Our Time 55+
Rockaway Beach Chamber of Commerce & Community Education Events at the Ocean’s Edge Wayside, pg 7
Monday Musical Club of Tillamook honors beloved member and talented pianist, the late Joan Petty, pg 7
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Haystack Rock Awareness Program’s Spring Events, pg 10. Photo by Bob Kroll
Business and Community Resource Guide
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Spring/Summer 2025
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Our Time 55+
Bay City Pearl & Oyster Festival, pg 4
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Free to read in print and online at www.tillamookheadlightherald.com
Serving North Tillamook County since 1996
Thursday, March 20, 2025 | Vol. 32, Issue 6
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www.northcoastcitizen.com
Housing commission makes housing grant recs WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
The facility’s interior is taking shape, with the installation of pool decking completed last week.
Equipment going in at NCRD pool WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
Work on the new pool facility at the North Coast Recreation District in Nehalem is entering the home stretch, with pool decks installed last week and equipment installation around a quarter complete. As the facility’s completion in June approaches, the team at North Coast Recreation District (NCRD) are preparing to create safety plans for and train staff to use the new facility, while also working on decommissioning plans for the district’s legacy pool. The new facility’s two pools, one six lanes wide, eight feet deep and competition ready, and the other a wheelchair-accessible therapy pool have been adorned with tile work and are waiting for See NCRD POOL, Page A3
In addition to the natatorium, the project will also include the addition of a new parking lot with more than 20 spaces and the already-completed wheelchair ramp to make the new facility accessible from the rest of the district.
Manzanita city hall and police department work progresses WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
With a June 1 handover date quickly approaching, the team working on Manzanita’s city hall and police station are on schedule, with siding being installed and painting taking place. Jason Stegner, owner of Cove Built Construction, the company managing construc-
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tion, recently gave the Headlight Herald a tour of the quickly progressing project. Stegner said that the project was moving ahead smoothly, with siding already complete on the police department’s building and underway on the city hall, and roofs in place on both buildings. The siding, like all wood being used in the project, was sourced from Oregon and Stegner said that he had heard positive feedback from community members on the appearance. Inside the buildings, sheet rock has been hung, and painting is underway, with completion expected by mid-March, after which workers will being installing finishes, including floor tile and bathrooms, and cabinetry and the city council dais in the council chamber. Counter tops will then be
placed in early April, with flooring installed shortly thereafter. Stegner also detailed the touches that will bring a sense of place, belonging and beauty to the public-facing areas of the city hall building. In the council chamber, where most of the project’s wood budget is being spent, the room’s ceiling, built-in benches and windowsills will all be made from locally sourced Hemlock that is salvaged from fallen local trees and milled in Nehalem. The same wood cutter in Nehalem is also restoring wooden beams from the elementary school that used to occupy the site, which See MANZANITA, Page A5
The exterior of Manzanita’s new city hall as siding installation progressed in early March.
Tillamook County’s housing commission made recommendations for the allocation of $400,000 in Housing Production Solution Fund grants to six projects across the county on March 6. The recommendations followed January presentations by developers associated with eight affordable and workforce housing projects across the county, which were reviewed by the housing commission’s finance committee. After reviewing the committee’s recommendations, the commission made two slight tweaks to the proposed split, and their recommendations will now go to the board of county commissioners for final approval. The meeting began with Tillamook County Housing Coordinator Parker Sammons reviewing the finance committee’s recommendations. The committee recommended funding for six of the eight projects, with the B’Nai Brith proposal for 64 units in Rockaway Beach and the Alder Creek Commons project, which plans to renovate the Nehalem Bay House into 24 apartments for residents aged 55 and up, not being recommended. Sammons explained that the B’Nai Brith project had not been recommended because it was still in extremely early stages, as well as the fact that the project team had expressed confidence in their ability to secure funds through other means. Sammons said that he was planning to offer the project team technical assistance and expected that they might reapply for funding in a future round of grant awards. The Alder Creek Commons project was not selected because it recently received funding from the state government that is sufficient to complete the project, making a county grant unnecessary. Of the six projects that received recommendations, the finance committee recommended awards of $80,000 each for the National Bank Building and Tillamook Bay Commons projects in Tillamook, Spruce Point by Home First in Manzanita and the Anchor Street project in Rockaway Beach, and $40,000 each to the Alder Ridge project in Bay City and Thompson Springs project in Nehalem. Commission members were generally in support of these recommendations, except one recommended that the award for the 60-apartment Spruce Point project be reduced by $40,000 because of Home First’s strong financial position relative to other projects. They recommended that the $40,000 be split evenly between the National Bank Building, which project contractor Chris Wilkes said was on pace for completion by the end of the year if it received an award, and the Tillamook Bay Commons projects. The committee unanimously agreed to this recommendation and upped the recommended awards for the two projects to $100,000 apiece. Several of the projects also had contingencies attached to their awards. The Anchor Street Project that aims to add four apartments above a commercial kitchen is applying for an agricultural housing tax credit, which could in turn be sold to replace the $80,000 recommended grant. The Tillamook Bay Commons award was divided into two tranches, with $50,000 to be awarded immediately to help Maker Development Studio complete its transition to a non-profit model. The second $50,000 will be awarded when money has been put in escrow for the project’s property, to help with predevelopment costs. Committee members unanimously approved the amended recommendations which will now go to the board of county commissioners for final approval.