Thank you for your interest in reading The Astorian. Here are a few stories that you might have missed this week:

•••

The contractor for the postal unit on Pacific Way in Gearhart has announced she will be giving up her contract in January, though the city is hopeful the U.S. Postal Service will choose a successor.

Earlier this year, Kim Morgan agreed to take on the postal unit after the previous contractor chose not to renew. The unit, which has over 700 P.O. boxes, had faced closure at the end of April.

Morgan posted on social media about her decision to step away, explaining that the busy postal unit was too difficult to manage from her residence in Lincoln City and that a local person would be a better fit.

“But I want to make it clear that we have a number of qualified candidates interested in assuming the position and I expect service to continue without interruption, despite the notices stating that service may end,” she wrote.

Morgan added that she was posting about her decision in order to avoid the “worrisome” situation that residents were faced with last spring, when customers were told their P.O. boxes would be moved to Seaside.

See the story by Jasmine Lewin by clicking here.

•••

A 24-foot tall cellphone tower in a northeast neighborhood outside of Seaside will double in height in an effort to provide improved service and emergency dispatch response.

The city approved an amended lease agreement with T-Mobile at a City Council meeting Monday night, allowing the telecommunications company to replace the current structure, located next to the city’s Royal View water tank, with a 50-foot pole.

The agreement was initially approved as a conditional use permit by Clatsop County earlier this year, as the property is located in the unincorporated portion of the county.

The amendment will also permit subleasing to other service providers and reserve space on the tower for the city’s emergency dispatch equipment.

Seaside will receive $1,606 a month in rent from T-Mobile, a $207 increase from the previous lease agreement.

“The lease is minimal,” City Councilor David Posalski said. “It doesn’t pay us anything, but the cost of us having to either improve our radio system or put up some other tower so that we can get the coverage that we need for EMS and fire and police would be a significant expense.”

Several homeowners near the cellphone tower expressed concerns over a potential decrease in property value and quality of life from the larger structure.

“Every time we drive home, we’re going to see this thing up in the air,” said Jen Palmer, a resident. “And it’s going to be a constant reminder of associated health risks, potentially, and also decline in property values.

“So I ask before you vote, if you could ask yourself, what would you do if you lived in that neighborhood? Would you want possible health concerns? Would you want decreased property values? Would you want it in your backyard, literally?”

Read the story by Jasmine Lewin by clicking here.

•••

Nearly two years after a winter storm caused damage across Astoria, local leaders and fishermen gathered on Friday to celebrate the long-awaited reopening of the Youngs Bay gangway.

The gangway, which extends into Youngs Bay from near the Astoria Recreation Center, has long been used by gillnet fishermen to access a nearby floating dock to moor fishing boats. It’s also been used by the Clatsop County Fisheries Project to maintain net pens for juvenile salmon — but in December 2022, a winter storm severely damaged the structure, rendering it unusable for months.

Now, thanks to an $800,000 joint investment from the city and county and the work of county staff and community partners, a sleek new aluminum walkway leads down to the water.

“It took two years, but we’re here with a huge upgrade,” Mark Kujala, the chair of the county Board of Commissioners, said at Friday’s event. “Anybody who walked the old wooden walkway knows how much nicer this is.”

Take a look at the story by Olivia Palmer by clicking here.

•••

We invite you to help sustain local journalism on the North Coast. Please consider subscribing. We have several options available at: www.dailyastorian.com/subscribe-now/

— Derrick DePledge