OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Astoria City Council Meeting - March 2, 2026

City Council & Commissions — Tuesday, March 3, 2026
BodyAstoria, Oregon
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateTuesday, March 3, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:06:51

Transcript — Verbatim
0:29

Good evening and welcome to the Monday, March 2nd, 2026 meeting of the Australia City Council.

0:36

For the record, the time is 6 p.m.

0:39

Mr.

0:39

Spence, could you lead us in the pledge?

0:42

We'd ask that you please rise if you are willing and able.

0:47

Pledge allegiance.

0:51

And two substantials.

0:54

One nation under God.

1:01

Thank you, Mr.

1:02

Spence.

1:03

If we could have a roll call, please.

1:05

Councilor Davis.

1:06

Here.

1:07

Councilor Mazzarello.

1:08

Counselor Adams.

1:09

Here.

1:10

Counselor Conklin.

1:11

Here.

1:11

Mayor Fitzpatrick.

1:12

Here.

1:14

So tonight we are starting with presentations.

1:16

And our first presentation will be from the Australia Downtown Historic District Association.

1:22

And their executive director, Quinn Hayes, is with us this evening.

1:26

Mr.

1:27

Hayes.

1:32

Good evening.

1:36

All right.

1:38

Mayor Fitzpatrick, City Councillors, City Manager Scott Spence, assembled city staff, and guests all.

1:45

For those of you who don't know me, as you said, I'm Quinn Hayes, the executive director for the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association.

1:52

Upon your request, I am going to give you guys a brief overview, sort of of what we have been up to in the last year and kind of what we're looking forward to in 2026.

2:03

I'll brief uh briefly touch on uh our use of the promote Astoria Fund as well.

2:09

Um there's a lovely picture from our um we love Downtown Historia photo contest from last year.

2:15

That was our winning photo.

2:18

Let me see, is that working?

2:21

Ah.

2:23

So here are just a few highlights of last year.

2:26

Last year we were the recipient of a main street revitalization grant in the amount of 400,000 to go towards the Copeland Commons project.

2:34

That number pushes us uh just shy of one million dollars in restoration grant money.

2:40

The ADHDA has helped bring in in the last 10 years uh for restorations of facades, roof, you know, you name it.

2:48

Um, and those projects range from the Liberty Theater to the Merwin next door, um, and so on.

2:54

Uh these last two years, actually, uh, the gross vendor sales at our Astoria Sunday Market have topped two million dollars throughout the entire season collectively for all the vendors.

3:04

Um that's something we're really proud of.

3:06

Uh our Sunday market is a great chance for our local economy uh to incubate new businesses, test out their model.

3:13

Uh, and a lot of those make the jump to brick and mortar, as we saw this last year with one of our previous uh Sunday market vendors who uh have now just opened their new restaurant civil.

3:23

So we're very proud of that.

3:24

We were named a semifinalist this last year for the Great American Main Street Award through Main Street America.

3:30

We were one of I believe seven communities nationwide that were honored with that uh designation.

3:36

And we've hosted seven community-based events throughout the year, in addition to our normal events that we run through the year, like Sunday Market and Art Walk.

3:43

These included things like uh Zero K Marathon and C Lion Calling Contest that were all new events that we started in this last year.

3:53

There were this last year was a big year for change for the uh staff of the ADHDA.

3:58

I myself started in late 2024.

4:00

Uh so this last year was really kind of my first big year in the in the job.

4:04

Colleen, our events and marketing manager started early 2025.

4:07

So it's really been uh a time of reform for the ADHDA.

4:11

I think we have a really great team in place now.

4:13

Brooke, uh, who you see in the bottom right there for the Sunday market, was previously a grant funded position.

4:18

We moved her to one of our staff uh permanently, so she is now paid through the AHDA uh as an assistant for the Sunday market under Tamara's supervision, the market director.

4:28

Uh so we have two full-time employees, that's myself and Tamara.

4:30

Uh our events and marketing is a part-time position, and so is Brooks' position.

4:34

In addition to that, we have a number of 1099 uh positions as well that uh we employ.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Tourism███████████████████████23%
System Development Charges██████████████████18%
Historic Preservation██████████10%
Procedural██████████10%
Economic Development██████████10%
Community Engagement█████████9%
Public Engagement█████5%
Transportation Safety█████5%
Affordable Housing███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Astoria City Council Meeting - March 2, 2026

The Astoria City Council held a regular meeting on March 2, 2026, at 6:00 PM in the Council Chambers. The meeting featured presentations from three local organizations, approval of the consent calendar, discussions on a proposed System Development Charge (SDC) deferral program and a Coast Guard lease amendment, public comments, and an executive session. The Baker Tilly audit presentation was rescheduled to April.

Presentations

  • Astoria Downtown Historic District Association (ADHDA): Executive Director Quinn Haase reported on the organization's accomplishments, including a $400,000 Main Street revitalization grant for the Copeland Commons project, cumulative gross vendor sales of over $2 million at the Astoria Sunday Market, recognition as a semifinalist for the Great American Main Street Award, and new committees. The ADHDA uses $120,000 in Promote Astoria (Transit Lodging Tax) funds for tourism promotion. Councilor Adams asked about employee benefits, funding sources, and the relationship between historic preservation and tourism.
  • Astoria Uppertown Business Association (AUBA): President Stacey Stahl presented updates on events (Christmas Trolley, Halloween Carnival, Spread the Love campaign), the temporary suspension of the Uppertown Farmers Market due to funding limitations, and future goals including fundraising and new events. The AUBA received $69,600 in TLT funds. Councilors discussed the farmers market attendance (150–300 visitors per week) and collaboration with ADHDA.
  • Astoria Warrenton Chamber of Commerce & Lower Columbia Tourism Committee (AWTA): David Reid, Executive Director, provided mid-year reports. He noted that the visitor center costs over $377,000 annually to operate, and in 2024, tourism directly supported 4,117 local jobs and generated $131.1 million in direct visitor spending, with $5.2 million in local tax revenue. The AWTA (formerly LCTC) spent $266,945 in 2024, attributing $19.3 million in travel spending to marketing efforts (a 71.19 cents per dollar ROI). Councilors asked about capital improvements for the visitor center and data collection.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved by a 5-0 vote: Councilor Andy Davis moved, Councilor Andrea Mazzarella seconded. Items included:
    • Draft minutes from October 22, 2025, October 27, 2025 (work session), and November 3, 2025.
    • Memorandum of Agreement for fire protection services with US Coast Guard Cutter David Duren at Tongue Point Pier.
    • Application for Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) for a new Breathing Air System (total cost $210,000; city match $21,000).
    • Approval to apply for the 2026 Wildfire Staffing Grant (no matching funds required).
    • Amendment No. 7 to the GMP contract with O'Brien & Co. for the Library Renovation Project (additional $75,800.17).

Discussion Items

  • SDC Deferral Program: City Manager Scott Spence introduced the discussion, which originated from a request by Councilor Davis and Councilor Mazzarella. Staff recommended a pilot program, limiting eligibility to affordable or workforce housing projects with 10+ units, and evaluating administrative impacts. Councilors debated the merits: Councilor Davis emphasized reducing carrying costs for developers, Councilor Mazzarella supported easing burdens for small businesses, Councilor Conklin favored a pilot and opposed restricting to housing only, and Councilor Adams called for clear definitions of “workforce housing” and “public benefit.” Community Development Director John Roberts cautioned that SDC deferral programs are staff-intensive and noted Astoria has over 520 outstanding temporary certificates of occupancy (TCOs), which could complicate collection. Public comment from Jim Spence suggested requiring letters of credit as security. Council directed staff to develop an ordinance for a limited pilot program (initially two projects) and report back by May 2026.

  • Coast Guard Lease Amendment (SLA No. 13): City Manager Spence explained that the amendment returns approximately 40 parking spaces near the Astoria Armory to city control, reflecting the Coast Guard’s reduced parking needs following the transition to Fast Response Cutters. The annual rent will decrease by $13,000 (from $245,000). Councilors supported the move, with Councilor Conklin suggesting time limits for parking, Councilor Adams clarifying the lot’s full city control, and Councilor Davis encouraging creative use for DHS employees, residents, and downtown businesses. The motion to authorize the city manager to execute the amendment passed 5-0.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Jim Spence (912 Kensington, Astoria): Proposed the city consider purchasing the former Central School site (between 8th, Irving, 10th, and Jerome) for a park, using a bond measure for acquisition and improvement, with long-term maintenance funded by user fees or property taxes.
  • Mary Eng (no address given): Thanked outgoing council members, expressed support for nonprofit transparency, and raised concerns about inadequate sanitation facilities for unhoused individuals, particularly women. She praised medical outreach efforts by providers like Dr. Von Stelot.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Calendar approved (5-0).
  • SDC Deferral Program: Council directed staff to draft an ordinance for a pilot program limited to two projects, with eligibility criteria and a target completion date of May 2026.
  • Coast Guard Lease Amendment approved (5-0), authorizing the city manager to execute SLA No. 13.
  • Executive Session: The council entered executive session at 8:10 PM under ORS 192.660(2)(i) (city manager performance review) and returned to open session at 10:03 PM, adjourning immediately. No decisions were made.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening and welcome to the Monday, March 2nd, 2026 meeting of the Australia City Council. For the record, the time is 6 p.m. Mr. Spence, could you lead us in the pledge? We'd ask that you please rise if you are willing and able. Pledge allegiance. And two substantials. One nation under God. Thank you, Mr. Spence. If we could have a roll call, please. Councilor Davis. Here. Councilor Mazzarello. Counselor Adams. Here. Counselor Conklin. Here. Mayor Fitzpatrick. Here. So tonight we are starting with presentations. And our first presentation will be from the Australia Downtown Historic District Association. And their executive director, Quinn Hayes, is with us this evening. Mr. Hayes. Good evening. All right. Mayor Fitzpatrick, City Councillors, City Manager Scott Spence, assembled city staff, and guests all. For those of you who don't know me, as you said, I'm Quinn Hayes, the executive director for the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association. Upon your request, I am going to give you guys a brief overview, sort of of what we have been up to in the last year and kind of what we're looking forward to in 2026. I'll brief uh briefly touch on uh our use of the promote Astoria Fund as well. Um there's a lovely picture from our um we love Downtown Historia photo contest from last year. That was our winning photo. Let me see, is that working? Ah. So here are just a few highlights of last year. Last year we were the recipient of a main street revitalization grant in the amount of 400,000 to go towards the Copeland Commons project. That number pushes us uh just shy of one million dollars in restoration grant money. The ADHDA has helped bring in in the last 10 years uh for restorations of facades, roof, you know, you name it. Um, and those projects range from the Liberty Theater to the Merwin next door, um, and so on. Uh these last two years, actually, uh, the gross vendor sales at our Astoria Sunday Market have topped two million dollars throughout the entire season collectively for all the vendors. Um that's something we're really proud of. Uh our Sunday market is a great chance for our local economy uh to incubate new businesses, test out their model. Uh, and a lot of those make the jump to brick and mortar, as we saw this last year with one of our previous uh Sunday market vendors who uh have now just opened their new restaurant civil. So we're very proud of that. We were named a semifinalist this last year for the Great American Main Street Award through Main Street America. We were one of I believe seven communities nationwide that were honored with that uh designation. And we've hosted seven community-based events throughout the year, in addition to our normal events that we run through the year, like Sunday Market and Art Walk. These included things like uh Zero K Marathon and C Lion Calling Contest that were all new events that we started in this last year. There were this last year was a big year for change for the uh staff of the ADHDA.

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