Astoria’s Irving
Avenue and 19th Street Bridge Replacement project was
the topic of a presentation to the Astoria City Council last night. Council
members were advised on options for the project, then Acting City Manager Bret
Estes asked for action.
Estes.wav (:27) “What
we’d like to be able to have from the city council this evening is direction
with regards to the bridge replacement alternatives, the bridge railing
alternatives, and the temporary traffic control alternatives, and whether
sidewalks are included on one side only or on both sides, and once we have that
direction this will provide our design engineers with the ability to move
forward.”
The council approved motions
for a single span, double sidewalks with esthetically pleasing handrails, and for
a construction plan with the earliest possible completion date.
The council also approved
just over 41 thousand dollars in costs to date for debris clean up associated
with the 5th and Duane Street
slide that began moving in December. Further
clean up was done after more earth movement at the location in January.
Council member Karin Mellin
proposed an ordinance to disallow the feeding of feral cats on Astoria’s Riverwalk. Mellin cited published reports on the numbers
of native birds and animals killed by feral cats, also the potential harm to
children when encountering feral cats and the raccoons attracted by the cat
food left for them.
Mellin.wav
(:10) “We realize its a very
sensitive subject for those people who really adore cats and want to feed them,
however we need to consider the statistics”
Council member Arlene LaMear defended
what she called the “cat village”, saying its a unique aspect of Astoria life.
LaMear.wav (:27)
“the woman that is feeding them is not only feeding them but she’s taking them to
Dr. Goza, who has then taken care of neutering
and spaying the ones that need to be, or all of them, and , uh, I think its
kind of quirky that we have this cat village down there. I don’t object to it at all.”
Council member Drew Herzig
suggested that the proposed ordinance would be unlikely to alter people’s
behavior, but would move the problem elsewhere.
The Riversong Foundation’s Rita Smith said program volunteers are
working to spay, neuter and find homes for the feral cats.
Smith.wav (:25) “Last fall, when all the attention was
brought to the Riverwalk cats, Riverson Foundation organized a group of
volunteers to take over the daily care and feeding and management of this
colony. Since then we have removed 20 pet
cats that were abandoned down there, most of these cats were abandoned after the
attention was brought to them by the original newspaper article.”
Smith added that there are
thousands of feral cats in the area, and the foundation is working on science
based strategies to address the problem, including trap, neuter and release.
Astoria Mayor Van Dusen asked
city staff to gather more information on the subject before a formulating a
plan of action. (1:38)
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