Tillamook County’s Board of Commissioners approved $500,000 in grant money awards to nine projects by local nonprofits and government organizations to help promote tourism on January 18.
Commissioners heard recommendations on which projects to fund from Tillamook Coast Visitors Association (TCVA) Deputy Director Amy Blackburn and followed most of them.
The annual grant directs $500,000 in transient lodging tax funds to projects that improve infrastructure or protect ecologically sensitive areas across the county.
This year, 11 groups applied for a maximum amount of $75,000. The TCVA is in charge of administering the program for the county, including reviewing grants and disbursing funds.
Blackburn detailed the ten different programs that TCVA was recommending the commissioners fund.
The only divergence the commissioners took from TCVA’s recommendations was in the funding for a project in Oceanside.
The Oceanside Community Club requested $75,000 to complete the paving of the upper parking lot at Oceanside’s beach access.
The project had a projected cost of $58,000 with a fixed bid and TCVA initially recommended awarding $29,000, noting that the property was owned by Oregon State Parks.
Commissioner Mary Faith Bell said that she would be in favor of funding the whole project.
She said that Oceanside had been left out of previous grant cycles due to a lack of organizations in the community to write applications and that she would like to fund the entire project.
Commissioners Erin Skaar and David Yamamoto concurred, and discussions began on whence to redirect the extra $29,000.
After some back and forth, commissioners decided to delay the recommended funding for restoration of Garibaldi’s big “G” and reduce the award to a project at Shorepine Village.
With the decision, Oceanside is set to receive $58,000, while Shorepine Village will receive around $65,000 to restore the dune ramp adjacent to their property.
Garibaldi’s planned restoration of the “G,” including updating power infrastructure, will not receive county funding this year. But the commissioners indicated they would be open to funding the project in the future.
Wheeler is receiving $75,000 to match city funds that will rebuild and enhance their main public restroom facility.
The Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad received $75,000 to complete design and begin site preparation for a 1920’s style depot in Garibaldi.
The Port of Garibaldi received $75,000 to increase the size of its fish cleaning station and expand the building housing it. The project also received an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife grant.
White Clover Grange in Nehalem was awarded $46,750 to restore the exterior of its 100-year-old structure that hosts weddings in the summer and an off-season farmers market.
Bay City was given $40,000 and has applied for further funding from an Oregon Department of Transportation grant to begin design on a path linking Bay City to the community of Idaville and the Kilchis Point Preserve.
The 1.69-mile path will be dedicated to pedestrians and bicyclists, and be a part of the larger Salmonberry Trail.
Tillamook’s Chamber of Commerce was granted $39,947 in funding for a project to upgrade the rear of their downtown Tillamook home.
Finally, Kiawanda Community Center received $15,000 to improve the “fireside room” in their facility into a visitor information center. Grant recipients have three years to use the funds awarded by the county.
Commissioners awarded a separate $54,000 in grant funding to an apartment complex being developed in Wheeler.
The new complex will house four workforce rate units offering rents affordable to residents making between 80% and 120% of the area’s median income.
Two of the apartments will be one bedroom and the others will have two. Rent for the one-bedroom apartment targeted at a resident making 80% AMI will have a rent between $800 and $900, while the other, targeting a 120% AMI resident, will cost around $1,700 a month, according to Tillamook Housing Coordinator Thomas Fiorelli.
Commissioners also gave approval to an intergovernmental agreement with Clatsop and Columbia Counties for a tobacco prevention campaign.
The new campaign will focus on preventing tobacco use in teenagers and be geared towards a rural audience.
