Cannon Beach City Council applicants will have to wait

Published 4:00 pm Tuesday, January 7, 2014

CANNON BEACH Three men who are vying for two vacant positions on the Cannon Beach City Council will have to wait until Tuesday to find out who will be appointed.

Mike Benefield, Leonard Skreba and George Vetter hope to complete the terms of former Councilors Sam Steidel and Nancy Giasson. Both councilors, who had one more year left in their term, resigned last month.

Steidel, who wants to run for mayor next fall, would have had to sit out the next election if he had completed his eighth year in office. The city charter prohibits councilors to spend more than eight consecutive years on the council. Giasson said she felt she had accomplished what she had meant to do when she was elected seven years ago and had no more energy to begin new projects.

Although the remaining three members of the council Mayor Mike Morgan and councilors Wendy Higgins and Melissa Cadwallader interviewed the applicants Tuesday night, they decided to appoint the new members at a special council meeting beginning at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, prior to the councils usual second-Tuesday work session.

The council asked the same three questions of Benefield, Skreba and Vetter: Would they seek election to a full term on the council next fall, what attributes would they bring to the council and what is their vision for the citys future?

All three said they likely would seek election. However, Skreba called the inquiry a loaded question.

I would rather not answer that question, he said, but if things work out right, I probably will (run for election).

Benefield, who is retired, noted that he had recently completed four years on the city planning commission and that he had spent 20 years as a corporate officer of a major company. During that time, he said, he was involved in economic and financial planning, marketing, land development, engineering and operations.

I came to Cannon Beach by choice, said Benefield, who visited many towns on the West Coast before moving his family to Cannon Beach. I really liked this town.

He said the citys comprehensive plan was well written but needed to be reviewed periodically.

I would like to see policies developed that would encourage full-time residents, Benefield said.

While Cannon Beach depends on revenue from tourists, Benefield said there should be a better balance between full-time residents and second-home owners. That could be brought about, he added, if the council developed policies that encourage full-time jobs, young families and affordable housing.

Benefield also wants more diversity in Cannon Beach, including a mix of artists, craftsmen, professional workers and service providers so we dont have to travel out of town to buy needed items.

I would like Cannon Beach to be a desirable hometown that attracts and keeps families, Benefield added.

Skreba, who noted that the last time he appeared before the council was to scold the members, said he had been a resident for 30 years and could offer the perspective of a homeowner and taxpayer, not a business owner.

The definition of leadership is to find solutions before problems occur, he said.

He criticized city officials response to the last tsunami scare on March 9, 2011 and said a plan should have been in place. Instead, Skreba said, there was confusion.

In addition, Skreba said, the council should behave more responsively and be more fiscally responsible.

The council should work to represent the citizens in the community and not on personal agendas, said Skreba, who added that he wanted to see more people attending council meetings.

I dont know why money is always being spent, he said. I dont know why its not being saved.

As an example, he said the council should not have spent $4 million to purchase 800 acres in the Ecola Creek watershed when the city already owned property there. The Ecola Forest Reserve was financed through a voter-approved $4-million bond measure.

Local business owner George Vetter, who has lived in Cannon Beach for 36 years, said he offered the perspective of a father and a volunteer for a variety of committees and organizations, including the chamber of commerce, the citys design review board, planning commission and City Council, where he was appointed in 2003 to finish the 18-month term of a councilor who moved to Portland.

Vetter said had been attracted to Cannon Beach when he first moved there, and he wanted to continue to make it attractive to young families. Throughout the years, he said, Cannon Beach has improved its aesthetics, including developing the Haystack Rock Awareness Program and preserving its natural beauty.

But Vetter said he would like to see an elementary school brought back to town to replace the elementary school that was closed in June and a new City Hall placed on higher ground. The property where the former school was located should become a park, Vetter added, and he said he supported the citys work with the Clatsop-Nehalem tribes efforts to create an interpretive center there.

Cannon Beach should be known for its art and natural beauty, said Vetter, who is a professional photographer.

I want to see Cannon Beach known as a romantic place, he added.

In other business, the City Council:

Agreed to contract with the Housing Development Center, of Portland, to develop a survey that would determine the housing needs of low- and moderate-income persons who live and work in Cannon Beach. The housing center will develop questions that will evaluate how many employees who work in town commute to homes outside of Cannon Beach and what they would need to live in town.

Heard a report from City Manager Rich Mays about the status of negotiations with the Seaside School District on the district-owned portion of the property where Cannon Beach Elementary School once stood. Mays said the city and school district paid for a property appraisal, but it is unknown what the district plans for the buildings still on the site or whether the property will be offered for sale. The electricity, water and heat have been turned off at the site, Mays said.