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2024 NORTH OREGON COAST PROVIDER DIRECTORY Serving Tillamook and Clatsop Counties
Friday, May 10, 2024 | Vol. 48, Issue 5
www.cannonbeachgazette.com
Council approves $33.35 million bond issue WILL CHAPPELL Gazette Editor
Sculpture by Georgia Gerber is at Northwest by Northwest Gallery. Georgia Gerber, Sea Otter with Towhee, Bronze / 2023 Edition of 25, 12”H x 14”W x 12”D, $3,800
Photo taken by Bob Kroll and on exhibit at the Cannon Beach Gallery
Spring Unveils Waves of Art and Imagination DEB ATIYEH for the Gazette
Cannon Beach Art Galleries presented their annual Spring Unveiling Arts Festival May 3rd through May 5th. The latest works by some of the top artists from the Pacific Northwest were presented. Events included special exhibits, guest artists, art demos and gallery receptions. PHOTOS BY DEB ATIYEH
Cannon Beach Gallery Opening Reception.
Photographer Bob Kroll by his artwork
DragonFire Gallery Being Human Exhibit
DragonFire Gallery artist Bev Jozwiak
DragonFire Gallery Being Human Exhibit
12 Days of Earth Day celebrated DEB ATIYEH for the Gazette
The “12 Days of Earth Day” are celebrated in Cannon Beach every year in April, and this year included a beach cleanup, removal of invasive
plants, trail clearing, tree planting, lectures, classes, a parade and street fair, along with a Tufted Puffin welcoming ceremony. Angela Benton, Chair of the “Friends of Haystack Rock”, was awarded the “Gaylord Nelson Award”
after being selected by past recipients of the award. The “12 Days of Earth Day” tradition in Cannon Beach was originally organized by the Haystack Rock Awareness Program (HRAP), Cannon Beach
Gallery Group, Parks and Community Services Committee and the Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce. Beginning in 2020, the City of Cannon Beach included it as a city-sponsored event. Cannon Beach residents
Lynn and Les Sinclair said that “this year we had the most events and the classes were well-attended. We can call it a big success.” See EARTH DAY, Page A3
Cannon Beach’s city council approved a $33.35 million bond issue to support the construction of a new police station and city hall, and the renovation of Cannon Beach Elementary School at their meeting on April 16. The new bond issue will support the city hall and police station projects in full, while the Necus Park project at the elementary school had already been partially funded by a $4.6 million bond issue in 2022. Funding for a new city hall, to be constructed in downtown Cannon Beach on the site of the existing city hall, will account for the largest portion of the bond, receiving $15.3 million. A new police station that will be built at the south end of the city off Highway 101 will be allocated $10.25 million of the funding. The remaining $7.8 million from the bond will go towards the renovation of the disused Cannon Beach Elementary School into a cultural center focused on promoting the culture of the Clatsop-Nehalem tribe, which formerly had a village at the site. The funding from this bond will be combined with a $4.6 million bond issue to pay for the project’s entire $12.4-million budget. Documents included in the council packet showed that the project team expects the bond to be issued with an interest rate of 4.58%, leaving the city with just over $2 million in annual debt service for the bond’s 30-year term. When added to the $248,000 already obligated in the 2022 bond, the city will pay $2,266,558 annually to service debt for the projects. Funding for the $720,000 in annual debt service for the Necus Park project will come entirely from transient room tax (TRT) revenues. Council approved a 1.5% increase in the city’s TRT revenues last spring, which will generate $721,875 annually that must be used for tourism-related projects. Debt service for the police station and school projects will come in at $1,546,264 annually and be funded from a variety of sources. The largest contribution will come from the city’s food tax, half of which will be dedicated to servicing the project’s debt at an amount of $892,500 annually. Another sizable chunk will come from the 30% of the increased TRT that can be used for non-tourism-related expenses, totaling $309,375. The balance of funding for the projects’ debt service will come from transfers from the RV park reserve fund and city’s general fund reserve. At the meeting, several members of the public voiced their concerns about the park project’s budget and the financial burden that it would put on future residents of Cannon Beach. Other commenters spoke in favor of moving the projects forward and thanked the city council for taking the initiative to see them over the line. Councilors unanimously approved the bond issue.