Friday, May 20, 2022 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A3
In Arch Cape, some residents
concerned about forest purchase
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
The Arch Cape Water Dis-
trict Board took a big step in
April when it signed off on
a $4.7 million purchase of
1,441 acres of commercial
timberland, but a segment of
the community is not confi -
dent in the district’s plan.
The purchase, which has
been years in the making,
will turn the timberlands
around the source of Arch
Cape’s drinking water into
a community forest, making
the unincorporated area one
of the few coastal communi-
ties to have full control of its
watershed.
But some residents and
landowners are concerned
about the water district’s
plan, including the impact
logging and public recre-
ational use could have on the
area.
Financed by state and fed-
eral grants, the plan will pro-
tect drinking water and wild-
life habitat. The property will
tie into an additional 3,500
acres the North Coast Land
Conservancy acquired for its
Rainforest Reserve project
above Arch Cape and adja-
cent to Oswald West State
Park.
The water district, which
oversees 295 water connec-
tions, also plans to signifi -
cantly scale back logging
and provide recreational
opportunities.
Astoria oversees a simi-
lar system at its 3,700-acre
Bear Creek watershed, which
provides the city’s drinking
water. However, there is no
public access or recreation.
Leading up to the board’s
decision to purchase the land,
Bill Campbell, a homeowner,
sent a petition with more than
100 names calling for the for-
mation of a ratepayer advi-
sory work group to come up
with an operations manage-
ment plan that could elimi-
nate the need for logging. He
has also set up a blog with cri-
tiques about diff erent aspects
of the board’s plan.
Campbell said the over-
arching concern is lack of
community involvement in
the process. He said there are
also concerns about logging
and plans to open the forest
— which sits behind many
neighbors’ backyards — to
Arch Cape is pursuing a timberland purchase to protect drinking water.
FINANCED BY STATE AND FEDERAL GRANTS, THE PLAN WILL PROTECT
DRINKING WATER AND WILDLIFE HABITAT. THE PROPERTY WILL TIE INTO
AN ADDITIONAL 3,500 ACRES THE NORTH COAST LAND CONSERVANCY
ACQUIRED FOR ITS RAINFOREST RESERVE PROJECT ABOVE ARCH CAPE
AND ADJACENT TO OSWALD WEST STATE PARK.
the public for recreational
use. He also questions the
board’s ability to manage the
forest and the fi nancial plan.
Campbell claims the water
board has not addressed
questions from the commu-
nity. He said the petition,
which was sent to the board
in March, has also been
ignored.
“I am trying to repre-
sent the community’s inter-
est in getting the commu-
nity to make a decision,” he
said. “Sure, I have an opinion
on everything. But I’m not
weighing in on whether the
forest should be purchased
or not. Whether there should
be recreational use or not. It’s
really about, let’s have full
transparency by the board
with the correct complete
information. And let’s get the
community to be involved in
making the decision. That’s
what I’m all about.”
Campbell has served on
Arch Cape’s sanitary district
board and is on the board of
the Castle Rock homeowners
association, which represents
a 35-lot subdivision that bor-
ders the forest.
“We share a direct border
with the proposed forest,”
Campbell said. “So clearly,
people at the 35 lots in this
community defi nitely have
concerns, but I think they’re
concerns that are represen-
tative of the full Arch Cape
community.”
Phil Chick, the water dis-
trict’s manager, said the forest
purchase has been an agenda
item for the water district’s
board for years. There have
also been numerous work-
shops, tours and town halls.
A Facebook page and
website were set up for the
project, which includes sur-
veys, answers to frequently
asked questions, project
information and timelines.
The water district hired
an outreach coordinator in
2018 through a state grant.
A fi nance committee was
formed in 2019 to develop a
feasibility plan.
The water district held a
town hall in March with pre-
sentations from various proj-
ect partners and a question
and answer period. The dis-
trict also followed up with
a document with written
responses to questions raised
during the meeting.
“I feel that public engage-
ment was duly done,” Chick
said. “All of our meetings
have been public, and this
has been a long, very inten-
tional, deliberate process in
not only planning, but public
engagement.
“And that process is going
to do nothing but continue,
even after acquisition is com-
plete, which we’re anticipat-
ing will happen in the early
part of June.”
The water district will
begin developing a recreation
and access plan for the forest
beginning this month, a pub-
lic process that will last sev-
eral months. The district will
work with an advisory group,
the land conservancy, Lewis
and Clark Timberlands and
the National Park Service to
complete the plan.
Chick said the goal with
the process is to maintain
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
JEWELL — Steve Phil-
lips, the superintendent of
the Jewell School District
who is on paid administra-
tive leave pending an inves-
tigation, has been selected
to fi ll the same role in
Newberg.
At a meeting last Tues-
day, the school board at
Newberg Public Schools
announced Phillips as the
school district’s next super-
intendent. The board voted
5 to 2, authorizing the board
chair to negotiate a contract
with Phillips.
He will take on the role
as soon as possible, pending
contract negotiations, the
school district said.
Phillips was announced
as one of three fi nalists for
the position in April. The
school board conducted
three rounds of interviews
with candidates and held
a meet-and-greet with stu-
dents, staff and the commu-
nity, the school district said.
Raquel Peregrino de
Brito, a school board mem-
ber in Newberg who voted
to approve hiring Phillips,
cited his past experience
as a superintendent in her
decision.
“We are looking forward
to working with Dr. Phillips
Steve Phillips
… with the high expecta-
tion that the focus is on the
improvement of academ-
ics,” Peregrino de Brito,
who was appointed to the
school board in April, told
The Astorian.
Peregrino de Brito said
that she and another school
board member traveled to
Jewell to speak with school
staff about Phillips and the
investigation.
“Not knowing detailed
information – it’s very dif-
fi cult without knowing the
full extent of what happened
to make a judgment,” she
said, adding that much of
what she heard were rumors.
Prior to the Newberg
school board’s decision on
Tuesday, many public com-
ments read by the board
encouraged hiring Phil-
lips, with a few in strong
opposition.
Representatives from the
Jewell School District could
not be reached for comment.
Phillips was placed on
administrative leave in Jew-
ell in February and an inves-
tigation began shortly after.
The rural school district,
which serves students kin-
dergarten-through-12th
grade, hired an acting super-
intendent in March to fi nish
the school year.
The school district has
declined to disclose the rea-
sons for the administrative
leave or the investigation.
Phillips was brought on
in Jewell in 2018, eventually
being appointed superinten-
dent in 2019.
His tenure in Jewell fol-
lowed his resignation from
his position as deputy super-
intendent in the Beaverton
School District after receiv-
ing blowback for reposting a
tweet that expressed anti-im-
migration sentiments.
He served as superinten-
dent and director of second-
ary education in the Mal-
heur Education Service
District prior to his time in
Beaverton.
DINING
on the
NORTH COAST
Great Restaurants in:
GEARHART • SEASIDE
CANNON BEACH
WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE LOCALS GO?
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
• Junior Menu
RESTAURANT & LOUNGE
• Lighter appetite menu
E
RIL Y’
S
Jewell superintendent hired to
lead Newberg Public Schools
the character of the land and
its traditional local uses and
gather community feedback.
The water district also
needs to complete a forest
management plan, which will
be developed by the district’s
forester and a forest advisory
committee.
“Managing a water source
is exactly the kind of work
that a water utility should be
focused on — on protecting
its source water and provid-
ing clean, safe water to the
people that it serves,” Chick
said. “Owning the source
achieves this in perpetuity.
“Although
community
forestry isn’t especially com-
mon right now in this neck
of the woods, there are some
municipalities that have
owned their own watersheds
for many years,” he added.
“And the people that are
responsible for making those
decisions — the city coun-
cils, the staff s — those orga-
nizations have little to no for-
est management experience
in house either. They rely
on professional consultants
to do that, in much the same
way that we rely on engineers
and diff erent partners to oper-
ate our wastewater and our
water utility service.”
BEST
BREAKFAST
IN TOWN!
Fish ‘n Chips • Burgers • Seafood & Steak
Friday & Saturday - Prime Rib
Lounge Open Daily 9-Midnight
All Oregon Lottery products available
1104 S Holladay • 503-738-9701 • Open Daily at 8am
OPEN EVERY DAY FROM
6am - 8pm
Great
Breakfast,
but that’s
not all...
•
Great
lunch and
dinner
menu,too!
•
Great
pasta,
steaks &
seafood!
Seaside • 323 Broadway
738-7234 (Open 7 Days)
Sou’Wester
Garden Club
plant
sale
Cannon Beach
Chocolate Cafe
MILK SHAKE HAPPY HOUR
EVERYDAY 3-5PM
$1 OFF SHAKES
Saturday
May 28
9am-Noon
Seaside
Convention
Center
OUTSTANDING
PLANTS
Raffle and
Silent Auction
232 N. Spruce • Cannon Beach, Oregon
Open 10 am-5 pm Daily! • 503.436.4331
Call Sarah Silver
503.325.3211
ext 1222
YOUR RESTAURANT
AD HERE.
Find Your Next Regular
Customers!
•
Homemade
Clam
Chowder,
Salads!