PUD Or PP&L?

We interrupt our discussion on the Legion Block to bring you and new topic.

Last week KAST reported that Clatsop County was holding a number of quiet discussions with various parties about the possibility of dumping Pacific Corp and going with the Clatskanie PUD.

This came up at the Astoria City Council meeting when the Pacific Power Regional Community Manager asked if anyone on the council had heard this as a rumor.  She said she was trying to track it down and that her company had heard nothing from the county.  It was surprising to discover that most of the council had heard about it. In fact Peter Roscoe said while he didn't know much about it yet he had been asked by one of the commissioners to sit on a citizens committee to explore the idea. Then City Manager Paul Benoit said that County Manager Duane Cole had recently paid him a visit to chat about the proposal.  Benoit said that the county had approached some key power users for letters of support.

Today I discovered that Cole is moving even faster to secure the support of school districts who think it will save them money even though it doesn't look like there is much more than speculation involved with that conclusion.

Cole is saying that since Clatskanie PUD gets it's power from the Bonneville Power Administration it is coming from clean hydro power and not the coal burning plant Pacific Power uses.  So it's greener and it's cheaper.

I'm all for paying less on fixed expenses like energy bills. I'm just a little concerned about whether there will be any actual savings involved.  Pacific Power has made it clear that buying their infrastructure will be at current market rate because much of the system has been replaced since the 2007 storm.  That's going to be a big number.  I'm also concerned about how the Clatskanie PUD spends money after seeing the incredible headquarters building they just finished.

Then there is the question about reliability. What happens if we get slugged with a big storm or series of storms? Will the Clatskanie PUD be able to get to us? How long will it take to make repairs? In 2007 Pacific Power brought in teams of engineers and linemen from throughout the western states. Can the PUD do that?

I await the outcome of this rush to change something that isn't broken. 

What's In A Name?

I've come to the conclusion that giving a certain block in downtown Astoria it's own name is really just a temporary convenience.  Once the block has been turned into a central park or garden square the importance of a name will evaporate.  It's just so cumbersome to have discussions about what to do with it right now because you have to call it something to clearly identify it.

You could call it the 12th and Duane block I suppose but then people might think of the Liberty theater, or the Elliott Hotel or the Bankers Suite that used to be a Day Spa and before that a part of Hunts Home Furnishings for a brief period instead of our central hole in the ground that was a Safeway Store next to the American Legion building and across Exchange from the Senior Center that was once Hunts Home Furnishings before Hunts moved to the old Astoria Public Market building which used to be the Police and Fire station but is Roby's now.  You have to have lived here at least 30 years to follow what I've just wrote.  There are a lot of places in town that require some personal history to describe accurately.

We had a similar problem with the Flavel buildings.  Before anyone realized who owned them you would have to know that the Shipyard tavern is across the street from what used to be the Benjamin Franklin Savings which was next to the old Szenders Mens Fashions until Szenders moved across the street to the now abandoned storefront and Sears moved into Szenders old spot until Sears moved to Marine Drive.  Lazlo Szender, by the way, was a tailor from the old country who could make a beautiful suit from scratch. That's a skill set we've lost.
Back to the point.  All you have to say to most folks today is the Flavel buildings and they know what you are talking about.

Naming the Safeway/American Legion Block is important for communication and it's somewhat important what that name is.  I have no problem dedicating the entire block to the Legion.  They've earned it many times over. The Safeway name has to go away because Safeway is not a active community partner and simply hasn't earned the recognition.  So until the City Council comes up with a new name I will refer to it as just the Legion Block. Period.

So next up a few thoughts on what might work on that block and why moving the Garden of Surging Waves there just isn't appropriate.