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Newport: Sea Lion Dock collection box stolen again – Police suggest surveillance camera

Bayfront, Tsunami Preparedness, Tsunami Warning No Responses »

Apr 022013

Newport Sea Lion dock
Fading fast while plans progress toward a permanent set by next year
Click photo to enlarge

For the second time in three weeks, local sea lion dock booster Bob Ward says somebody has stolen the sea lion dock’s donation collection box at the entrance to Port Dock One on the Bay Front. The box was initially attached to a fence. After the first theft it was more securely attached to a 6 foot length of 4X6 timber that forms the top rail of the fence, and connected to the uprights by 8 inch stakes.

But late Sunday night or early Monday morning the thief took the whole thing; collection box and the 6 foot piece of timber. Sea Lion Dock Foundation spokesman Bob Ward said there may have been a dollar or two in the box, but not much more since it is emptied every day.

The theft took place the evening of Sunday 31 March or in the early hours of Monday, April 1st. Ward said the box will be restored again but this time a surveillance camera will be installed to ward off whoever is intent on stopping the collections.

Ward says his group will be placing a section of the Misawa Japanese “tsunami dock” in front the nearby Undersea Gardens as a Tsunami Awareness and Information Center.

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Newport: Tourist attractions too good to pass up?

Bayfront, Newport, Tourism, Tsunami Dock No Responses »

Mar 192013

Bob Ward
Requests additional funding for new Japanese Tsunami Dock exhibit on Bayfront

Corner of Tsunami Dock coveted by Bayfront business community

Must be removed from port property by April 1, according to Bob Ward

Proposed Sea Lion Dock
Port Dock 5
Preliminary design

Sea Lion Dock and Bayfront Tsunami Dock Foundation representative Bob Ward was back before the Newport City Council Monday night seeking more funds for two tourist projects his group is spearheading on the Bayfront.

Ward said the Sea Lion Dock at Port Dock 5 is going to cost them a bit more money than they planned for and so they need a little more from the city. Plus they’ve launched a new project which involves sawing off another corner of the Japanese Tsunami Dock that remains at McLean Point out the Bay Road. They want to place it at Undersea Gardens on the Bayfront with tsunami evacuation instructions on it so visitors will know which way to run if there is a major local earthquake. Ward said it’s also opportunity to create yet another tourist draw for the Bayfront, even if it’s a lot less than we saw last summer at Agate Beach where the dock came ashore last June. He said his group has been told by the port to get the piece sawed-off before April 1st, because come April 1st the rest of the dock must be removed from port property.

However, Mayor Sandra Roumagoux reminded Ward that the deadline for applying for funds for tourism related facilities has long passed and that he should redouble his group’s efforts to raise more money from Bayfront businesses and other potential donors. Ward replied that the recession has trimmed Bayfront business profits making it difficult for them to help with the project much more than they already have.

The council backed Mayor Roumagoux on her advice to Ward and then awarded his group the $50,000 they originally applied for to help build a permanent Sea Lion Dock and viewing deck at Port Dock 5.

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Rebuild of Newport’s Sea Lion Dock must wait until next winter.

Bayfront, Sealife, Tourism No Responses »

Jan 252013

Dilapidated sea lion docks on Newport’s Bayfront

Although the Sea Lion Dock Foundation this week was awarded another $8,000 from county commissioners toward repairing the popular but disintegrating sea lion dock, it’s only a drop in the bay for what will be required to get the job done. As you can see in the top photograph, the upper walkway and viewing area is actually part of a working pier with vehicles driving up and down, loading and unloading gear from fishing and other vessels.

In light of that, Port of Newport officials recently decided that the proper way to restore the sea lion attraction is to build a separate public viewing deck overlooking the soon-to-be rebuilt floating dock below. So instead of a relatively cheap replacement of the sea lion perch, the sticker price has now gone over $100,000. However, Sea Lion Dock Foundation member Bob Ward says they’re confident they can raise the money for what is certainly a prime tourist attraction on the Bayfront. He says the foundation will seek $50,000 in Newport hotel-motel room tax funds to match what the foundation expects to raise from other sources.

Ward says the upgraded sea lion dock “complex” will require a lot more work than upgrading the sea lion docks themselves so they’ll miss this year’s “in water” working season which stretches from November to the end of January. Oregon Fish and Wildlife prohibits “in water” work which disturbs fish migration activities which runs through much of the rest of the year. Ward says they’ll apply for work permits for next winter which, by then, they should have all the funding raised and the materials ready to go in the water for both the sea lions and the tourists who love to watch them up close.

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Ammonia leak on the bayfront – causes some tight chests and coughing

Accidents-Emergencies, Bayfront No Responses »

Nov 212012

Trident Fish Processing, Bayfront, Newport

Trident Seafoods on Newport’s Bayfront reported an ammonia line failure in one of their surge systems Tuesday, causing an ammonia gas leak about mid-building at around 12 noon. Ammonia is a coolant gas used in the processing and packaging of fish. If breathed, it is a caustic lung irritant.

Newport Assistant Fire Chief Rob Murphy said the Trident Seafoods building was practically empty at the time since the plant was shut down, reportedly the first time in four months. Murphy said there were no reports of any injuries at the plant although someone on the Bayfront later complained of a tight chest and some difficulty breathing. At the time the symptoms set in, he had traveled several miles up the Bay Road from the plant.

Murphy says ammonia is toxic to human lungs but added that the doesn’t believe that the amount of ammonia gas leaked and the density of the ammonia gas in the air outside the plant would cause permanent damage to anyone’s lungs. But there were some people who were seen coughing in the area at the time of the leak. But now levels are way down, according to Murphy.

Murphy says all the proper air quality and health agencies have been notified in Salem and locally. Trident workers say they’re in the process of fixing the leak.

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Newport City Council holds another “Town Hall Meeting” – This time on the Bayfront

Bayfront No Responses »

Oct 292012

Newport Bayfront

Monday being the 5th Monday of the month it’s time again for another Newport City Council Town Hall meeting. The council launched the “Town Hall” program after they decided that they should meet townfolks out where they work and live, and not just hold-up at City Hall.

The council says it wants to hear from the citizens of Newport – what’s on their minds, their ideas on how to make Newport a better place to work, live and recreate, create jobs, promote commerce and enhance tourism.

Monday night’s Town Hall will be held at Mo’s Annex on the Bayfront at 657 SW Bay Boulevard beginning promptly at 6pm. On the agenda is an update on the renovation of the Maritime Museum. City Public Works Director Tim Gross will give everyone an update on sewer, water, streets, sidewalks, storm drain and other projects around the city.

Community Development Director Derrick Tokos will give an update on the creation of a Bayfront Parking District.

Police Chief Mark Miranda will cover the latest developments in helping to ensure that Newport residents understand how to prepare themselves to cope with varying levels of natural disasters.

After that, the floor will be open to any topic anyone would like to talk about and address concerns and ideas about how to improve Newport.

Everyone is welcome to come down to the Newport Town Hall Meeting. It’s FREE and again begins 6pm, Monday night at Mo’s Annex at 657 SW Bay Boulevard.

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Local group on track to have expanded Sea Lion dock in place on the Bayfront by next Spring

Bayfront, Newport No Responses »

Oct 012012

Sea Lions on dilapidated dock

Newport Bayfront Sea Lion Dock renovation boosters Stan Pickens and Bob Ward were assured by the Newport City Council Monday that the city will go the extra mile to help them, and their newly formed non-profit corporation, fund a revitalized and expanded sea lion dock which is one of the biggest tourist magnets along the Bayfront.

The council bumped up against some of their own bureaucratic red tape in that they will have to open up the application process again for any non-profit group that wants to promote tourism in Newport. But but they added that the sea lion dock deserves special consideration in that the dock must be installed between November and early February in order to not disturb spawning fish that start showing up in February in Oregon’s rivers and streams. If they don’t get the work done starting next month, they would lose an entire season of sea lion lovers who look down at the spectacle and snap lots of pictures and take hours of video in addition to all the other things they do in Newport, which, of course, benefits the economy of the whole area.

Mayor Mark McConnell and the other councilors went out of their way to praise the project but reminded Pickens and Ward that in all fairness the call must go out to all applicants for the second round of applications for the tourist promotions money. The first round went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Oregon Coast Council for the Arts and the Marine Heritage Museum earlier this year.

In order to help the group get busy on the docks, there was speculation that the city might loan the $25,000 to the group and then arrange to have the city pay it off with a grant from the tourism promotion fund. There is over $300,000 still left in that fund, leaving the lion’s share of it for other groups.

Pickens and Ward say they’ve already raised over five thousand dollars of their own from area businesses and from tourists who drop donations into a safe depository box on the dock. They say they’re also exploring other funding options to supplement what they hope they’ll get from the city.

The dock was built many years ago as a landing for tourists motoring over from the South Beach Marina. But the watery commute never caught on. Most drove over. So when the sea lions noticed no one was using them, they squatted in grand style on the wooden docks which, of course, have severely deteriorated over the years.

The plan is to create two new forty-foot wooden docks affixed to pylons already there. In the future, Pickens and Ward say they would like to replace the wooden docks with something more stable and durable – concrete docks. But they say it’ll take some time and a bit more money to make that happen. In the meantime they believe the sea lions will be back in the swim of things along the Bayfront, barking and cavorting around on their new perch next Spring, much to the awe and wonder of their legions of fans watching from above.

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