DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE
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St. Helens Middle School hosts ribbon-cutting ceremony Page A6
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The Chronicle
In Memoriam A2 • Opinions A4 • Out & About A5 • Obituaries A6 • TV Guide A7 • Classified Ads A8 • Public Notices A9 • Dont Drink and Drive A10-11
Wednesday, December 25, 2019
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Oregon, Columbia County job growth JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
Courtesy photo
The second of four planned increases in the Oregon gas tax goes into effect January 1. STAFF REPORT chroniclenews@countrymedia.net
What you pay at the pumps in Columbia County and across the state will increase in the New Year ahead. The second of four planned increases totals 10 cents a gallon in the Oregon gas tax goes into effect January 1. The increase is part of House Bill 2017, the “Keep Oregon Moving” legislation passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2017. This first increase would raise the Oregon gas tax from 34 to 36 cents a gallon. The federal tax is 18.4 cents a gallon. Oregon’s counties and cities are allowed to add their own local gas tax as well. At full implementation in 2024, Oregon’s gas tax will be 40 cents a gallon, still less than the gas tax in either Washington or California. How the money will be spent Of the nearly $60 million this increase will raise, 20 percent goes to Oregon counties, 30 percent to Oregon cities and 50 percent to ODOT. ODOT will receive $27.9 million of the funds and use the money for: • Highway maintenance ($1.7M) • Bridge projects ($11.2M) • Seismic projects ($8.4M) • Preservation and culvert projects ($6.7M)
Photo courtesy of Oregon Parks and Recreation
A gray whale rises out of the ocean near the Oregon shoreline. See more photos at thechronicleonline.com.
Gray whales catching attention JEREMY C. RUARK jruark@countrymedia.net
Thousands of gray whales are making their annual migration south along the Oregon Coast this week, promising to attract plenty of visitors, including residents from Columbia County. An estimated 25,000 gray whales are expected to swim past the shores, part of their annual migration south to the warm calving lagoons near Baja, Mexico. The end of December is the peak time for their migration, with
roughly 30 whales passing by per hour. The near-shore migration of the whales has spawned a popular whale-watching industry along the Oregon coast that in 2009 was worth an estimated $29 million – a figure likely higher today, according to researchers. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department highlights the migration through its annual Winter Whale Watching Week, Dec. 27-31. Trained volunteers from the Whale Watching Spoken Here program will be stationed from
10 a.m.-1 p.m. each day at more than 20 of the best whale-watching sites along the coast, ready to help visitors spot whales and to answer questions about the animals. (View the site map at thechronicleonline. com Oregon Parks and Recreation Ranger Luke Parsons gives some insight into the whales’ migration: The Chronicle: What is it about the whales that attracts
See WHALES Page A5
St. Helens finalizes sale agreement to ACSP, LLC
Oregon Transportation Commission Chairman Robert Van Brocklin said the additional funding will allow the Oregon Department of Transportation to make important new investments, including projects to reduce Portland area traffic congestion. “It will also allow us to build new and preserve existing transportation investments in every region of the state,” he said. “We look forward to continuing the work we have been charged with undertaking to keep Oregon moving.” For the first time, Oregon lawmakers set requirements that ODOT and Oregon cities and
CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net
A year after approving an initial sale agreement, the St. Helens City Council has voted 3 to 1, with councilor Keith Locke abstaining and councilor Stephen Topaz voting against, to finalize a sale agreement of an 8.35-acre parcel located at 1400 Kaster Road for an Industrial Agriculture Facility, to ACSP, LLC. ACSP, LLC has been leasing a site from St. Helens for a cannabis cultivation lot on the former Boise Mill property since June of 2017. The finalized sale agreement has been in the works for a while.
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Flip Side “The tight labor market, and perhaps the unusually mild and dry weather in November, seem to have influenced seasonal trends in the major industries, Cooke said in a release. “Industries that normally shed a lot of workers during the autumn months didn’t cut back as much as normal.” In November, the following industries cut back less than normal, and therefore posted seasonally adjusted job gains: construction (+2,200 jobs), manufacturing (+1,900 jobs), and professional and business services (+1,400 jobs). “On the flip side, the tight labor market may have inhibited certain industries from hiring as many workers as normal in November.,” Cooke said. “Government and retail trade both normally add a substantial number of jobs in November, but each industry hired a few hundred jobs fewer than normal for the month.” Economic forecast
hearing inspired negotiations with the existing tenant, ACSP, Walsh explained. The negotiated price ended up being $1,550,000. A number of other complicating factors have delayed the finalization of the sale agreement, city officials said during the public hearing. Walsh said those factors include aspects of the property like easements, utilities and the storm water system. Councilor Keith Locke also said the mill site itself is completely isolated from the rest of the city, with no other city services stationed there aside from
According to the most recent Oregon economic and revenue forecast issued by the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis, Oregon’s job growth has slowed to gains seen in the state’s underlying population. The forecast reads in part, “For the eleventh year of expansion, such gains remain solid. Oregon’s slowdown is driven by fewer hirings and a tight labor market, rather than an increase in layoffs. These dynamics, when combined with ongoing strong income growth keep the outlook intact. As confirmed by recently released Census data, current economic conditions in Oregon have been rarely better. The expansion endures even as risks remain elevated.” Cooke said Oregon’s over-theyear job growth of 1.6 percent closely matched the U.S. job growth of 1.5 percent. Most of Oregon’s major industries have expanded by about two percent since November 2018. The primary exception of an industry growing faster was education and health services, which grew by 9,900 jobs,
Photo: The Chronicle
The plot of land, where ACSP, LLC has set up shop.
See GAS Page A8
Oregon’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent in November, the lowest on comparable records dating back to 1976, according to Oregon Employment Department economist David Cooke. The October unemployment rate was 4.0 percent, as revised from the originally reported figure of 4.1 percent. In November, Oregon’s unemployment rate dropped below 4 percent for the first time since comparable records dating back to 1976. This puts the rate slightly above the November U.S. rate of 3.5 percent. Oregon’s unemployment rate has been hovering near historical lows of near 4 percent for the past 37 months. Meanwhile, total nonfarm payroll employment shot up by 6,300 jobs in November, following an upwardly revised gain of 6,500 jobs in October. October was revised upward by 2,100 jobs. So far in 2019, monthly employment gains have averaged 2,600 jobs, which is slightly slower than in 2018 when monthly growth averaged 3,000 jobs.
City Administrator John Walsh termed the agreement a “do-over” of a previous sale agreement the city voted to approve in November of 2018. That sale agreement specified the city would sell 8.21 acres to ACSP for “no less than $3.48 million.” The sale agreement finalized at the public hearing on Dec. 18 was for $1.5 million. There are a couple of reasons for the do-over, as St. Helens city officials explained at the public hearing. One is the reduction in price, which came from an independent appraisal in 2018 before the public hearing, Walsh said. The November 2018 public
See ACSP Page A9
See JOB Page A12
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from your friends at Saint Helens Market Fresh! 1111 Columbia Blvd, St Helens, OR 97051 • 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. • (503) 397-2288