Astoria Development Commission Meeting: July 21, 2026
Astoria Development Commission Meeting — July 21, 2026
Note on the date: The agenda and transcript identify this as the Monday, July 20, 2026, 7:00 PM meeting, while the source metadata supplied for this summary gives the meeting time as 2026-07-21 15:00:00+00:00. The title uses the supplied date. The meeting was called to order at approximately 7:25 PM and adjourned at 7:47 PM. Commissioners Adams, Conklin, and Chair Fitzpatrick were present. The sole substantive agenda item was an Astoria Partnership Program application from Friends of Suomi Hall for the Phase 1 structural stabilization project; the commission unanimously approved the requested $50,000 grant.
Consent Calendar
- Taken up later in the meeting, the commission unanimously approved the Astoria Development Commission draft meeting minutes of November 3, 2025, and June 1, 2026, by one motion. Commissioner Conklin moved approval; Commissioner Adams seconded. The roll-call vote was unanimous: Adams — aye, Conklin — aye, Chair Fitzpatrick — aye.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Eric Williams, of 9005 Highway 202, Astoria, appeared but offered no substantive comment.
- Layla Koscala Collier, of 1015 SE Anchor, Warrington, Oregon, expressed gratitude for the opportunity and described community enthusiasm, including people from Finland requesting tours. She said the group eventually wants to restore Suomi Hall's historic appearance, install double-hung windows matching the original construction, and replace an unreliable residential elevator, and she noted that the school program in the hall currently deals with the sloped floor.
- Lori Serafin, president of the Lower Columbia Preservation Society, historic preservation advocate, and member of Friends of Suomi Hall, said she had prepared a full presentation but did not need to give it. She detailed volunteer fundraising efforts — a benefit auction on March 28–29, donor solicitation, prune tarts in December, pancake breakfasts, luncheons, a Nordic market in February, a Christmas market in November, and an annual Suomi Hall flea market planned for September 19. She said this was the time to save the building and that the grant would put the project over the finish line.
- Norma Hernandez, of 9235 Youngs River Road, Astoria, spoke as someone who values the immigrant legacy represented by Suomi Hall. She praised the Friends for working hard rather than asking for a handout and expressed strong support, saying she did not see how the commission could say no.
- A commissioner also asked that staff pursue future conversations with ODOT about the left-turn situation at the new intersection into Suomi Hall, while clarifying that this concern did not detract from support for the project.
Discussion Items
- Staff described the Astoria Partnership Program as an urban renewal tool to encourage public-private partnership and reinvestment in Astoria's urban renewal areas. Program priorities include housing, infrastructure improvements, direct economic development activities, and improvements that enhance overall land and property value. Nonprofits can access up to $50,000 with a one-for-one match.
- Associate Planner Sam Peterson presented the Friends of Suomi Hall application. Suomi Hall is more than 100 years old and needs structural stabilization because portions of the floor are sinking, damaged, and cracked. Phase 1 — lifting, leveling, and repairing the foundation — is the first of five phases and is estimated to cost about $330,000, with roughly $250,000–$270,000 in primary costs and about $57,000 in contingency. Staff described the requested $50,000 as the last funding hurdle before an expected October 2026 construction start.
- Peterson noted that the Friends have raised more than $200,000 to date, more than satisfying the one-for-one match, and that the application meets state and local requirements, fits the urban renewal purpose of restoring a historic community building, and is a funding fit. Later phases may include improved access, an elevator, exterior historic restoration, and interior work, some of which may be eligible for future urban renewal funds.
- Staff recommended fully funding the $50,000 request. Commissioners expressed strong support, citing the organization's fundraising, the building's historic value, the group's community roots, and the project's grassroots character.
Key Outcomes
- Commissioner Adams moved to direct City staff to enter into a grant agreement with Friends of Suomi Hall in the amount of $50,000 to support the Suomi Hall lifting, leveling, and stabilization Phase 1 project. Commissioner Conklin seconded. The roll-call vote was unanimous: Adams — aye; Conklin — aye; Chair Fitzpatrick — aye. The motion carried 3–0.
- The consent calendar was approved unanimously as described above.
- No new business and no non-agenda public comments were offered. The meeting adjourned at 7:47 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Welcome back. Oh, we'll allow people to leave. So good evening and welcome to the July 20th, 2026 meeting of the Austoria Development Commission. For the record, the time is 20 7 25 p.m., Mr. Spence. If we could have a roll call, please. Commissioner Adams. Commissioner Conklin. Commission Chair Fitzpatrick. Here. Mr. Spence, we have an overview of the Australia Partnership Program funding an initiative designed to promote private and public sorry public partnership and reinvestment in Austria's urban renewal areas. Tonight we have the consideration of an Astoria Partnership Program application by the Friends of NBSP, SUMY Hall to support the lifting and leveling stabilization of SUMY Hall phase one project. Mr. Spence, if you could introduce this item. Yes, thank you, Commission Commissioners. Before you is a proposal, if you recall, we updated our urban renewal district priorities and our plans. Our program priors are for housing infrastructure improvements and direct economic development activities and improvements that enhance overall value of land and property. We've also structured the program for nonprofits specifically. If they're able to match a one-for-one up to $50,000, then they'll be able to access those funds. Obviously, the urban renewal districts are an opportunity, a tool for cities to provide enhancements to property owners to actually increase the value or also improve their properties. And SUMY Hall is um fits in this category and the intent of that. Sam will be providing a brief presentation of the proposal and also be able to answer any questions about this application. Thanks. Thank you, Commissioner Associate Planner Sam Peterson. I would like to note that I am of uh Norwegian heritage. Uh so I do hope uh that that will end what I'm sure is a century of ethnic uh tension uh in town. Um we're here uh in large part uh because of the great work of uh the Friends of Swami Hall and its members uh in fundraising in preserving their culture and contributing to our community um and in really getting this project going. Uh and they're doing such a great job, in fact, that uh back in uh May when I was at the state historic preservation conference, uh I had two uh separate individuals come up to me uh when they found out I was from Astoria and ask, well, what is the city doing about saving Swami Hall? Uh and unfortunately my answer was uh nothing. Um and then immediately after that, uh I went to a session on how to properly use urban renewal money to restore historic buildings. Uh and oh did something uh click in my mind there uh and I was able to uh work with assistant at the city manager, Mr. Quigley uh and the friends of Swami Hall uh and we were able to get this going. Um they have uh an ambitious project. Uh there's quite a bit uh to do. Swami Hall is over a hundred years old. Um it needs quite a bit of work. Uh the biggest one is structural stabilization. Uh portions of the floor are sinking, damaged, cracked, etc. Um, and so while they have a five-phase uh uh project, uh the first one needs to be those structural concerns. And there's about a 330,000 dollar cost uh associated with that. Uh about 250, 270 of that is just the primary costs, and then the remaining about 57 is um contingency costs. So this actual uh $50,000 that you're being asked to approve tonight is really the last hurdle uh to get them into the construction phase with them hopefully beginning construction in October of this year. Uh like I mentioned, they actually have a five-phase project that they're looking to uh to do here. Uh that initial one is to uh lift level and repair the foundation. Uh you know, it's it's actually kind of poetic, you know, really give you a good foundation to start working on here uh before working on internal access uh uh and accessibility for uh members and the community as a whole. Uh and then as you'll recall, one of the last times I was here, you declared historic preservation month. Uh so uh redoing the exterior of the building, um, trying to make it look um unfamiliar to us, but something that would look familiar to someone from a hundred years ago. It's gone through a lot of uh uh different phases, and the goal is to make it look um more accurate. Um and then again, some of that historic siding and then his uh interior work as that last phase.
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