Astoria eyes enterprise zone expansion

Published 12:27 pm Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Astoria may want to join a county enterprise zone to help with a marine fabrication and repair project at North Tongue Point.

Three years after Astoria rejected involvement in an enterprise zone that includes the Port of Astoria, Clatsop County and Warrenton, the City Council wants back in. 

City councilors are considering an expansion of the zone to cover portions of North Tongue Point that fall within city limits, which could provide important tax breaks to a new development. Hyak, a tug and barge-building company, took over the industrial dockside site last year and plans to create a  marine fabrication and repair facility.

Councilors are in favor of moving ahead with expanding the enterprise zone to include Astoria and expressed their support for Hyak. City Councilor Bruce Jones called the project the “best thing to happen in the community in a long time.” 

Tongue Point has “just been such a sad, sad piece of property for so long,” Councilor Tom Brownson said.

City Manager Brett Estes plans to return to the council with more information about what geographical areas the zone expansion could include, as well as other details about what it would mean for Astoria to enter the partnership. Specific boundaries have not been determined yet and the other partners in the enterprise zone will need to agree to any expansion.

Robert Dorn, CEO of Hyak, said an enterprise zone will allow for faster growth at Tongue Point, but is not essential to the success of his plans. In making the case for an expansion, though, he emphasized to the council how few boat building and repair options exist on the West Coast. The facility he has in mind would be able to handle a variety of vessels, from commercial fishing boats to Coast Guard cutters.

Tongue Point will thrive, he said, but it will be “much more valuable to everybody sooner” if the company is able to access the tax relief provided by an enterprise zone.

Enterprise zones are used as tools to encourage development by offering property tax exemptions. Oregon has 69 enterprise zones, the majority of them in rural areas. 

The Clatsop Enterprise Zone, established in 2015, includes sites in Warrenton and nearby unincorporated areas, the Port of Astoria’s airport property, sites in Miles Crossing and Jeffers Garden, and tiny areas near the Old Youngs Bay Bridge and in Knappa, according to Kevin Leahy, executive director of Clatsop Economic Development Resources, which administers the enterprise zone for the county.

City Councilor Cindy Price and former Councilor Drew Herzig voted against Astoria’s involvement in 2015, saying they did not trust the Port and had qualms about partnering with the agency, among other concerns. Jim Knight had just come on as the Port’s executive director and promised more transparency and a better working relationship. 

In 2015, Knight was new and “we really didn’t know which direction the Port was going to take,” Price said after the meeting Wednesday. “The (Port) commission was very dysfunctional. … I didn’t want to provide any assistance to a Port that wasn’t a good community partner at the time.”

Now, she believes Knight and the Port Commission have created a much more stable agency with better leadership and she is interested in creating an enterprise zone opportunity for Hyak. During the meeting, Price commented that the maritime industry is an important piece when it comes advancing economic opportunity and growth in Astoria.

“The return on investment here seems like a no-brainer,” City Councilor Zetty Nemlowill said.

Nemlowill had been disappointed by Astoria’s rejection of the enterprise zone in 2015, but at the time had recused herself from the discussion because Fort George Brewery, a business her husband, Chris, co-owns, would have been included. With the new discussion revolving around Tongue Point, she was not worried about a conflict of interest, she said.

To date, no developers or businesses have taken advantage of the enterprise zone, according to Leahy. He does anticipate Fort George may utilize the incentive when the company begins work on a new warehouse in Warrenton.

“I’ve not been concerned that we haven’t had any (use of the zone) up to this point,” Leahy said after the meeting. 

The enterprise zone and the tools it provides to businesses and developers are still fairly new to him and new to the county. Columbia County has had some momentum with its enterprise zone. From 2013 through 2017, 12 companies have taken advantage of it. But each community is different.

“As new stuff comes in or people look to expand, we want to make sure they’re aware of that toolkit,” Leahy said.

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