Sand Lake Road reopens Page A2
Shakeup in county commissioner races Page A2
Headlight Herald
Tuesday, March 12, 2024 | Vol. 136, Issue 11
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Board of Forestry finalizes HCP WILL CHAPPELL Headlight Editor
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n a 4-3 vote on March 7, the Oregon Board of Forestry approved finalization of a habitat conservation plan for western Oregon state forests that will regulate management of those forests for the next 70 years. Serious cuts in projected harvest levels under the plan drew intense criticism from officials from counties and special districts that rely on revenues from the state forest and timber industry representatives. But following a recommendation of approval from State Forester Cal Mukumoto, four board members voted for approval of the plan, saying they did not believe higher harvests could be achieved in compliance with federal statute, while three voted against. At the beginning of the meeting, Mukumoto officially recommended that staff from the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) move forward on finalizing the habitat conservation plan (HCP) and obtaining incidental take permits associated with it. Mukumoto acknowledged the concerns about the plan’s economic impacts and noted that ODF has operated on limited budgets for many years. He said that staff at ODF would work to minimize the economic impacts in the forest management plans that will set harvest levels for ten-year periods during the HCP, using dynamic forest management techniques. He also said that the state forests division was looking at ways to reduce its budget by increasing efficiency to account for lower revenues. The HCP will govern around 640,000 acres of state forests west of the crest of the cascades that over the past two decades have averaged around 225 million board feet (mmbf) in annual harvests. The plan will establish habitat conservation areas to protect 17 species protected under the National Endangered Species Act (ESA) by establishing habitat conservation areas removed from harvest. Those restrictions are projected to lead to harvest levels between 165 mmbf and 182.5 mmbf. After Mukumoto finished his presentation, the board welcomed public comment, which was evenly split between support for and opposition to the plan. Opponents warned of financial ruin in the forest trust land counties, citing studies that showed that between 10 and 15 jobs are generated by each million board feet of timber harvested. Proponents said that the plan was a fair compromise between conservational efforts and the economic health of the counties, noting that they would have favored options with stronger protections for the endangered species. The board then began debate on whether to accept Mukumoto’s recommendation. Board Member Carla Chambers kicked off the discussion and voiced her opposition to the plan, pointing to the potential impact on wildfire risk in the state. Chambers said that the history of reduced harvests on federal forest lands in Oregon dating back to the 1980s showed those reductions led to increases in fire risk. Chambers noted that the increase in fires has led to a conSee FORESTRY, Page A3
PHOTO COURTESY OFPETTY OFFICER FIRST CLASS TRAVIS MAGEE, USCG
Garibaldi Mayor Katie Findling officially accepted the U.S. Coast Guard City designation from Rear Admiral Charles Fosse at the ceremony on March 5.
Garibaldi designated Coast Guard City At the ceremony, Rear Admiral Charles E. Fosse, the commander of Coast Guard District 13, Mayor Katie Findling and a representative from Senator Jeff Merkley’s office delivered remarks before a bagpipe rendition of Semper Paratus, the Coast Guard’s theme song. The ceremony marked the
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itizens, city leaders and a large contingent of service members gathered on March 5, at the Old Mill Convention Center to recognize and celebrate Garibaldi’s designation as a Coast Guard City.
culmination of a multi-year process that began in 2022 and was spearheaded by former City Councilor Laurie Wandell, who also spoke at the ceremony. Fosse spoke first and spoke glowingly of the relationship between the city and the Coast Guard, which began with the opening of
the first lifesaving station in 1908. Since then, service members have come to expect a strong level of support from the community, Fosse said. Garibaldi joined 33 other cities that had previously received the See GARIBALDI, Page A2
Manzanita council approves city hall construction contract WILL CHAPPELL Headlight Editor
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anzanita’s city council unanimously approved a guaranteed maximum price contract for just under $4.6 million with Cove Built, LLC. to construct a new city hall and police station at Underhill Plaza on March 6. City Manager Leila Aman also updated the council on the city’s selection to receive $2.7 million from the state legislature to build infrastructure to enable housing development. The $2.7 million award is part of the state’s efforts to address the affordable housing crisis and will be used to construct water and stormwater infrastructure necessary to build the Manzanita Highlands project, according to Aman. That project aims to bring 128 apartments into Manzanita’s housing pool that would be available to renters for less than the market rate. Aman said that staff from State Representative David Gomberg’s office had approached the city in November to ask if they had any projects that were shovel ready. The request came with a four-day deadline and Aman said that the city had already identified the project and worked up a preliminary plan, allowing them to submit a proposal in the allotted time. At the council meeting, the award was so recent that Aman was unable to offer any specifics on the project’s timeline but she said that she was extremely excited about receiving the funding. Aman and Jesse Steiger, who is serving as project manager for the city hall and police station project, gave a presentation about the guaranteed maximum price contract. Aman began by giving a brief history of the project, which began in 1995 when the city council approved the formation of a city hall fund to pay for the eventual
IN THIS ISSUE News Opinion Obituaries Sports Classifieds
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construction. Small contributions were made to the fund over the next 20 years but no further steps were taken until 2017 when the council approved the purchase of the Underhill Plaza site. Following the purchase, the project’s progress sped up. In 2019 the city sought a bond from voters to pay for the construction of a new city hall at the site but did not receive approval. The setback led the city council to pass a resolution in 2020 confirming their intention to construct a new facility at the site and directed the city staff to find funding sources to support that decision. Following that decision, an extensive public feedback process was conducted, yielding a preliminary plan in 2021, at which point the council approved the hiring of a project team. The team held more public outreach to help develop a schematic design, while concurrently identifying several potential funding sources for the project. By budget season in 2023, the team had completed the schematic design process and determined that applying for a loan from Business Oregon’s Special Public Works Fund would be the best funding mechanism. During the budget process the council approved the loan application and greenlit the
team to move into the final design phase before beginning construction. For the rest of 2023, the project team worked to finalize the designs for the project, which they presented to the council in November. The new city hall and police station will be housed in separate buildings, as the police station will serve as the city’s emergency operations center, requiring more expensive construction to ensure its survival in a Cascadia subduction zone event. Councilors approved the design as well as the remediation of hazardous materials concerns at two buildings at the site to be followed by their demolition, which occurred in January. In December, council gave final approval to Aman to borrow up to $5.1 million from Business Oregon for the project. The loan will accrue interest at a 2% rate and funds will be issued on an as-needed basis during construction, with the total loan package going up for sale on the commercial market once the project is complete. The project’s total budget is just over $6 million and to date the city has spent $826,000. Aman said that she only anticipates needing to borrow $4.1 million from Business Oregon, with the remainder of the
funding coming from $265,000 already appropriated in this year’s budget, $282,000 from grants and $638,000 from the sale of the old city hall. Steiger told the council about the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) contract submitted by Cove Built, which had already been selected as the construction manager general contractor for the project. The GMP is a fixed price that accounts for the cost of constructing the facility and turning over a fully functioning building to the city. The GMP was finalized after Cove Built put the different parts of the project out to bid and selected subcontractors to complete the work. The $4,589,943.67 contract could see price changes if unknown conditions exist at the site, codes or permitting requirements change, or the city changes the design, with any additional costs coming from an owner’s contingency of $325,000. The project could also come in under budget, in which case the savings would be realized by the city as less money would be borrowed. The GMP also includes a substantial completion date of May 16, 2025, at which point the building needs to be usable. Steiger clarified that usable meant that a certificate of occupancy and proper permits have been obtained but noted that a punch list of final work would remain. Steiger said that during the construction process, the project’s financial books would be open for review by the project’s architect, Steiger and Aman, and that any changes would require approval from all three. Aman said that she was committed to spending just $4.1 million, even though she has been authorized to borrow up to $5.1 million, and that she would come to the council for approval should that change.
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