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Citizen Thursday Market returns to Rockaway Beach Succulent Bowl by Heather Irace sold by Grumpy Gnome Gardens. Photo by Katherine Mace See page 8
Scott Vaughan artwork on display at Cannon Beach Gallery See page 7
Reimagine Your Home & Garden with Heart of CARTM
One-of-a-kind and local art available at affordable prices. See page 9
Serving North Tillamook County since 1996
Thursday, June 26, 2025 | Vol. 32, Issue 13
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www.northcoastcitizen.com
Hand recount confirms TLT increase fails by 12 votes WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
had been installed and was awaiting appliances. Johnson said that the downstairs waiting room will feature displays honoring substantial donors to the project and tracking the district’s history. “It will pay tribute to the people who first brought health care here and show a little bit of the transition over time,” Johnson said. On the facility’s exterior, sidewalks and curbs have been
Four members of Tillamook County’s board of elections gathered at the county clerk’s office on June 11, for a hand recount of votes on Ballot Measure 29-183, seeking to raise Tillamook County’s transient lodging tax from 10% to 14%. After a process that lasted until noon on Wednesday, all 9,000 votes in the contest were recounted, confirming the results from the tabulator, allowing Tillamook County Clerk Christy Nyseth to certify the election, with the measure falling by a margin of 12 votes, with 4506 against and 4494 for. Measure 29-183 sought to increase Tillamook County’s transient lodging tax (TLT) rate from 10% to 14% and was advanced by county commissioners in response to a budget crunch in the county government. A concerted campaign was mounted against the proposed measure by members of the lodging industry, who argued that the increase would negatively impact their already-tight bottom lines. The vote on the measure was nip and tuck from the get-go, though the no side always led, with 21 votes separating the responses in the first round of vote results released on election night. The margin shrunk from there, falling to 20 votes two days after the election and just 11 votes once all votes had been counted on May 29. After 22 voters with unverified or absent signatures corrected their ballots by June 10, the tabulator’s results stood at 4506 against and 4494 for. This margin fell within the threshold for an automatic recount, required by Oregon statute in any election on a ballot measure where the margin between yes and no votes is less than one fifth of one percent of the total votes cast for and against the measure, in this case 18 votes. Tillamook County Election Board Members Joni Steel, Diane Colcord,
See NBHD, Page A3
See RECOUNT, Page A5
NBHD’s new clinic in Wheeler is on pace for an early October opening.
NBHD clinic nears completion WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
Workers at the Nehalem Bay Health District’s new clinic and pharmacy in Wheeler are closing in on an early September date for substantial completion, which will allow the new facility to open the first weekend of October. Flooring and ceilings are being installed, and dental and Xray equipment will both arrive by early August and Nehalem Bay Health District (NBHD) Board Chair Marc Johnson said
the opening will serve as an opportunity for the community to explore the facility and the district to thank them for their support. “It’ll be more in the nature of a community celebration with an opportunity for people to have tours of the building and familiarize themselves with what we built here,” Johnson said, “but also an opportunity to thank the community for being so supportive.” Groundbreaking for the $12.2-million facility occurred last July and work has pro-
gressed smoothly since then under the stewardship of Bremik Construction and project superintendent Kevin McMurry. As of mid-June, work on the pharmacy on the facility’s first floor was largely complete, with cabinets and the pharmacy window installed. The clinic’s waiting room was still awaiting its reception desk. Upstairs, preparation work for the three dental operatories that will be installed was in its final stages, while cabinetry for a demonstration kitchen in the facility’s community conference room
Summer festivals begin with Dairy Days and rodeo STAFF REPORT
Tillamook County’s annual slate of summer festivals kicks off this weekend with the 38th annual Dairy Days Parade on June 28, and the 68th Tillamook County Rodeo on June 27 and 28. Rodeo events lead the weekend off on Friday, with the Miss Tillamook County Rodeo and Junior Miss Tillamook County Rodeo competitions and Little Tillys pageant
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during the day before the first night of competition at 7 p.m. at the Tillamook County Fairgrounds. Saturday’s activities start off with the YMCA Milk Run at 8 a.m., before the June Dairy Parade begins rolling through downtown at 11 a.m., with a theme of “Moovin Thru the Seasons.”
Tillamook Rodeo 2024. Photo by Will Chappell
Rodeo champions will be decided on Saturday night and the Miss Tillamook County Rodeo and Junior Miss Tillamook County Rodeo crowned at the halftime. See the insert in this edition or online at our website for a map of the parade route, list of entries and more details about the rodeo and milk run.
TLT reform passes house WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
Oregon’s house of representatives passed a bill that would restructure the statutory restriction on city and county spending of transient lodging tax dollars on June 19. The bill, advanced by Tillamook Representative Cyrus Javadi, passed with 31 yes votes against 23 no votes and now moves to the senate for consideration. Javadi’s attempts to reform the spending restrictions of House Bill 2267 that passed in 2003 and established the current regime for TLT spending have been ongoing since the beginning of this session. Javadi and leaders in counties that receive high levels of tourism argue that the current restrictions requiring 70% of funds from the TLT go towards tourism promotion or facilities leave jurisdictions without sufficient revenues to meet the cost of serving visitors, especially as it relates to emergency services. Initially, Javadi introduced two bills, one proposing a change in the percentage of funds restricted for tourism use from 70% to 50% and the other proposing a change to the definitions of tourismrelated spending to add law enforcement and tourism facility maintenance in the allowed expenditures for the restricted funds. Both of those proposals fizzled and died in the general government committee early in the session, but Javadi continued his quest and in early May, Democratic Representative Jules Walters revived the discussion, dedicating one of her five priority bills to redefining the allowable uses of restricted TLT funds. From there, Javadi and other legislators convened a series of closed-door meetings in May and early June, bringing See TLT, Page A5