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INTRODUCING SUCCESSFUL WOMEN 2023 INSIDE
Successful | Non-profit Business | Civic coast n of the north Celebrating wome in our communities nce who make a differe
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• Carolyn Decker r, Tillamook School Board Commissioner • Kris Lachenmeie Tillamook County • Mary Faith Bell, Port of Tillamook Bay er • Michele Bradley, County Commission • Erin Skaar, Tillamook Zwald Transport NCLC of • Heather Taksdal, Executive Director • Katie Vokelke, Director of HRAP • Kelli Ennis, EOL Collective • North Coast Garibaldi Charters • Tamara Mautner,& Fest • Neskowin Farm
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inside Carolyn Decker Hanger B Museum’s Tillamook Air
Headlight Herald
Headlight Herald
TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2023
TILLAMOOK, OREGON • WWW.TILLAMOOKHEADLIGHTHERALD.COM
VOL. 135, NO. 30 • $1.50
Get ready for the Tillamook County Fair STAFF REPORT
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Competitors in the 2021 Pig n’ Ford racing at the county fairgrounds. PHOTO BY HILLARY DORSEY
Tillamook Council approves $2.16 million contract for water main replacement design WILL CHAPPELL Headlight Editor
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illamook’s City Council approved a $2.16 million contract with Consor North America to engineer and design the project that will replace the city water main that currently runs under the airport’s runway. The project has a total budget of $18 million, courtesy of the American Recovery Plan Act, and design is expected to be complete by January 2025, with work scheduled for completion by September 2026. According to Madelyn Orton, the project manager from the city’s public works department, the new 3.2-
mile alignment will bypass the airport and its runway. The original main line was built predating the airport in the early 20th century, and when the U.S. Navy constructed the air station during World War II, they built the runway over the pipe. This configuration would cause problems for both the runway and town’s water supply in a major seismic event. The new configuration will be designed to allow the three water districts that now access the supply near the port to continue that access. Lieutenant Nick Troxel of the Tillamook Police Department announced the
city’s celebration of the National Night Out on August 1, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Goodspeed Park. The event aims to build relationships between law enforcement officers and the communities they serve. The city’s celebration will feature free hamburgers and hotdogs, face painting, cornhole and a bouncy house. Tillamook Peoples’ Utility District will be handing out blue lightbulbs to show support for law enforcement, and donations will be accepted. Councilor Rebekah Hopkins brought up her concern about the handling of her recent absence during the councilor comments portion
of the meeting. Hopkins said that she was taken aback when she had read in the minutes for the June 20 meeting that the council had been asked to approve her absence from that meeting and one on June 5. Hopkins said that she had alerted the mayor to those absences due to medical concerns and had been under the impression that that was the appropriate notification process. She said that she was concerned about the privacy implications of being asked to explain absences to other councilors and had even considered resigning from the council. City Manager Nathan George said that he had
asked for the council to come to a consensus on excusing the absences because the city charter indicated it was necessary. Hopkins said that she still didn’t understand why a different standard had been applied to her and that she had alerted the gathered council to her absences immediately prior to the June 5 meeting, without hearing any complaints. She said that she felt targeted by other councilors who might want her off the council and noted that depending on how matters progressed she might also consider pursuing legal remedies.
Commissioners approve update to STR ordinance WILL CHAPPELL Headlight Editor
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illamook County’s Board of Commissioners approved updates to ordinance 84 governing short-term rental properties in unincorporated parts of the county at their July 19 meeting. The approval followed a more-than-yearlong process by an advisory committee, updating the ordinance to address livability concerns raised by residents across the county. Commissioners also discussed the implementation of a cap on the issuance of new licenses once a pause on issuance ends at the end of August, indicating their
intention to allow a 1% increase in each unincorporated community across the county. The version of Ordinance 84 approved by the commissioners included only minor updates following the three public hearings held from late May through early July. The final updates included the addition of a use-it-orlose-it provision that will require licenses to be used at least 30 nights per year and a one-license-per-licensee limit. They also approved a new fee schedule for license applications. New applications will cost $400, annual renewals will cost $300 and required third year inspections will be $100. Each of the commissioners thanked the short-term rental (STR) advisory committee for its diligent work in monthly meetings since the pause was passed and
members of the public for sharing their input. They noted that the new ordinance represented a compromise between residents and owners and operators of STRs and said that while no one was completely happy with the results, that was the sign of a balanced policy. They also reiterated that no existing license holders would be losing their licenses, and that the conversation around STRs in the county would be ongoing, with the ordinance being updated as needed. The first of those updates will come once Director of Community Development Sarah Absher’s meets with members of each unincorporated community in the county to gauge their interest in capping STRs. Commissioners signaled that they plan to set an interim cap at 1% higher than the existing number of licenses in each community following Absher’s presen-
tation of data at their meeting. The data showed that a 1% increase would allow for over 100 new licenses to be issued across the county, with the largest number available in Pacific City, Neskowin and Netarts with 11, and Oceanside with 10. Absher also told the commissioners that her department had received 31 applications for the waitlist created by commissioners for homes that were under construction at the time of the pause, of which 17 met the criteria for inclusion. Commissioners said that they will not count those properties on the waitlist against the new cap. According to Commissioner David Yamamoto, the decision to set the cap at a 1% increase was made easier by data that Absher presented on the number of licenses that were not being used. 91 license holders in Pacific City and 61 in Neskowin had failed to rent
their property for 30 nights in the last year. Yamamoto said that with the inclusion of the use-itor-lose-it provision in the ordinance update presumably some number of those licenses would become available. Commissioners asked Absher to work on a board order instituting the cap for consideration at their meeting on August 2. The final remaining decision for commissioners surrounding STRs will be the manner of deciding the allocation of capped licenses going forward. The commissioners mentioned that Lincoln County uses a lottery system to allocate their licenses and said that was one possibility, as was a first-come-first-served policy.
he Tillamook County Fair will be taking place from August 9 to 12, at the fairgrounds, offering a plethora of entertainment, rides, races, food and shopping for the whole family. This year’s theme is “Let Freedom Ring,” and the fan favorite offerings will all be returning, from the Pig n’ Ford races to Saturday’s Demolition Derby. Fair gates will open at 10 a.m. each day and remain open until the end of the evening’s entertainment at 10 p.m. Vendors and exhibitors will be setup across the fairgrounds, while agricultural competitions take place in the FFA and 4H pavilion during the day. Rainier Rides will bring a compliment of rides to the fair, operating from noon to 10 p.m. daily. Those interested can check Rainier Rides’ website for a list of which rides will be coming to Tillamook and purchase passes, with a discount available for prepurchase. General admission tickets for the fair cost $10 per day, with a 4-day pass available for $30. Parking will cost $5 and benefit the Lions Club of Tillamook. For the price of admission, fairgoers will not only have access to more than 70 vendors and exhibitors, and more than 2,600 exhibits from local residents ranging from photography to floral arrangements, but also to a wide variety of entertainment. During the day, local musicians, dance groups and other entertainers, including Godfrey the Magician, will perform on the Courtyard Stage at the fair’s center. Then, at 5:30 p.m., the show will move to the grandstand for the rest of the night. The much-anticipated Pig n’ Ford races will start the night off, lasting from 5:30 to 8 p.m. each evening, with qualifying heats taking place Wednesday through Friday and the championship on Saturday. In the onlyin-Tillamook tradition, five competitors from the Model T and Pig Association will dash to grab a pig and secure it in their vintage automobile following the blast of a starter’s pistol. After securing their swine and starting their engines with a hand crank, competitors will navigate one lap of the Tillamook track before swapping their hog for a new one and completing a second lap. After the races are over, musical acts will headline the evening’s entertainment Wednesday through Friday, starting at 8 p.m. On Wednesday Home Free will perform, on Thursday Tom Petty cover band, Petty Fever is on tap and Elvie Shane rounds out the week on Friday. On Saturday, the musical acts cede the stage to another Tillamook County Fair crowd-favorite, the demolition derby. Courtesy of Tillamook’s own Havoc Productions, and cosponsored by the Headlight Herald, the derby will treat spectators to an octane fueled night of fun under the lights. Horse races, another Tillamook County Fair staple, will take place starting at 1 p.m. daily, ending around 5 p.m. with parimutuel betting available. Other highlights will include a demonstration of the Tillamook Fire Department’s equipment on Wednesday at SEE FAIR PAGE A4