Proponents of Measure 4-235 in Cannon Beach love to express their soothing platitudes of “democracy” and “fiscal responsibility” in support of this ballot measure, while completely ignoring the devastating financial impact this will have on the city of Cannon Beach and their ability to obtain grants and low-interest loans for large-scale infrastructure projects.

These grants and loans are very competitive, and offered sporadically throughout the year, with constantly changing qualifications. When these opportunities appear, the city has to act quickly, as there’s a narrow 90-day window to apply. Because of this short window, the requirement in Measure 4-235 to hold an election to seek voter approval means that the city will completely miss this crucial 90-day window.

This is the main reason why this ballot measure is so bad for Cannon Beach. We’ll be faced with the stark choice of either having Cannon Beach taxpayers fund these infrastructure improvements, or just abandoning these projects and letting our aging infrastructure degrade, leaving us extremely vulnerable to a natural disaster.

The small number of Cannon Beach hotel owners who support this measure, and who filed a lawsuit against the city to force this terrible choice upon the voters, don’t seem to care that the financial burden of any future infrastructure projects will fall squarely on the shoulders of Cannon Beach taxpayers.

If you love increasingly expensive utility bills, and paying more in property taxes to fund large city infrastructure projects, then definitely vote for Measure 4-235.

BOB ATIYEH
Cannon Beach