BIG ROAD PROJECT COMING

Two major sections of Cannon Beach roadway are slated for resurfacing this spring. Beginning June 4th and ending, weather permitting, just before Sandcastle weekend (June 16th), these improvements will include Hemlock from Sunset south to the 'S' Curves and Sunset from Hemlock east under the highway bridge all the way around to Route 101.

As a result of this project, the Haystack Sidewalk Local Improvement District (LID) Project has been effectively abandoned. This sidewalk was to run down the west side of Hemlock from the Hallmark south to the Haystack Rock Beach Access. An LID is a funding mechanism used by a City like Cannon Beach to pay the cost of a public improvement by assessing adjacent property owners their "fair share." After extensive discussion and deliberation, the City Council felt that these property owners would benefit little, if at all, by the construction of the sidewalk and therefore shouldn't be compelled to pay for something they wouldn't use.

As employees of the City's public works department watched the Council struggle with this issue, they developed a plan to widen the Hemlock right-of-way in lieu of building a sidewalk. This included scraping off the grass portion, cutting into the bank and planting more suitable vegetation along portions of the west side. The repaving will also include the 8 street intersections on either side of Hemlock.

These road improvements are part of the City's long-term Pavement Preservation Project. Please recognize that traffic delays, temporary (and brief) road closures and detours may be necessary during construction as well as some inaccessability problems. But under favorable weather conditions, 2 of the main road arteries through our city will be vastly improved.

Thanks in advance for your patience.

NEW CITY PERSONNEL

The City of Cannon Beach has recently made 3 key hires that I think will have a significant and positive impact on our community for years to come.

First, after more than 6 months since the departure of Joy Gannon, Cannon Beach finally has a new Director of Public Works. Mark See began work for us on Monday. He grew up in Klamath Falls, Oregon where he started working for the Oregon Department of Transportation 29 years ago. He spent 18 years in Klamath Falls before moving to ODOT's district office in Newport where he supervised 2 maintenance crews.

For the last 7 1/2 years, Mark has been a Transportation Maintenance Manager for ODOT's District 1 office in Astoria. As part of his duties, he supervised 2 coordinators and 15 specialists in charge of maintenance of the district's extensive state highway system. Mark has also had much experience in road construction, stormwater issues, fleet management and emergency operations. He is married with 2 children and lives in Gearhart.

Cannon Beach resident Brandy Harker has been promoted to the Administrative Assistant position effective May 14th. Brandy has held the position of Administrative Specialist for the last 3 years and has provided backup in the absence of the Administrative Assistant. She is a native of Utah and has lived in Cannon Beach for the last 12 years. She and her husband Damon have 2 daughters - O'Neal and Jordan. Brandy is also an active volunteer in the community and has just been elected President of the Cannon Beach Elementary School PTO.

Lisa Sheffield is our new Haystack Rock Awareness Program Coordinator. Lisa is originally from Port Orford, Oregon and is a graduate of Oregon State University where she earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Wildlife Science. She has had a variety of numerous professional experiences with seabird and marine mammal wildlife including serving as a guide for seabird and mammal watching trips off the coasts of Oregon and Washington, working in native villages in the Bering Sea supervising field crews looking for evidence of avian flu in Alaskan bird life and participating in a long term research program evaluating the population ecology of Ross Sea penguins in Anarctica. Lisa has also authored or co-authored numerous publications related to wildlife science and biology. She lives in Astoria and starts work here May 27th.

Speaking of HRAP, I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the great job put in by Kristin Albrecht as the Interim HRAP Coordinator. She had some big shoes to fill after Shelley Parker left for a position in State Parks but Kristin has been a Godsend. She'll continue with us for a while longer helping Lisa become acclimated to her new duties.

If you get an opportunity, please feel free to stop by City Hall to greet and meet our 3 newcomers.