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Headlight Herald
Tuesday, February 4, 2025 | Vol. 137, Issue 5
Shelters assembled at CARE WILL CHAPPELL
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Headlight Editor
nstallation of nine low-barrier shelters for homeless residents and three accompanying bathrooms took place last week at Community Action Resource Enterprises in downtown Tillamook. With the shelters erected, the project enters its final stages, with connecting electricity and building pathways and a fence around the site the largest remaining tasks. Once complete, Community Action Resource Enterprises (CARE) Executive Director Jeff Blackford said that the organization is planning an open house for the site to show the community what their support has made possible. “Tillamook stepped up and helped support this too,” Blackford said, “so we want to make sure the entire community can come and take a look at what they supported to show them that this is going to be a place where people can come and get housed and get a new start.” Work towards the grouping of shelters on a county owned piece of property adjacent to CARE’s downtown Tillamook headquarters is being paid for by $266,000 appropriated by the state legislature in 2023 from Measure 110 behavioral health network funds. After working with the county to secure a lease on the site in summer 2023, the project ran into repeated snags, with original designs not meeting fire code, and the team finding that a French drain needed to be installed to prevent flooding, as well as a power vault to provide sufficient electricity. By September of last year, the French drain was in place and conduits installed to receive the power lines when the vault is placed. Another snafu occurred when
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Headlight Editor
embers of the Tillamook Chamber of Commerce gathered for the group’s annual banquet, with a theme of a Scandinavian Soiree, at the Tillamook County Fairgrounds on January 24. A silent auction and cocktail hour preceded dinner, after which a live auction was held and the chamber’s annual awards presented. More than 300 people gathered at the fairgrounds, including State Senator Suzanne Weber, State Representative
County leaders to reduce TLT increase ask WILL CHAPPELL
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crews placed the concrete pads that will serve as the base for the shelters in the wrong locations, cutting the number of shelter units that could be located on the site from 17 to 13. The mistake also led CARE to seek a new contractor for the project, eventually selecting Gage Construction, which Blackford said had transformed the Photos by Will Chappell
(Top) As of midday Wednesday, workers had completed installation of three toilets and one four-person shelter (not visible behind the last toilet). (Bottom) The interior of a completed four-person shelter, which will feature heating, air conditioning, a mini fridge and microwave. See CARE TO, Page A3
Tillamook Chamber celebrates annual banquet WILL CHAPPELL
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Cyrus Javadi and Tillamook County Commissioner Erin Skaar. Drinks were provided by Pelican Brewing and the team from Garibaldi Portside Bistro prepared dinner for the crowd. After dinner, Brett Hurliman conducted a live auction that included tickets to the Oregon State versus Oregon football game this fall, numerous dining experiences for large groups, a central Oregon golf getaway and fishing adventure. A years’ worth of dates at the Garibaldi Portside Bistro ended up with the highest purchase price, garnering $2,200. Tillamook Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Justin Aufdermauer then gave a brief presentation on the Tillamook Chamber Community Foundation, which was founded to support local programs that don’t have a home. A large portion of the foundation’s funding comes from money raised at the banquet and this year’s funds will be spent on community beautification. Following the presentation and a solicitation of donations, Aufdermauer presented the chamber’s annual awards. In the business of the year category, the Mook at Alderbook, the golf course located in Idaville, took home the top honor. Co-owner Patrick Zweifel said that the team at the course was working to make it a magical place and that he had
Photo by Will Chappell
Brett Hurliman ran the live auction at the banquet, donning a Viking-style hat for the night’s Scandinavian theme.
never golfed before buying the property but that “now I golf, and it’s really all I can think about.” Tillamook Tire Service was named small business of the year, with the Pastega Activity Center—the YMCA owned bowling center in Tillamook— awarded development project of the year and the Tillamook High School Drag Racing Club selected program of the year. Finally, Tillamook YMCA Chief Executive Officer Kaylan Sisco, who left for a new position in Spokane at the end of January, was named citizen
of the year. Sisco said that he felt awkward accepting the award and that while he loved to be on the stage, he preferred to be there to promote the YMCA and celebrate what the organization and community accomplished together. He continued that he was honored by the award and thanked the community for its support during his tenure. “Good people make a good community and good people make good people better,” Sisco said, “and that’s why I’m here.”
Headlight Editor
n response to concerns raised by hoteliers and short-term rental owners at a public hearing on January 29, Tillamook County commissioners agreed to reduce a requested transient lodging tax increase from 5% to 4%. Commissioners also agreed that, if approved by voters, the 4% increase would be phased in over two years, with 2% annual raises. The public hearing on the proposed transient lodging tax (TLT) rate increase was split into two parts, one in the morning at the Tillamook County Courthouse and one in the evening at the Port of Tillamook Bay. At both meetings, Tillamook County Chief Administrative Officer Rachel Hagerty kicked proceedings off with a presentation on the TLT and proposed increase. Tillamook County’s transient lodging tax (TLT) was approved by voters in 2013 at a rate of 10% and went into effect in 2014. 70% of the funds raised by the tax, assessed on all overnight stays in the county, go towards supporting tourism promotion or tourism-related facilities, in accordance with state law, with the remaining 30% dedicated to road maintenance. The idea of increasing the rate of the TLT started to percolate to the surface last spring, according to Hagerty, in the face of declining revenues from state forests. The budget group that met beginning last summer to look at ways to address this year’s $1 million shortfall and projected shortfalls of $3-4 million in future fiscal years identified a list of more than 50 possible solutions, among which was the TLT increase. The proposed 5% increase is projected to bring in $3-3.5 million annually, with $1 million (30%) available to the county government for any purpose and the remainder obligated to fund tourism promotion or projects. Hagerty said that the proposed increase would include a funding allocation structure for the additional $1 million in unrestricted revenues, with 80% being earmarked to support the sheriff’s office, 10% to the county’s emergency management department and 10% to maintenance of the county’s new emergency radio system, which will be constructed soon following voter approval of a bond to support it last November. Hagerty clarified that the additional funds directed to the sheriff’s office would not be used to increase the office’s budget but rather to secure current funding levels. Discussions began with city leaders last summer and fall about cities raising their TLT rates in conjunction with the county increase. Currently, 1% of TLT revenue collected in See TLT TO, Page A3
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