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INTRODUCING SUCCESSFUL WOMEN 2023 INSIDE
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Successful | Non-profit Business | Civic h coast en of the nort Celebrating wom e in our communities renc who make a diffe
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• Carolyn Decker Tillamook School Board eier, Commissioner • Kris Lachenm Tillamook County • Mary Faith Bell, Port of Tillamook Bay • Michele Bradley, k County Commissioner t • Erin Skaar, Tillamoo Zwald Transpor of NCLC • Heather Taksdal, Executive Director • Katie Vokelke, Director of HRAP • Kelli Ennis, Collective EOL Coast • North Garibaldi Charters • Tamara Mautner,& Fest • Neskowin Farm
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NORTHCOASTCITIZEN.COM
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Citizen Serving North Tillamook County since 1996
JULY 27, 2023
$1.50 VOLUME 30, NO. 15
Get ready for the Tillamook County Fair
Competitors in the demolition derby square off on a Saturday night. FILE PHOTO
STAFF REPORT
T
he Tillamook County Fair will be taking place from August 9 to 12, at the fairgrounds, offering a plethora of entertainment, rides, races, food and shopping for the whole family. This year’s theme is “Let
Freedom Ring,” and the fan favorite offerings will all be returning, from the Pig n’ Ford races to Saturday’s Demolition Derby. Fair gates will open at 10 a.m. each day and remain open until the end of the evening’s entertainment at 10 p.m. Vendors and exhibi-
tors will be setup across the fairgrounds, while agricultural competitions take place in the FFA and 4H pavilion during the day. Rainier Rides will bring a compliment of rides to the fair, operating from noon to 10 p.m. daily. Those interested can check Rainier Rides’
website for a list of which rides will be coming to Tillamook and purchase passes, with a discount available for prepurchase. General admission tickets for the fair cost $10 per day, with a 4-day pass available for $30. Parking will cost $5 and benefit the Lions Club of
Tillamook. For the price of admission, fairgoers will not only have access to more than 70 vendors and exhibitors, and more than 2,600 exhibits from local residents ranging from photography to floral arrangements, but also to a wide variety of entertain-
ment. During the day, local musicians, dance groups and other entertainers, including Godfrey the Magician, will perform on the Courtyard Stage at the fair’s center. Then, at 5:30 p.m., the SEE FAIR PAGE A6
New Wheeler city manager eager to learn, communicate WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
P
ax Broeder will assume Wheeler’s City Manager position on August 1, and is ready to learn and engage the community. Broeder also said that he will work to increase the hours city hall is accessible to citizens and to ensure that
the city’s meetings are easier to access virtually. Broeder is taking over the city manager’s position in Wheeler following the departure of Mary Johnson for Rockaway Beach, where she is now the city planner. Broeder has worked in project management positions for the past 18 years, mostly in retail and distillery opera-
tions, before most recently serving as Wheeler’s Postmaster for the last 7 months. Broeder and his wife have lived in Nehalem since 2018, after moving from Cannon Beach. A city councilor who came to know Broeder in his role as postmaster informed him of the open city manager position and encouraged him
to apply. Broeder’s top priority upon becoming city manager will be to learn about the various aspects of his job. Beyond that, Broeder said that he does not have specific policies or projects that he plans to promote. “I’m going into this position with an open mind, not an agenda,” Broeder said.
However, he did note that Wheeler’s City Hall has had irregular hours due to staffing issues and that council meetings have been difficult to attend virtually, both issues which he plans to address. When asked what he felt Wheeler’s greatest asset was, Broeder said it was the people, praising the citizen-
ry’s spirit of volunteerism. “Not only is there a great team of city employees, but many of the citizens at large care for, support and volunteer their time and knowledge to keep the city moving forward,” Broeder said.
Wheeler hires new city manager; mayor resigns WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
W
heeler Mayor Doug Honeycutt stepped down from that position in late June and announced his complete resignation from public service on Saturday July 15. Council President Clif Kemp has assumed the mayoralty and there is an open seat on the city council for which applications are
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now being accepted. The council also announced the hiring of Pax Broeder as city manager at their meeting on July 18, filling a vacancy left by the recent departure of Mary Johnson. “I thought he would be the appropriate person for this transition period,” Kemp said of Broeder. “He works really well with people and has a good staff in place here right now.” Broeder assumes the city manager position after most recently serving as Wheeler’s postmaster. Honeycutt’s resignation as mayor in late June was initially followed by a transition to council before he announced his resignation from that position on July 15.
In a message to the Herald, Honeycutt said that he had decided to step down to attend to personal affairs and gave a strong endorsement to his successor. “I have continued faith that Clif will move Wheeler forward in the correct direction,” Honeycutt wrote. “I feel we are lucky to have him in our community, have him as mayor and I have enjoyed his professionalism while working with him. He will be successful.” “It has been a pleasure serving the Wheeler community and its citizens,” Honeycutt added. Applications to fill the council seat left vacant by Honeycutt’s departure are being accepted by the city until August 13. The council
will interview applicants at their meeting on August 15, and plan to appoint a new member at that meeting. In his first meeting as mayor, Kemp updated the public on the ongoing legal contest between the city and developers wishing to build in downtown Wheeler. The developers’ application has gone through several cycles of appeal and remand before the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals and is once again before the city for consideration. Two plans have been submitted for the waterfront parcel in downtown Wheeler, with the initial being for a hotel and restaurant and the latter for a smaller hotel attached to a fish processing facility. Both proposals meet
the zoning requirements for the property but have been repeatedly rejected by the city’s planning commission and council for incomplete designs and materials being proposed for use in the project that do not meet with the city’s code. Kemp announced at the council meeting that the city has agreed to a mediation session with the developers that will take place on August 25, at the Stole Reeves offices in Portland. The arbitration will be overseen by a judge and involve lawyers for the developers and those for the city and its insurance carrier. The mediation will be nonbinding, but Kemp said that he wants to work with the developers to approve a project for the property and is
optimistic about the mediation. The council was also updated on work that will be done to the gangway for the public dock, which was damaged in storms last winter. The gangway will be removed in November and transported to Seaside, where the repairs will take about a month. The council also announced the implementation of new fees to use the city’s boat ramp that will go into effect on August 1. The fee for ramp usage will be $10, with an annual pass available for $265, which will also include a business license from the city for tour operators and free parking near the ramp. Wheeler residents will be exempt from the fee.