Pacific City
SUN
Tillamook Chamber celebrates community contributions...................................4
The Meaning of Climate Change
School Board defends its stance on mask mandate, religious exemptions......... 6
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Tillamook Coounty Historical Society reveals 2022 event calendar..............................11
Vol. 15, No. 388 • February 11, 2022 • FREE!
Making Their Voices Heard
A community protest sends message that mandates and closures are hard on students
All Kilchis House, Nehalem Bay residents reportedly find new housing
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n December, the CARE Board of Directors announced that they would be closing the Kilchis House and Nehalem Bay House. Since then, CARE says that together with the Northwest Senior and Disability Service, they have been working diligently with its residents and their families to find long-term, sustainable housing options. As of Feb. 9, they are reporting that all 56 residents have identified the housing solution that works best for their individual situation. They say that unfortunately, due to the limited number of beds in Tillamook County, not everyone was able to remain in the county. Close to 40 percent of those who left the county are doing so to receive the type of skilled nursing or memory care that are simply not available anywhere in Tillamook County. Officials say that after what it describes as a long and rigorous process of reviewing the financial performance of its assisted living facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, the CARE Board of Directors made the difficult decision to close the Kilchis House and the Nehalem Bay House, effective Feb. 11. At this time, they say they are on track to meet this deadline. During this transition, CARE says they have also been working with staff to ensure that its residents continue to receive quality care, and to help them find stable and secure employment once these facilities close. Since the announcement in December, close to 80 percent of its staff have remained with the houses and their residents. “I cannot express how grateful we are for the dedication our staff has shown during this challenging time,” says Peter Starkey, executive director of CARE. “We are also so grateful to our partners around Tillamook who made it possible for us to retain these incredible people as part of our community and from what we are hearing, all of our staff will be remaining in Tillamook County to begin the next chapter of their career.” The CARE Board of Directors, in consultation with community partners and stakeholders, continues to review all options for the future of CARE and these properties.
PCJWSA plans upgrades to Kiwanda, Bob Straub sewer lift stations By TIM HIRSCH of the Sun
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acific City’s sewer system will receive another upgrade in the coming months as the Pacific City Joint Water-Sanitary Authority Board of Directors approved a plan to upgrade two wastewater lift stations — one being the Kiwanda station along Cape Kiwanda Drive and the other near Bob Straub State Park. At its Feb. 8 meeting, the board approved the most expensive of three options at the recommendation of Authority Manager John Wesely, who said that, despite the higher price tag, it would be the best course of action for PCJWSA’s wastewater system. Xylem, which is a dealer for Flygt branded pumps, will now be charged with replacing pumps as well as control panels at the two stations. It total, the Board of Directors approved using as much as $86,000 for the two lift stations. Xylem’s quote came in at approximately $83,250, but, prior to Board Director Anne Price making the motion,
Board Chair Carolyn McVicker noted that it has been standard practice to bolster maximum spend amounts by a couple of thousand to allow for unanticipated expenses. The lower cost options started at approximately $62,000 and went up from there. In addition to the pump and panel costs, electricians will be hired to do wiring at each station. Though no quotes were received or contracts in place at press time, Wesely told the Board of Directors that he expects that cost to be $11,000 to $12,000 for each station. Weseley said the Xylem/Flygt pump solution is preferable because, rather than having to grind up rags in the system, they trap them via screens. He also had high marks for the Flygt pumps already in use at PCJWSA — including some at its wastewater treatment plant. “These are pumps that have performed very well. I believe they have the best technology in terms of anti-clog considerations,” he told board members. “I can tell you that their products have
performed beautifully, and their after sales support is also incredible.” “We’ve been using their pumps in various capacities — certainly since the Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrades took place,” he added during a later interview with the Sun. “We installed a number of Flygt pumps, and they’ve been performing very well for us.” The upgrade will be paid for via funds already budgeted for in the Authority’s fiscal budget. The new pumps and control panels, which Wesely said are expected to be installed within 8-12 weeks, are being touted as a way to alleviate the problems the Authority has historically had with rags disrupting the system and clogging pumps. “We would like to get it done as soon as possible,” Wesely told the Sun. “If we can get it done before the peak season, we’ll have an easier go of it because the lift stations won’t be having such heavy use.” He noted there’s a number of goals he hopes to achieve with the upgrades. Those goals include standardizing the pumps and
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other replacement components, increasing safety and reliability, and making sure the lift stations are up to code. “These pump stations are fairly old, they’re out of date,” he said. “They’ve been patched together over the years to the point where I can’t even tell you if some of these electrical panels are even up to code anymore.” The new pumps will feature 5 hp pumps instead of the 2 to 3 hp that currently are in use. In total, Wesely would like to replace the pumps and control panels in six stations, but spread the improvement over time by doing two stations a year. “The reliability factor on these (upgrades) is going to be instantly noticeable,” he said. “Imagine a time where we don’t have to talk about rags clogging our lift stations. But imagine, also, where we can have a single 5 hp pump on the shelf and you can drop into any single pump station we have. That is one of the real advantages of standardization is you don’t have to carry a whole line of spare parts for every different pump.”