Welcome to the Seaside Signal.

This week we visited Seaside’s City Council goal-setting retreat. Every two years the City Council gathers to determine two-year and four-year goals. The process just came to an end, with input from department heads, councilors and community members. The exercise, facilitated by consultants, zeroes in on key issues.

Council members shared priorities for each, from tsunami preparedness, bridge replacement, more pickleball courts and food carts. Councilors considered how to use $1.5 million in American Rescue Act funds from the federal government, plans for the former hospital adjacent to Cartwright Park and the benefits of a full-time staff grant administrator. Read more here. 

Permanent shelter

Among those goals is a place to shelter the city’s unhoused population. In December and January, the city’s homeless camp at Mill Ponds was tested by high winds and flooding. A homeless man was rescued from floodwaters on Dec. 27, and another man was found dead at his campsite the previous week. A permanent homeless camp would be in the best interest of residents and businesses to protect the environment and be inclusive, officials say.

Historic bridge

A decade ago, the Broadway Street bridge over the Necanicum in Seaside was identified by the Oregon Department of Transportation as a “structurally deficient” bridge.

The bridge, at more than 150 feet in length, spans the Necanicum River, and provides a downtown link to the city’s main commercial street. The arch bridge is a historical artifact, designed by nationally renowned consulting engineer in 1924 for $30,000. 

But history won’t keep the bridge from collapsing. The Broadway bridge, described as “sitting on toothpicks,” will be the first one to fail. Read about it here. 

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