City Commissioner Jess Sollaccio

Infrastructure, flood plain regulations and community involvement were among Warrenton city commissioners’ key talking points at a candidates’ forum at Astoria High School on Monday night.

The forum, hosted by the Astoria chapter of the American Association of University Women and moderated by Astoria High School principal Lynn Jackson, gave candidates an opportunity to answer questions on a range of topics.

In November, City Commissioner Tom Dyer, City Commissioner Gerald Poe and City Commissioner Jess Sollaccio are seeking to keep their seats. Dyer, a retired state police trooper who has lived in Warrenton for most of his life, has served on the City Commission for 12 years. Poe, a merchant sailor with Washington State Ferries who has lived in the city for roughly 30 years, was elected in 2020 after initially getting involved in local government on the city’s urban renewal board. Sollaccio, the association executive for the Clatsop Association of Realtors, moved to Warrenton with her family three years ago and is seeking election for the first time after being appointed to the City Commission earlier this year.

Their challengers — Melissa Cochran-Spivey, Brandon T. Williams and Darlene Warren — did not attend the forum, making the event less of a debate and more of a sounding board.

Infrastructure

One focus of the conversation was infrastructure, something Sollaccio sees as necessary to support increased housing and development in Warrenton. She sees the city’s proposed $12.5 million bond in November for wastewater treatment plant improvements as part of the solution.

“You can’t build, unfortunately, without infrastructure. That’s what we’re running into in Warrenton right now — we have the Fort Pointe development that’s facing some significant challenges moving forward, because we don’t have the infrastructure to bring those 450 units online,” Sollaccio said. “So we need to get our bond passed so that we can make sure that we’re able to flush our toilets, have running water and all those critical things that we don’t often like to think about.”

Sollaccio also identified a biological opinion associated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance program as a potential challenge. The agency recently announced that local jurisdictions will need to adopt new rules for flood plain development by Dec. 1 to maintain eligibility for public flood insurance. The rules could halt or limit development in many areas of Warrenton.

Other commissioners shared similar concerns.

“We’re fortunate. We have some land in Warrenton, and then we have some big areas that are getting developed, but if you can’t do the infrastructure, or FEMA does what they’re planning on doing, our hands are going to be tied,” Dyer said.

Poe, who has focused much of his campaign around safety, livability and making it easier for people to build in Warrenton, said he sees permitting and timing as difficult hoops for developers to jump through.

“I’ve been advocating for that all along, and the federal government, state government has been complicating this like crazy,” Poe said. “The FEMA BiOp could really complicate it, but we just have to keep fighting against this overregulation and make it easier for people to develop, to build, to do fixer-uppers.”

He added that improvements to the wastewater treatment plant, the Hammond water line and street projects are priorities as Warrenton continues to see rapid growth.

Community resources

All three commissioners agreed that they’d like to see more resources available for social services, community programs and the arts in Warrenton.

Dyer said he sees issues like homelessness as something that affects the whole community. Sollaccio, who brings a background in public health policy, added that she thinks it’s important to view those issues holistically.

“We need to provide these things because people — most people in this room, and most people in our community — are two paychecks away from becoming homeless, and that’s the harsh reality that we’re living in, and we need to fulfill the gaps along the way,” Sollaccio said. “So it’s not only about reducing … the risk of homelessness, but how are we providing health care so people don’t go bankrupt? So it’s thinking about these things in the context of everything else in people’s lives, and making sure that we’re providing solutions that address it along the whole life cycle.”

Commissioners also expressed a desire to increase communication and involvement with their constituents.

As a mother of young children, Sollaccio said she wants to help make Warrenton a more welcoming place for people and families. She’s already made strides toward that goal through her involvement with the Seed to Supper Program, the perinatal task force through the county’s Community Health Advocacy and Resource Team and work with her husband to revitalize and create affordable housing and economic opportunities at the Fenton Building downtown.

She added that she sees it as the responsibility of commissioners to do their due diligence to make informed decisions on behalf of their constituents. At one point during the forum, she acknowledged that she did not know Warrenton’s source of water, but said she would make sure to understand the issue going forward.

“As we look to the future, we need to see the leadership that shows up for our community, that understands the nuances involved, that does the research on the complexities of everything that goes into these decisions,” she said.

Dyer has stressed his desire to increase transparency between the city and the public. He said he wants constituents to feel like they can contribute to solutions.

“We have made good strides in communication with the community, and I look forward to creating more opportunities for people to be part of the solution,” Dyer said. “You know, six people doesn’t do it — we’ve gotta have people to come in and be part of the solution.”

Poe also emphasized his desire to represent the interests of his constituents while responsibly supporting the work city staff bring forward. Although he sees challenges ahead, he said he feels solutions are within reach in collaboration with fellow commissioners.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do, and I think we’ll get it done, but it’s definitely going to be a challenge,” Poe said, “and I think that having people involved like Tom and Jess, it’s gonna help.”