Balensifer eyes projects in new term as Warrenton mayor

Feb. 3—WARRENTON — After a term strained by the coronavirus pandemic and turnover of crucial city staff, Mayor Henry Balensifer has his eyes on several projects in the next four years.

Balensifer, a sales and marketing manager at JBT AeroTech, was unopposed for reelection in November. He was first elected to the City Commission in 2012, appointed mayor in 2017 to finish Mark Kujala's term and voted in as mayor in 2018.

He pointed to the update of the parks master plan, expansions to the Urban Renewal District, streamlining of internal processes, implementation of digital building permits and the addition of technicians to the planning and building departments as among the city's biggest recent accomplishments.

But progress was hampered, the mayor said, by instability in city staffing. Important roles in administration, planning and public works were filled with interim options or left empty during extended recruitment drives.

Linda Engbretson delayed her retirement as city manager as the city struggled to find a replacement. The first search led to a candidate, but contract negotiations fell through.

Esther Moberg, a former library director in Seaside, was eventually hired to take on the position midway through last year. Balensifer praised Moberg's work ethic and said she has far exceeded early expectations.

The planning director position saw extensive turnover within the past few years. Jay Blake, an experienced city planner and community development director in Minnesota, took on the role in July.

The public works director role remains vacant after Kyle Sharpsteen, the interim director, left to become the manager of the Clatsop County Fair & Expo.

"Both what I'm looking forward to and what I see as a challenge, is we have a lot of new employees in critical departments," Balensifer said. " ... But I think that gives us room to try out new ideas versus the old and tried and tired."

Goals

Several infrastructure projects remain front and center on Balensifer's agenda.

After being a city goal for decades, a pedestrian corridor connecting downtown to Warrenton High School is finally starting to take shape as state and federal funding has poured in to finance the project.

"I'm excited because we're making great progress on that," Balensifer said. Another pedestrian corridor on E. Harbor Drive between downtown and Fred Meyer is also planned.

As flooding continues to be a significant challenge during extreme weather, Balensifer hopes to upgrade stormwater and sewer plans and systems and "really (ensure) that we don't continue to build ourselves underwater."

"I would really like to avoid having to ask for other resources, or declare an emergency or something like that, to avoid flooding, but these flood events are getting more close, more common," he said.

Homelessness, Balensifer said, continues to be a concern, noting that the city will be working closely with nonprofit partners and Clatsop County on the issue.

Balensifer cited challenges with infrastructure and a low property tax rate in looking to address homelessness within city limits.

"To drive the point home, Astoria's got Project Turnkey, but Project Turnkey in Astoria wouldn't be possible if they didn't have an abandoned hotel to use. Warrenton doesn't have a ton of abandoned hotels to use," he said. "You could build something new, but that's cost-prohibitive."

Last fall, Balensifer signed on to a task force made up of 25 Oregon mayors that sought to tackle homelessness. The group formed an outreach plan and asked for funding assistance from the state.

In January, the City Commission approved crafting a letter in support of the county's efforts to be included in Gov. Tina Kotek's emergency spending package for homelessness.

Balensifer was critical of how the state distributed funding.

"These funds (the state) keeps talking about never get seen, especially in the coastal areas, in the rural areas — they never get seen," he said. "And part of that is we don't have the built-out infrastructure and the state refuses to believe that we have a problem, it seems like."

The mayor also expressed hope in finding sustainability for the Warrenton Community Library. The future of the library, which is funded by an operations levy, is in jeopardy after voters rejected an increase to the tax rate in November. The levy — at its current tax rate — will go before voters again in May.

"What I don't want people to forget is it's not just a library, it's not just a place where we take books, it's so much more," Balensifer said. "It's a lifeline for people."

Outside of specific projects, Balensifer also said he wants to raise Warrenton's profile, "both as a policy thought leader and just as an aggregation for a partner in other cities."

Balensifer is looking to form a consortium of mayors on the Oregon Coast in the hopes of addressing coastal issues and tackling resiliency needs.

"Providing a consistent policy position and awareness of issues facing coastal communities will help, I think, keep things on the burner, both at the state and local levels, and to the federal government when we talk to our federal officials," he said.

Hammond

With much of Hammond's infrastructure deteriorating, Balensifer said, the city wants to open an urban renewal district there after Warrenton's expires this decade.

"The question is how do we turn the key to make that happen as a real place to go to?" he said.

While pointing to investments the city has made in sewer and stormwater systems in Hammond, Balensifer said seeking improvements to the marina, which is also in disrepair, is crucial.

"The truth of the matter is, Hammond will never be what it was in the '90s, or even the '80s for that matter, if we don't revitalize that marina," he said of the former town that merged with Warrenton in 1991. "That marina is the linchpin."

The city's decision to not renew the lease of a fishing guide's shop at the marina drew strong opposition from fishermen and marina users last month.

"There has been some controversy or questions about, 'Well, is the city just trying to get rid of services at the marina?' That's not true," he said. "What we want to do is stop putting lipstick on a pig or Band-Aids on broken buildings and get in private partnerships and get investments ... to really make that place something special."

Balensifer said constructing a fishing pier at the marina will be among his key projects. "Getting that project built is going to be something that will really drive more access to the resources that people have," he said.