Friday, May 6, 2022 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A7
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Continued from Page A6
adequate tools to perform
their life-saving duties. The
location of that facility and
equipment must be in an
area that is secure in order to
keep us all safe and revive
the community in the event
of a disaster.
The current station isn’t
going away. Its nostalgia and
place in the community will
remain. There’s a unique
opportunity to make its
function diff erent, but mean-
ingful to the community it
has served so well for 60
years. It has done its job. It’s
time for the Gearhart Volun-
teer Fire Department to have
access to 21st century facili-
ties on high ground. Vote yes
on Measure 4-213.
Lisa Cerveny
Gearhart
Highlands
fi rehouse site
raises red fl ag
The city of Gearhart’s
plan to amend their urban
growth boundary to allow
the construction of a new
fi re station and subdivi-
sion on the Highlands site
raises a red fl ag. The Clat-
sop County zone designation
of rural agriculture-2 acre
lot minimum size cannot be
changed. Oregon’s land-use
laws protect agricultural and
forest lands.
For starters, an urban
growth boundary amend-
ment is a very lengthy pro-
cess, involving a study to
determine the city’s future
development needs. Only
residential and industrial
land are considered build-
able, whereas agricultural
land is not.
The County Comprehen-
sive Plan states that rural
agricultural lands are to be
preserved. Residential, com-
mercial and industrial devel-
opment shall be directed
away from these areas des-
ignated forest lands, rural
agricultural lands, conser-
vation and natural. The plan
prohibits increases in res-
idential densities through
zone changes and density
transfers.
The land swap idea dis-
cussed in Gearhart is another
violation of land-use laws.
Rule 660-024-0070, urban
growth boundary adjust-
ments specifi es the same res-
idential uses and at the same
housing density as the land
removed from the urban
growth boundary. Agricul-
tural land is not covered
under this rule.
The more I studied the
fi re station $14.5 million
bond measure, it was appar-
ent that our Gearhart city
offi cials do not know what
they are doing. Please vote
no.
Deanna Mancill
Gearhart
Delays only
increase
fi rehouse cost
We have more than
enough factual data to base
our vote on Measure 4-213.
The impact of delay is fi s-
cal irresponsibility. Review
the project budget work-
sheet on the city of Gearhart
website. As you can see time
is money. Cost estimates
between August 2021 to
January 2022 have increased
between 7% and 9%. What
does this tell us? Time is
money.
Gearhart is incredi-
bly fortunate to have its
dunes. The State of Ore-
gon Department of Geol-
ogy and Mineral Industries
has done a thorough Map
of Earthquake and Tsu-
nami Damage Potential for
the entire State. So please,
since our tax dollars funded
their research and they are
experts, I will defer to them
www.Oregon.gov. Please
note, the Highlands loca-
tion is outside of all tsunami
levels S thru XXL. It also
important to note that Gear-
hart implemented Ordi-
nance 924 which prohibits
critical infrastructure being
built in a tsunami inunda-
tion zone. A safe and smart
move. Building a new sta-
tion downtown is not an
option.
We have our own water
and treatment facility. We
are not reliant on a sin-
gle water source. This has
allowed us greater control
over our water. Additionally,
having multiple sources of
water is a smart move.
The city of Gearhart
has been at the forefront of
keeping our community liv-
able and safe. We are for-
tunate dedicated volunteers
have committed to enriching
our community. We do not
need to abandon our emo-
tion and humanity. Vote with
your head and your heart.
Vote yes on 4-213.
Wilson Mark
Gearhart
You can empower
fi refi ghters
I fi nd it ironic that
many of the vocal minority
opposed to approving Mea-
sure 4-213 are among our
community’s most vulnera-
ble citizens. Will it take the
voters of Gearhart having to
place a 911 call to acknowl-
edge the necessity of sup-
porting Measure 4-213? I
hope not, because I have had
to call 911 for both family
and strangers.
If you haven’t had to
make that call, it doesn’t
mean it won’t ever happen.
When the world is crum-
bling in front of you and
you have the support of our
fi rst responders arriving, the
relief and gratitude is over-
whelming. The professional-
ism, dedication and support
they bring to our community
is to be commended.
Look in the mirror —
we are all vulnerable. I
know fi rsthand how quickly
lives can be impacted in an
emergency. Car accidents,
heart attacks, strokes, sui-
cide attempts, drug over-
dose, vehicle vs pedestrian,
falls, on-the-job accidents,
drowning, gas leaks, bur-
glar alarms, car theft. Who
do you call? 911. Who are
our fi rst responders? Gear-
hart Volunteer Fire Depart-
ment and Gearhart Police
Department. They do not
have the facilities to do their
jobs eff ectively and safely.
Only you the voter have the
power to empower them.
Our fi rst responders are
always there for us, whether
you know it or not. Our
community should support
our fi rst responders in pro-
viding them with a safe,
well equipped, fi re/police
station our community can
be proud of. I urge you, be
there for them. Support our
fi re/police by voting yes on
Measure 4-213.
Sheila Nolan
Gearhart
Delay will only
increase costs
It’s fair to say there
is unanimous agreement
in Gearhart that we actu-
ally need to have a fi re sta-
tion. So, that’s good. And it
seems that everyone agrees
that the current, crumbling,
earthquake-prone cinder
block building needs to be
replaced. And we agree that
we all appreciate the dedica-
tion and selfl essness of our
volunteer fi refi ghters.
So let’s agree to build a
new station. And let’s agree
to allow our duly elected,
appointed, and hired city
leaders to make the appro-
priate decisions to get the
job done. That’s what we
either elected, or hired them,
to do.
It is all well and good to
monitor our city leaders, to
make sure they are trans-
parent and accountable in
their actions, and that they
are acting in the communi-
ty’s best interest. Our cur-
rent mayor, city councilors
and city manager have met
that standard.
But I see people opposed
to this station self-appoint-
ing themselves as experts
in everything from geology
to land use to fi re station
building design. They com-
plain about the cost of a new
station, yet their past, and
potentially future delay tac-
tics do nothing but cause the
costs to increase.
Passing this bond allows
our reasonable city leaders
to hire actual experts to plan,
design and build an earth-
quake and tsunami resistant
station. Let’s pass this bond
and let them do their job.
Vote yes on Measure 4-213.
Eric Halperin
Gearhart
OP-ED
Time to collect child-care credit
W
ith the pandemic stretching
into its third year, our econ-
omy is showing many signs
of distress, with prices skyrocketing
and fi nancial pressures mounting on
families across Oregon and the nation.
Thankfully, the American Rescue Plan
provides many families with money
derived from their expanded child tax
credit for the fi ling year of 2021.
Although the child tax credit is not
a new government program, the Amer-
ican Rescue Plan made some signifi -
cant changes that allowed families to
receive more money than ever before.
Under the plan’s expanded child tax
credit, the credit amount was increased
to $3,600 per child ages 0-6 and
$3,000 per child ages 7-17; in contrast,
the general CTC has historically had a
$2,000 limit for all children ages 0-17.
In addition to these expansions, fam-
ilies also had the option to get half of
their credit amount through advanced
monthly payments from July through
December of 2021. Using child tax
credit funds, parents and caregiv-
ers across the nation can pay for gen-
eral expenses — including groceries,
gas, utility bills, school supplies, and
clothes — easing their fi nancial burden
and aiding in their economic, mental,
and physical well-being.
As prices rise across nearly all sec-
tors of our society, the child tax credit
is an invaluable source for families
to obtain additional help to off set the
instability of our current economy.
Parents and guardians who received
advanced monthly payments in 2021
can still receive the second half of their
total credit this tax season. Meanwhile,
families who have not yet received any
child tax credit payments can claim the
full amount.
The U.S. government has made
resources available to families to help
GUEST COLUMN
PAOLA
VELAZQUEZ
THE AMERICAN
RESCUE PLAN MADE
SOME SIGNIFICANT
CHANGES THAT
ALLOWED FAMILIES TO
RECEIVE MORE MONEY
THAN EVER BEFORE.
them claim their credit in a fast and
accessible manner: getctc.org. Advo-
cacy organizations in Oregon have
supported awareness building and
claiming of the child tax credit by pro-
viding information through educational
webinars, tax aides, and tax navigators
for families.
Apart from this, getctc.org will be
launching a simplifi ed fi ling form in
May 2022, allowing parents and guard-
ians to receive their child tax credit
even after this year’s tax deadline. If
families need a longer time to pre-
pare and collect their tax documents,
the IRS also allows tax fi lers to submit
their taxes up to three years later.
According to fi ndings from a
November 2021 report from the Urban
Institute, Latinx families have received
their CTC funds at lower rates com-
pared to their Indigenous, white, Asian,
and Black counterparts; as well, across
racial and ethnic groups, only 44-54%
of adults with incomes below $25,000
reported receiving an advance CTC
payment.
This disparity is mainly due to var-
ious limitations that our tax system
upholds, including documentation sta-
tus, verifi able income, and broader
insecurity.
Latinx families surveyed over the
last two years have shared how they
did not receive the general child tax
credit due to their documentation status
or to being unable to provide proof of
citizenship; the credit has historically
not been available for ITIN fi lers with-
out a Social Security Number. Regard-
ing the restriction of verifi ed income,
many Latinx families are self-em-
ployed and cannot always show proof
of earnings. Because American banks
require proof of citizenship to open
accounts, Latinx families often keep
their money outside of the bank sys-
tem and therefore cannot provide their
proof of income. Lastly, the most sig-
nifi cant barrier Latinx families have
faced through this pandemic is over-
coming long-standing and generational
fears and insecurities surrounding US
governmental programs and services.
These sentiments come from valid
experiences we have faced within our
society. To trust that no retaliation will
occur after claiming the credit, or any
tax credit, for that matter, is a signifi -
cant issue for the community.
I urge families, especially those
who have not claimed any part of their
child tax credit, to do so. For fami-
lies who are not eligible for the credit,
I encourage you to resist. For our
senators and legislators, I plead that
you consider all families in the pro-
cess when it comes to decisions of
eligibility.
Paola Velazquez serves as the com-
munity engagement and coalition
building intern for Our Children Ore-
gon. Our Children Oregon is a state-
wide nonprofi t advocacy and child
abuse prevention organization.
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