It has been an overfull month – with work on District Policy as well as the Rejuvenation Projects. This communication covers work underway in the following areas: A. Cell Tower to pay for Forest-Watershed operating costs?  Complete a Survey by October 10th! Verizon has approached the District requesting to lease space in the Forest (outside…

There were no Board meetings this month as August is typically the summer respite.  However, progress continues to be made on the Rejuvenation Projects. This communication covers work underway in the following areas: A. Direction the Board is taking with Multi-Family Homes On Wednesday August 7th, the Clatsop County Board of Commissioner met to review…

This communication covers the following topics: A. District Staffing – Local Option Tax Levy will go on November Ballot. Since taking office a year ago, two situations have been of concern to us.  First is the operational status of the plants and equipment.  The lack of care and maintenance throughout the previous years have taken…

After a long year of assessing the status of the District, setting priorities for addressing identified issues and building a budget that provide a level of funding to get things done, the Boards are taking action steps that will set the Districts on a path towards manageable sustainability.   This communication covers what is being done…

FINALLY the budget process is over.   On Thursday evening, the Board adopted the budget for the next year: July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025.  A. Here are the highlights: 1. A big lift is required: The Budget Committee, made up of 5 Board members and 5 community members, has spent the past several months…

Our Water District has a sophisticated “big city” plant that serves a “small town” population.  The good news is the non-stop availability of high-quality water.  The bad news is that the costs of water production and distribution are spread across a relatively few number of people (305).   When the water plant is appropriately maintained and…

A. Current Budget Expenditure The Districts have had a “defacto” on-call policy where a District staff member is expected to be on-call to respond to emergency alarms and other after-hours issues.  However, the Districts did not compensate the staff for time spent on call. The District has now formalized an on-call policy and will compensate…

Overall, this month has been a slog – we’ve been taking stock of where we are, assessing and organizing.  It has been about as much fun as doing taxes.  For the Districts, February starts the budget cycle (which lasts until June). In preparation, the District Manager and the Boards are digging in and getting very…

Significant work has been done to get a handle on the what’s ahead for the Districts, how to get the work done and how to pay for it. Two meetings have been scheduled to talk about this with the Arch Cape Community.  SAVE THE DATES: Two Arch Cape Community Forums have been scheduled to discuss and get…

Highlights: 1. Utilities: With some concern about the state of the Water & Sanitary Utilities, the Boards will be working with the District Manager to evaluate the planned projects, set priorities and determine if /how much additional staff is required. 2. Watershed: Options for paying for the ongoing operational costs of the Watershed and plans…