City Manager Ron Chandler “redirects” a question asked to Helping Hands at a Thursday, Jan. 30 meet-and-greet
The City of Lincoln City hosted a meet-and-greet with the public for Helping Hands Reentry Thursday, Jan. 30, where CEO Alan Evans gave a presentation on the structure and functions of homeless outreach services and transitional housing.
“We live in a society that makes it hard to make ends meet,” Evans said. “Everybody deserves a chance. Everybody has a story.”
During the presentation, Evans covered the evaluation process that allows Helping Hands staff to pinpoint needs and roadmaps to success. He went over data the outreach center collects and how it helps the nonprofit get the homeless back on their feet with housing and breaking down barriers to employment.
Helping Hands CEO Alan Evans presents homeless outreach services before the public in City Council chambers
Lincoln City citizen Jay Roelof said Helping Hands had a great opportunity to do some good work in Lincoln City and brought up the “unvetted” homeless population problem.
Lincoln City Homeless Solutions President Lynne Rudstrom spoke in favor for the transitional housing venture.
Local business owner Randy Mallette asked pointed questions to Evans, drawing the City Manager’s attention with a reminder to stay within the bounds of the meeting’s purpose.
Evans fielded Mallette’s question, “where people go after the program,” but the question was ultimately redirected by City Manager Ron Chandler who wanted to keep the discussion geared towards “meeting Helping Hands.”
“We’ve never failed to place a person in housing,” Evans said. “We do the best we can.”
Evans gave a tentative timeline for placement of homeless in permanent housing at around 6-8 months with a “cap” of 18 months, but cautioned everyone’s needs are different and it was hard to give an exact date.
“I’ve got a million questions,” Mallette said.
“And I’ve got a million answers,” Chandler replied. “Grab a card from the back and contact me after the meeting.”
Lincoln Woods Apartments and Ashley Inn & Suites owners were at the meeting but acting on advice from their lawyer, declined to ask questions or engage with Helping Hands, who reportedly hired an attorney in response to a legal challenge of the City and Helping Hands’ transitional housing deal.
Mallette asked questions surrounding the deal and was told there would be no discussion about any legal issues.
If you own a business, you know that setting up a retirement plan for yourself and your employees can be challenging. But it may now be getting easier.
Here’s the story: Congress recent passed the SECURE Act, which, among many provisions, includes some key changes designed to help make it easier for business owners to establish retirement plans. And the need is clear: Just slightly more than half of workers at private-sector establishments with fewer than 100 employees have access to a retirement plan, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And startup costs were named as the biggest impediment to creating such plans, according to research compiled by the Pew Charitable Trust.
The SECURE Act is designed to address this concern in a few different ways:
Increased business tax credit for plan startup costs – The maximum tax credit for establishing a retirement plan has been increased from $500 to $5000, although some restrictions apply.
Tax credit for automatic enrollment – Some smaller employers who set up automatic enrollment in their retirement plans can now receive a tax credit of $500.
Multiple-employer plans (MEPs) – Different companies can now work together to offer employees a 401(k) plan with less administrative work and fewer fiduciary responsibilities than each employer would otherwise carry alone. This provision of the SECURE Act is intended to result in lower costs. These multiple-employer plans (MEPs) have been around for a while, but, until now, they were “closed” in the sense that participating employers needed to share some common relationship, such as membership to the same industry, trade association, etc. But now, these MEPs have been opened up to include unrelated companies.
These new rules may make it easier for you to create and administer a 401(k) or similar plan and potentially increase your employees’ savings rate. However, to determine how your business should respond to these changes, you should consult with your tax and financial advisors.
And don’t forget that you still have other retirement plan options. If you have just a few employees or are self-employed with no employees, you may want to consider a SEP IRA. You fund the plan with tax-deductible contributions, and you must cover all eligible employees – they cannot contribute to the plan. You can contribute up to 25% of compensation, up to $57,000 in 2020. Or, if your business has fewer than 100 employees, you might consider a SIMPLE IRA. Employees may choose to contribute, and you, as the employer, are required to make either matching or nonelective contributions, which are deductible. But while a SIMPLE IRA may be advantageous for your employees, it’s less generous to you, as far as allowable contributions, than a SEP IRA. For 2020, your annual contributions are generally limited to $13,500, or $16,500 if you’re 50 or older by the end of the year. You can also make a matching contribution of up to 3% to yourself.
In any case, if you don’t already offer a retirement plan, consider contacting a financial professional to determine which plan might be most appropriate for your business. A retirement plan is an effective tool for attracting and retaining good employees – not to mention helping you build resources for your own retirement.
This article was written by Edward Jones for use by local Edward Jones Financial Advisor Wendy Wilson.
The City of Lincoln City is holding a public forum 5-7 p.m. Feb. 28 at City Hall to provide input for a large scale art installation for the Lincoln City Cultural Plaza revitalization project.
Six artist finalists will present their visions for the project and showcase their past work as well as answer questions from the public at the forum.
As part of the Public Art Master Plan approved by City Council, the Public Arts Committee was tasked with recommending an artist to build a large-scale art piece in Lincoln City. The committee issued a “request for quotation” and received multiple proposals. The committee has narrowed the list to six finalists.
Pete Beeman, Hilary Pfiefer, Heidi Erickson, Bill and Karma Simmons and Adrienne Peck will each have the opportunity to share previous work and their vision for the current project. After the forum and interviews, the Committee will narrow the list to one recommendation which they will present to City Council for approval.
Comment cards will be available for the public to fill out and light refreshments will be provided at the forum.
If you’ve ever wondered what to do during a zombie outbreak or asteroid strike, then Oregon Coast Community College’s “Disaster Preparedness for the Pacific Northwest” class is for you.
Two three-hour classes take place 5:30-8:30 p.m. Feb. 20 and Feb. 27 at Oregon Coast Community College (OCCC) in Lincoln City.
The free class is taught by North Lincoln Fire and Rescue’s District Captain Jim Kusz. Kusz uses humor and decades of experience to take the paranoia and panic out of planning for threats facing the Oregon Coast. Damaging storms, power outages and the looming Cascadia Subduction Zone will be discussed in frank detail and participants will be shown simple steps they can take to be prepared for anything thrown at them.
Kusz was awarded Oregon’s Community Education Educator of the Year for teaching the class and it’s the most-attended class in the history of OCCC’s Community Ed program.
The program is offered free of charge due to a partnership between OCCC and North Lincoln Fire and Rescue.
Citizens interested in attending the class can register online or call 541-996-6222.
Although I genuinely support any well-intentioned attempt the city takes in acknowledging its responsibility to provide shelter of any kind for its homeless population, I can’t help but note the huge difference between the support that the city recently gave to the Helping Hands non-profit ($750,000 up front!) in its mission to provide “transitional housing,” primarily for the City’s “vetted” homeless – compared to the support the City reluctantly allocated over the years to the now dissolved Lincoln City Emergency Warming Shelter (LCWS) non-profit, which primarily served the “unvetted” homeless.
From its inception, LCWS was both underfunded and legally encumbered by the city, both before and after it briefly occupied the old Taft Fire House, which the city forced it to vacate, leaving LCWS with the only option to merge with the newly established, north Lincoln City C.H.A.N.C.E. non-profit, which (even though it primarily serves the “vetted” homeless) the city eventually hamstrung legally, once again leaving a significant portion of the City’s homeless problem (mostly “unvetted”) to our churches to solve this winter.
In that regard, a big “Thank You!” is due from our community to the First Baptist Church and its neighbors!
Lincoln County seeks new members to serve on the Lincoln County Planning Commission.
The Planning Commission plays a key role in the administration of land use planning within the unincorporated areas of Lincoln County. The primary duties of the Commission are to conduct public hearings and help make decisions on local land use applications and permits. The Commission also reviews and makes recommendations on amendments to the comprehensive plan and land use regulations.
The Planning Commission receives staff support from the Lincoln County Department of Planning and Development which is responsible for the administration of land use planning, building inspection, on-site sewage disposal and related land development regulatory programs in the unincorporated areas of the County.
The County seeks regular members from the north, central, and south regions of the County. Regular members serve four year terms. Members typically meet twice per month from 7-9 p.m. and usually spend an additional 1-3 hours per month studying materials often in preparation for meetings.
“Being on the Lincoln County Planning Commission is a great way to serve Lincoln County. The issues that come before the Planning Commission have a big impact on people and on our environment.” Lincoln County Director of Planning and Development Onno Husing said. “I urge people to contact us if they are interested. We’ll walk them through how the process works and field questions.”
County residents interested in serving on the Planning Commission may download an application on Lincoln County’s website or pick up an application in the Board of Commissioners Office in Room 108 in the Lincoln County Courthouse, Newport. https://www.co.lincoln.or.us/boc/page/committee-and-board-application
Applications from interested parties should be submitted by Feb. 14. The positions are open until filled.
For more information contact:
Department of Planning & Development
210 SW 2nd Street – Newport, OR 97365
(541) 265-4192
Completed applications may be delivered in person/mailed to, Lincoln County Courthouse, 225 W. Olive Street, Room #110, Newport, OR 97365 or emailed to [email protected]
To reach Lincoln County Public Information Officer, Casey Miller: 541-265-0211 [email protected]
Representatives of the media were provided a tour Monday of the 52,000 square-foot replacement Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital built by Skanska USA.
Hospital CEO Dr. Leslie Ogden gave a tour of the newly constructed $42 million facility, pointing out numerous advantages over the old hospital located next door, which is slated for demolition.
Newport News Times Reporter Rick Beasley asks Dr. Leslie Ogden questions Monday at the new Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital
Skanska USA’s Vice President/Account Manager Todd Predmore described the earthquake resiliency built into the project and offered other technical explanations, such as how steel beams are built into the ceilings and how air filtration systems bring in fresh air.
“This was a fantastic project to build with some great partners,” He said. “This is a state-of-the-art efficient hospital.”
Ogden said focus was put on patient privacy and convenience, with most patients never having to leave one room. The hospital has been designed so staff can access supplies and empty garbages from behind the scenes so as to not disturb the patient.
Ogden said patients want good customer service so the hospital has been designed around that. Visitors won’t see what’s going on behind the scenes because of a new “off-stage/on-stage” approach, where staff is allowed to do their jobs and patients get their privacy.
“This hospital is not like the old one where these things crossed very frequently,” she said. “They will get a different level of care and privacy here in this hospital.”
A safe room with recessed door handles, walled-off equipment and video monitoring was built in to protect people with mental illnesses from possibly hurting themselves. The video monitoring system sees the entire room with no blind spots.
Hospital staff wear “smart badges,” allowing other staff to locate them in an instant and provides them information specific to patients.
PR and Marketing Coordinator Mary Jo Kerlin took over as tour guide when Ogden took a phone call to finalize needed approvals for the building. She showed the tour the birthing units, commercial kitchen & cafeteria and a comprehensive accounting of supplies and offices.
A Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputy was bitten by a juvenile allegedly on LSD in Otis Saturday night after he banged kitchen utensils together as she attempted to speak to him.
A caller reported at 11:45 p.m. Saturday, a 16-year-old male juvenile was “on acid” or a similar hallucinogen and acting violently. The caller said one person had already been assaulted at the residence on N. Echo Mountain Road before a deputy was able to arrive.
While the deputy was attempting to talk to the juvenile in the kitchen, he proceeded to bang kitchen utensils together. The young male tried to kick the deputy as she got close, leading to a physical confrontation on the ground.
While on the floor of the residence, the juvenile bit the deputy’s upper left arm as he was being restrained. After five minutes of fighting, the injured deputy deployed her taser on the teen to subdue him.
Both the juvenile and deputy were transported to the hospital for minor injuries.
The deputy was treated and released and the 16-year-old was charged with assaulting a public safety officer, harassment and released at the hospital.
National Weather Service Portland (NWS) issued a “marine weather statement” Sunday calling for the possibility of waterspouts, high winds and hail off the Oregon Coast.
According to NWS, Doppler radar indicates thunderstorms off the central Oregon coast moving northeast could form weak waterspouts early Sunday afternoon through the evening about 10 nautical miles offshore between Florence, Newport and Lincoln City.
A waterspout was confirmed by NWS Jan. 21 in Depoe Bay and was caught on camera by Ainslees Salt Water Taffy.
Mariners can expect gusty winds around 30 knots, higher local waves and lightning strikes. Boaters should seek safe harbor immediately until the storm passes.
An apartment complex and neighboring hotel have joined forces to hire an attorney in an attempt to stop the City of Lincoln City and nonprofit homeless outreach service provider Helping Hands Reentry from developing transitional housing on Highway 101.
Lincoln Woods Apartments Owners Thomas and Leslie Barnes say they are upset with “the way it was handled,” saying “the City moved very fast on this and operated in secret,” prompting them to hire a specialized land use attorney with neighboring hotel The Ashley Inn & Suites.
Attorney Byron T. Farley, of Salem-based Martinis & Hill, said he believed the City of Lincoln City made major decisions without the public’s knowledge and was exploring legal options for his clients.
“We just can not believe that the City has overlooked the fact we have been in business for over twenty years and this will drop our property values significantly.” Leslie Barnes said. “We have 150 kids living in those apartments and we are worried for them.”
“This will completely destroy our business,” Ashley Inn & Suites Owner JD Desai said. “The loss of value will make it unmarketable. Putting this on the main artery of Lincoln City — I just don’t understand why they felt this was the most promising site.”
Desai said Helping Hands Reentry’s Tillamook location is in a remote area and their Seaside location is in an industrial area, and he questioned the motives of City officials for placing transitional housing next to apartments and a hotel that sees 25,000 tourists a year.
The red area highlights two tax lots recently purchased by The City of Lincoln City for transitional housing (Satellite image via Google Maps)
“This location sits above ours where anyone can look into our pool or patio area,” Desai said. “The City underhandedly secured this site and did not give us proper notice.”
The Barneses said a marijuana dispensary located near the Helping Hands location will not be beneficial to people trying to recover from drugs, but according to Helping Hands Reentry’s website, frequent drug & alcohol screenings are part of their program.
The Barneses and Desai said they had no idea about a $750,000 deal between the City of Lincoln City and Helping Hands Reentry — a nonprofit serving the homeless — where the City purchased land and two vacant buildings at 3454 NE Highway 101 & 2201 NE 34th Street, for $400,000 and gifted it to the nonprofit. A $350,000 urban renewal rehabilitation loan will be given to Helping Hands to bring both buildings up to code and both the purchase of the property and the loan are secured with promissory notes and trust deeds. If Helping Hands does not use the property for transitional housing, the building reverts back to the City.
Both the Barneses and Desai said they were not given enough notice to raise objections to the deal as the City negotiated in secret executive session meetings over the course of a year and only recently opened up the deal to public scrutiny.
The City posted a public notice advertising a public hearing Dec. 3 in local newspaper The News Guard to satisfy legal requirements and also sent notices to businesses and homeowners within 250 feet of the proposed transitional housing site.
“I think there might be a lot of people who are not as informed as they would like to be,” Mark said.
Immediately following the councilor’s comments, City Manager Ron Chandler went into the details of the deal: Video @ 23:30
Farley said the City’s last-minute removal of an agenda item at the Jan. 13 City Council meeting concerning the City’s definition of transitional housing, fundamentally changed the notices given to nearby property owners. Farley submitted a brief stating the definition conflicted with the State of Oregon’s definition of transitional housing prior to the meeting and its subsequent removal from the agenda.
City Attorney Richard Appicello told the City Council at the Jan 13 meeting:
“I just want to talk about the label we have been using of transitional housing. Earlier the planning director withdrew the proposed amendment to the code adding a proposed definition of transitional housing. That amendment was not needed by this application. What happened in this case is Helping Hands went to the planning department and said here is the proposed use — they happened to use the word transitional housing — but it’s the use they described in their application not on their brochure. It involves housing as well as counseling. They applied for that use. The planning director, using her discretion, looked at the use and then looked at our zoning code and exercising her discretion — in a noticed decision — decided that the use was more like an emergency shelter use than other uses, and as such was not a permitted use in the [general commercial] zone but rather should be processed as a conditional use.”
A news release issued Friday from the City of Lincoln City stated the purchase is complete and invited the public to meet Helping Hands Reentry 5:30-7 p.m. Jan. 30 on the 3rd floor of City Hall in council chambers.
We invite you to come meet our friends with Helping Hands and hear first-hand from CEO, Alan Evans how the program is structured and functions in Lincoln City and other coastal communities and how Helping Hands can improve the quality of life for all by giving a helping hand to a sustainable life.
City Manager Ron Chandler and Helping Hands Reentry could not be immediately reached for comment.
