Tax Guide 2020 Page A11
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The Chronicle State of the City Snow Time! Page A10
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Wednesday, January 15, 2020
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Serving Columbia County since 1881
JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
St. Helens Mayor Rick Scholl has his list. Scholl said the top challenges facing the city in 2020 will be waterfront development, public works issues dealing with roads, sewer and water, and the city’s industrial properties. “The waterfront is not a challenge, but it is a continuation of a theme,” he said. “First and foremost the waterfront needs expansion of the park and a boardwalk. It needs to be open to the public and it is coming to be no matter what.” Scholl also said he hopes the waterfront development includes buildings three to four stories all with commercial businesses below and perhaps housing above with rooftop viewing. “That property is absolutely a selling point for the city of St. Helens,” he said. Industrial property within the city limits is also a key economic driver, according to Scholl. “The industry is what kept the city alive for many, many years” he said. “It’s gone. So now we are trying to redevelop that property.” Scholl said the challenge is to develop the infrastructure needed for the industrial property allowing the city to offer portions of the property to major developers and companies. “That is almost 300 acres. That’s huge,” he said. Development of recreation programs in St. Helens was a key accomplishment for the City in 2019, according to Scholl. “It gives the kids a place to go,” he said. Scholl spoke with The Chronicle Saturday morning, Jan. 11, directly after the State of the City presentation at St. Helens Middle School. During the event, individual city
Columbia County Winter
tops. The snow and ice forced the closure of the Clatskanie, Rainier and Vernonia School Districts. Scappoose School District placed bus routes 2 and 7 on snow routes. The Kappa Schools were placed on a two hour delay due to the weather conditions. As the snow began to fall and accumulate in St. Helens, the conditions challenged some
JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
S
now began falling in St. Helens and across Columbia County early Tuesday morning, leaving a layer along the roadways, on lawns and on house-
CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net
(503) 232-7292
HEAT AND COOL UP TO 1000 SQFT. INSTALLED FOR AS LITTLE AS $2800 AFTER REBATES AND INCENTIVES RX18NMVJU/FTX18NMVJU
Photo courtesy of St. Helens School District
During the Jan. 8 St. Helens School Board work session, community members were tasked with reducing a list of $65 million in needed improvements down to $50 million, then $40 million and finally $30 million, accordingly.
Crunching the numbers
Vol. 138, No. 3
drivers and those on foot. Columbia County can expect a bit more winter weather conditions through Thursday, according to National Weather Service hydrologist Andy Bryant in Portland. A combination of cold air moving east through the gorge into our area with the cold storm systems flowing in from the Pacific Ocean will continue at least through
Thursday morning. “Temperatures will dip into the 20s overnight Wednesday with more snow, perhaps up to 4 inches expected, depending on the elevation,” Bryant said. “Elevations about 500-700 feet can expected snow accumulation.”
See SNOW Page A10
Tourism Decisions
See 2020 Page A4
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Jeremy C. Ruark / The Chronicle
Snow began falling in St. Helens Tuesday morning, challenging pedestrians and drivers. See more snow photos on A10.
St. Helens School District, the current design of the St. Helens High School with four separate buildings made sense in 1982, but it creates significant safety and security issues in 2020. The classrooms are small, outdated and lack the ability to properly support technology and teaching in the 21st century. In the spring of 2019, the St. Helens School District officials launched public discussions seeking to see what community members felt was needed to bring the high school up to 21st century standards. A Bond Development Committee
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The St. Helens School Board is expected to take action in February to approve a bond package designed to update St. Helens High School. St. Helens High School, 2375 Gable Rd., was initially constructed in 1958 and then expanded in 1982. The building was modified over time to keep up with the changes in technology, security and educational needs. District officials said it is clear the infrastructure of the high school no longer adequately supports the needs of students. According to a release from the
See SCHOOL Page A6
St. Helens city councilors are still in favor of keeping Tina Curry, primary contractor with E2C Corp., as the city’s contracted events planner. This was one topic of discussion at a special session meeting to discuss St. Helens tourism on Wednesday, Jan. 8. Mayor Rick Scholl and city councilors Doug Morten, Keith Locke and Ginny Carlson seemed to be in favor of keeping the city’s contract with E2C Corp., the tourism consultancy agency St. Helens has contracted in the past that Tina Curry owns and operates. Councilor Stephen Topaz was not in favor of keeping E2C Corp as the contracted consultancy agency. Before meeting’s end, a tense argument erupted between Scholl, Morten and Topaz regarding tourism in St. Helens in general and Curry’s contract in particular. The council eventually decided at the end of the meeting to put one item in particular on the next agenda, which is the lease agreement for the Masonic Building that the city was discussing to lease out for tourism purposes. Several stakeholders were present in addition to the city council, which included John Walsh, City Administrator; Tina Curry and approximately 20 business owners in St. Helens who were members of the audience. Discussed at the meeting was the history of tourism in St. Helens, current programs and activities that E2C Corp. operates, tourism funding and potential programs Curry would like to initiate in the city. Curry currently operates under an automatically-renewed contract. Mayor Rick Scholl stated during the meeting that Curry was currently
not operating under a contract, but Walsh later corrected that statement in a phone interview with The Chronicle. In March of 2019, city councilors agreed to a contract renewal with E2C Corp., retroactive to Jan. 1, 2019, set to be automatically renewed in one-year increments. Prior to that, Curry had been put under contract in 2017, which was extended to December of 2018. Currently, Curry is working without a contract, as Scholl said during the meeting. Three audience members spoke during the meeting, all speaking positively about Curry’s performance. “I think you have underestimated that we’re number three in Halloween,” Brady Preheim said, referring to a survey that the Martha Stewart corporation initiated. “Whatever magic Tina can do, I don’t see how we can say no.” Jennifer Pugsley, real estate agent and owner of 50 Plaza Square, which was recently renovated, also spoke in favor of keeping Curry. “I’ve been selling real estate for more than 40 years, and I came here because of tourism,” Pugsley said. Topaz argued that the tourism industry should not be the primary focus of economic development in the city. “We need heavyweight jobs. We have to be a little realistic that people walking in, spending a little bit of money and then leaving is not the same as doing business,” Topaz said. Councilor Doug Morten disagreed. He referred back to the history of the tourism committee, in place before the city contracted
See TOURISM Page A9
Truckload Meat Sale Save the date March 12th and 13th
1111 Columbia Blvd, St Helens, OR 97051 • 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. • (503) 397-2288