A6 • Friday, July 8, 2022 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
Wards: Seaside’s
wards readjusted
NEWS NOTES
Continued from Page A1
File photo
North Coast Land Conservancy will pull, pile and stomp invasive policeman’s helmet at the Circle Creek reserve.
‘Pull, pile and stomp’ at conservancy event
Help North Coast Land Conservancy pull, pile and stomp inva-
sive policeman’s helmet at Circle Creek Conservation Center, just
south of Seaside.
Volunteers will remove policeman’s helmet, also known as jew-
elweed or Himalayan balsam, an invasive plant species that thrives
in moist areas and riparian zones, threatening native plants.
The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 16.
Bring lunch, water, boots, gloves and sunscreen. Tools will be
provide or bring your own.
Circle Creek Conservation Center is at the end of Rippet Road.
Look for it on the west side of U.S. Highway 101, north of the junc-
tion with U.S. Highway 26.
Blodgett named to dean’s list
at George Fox University
will benefi t the Sunset Park and Recreation Foundation, which
raises money for scholarships to increase access to child care and
recreational programming.
Local students earn degrees at George Fox
Local students were among the undergraduate, adult degree and
graduate-level students who received diplomas from George Fox
University in the spring of 2022.
They include Seaside resident Niquilla Blodgett, who graduated
with a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education and
Sarah Eischen, who graduated with a Master of Business Admin-
istration degree.
move around and new people move in and
people move out and the wards will gradu-
ally change as far as the numbers of voters
that are in those diff erent wards,” Barber said.
• Ward 1, with 1,783 residents, begins at
the city’s south end and covers much of the
western part of the city south of Avenue F.
• Ward 2, with 1,786 people, covers from
Avenue G and north.
• Ward 3, with a population of 1,796, cov-
ers the area west of U.S. Highway 101 and
area east of Highway 101.
• Ward 4, with 1,789 residents, is mostly
east of Wahanna Road.
The city has 7,184 residents overall.
City Councilor Steve Wright serves Ward
1, or Seaside south. Tita Montero is the Ward
2 councilor and Tom Horning represents
Ward 3. Ward 4 is represented by David Pos-
alski. The city has two at-large positions,
Randy Frank in wards 1 and 2, and Dana
Phillips, in wards 3 and 4.
Wright, Montero and Phillips are up for
reelection in November, as is Barber. The
mayor is the only position decided by voters in
all wards. A councilor or mayor must be a Sea-
side resident and have lived in Seaside for at
least one year. To qualify for councilor offi ce,
a candidate must reside in the ward or wards
which the council position represents, and con-
tinue to reside there during their term of offi ce.
Those seeking to run must fi rst fi le a let-
ter of interest with C ity C lerk Kimberley Jor-
dan. After that is approved, candidates gather
must gather 20 valid signatures of registered
voters within the city.
Candidate fi ling dates run from July
through Aug. 30.
Partnership for child care solutions
Niquilla Blodgett of Seaside was among those who earned
dean’s list recognition at George Fox University for the spring 2022
semester.
Traditional undergraduate students must earn a 3.5 grade point
average or above on 12 or more hours of graded work to earn a
spot on the dean’s list. Blodgett is a senior majoring in elementary
education.
Surplus sale at the Sunset Recreation Center
The Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District will have a sur-
plus sale at the Sunset Recreation Center on Wednesday, July 13
from noon to 5 p.m.
Visitors should enter through the northwest entrance of the SRC
to view available items, which include lockers (sold as sets), bas-
ket locker system (sold in sets), white boards, fi le cabinets (tall and
short), student desks, tables, chairs, rolling cabinets, and an upright
piano. Prices range from $1 to $50.
Payment is due at the time of purchase, and due to limited staff -
ing, loading assistance will not be available. Proceeds from sales
Columbia Memorial Hospital and Providence Seaside Hospital
have partnered to fi nd and sustain solutions for families.
The group found a need for a program providing stable support
for current providers and incentives for new providers. It proposed
the retention and expansion child care grant program, which was
approved in June. The program will begin with $500,000 in Clat-
sop County funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Along with the Columbia Pacifi c Economic Development
District, the county, CMH and Providence Seaside are working
together to fi nd major grants that will be awarded and monitored.
Licensed child care providers in the county can apply for small-
or large-scale grants, and the Clatsop Small Business Develop-
ment Center will provide business and economic support to them
as well.
The grant review committee will include Providence’s Alana
Kujala, community partnerships liaison, and from CMH, both Wil-
liams and Mark Kujala, chair of the Clatsop County Commission
and director of the CMH Foundation.
Demonstrating their commitment to addressing child care short-
ages, Providence Seaside recently pledged $100,000 through its
community health division to help with the grant program start-up
and will consider additional funding in 2023.
Ward 1 covers much of south Seaside.
Retrofi t: Seaside fi rehouse and police station are set to receive seismic upgrades
Continued from Page A1
Co. Records indicate that
building started in 1977. The
current dispatch and admin-
istration portion of the police
station was built in 1990.
The Seismic Rehabilita-
tion Grant Program provides
funding for the seismic reha-
bilitation of critical public
buildings, particularly pub-
lic schools and emergency
services facilities.
According to the grant
application, eligible activ-
ities include structural
improvements,
architec-
ture, engineering and project
management. The emphasis
is on emergency responder
buildings.
The seismic advisory
committee considers many
factors when making fund-
ing decisions, Gloria Zach-
arias, the program’s policy
coordinator, said.
“The program has con-
sulting
engineers
who
review the technical assess-
ments submitted with the
applications, and the com-
mittee attempts to priori-
R.J. Marx
The Seaside fi rehouse, built in 1989, will receive seismic
retrofi ts after a grant from Business Oregon.
tize ‘scary’ buildings, unre-
inforced masonry, older
masonry, older concrete, or
very old or wood framed,”
she said. “They also con-
sider the seismicity zone the
project is located in, along
with a benefi t-cost analy-
sis. The Seaside projects had
vulnerable buildings and
high seismicity.”
With WRK Engineers
in Vancouver, Washington,
the city applied for the seis-
mic rehabilitation grant in
November. Services included
building site review, seismic
evaluation, construction cost
estimate and preparation and
submission of the grant appli-
cation to the state.
The awards for the fi re-
house and police station are
based on square footage,
Daniels said. Upgrades will
include roof replacement on
both buildings, shear wall
reinforcement and bracing.
Projects will be done con-
currently and the completion
expected in 2024.
The grants fully cover
costs and do not require city
matching funds.
Previously ineligible for
the seismic retrofi t grant, the
city benefi ted by a change by
the seismic advisory com-
mittee in 2018. Prior to the
rule change, if a project was
located in a known tsunami
inundation zone, the project
could not apply for funds.
After the rule change, a proj-
ect located in a known tsu-
nami inundation zone could
apply after proof of consul-
tation with the state Depart-
ment of Geology and Min-
eral Industries.
“We hadn’t been eligible
for them in the past because
seismic grants were only for
people out of the inunda-
tion zone,” Daniels said. “It
didn’t make a lot of sense
— some of us are stuck in
the inundation zone just by
geographic location. They
changed the ruling and stated
Fourth: Fireworks, camping, water incidents reported
Continued from Page A1
Police received or initiated contact
with many tents on the beach viola-
tions, camping ordinance violations,
traffi c complaints, parking complaints
and disturbances such as verbal argu-
ments, Ham said.
There were two driving under the
infl uence of intoxicants arrests, fi ve
warrant arrests and one domestic
assault arrest.
Responders in Gearhart answered
fi reworks complaints, calls for water
rescue and came to the aid of a surfer
in distress.
From Friday through the Fourth of
July, the Gearhart Fire Department had
a total of 34 calls, training offi cer James
Hutchinson said Tuesday, 25 of those
on Independence Day. These included
two calls for assistance from Warren-
ton, one for a vehicle in a ditch and one
for a fi reworks injury to the hand.
The fi re department responded to a
subject who crawled ashore, wet and
semiconscious, and found a group of
people at a bonfi re. He was transported
to Medix on the 10th Avenue approach.
The Gearhart Police Department is
investigating the incident.
Firefi ghters responded to a report of
four people in the water in distress on
Del Rey Beach, Hutchinson said.
“All parties returned to shore where
two individuals were evaluated as pos-
sible patients,” he said.
One was transported to Provi-
dence Seaside Hospital for further care
and evaluation and the second person
declined medical treatment.
After following up with the fam-
ily, all parties involved in the incident
returned in good health from the hos-
pital, and were able to enjoy the rest of
their Fourth of July, Hutchinson said.
Firefi ghters responded to another
water rescue after a surfer went miss-
ing. The individual was located a mile
south from where he entered, Hutchin-
son said. Lifeguards from Seaside
assisting were able to make contact
with the surfer and determine he was
safe. The surfer and reporting party
were reunited without incident.
Gearhart Police Chief Jeff Bowman
reported a stolen wood pallet, which
was recovered before it was burned
{span}in a beach fi re.
Bowman said there were “lots of
illegal fi reworks, complaints about
legal ones, underage consumption of
alcohol, trash being discarded or left
behind, disruption of way of life.”
There were no physical injuries or
property damage, he added.
that we could be eligible to
apply for these grants.”
The fi re and police depart-
ments will continue to work
through the retrofi t process,
Daniels said, although there
might be some temporary
relocations. Trucks would be
moved outside during the day.
Business
Oregon
awarded 36 seismic rehabil-
itation grants in June for an
overall 2022 award totaling
more than $80 million .
Daniels said he antic-
ipates working with Pub-
lic Works Director Dale
McDowell to send a request
for proposals out in July.
“Then we meet with the
architects and whoever we
hire as the lead,” he said.
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