Thursday, January 23, 2014

Highlights of the Board of Clatsop County Commissioners Meeting, Wednesday, January 22

School land re-conveyance
The board voted to receive two parcels of property in Cannon Beach from the Seaside School District and re-convey them to the City of Cannon Beach. The properties, totaling 1.38 acres, were deeded by the county to the school district in 1948 and 1958 for use for Cannon Beach Elementary School. The parcels contained reversionary clauses requiring that they return to the county’s ownership if they ceased being used for school purposes; the clauses were triggered after the district closed the school in 2013.
The property is conveyed to Cannon Beach at no cost, but with a new reversionary clause requiring that it be used for a public purpose. The City of Cannon Beach plans to use the land for the development of a community park.

Parole and Probation remodel
The board voted to give staff approval to continue work on a funding plan for the proposed remodel of the county Parole and Probation office in Warrenton to house the county Sheriff’s Office criminal and support divisions.
The Parole and Probation facility was opened in 2006 as the county Transition Center, an alternative form of sanction and supervision for local criminal offenders. The Transition Center was closed in 2011 due to budget concerns.
The board’s action on Wednesday directs the county Budget and Finance Department to work toward securing a loan for the project, estimated at $2 million, which would relocate the criminal and support division staff from the county jail in Astoria to the Warrenton facility. Funding to cover the loan would come from Special Project Fund monies freed up with the retirement this year of a loan taken out in 2007 for the remodel of the county courthouse.


Septic inspection program
The board heard a presentation from Public Health Director Brian Mahoney and Environmental Health Specialist Maureen Taylor on a plan for the county to assume responsibility of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality program that inspects and permits private and commercial septic systems.
The transfer to county control, scheduled to be completed by July 1, is designed to provide more responsive local service for both new permit applications and complaints of failing septic systems. The board is scheduled to formally vote on the transfer Feb. 12.

Arts Council
The board approved a resolution establishing the new Arts Council of Clatsop County. The group, consisting of seven to nine members, will represent artists and arts supporters and promote local arts-related initiatives.
The board has earmarked $5,000 from the county’s share of state video lottery revenue to provide a match for outside grants the council may seek.

Zoning change
The board held the first reading of an ordinance re-zoning an 11-acre parcel of land on U.S. Highway 26 southeast of Elsie from Open Space, Parks and Recreation (OPR) to Forestry-80. Community Development staff discovered last year that the land had been given the wrong designation when the county adopted zoning for the area in 1983. The land is owned by Longview Fiber and has been managed for timber production for several decades. Second reading of the ordinance is set for Feb. 12.

Other Business
In other business the board:
-Voted to hold a work session on a proposal to provide county funding for the development of a public park in Arch Cape. In May 2013 the county Budget Committee voted to set aside $100,000 from the Special Projects Fund as a potential contribution to the proposal. In December, the county’s Recreational Lands Planning Advisory Committee, after hearing from park proponents and touring the proposed site, voted to not support the proposal as a county park.
-Heard a presentation from Dick Basch, vice chair of the Clatsop-Nehalem Confederated Tribes on their history and effort to gain federal recognition.
-Accepted SE Ensign Lane and 19th Street in the county’s North Coast Business Park in Warrenton into the county road system.

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