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2023 Tillamook County Prospective, pages 1-4

Headlight Herald

TUESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2023

TILLAMOOK, OREGON • WWW.TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM

VOL. 135, NO. 1 • $1.50

2023 PROSPECTIVE

Commissioners talk 2022 highlights, 2023 projects T

Will Chappell Headlight Reporter

he Tillamook Board of County Commissioners had an active 2022 taking steps forward to address the housing and homelessness crises in the county and completing the first stage of a courthouse renovation. County commissioners were enthusiastic about these accomplishments and excited for the year ahead, but also noted that the county faces hurdles as state lawmakers continue to implement new environmental policies that threaten to further limit the county’s revenues. Housing was a major area of progress in 2022, as the county handed out its first round of Workforce Housing Grant money aimed at promoting affordable housing. Over $700,000 of money collected by the county in short-term rental licensing fees was awarded by the housing commission to six different developments across the county in the inaugural year of a new grant program. “I’m super pleased with the role the county is playing in housing development at this point,” Commissioner Erin Skaar said. The money will help to add 87 units of below market rate housing across six different developments. Work is already underway at several, including above the Oregon Coast Dance Center in Tillamook and at the Kingfisher Apartments in Bay City, with other projects in various stages of development. In addition to funding housing development in 2022, the county also saw developers being able to take advantage of a property tax abatement aimed at incentivizing workforce housing. Developers at Kingfisher and Bayside Commons will have their

property taxes waived by the county in exchange for agreeing to keep the units available to individuals making between 80% and 120% of the area’s median income. “It was a difficult choice to determine if we were winning or losing by doing that,” Skaar said, “but it was one of the things we could do, and it has a lot less impact than one might think.” The other major advancement in housing that Skaar pointed to was the passage of House Bill 4123. The bill, which Skaar lobbied on behalf of, will send $1 million to Tillamook County over the next two years to coordinate homeless services. The bill set up the Coordinated Homeless Services Response System Grant that will fund the development of county-level systems to address the homelessness crisis across the state. Tillamook is one of the first counties set to receive funding starting in 2022 to set up a coordination center and develop a comprehensive plan to tackle the issue. Community Action Resource Enterprises (CARE) is partnering with the county and the seven cities in it to manage the office and administer the program. The new office at CARE will work to direct funding and services across the county and will secure funding to continue its activities after the $1 million has been spent. Skaar noted that even in advance of the funding coming, Tillamook Sheriff Josh Brown started coordinating with CARE and the Tillamook Family Counseling Center to do wellness checks on those living in county campgrounds in 2022. “Nobody wants to see anyone living out of doors,” Skaar said. “There’s a place where you really have to partner that humanity with the greater good of the community…so it’s this balancing

EXCLUSIVE Tillamook County Courthouse. Headlight Herald file photo. piece that you have to do.” Another major accomplishment for the commissioners in 2022 was the completion of the first stage of a major renovation to the county courthouse. The work, completed in November, saw the county commissioners move their meetings from the second floor of the courthouse to what had previously been a courtroom on the first floor. This allowed the court that had been housed in the space that was too small for its purpose to move to a

more appropriate venue in the vacated commissioners’ meeting room. “That was a huge feather in our cap, because that has been for 15 years, 20 years, a serious bone of contention,” Commissioner Mary Faith Bell said. Bell said that the next step in upgrading the courthouse to accommodate the county’s growth will be the addition of an annex either on the south end of the courthouse or adjacent to the Pioneer Museum across Laurel Avenue.

ORIGINAL

Work on the annex will not begin in 2023, but commissioners should start looking at plans, according to Bell. The commissioners also used American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) funds to commission a seismic study of the courthouse in 2022. The report from the study revealed that retrofitting the building with seismic upgrades will cost between $5

n See COUNTY, Page A3

Tillamook City Manager, Mayor discuss 2022 work, while looking ahead T

Whale Watch Week got underway despite storms W

hale Watch Week opened last week, despite a blustery Whale Watch eve that brought downed trees, power outages and high water to the Oregon Coast. Oregon Parks and Recreation Department encourages visitors to check the weather forecast and TripCheck before traveling to the Oregon Coast. Be prepared for wind, rain, possible high water and potential power outages. Follow all posted signs, dress for the weather and follow these safety tips. High wind and power outages also affected parks across the state. Ecola State Park closed due to high wind, and the day-use area at Sunset

Bay closed due to flooding. Silver Falls State Park closed all trailheads due to hazardous trees. The park also lost power. Cape Lookout, Cottonwood Canyon and Stub Stewart lost power but remained open. Please check stateparks.oregon.gov/ and search by park before visiting. More about Whale Watch Week: Every year thousands of Gray whales migrate south through Oregon’s waters at the end of December, and Oregon Parks and Recreation Department invites visitors to the coast to see their journey. Trained volunteers will be stationed at most of the 17 sites to help visitors spot whales, share information and answer questions from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily. The sites are some of the best places to watch for whales on the Oregon Coast. “We really enjoy getting folks out to the coast for Whale Watch Week,” said Park Ranger Peter McBride. “It’s something that Oregon State

Parks has been doing for more than 40 years now, and we’re really glad to be able to bring it back in person,” he said. A map of volunteer-staffed sites is available online on the official event webpage: https://oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=thingstodo. dsp_whaleWatching An estimated 17,000 Gray whales are expected to swim past Oregon’s shores over the next several weeks as 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; roughly 30 whales pass by per hour. All Whale Watch Week visitors are encouraged to dress for the weather, to bring binoculars and to follow beach safety guidelines such as remaining out of fenced areas, knowing the tide schedule and

n See WATCH, Page A3

Will Chappell Headlight Reporter

illamook’s city government has been focused on updating its systems since the arrival of City Manager Nathan George two years ago but is nearing completion on those projects. George hopes that the city will complete those updates in 2023 while also moving forward with several capital improvement Tillamook Mayor projects. Aaron Burris. A major focus for city staff in 2022 was updating the city’s code, which had fallen out of date and did not reflect all ordinances that had been passed by city council. That project has now been completed and the updated code will be included on the city’s new website, which is set to premier early in 2023. The new website will also let residents electronically submit forms to the city. The public works department reattached the Faucet Creek intake to the water plant in 2022, after it had been disconnected for eight years. Next year, design work will begin on replacing the water transmission line from the plant to town. The line currently runs under Tillamook Airport’s runway and is outdated. Replacement of the line will be funded by state dollars, which were secured by State Senator Suzanne Weber. The city will also be repaving Fifth Street in the summer, using public works’ funds. Staffing has continued to be a struggle for the city, but George was

able to make progress on the issue. The police department is now fully staffed and other prospective hires are awaiting final approval pending background checks. “We’re hiring really good people, they’re hard working, and they want to be a part of our team,” George said. Mayor Aaron Burris said that he was excited about the advances in housing that came to Tillamook in 2022, and those that he anticipates in Tillamook City Manager Nathan 2023. George. He pointed to the development of affordable housing units at the Willet Apartments on Nestucca Avenue and the million dollars of state funding to coordinate homeless services in conjunction with the county as major steps forward in 2022. “It’s been nice to see some growth in housing in the city because it’s really needed,” Burris said. Tillamook’s city council will begin work on a new strategic plan this year, with Burris saying finding a facilitator to help with that process is a top priority. George said that the city will be undertaking a comprehensive compensation study this year, which will compare the wages of city employees to those of employees of other Oregon cities. This will give the city council an idea of how Tillamook’s compensation stacks up and allow it to update employee pay as it sees fit. Please send any comments to headlightreporter@countrymedia. net


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