New traffic signal waits on ODOT fundingThe old Astoria Safeway building will be demolished by the end of this year.

At Monday’s meeting, the Astoria City Council authorized staff to call for bids for demolition and to start looking for a qualified consulting firm to continue the planning process for the property, now owned by the city.

A final design must be submitted to the Department of Housing and Community Services no later than Jan. 1, 2005, members heard.

Unless leaders of the Astoria American Legion change their minds, the Legion building will remain at its present location on the square block site in downtown Astoria.

City Manager Dan Bartlett said demolition of the adjacent Safeway will not damage the Legion building. He said the city believes the two buildings have separate walls. He said the city’s contract for demolition will specify precautions against damaging it, and will also specify that any environmental hazards be treated appropriately.

Astoria resident Don Webb said he believes the old Safeway should be tested as a conference center instead of being torn down. But Councilor Loran Mathews explained such a use had been rejected by a conference center task force because the site is too far from major hotels on the west end of town. Bartlett added that converting the old Safeway to a modern facility accessible to handicapped people would be prohibitively expensive.

“The Americans with Disabilities Act would not allow a public use, because the restrooms are on the second floor, there’s no elevator, there’s no way to get there and there’s no logical way to put an elevator in that space,” he explained.

Bartlett said many groups want to use the old Safeway building “as is,” but the city’s agreement with the state is to create a public plaza and a public/private “mixed use” building. If those plans were changed, the city would have to re-open negotiations with the state. The percentage of a $750,000 Community Incentive Fund Grant/Loan that will be treated as a grant instead of a loan depends on how much of the site is developed for public, rather than private use.

Bartlett said he hopes construction of the plaza can start next year, using already budgeted city funds, as well as grant money. In the meantime, the existing basement of the Safeway building will be sealed off and made available as a public open space.

Light on holdMeanwhile, a traffic light for the 33rd Street intersection with Lief Erickson Drive, home of the new Safeway, remains on hold, waiting for the Oregon Department of Transportation’s $90,000 share of funding, Bartlett explained in response to a question from Astoria resident K.C. McGee. He said Mayor Willis Van Dusen recently conferred with regional ODOT officials about the signal.

And he said Astoria’s state legislators have “cornered ODOT’s director” and applied pressure to him to get the light installed at the busy intersection. The city and Safeway are ready to pay their share of the cost.

In other business, council members learned that design of the city’s first large Combined Sewer Overflow project is nearly complete, and will be ready to bid early this month. It’s part of a 20-year, $22 million improvement to Astoria’s sewer system, mandated by the federal government and enforced by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. The goal is to keep raw sewage from running into the river and the bay during storms by separating the city’s storm drains from its sanitary sewer system.

Phase One consists of two projects. The first, a separation project estimated at $1.2 million, includes construction of over 11,000 feet of eight- to 24-inch storm lines, replacement of some catch basins and several inlets. The separation area runs from Third Street and Lexington Avenue to 11th Street and Niagara Avenue on the top of the hill, and along Olney Avenue from Hanover Street to Eighth Street.

The second part of Phase One is the CSO storage project, a large pipe, about eight feet in diameter, that will be buried under the south shoulder of West Marine Drive from the Roundabout toward Astoria Ford.

“It will store combined sewage during storm events,” said Astoria Public Works Director Mitchum. “It will hold it for a very short period of time, and as the capacity of our system to handle it clears up from the heaviest rainfall, then the stored sewage will flow back into our system and not go into Youngs Bay.”

When the shoulder is resurfaced after installation of the pipe, Mitchum said it might be made into a walkway for pedestrians. A sidewalk runs along the opposite side of West Marine Drive.

The storage pipe was to have been located along Taylor Avenue on the east side of the roundabout. The council approved changing its location, based on concerns about geological stability, and authorized an additional $69,882 to pay for the change in design.

In other business, members:

Authorized submittal of a proposal to investigate a multi-county library district, that would include Clatsop and Columbia counties.

Authorized going out for bids for construction of a new 39th Street from Lief Erickson Drive to the riverfront, and associated improvements to U.S. Highway 30.

Agreed to send a letter to Charter Communications, objecting to the company’s decision to discontinue FM signal service.

Approved a liquor license for Astoria Thai Cuisine, 1040 Commercial St.

Adopted an ordinance that allows the city manager to approve permits for sound amplification devices instead of the City Council.

Councilor Joyce Compere presided over the meeting in the absence of Mayor Van Dusen.