairly
stated in all material respects in
relation to the basic financial
statements taken as a whole,”
City Administrator Chad Sweet
said in summarizing the report.
The general fund had a posi-
tive change of $153,000 in 2020-
21, auditors reported.
Overall, governmental funds
increased just over $200,000 for
the fiscal year.
Some of the factors for the
growth were transient room taxes,
COVID relief funds and the play-
ground equipment fundraising
efforts, City Treasurer Justine
Hill said after the meeting.
Hill was hired as treasurer in
April 2021, at the end of the fis-
cal year.
In their report, auditors found
that the city was out of compli-
ance on a purchase with a con-
crete contractor.
The city did not have three
quotes or use a competitive pro-
posal process, as specified by
procurement requirements. “It’s
black or white — you’re in com-
pliance or you’re not,” Sarrett
said.
The purchase, for about
$10,000, required the city to use
the intermediate procurement
process; however, it used the
small procurement process.
Auditors asked the city to con-
sider moving from QuickBooks
for their bookkeeping work to
other systems to match the city’s
other revenue streams.
“It eliminates some headaches
and some inefficiencies for staff
but it also gives you a better solu-
tion for accounting,” Sarrett said.
The outside collection and
reporting systems for transient
room tax should be reconciled
monthly, she said, from an internal
control and accuracy standpoint.
Sarrett expressed confidence
in the city’s financial manage-
ment. “Even though we still have
some things to note, most of
them I have no doubt we won’t
see again,” she said. “Justine gets
kudos for being very ready for
us.”
“It sounds like things are
going all in the right direction,”
Mayor Paulina Cockrum said.
“Yes, I would agree with that
statement,” Sarrett said.
Developer buys former Pizza Hut building
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
Masudur Khan and
Khan Properties added real
estate to their portfolio in
Seaside south of Broad-
way. On Feb. 26, Khan
purchased the former Pizza
Hut building for $880,000
from Pacific Coast Invest-
ment, based in Gunnison,
Colorado.
Built in 1993 as a fast-
food restaurant, the build-
ing at 470 South Roos-
evelt Drive, at 3,178 feet, is
zoned commercial on a 1/2
acre lot. Pizza Hut closed
in 2019 and the building
has been vacant since.
He said last week he
has no specific plan for the
building at this time.
In February, Khan with-
drew as a member of Sea-
side Lodging Hospital-
ity LLC, Doel Hospitality
LLC and City Center Hos-
pitality LLC, which oper-
ate the Inn at Seaside,
River Inn and the SaltLine
Hotel.
Khan will focus on new
business ventures in real
estate development and
hospitality as the founder
and CEO of Khan Proper-
ties Group.
Current projects and
ventures include the Gil-
bert Block building in Sea-
side, Bagels by the Sea,
three multifamily devel-
opments in Seaside and
the Ocean Crest Resort in
Moclips, Washington.
R.J. Marx
The former Pizza Hut at 470 South Roosevelt Drive.