December’s JINGLE ‘N MINGLE was another big success! Approximately 70 members enjoyed the company of Neahkahnie neighbors, our usual robust offerings from volunteer bartenders and delicious food from everyone’s favorite Julie Barker and Buttercup. Once again the center and life of the party was Carol Povey who at 101 years old shut the place down 🙂 Thanks to all who attended and especially our volunteers!
Happy New Year! A Neahkahnie Community Club membership assures that you can attend our summer PICNIC IN THE PARK and our Holiday jingle ‘n mingle events. Don’t miss out in 2018! Please click on the link below to download and print out the membership form, complete the information requested, and send with your check to the address provided.
Hello Neah-Kah-Nie neighbors!
PLEASE SAVE THIS DATE: Sunday, August 13, Noon to 3 pm………..
for the Season’s biggest event, the………
PICNIC IN THE PARK
The Neah-Kah-Nie Community Club 2017 Summer Social at the
Nehalem Bay State Park Meeting Hall
We’ll have the same great neighbors and friends! And the same club-provided and shared dishes! And the same sunny gathering at the State Park Meeting Hall.
The Club Board is working hard again to make it an enjoyable gathering. A detailed invitation with all the particulars and RSVP information will be e-mailed to you in July. It is free for current (2017) members of the Neah-Kah-Nie Community Club. The State Park parking fee, as last year, will be covered.
A membership form with mailing directions is at the bottom of this post for your convenience. If you forgot to renew in January, you can use this form to take care of that now.
And if you have new friends or neighbors who aren’t already members why not invite them to join too?
Any questions? Just email davensue_163 @ comcast.net
Below is correspondence from Kathie Hightower which summarizes the latest information on the Summit Development.
Dave Williams
Neahkahnie Community Club Secretary
Here is the latest on the Summit development, an ODOT report from Marc Johnson and a summary by Mark Roberts of the latest NWD meeting with the developer and the Hydrogeologist present.
Marc Johnson is working to schedule a public meeting in future on this topic. Stay tuned. Kathie
1. ODOT:
My only contribution is to report that ODOT will be reviewing the
development of the project and formally commenting to Tillamook County
when an application is filed, but the agency has already determined that
the access points to the area are legal – in fact date back to the 1940s –
and that the traffic impacts fall outside their minimums to require any
specific mitigation. The estimated vehicle trips per day for the project,
for example, are 300 – ten trips per day per home – and that falls outside
the minimum needed to maintain a left turn lane for instance. As the ODOT
contact said: the Oregon Legislature some time back made it easier for
developers to peruse this type of project without a lot of ODOT review.
2. Neahkahnie Water District Meeting report:
Marc Johnson and I attended the regularly scheduled Neahkahnie Water District Board meeting Tuesday night.
Two special speakers at the meeting brought the proposed development
surrounding the NWD spring area adjacent to Neahkahnie Mountain up to
date.
The first speaker, Jerry Maris, is the surveyor for the Summit at
Manzanita˛ development. Jerry shared the status of the Preliminary
Concept Plan˛ with the Board. Jerry emphasized the Preliminary
Concept˛ aspects of the plan in that fundamental work is continuing:
pausing in large part until the spring zone is better characterized by
the NWD hydrogeologist and that logging necessary to expose the more
eastern part of the parcel is continuing, weather permitting. One
certainty – the development will NOT exceed 30 housing sites given the
acreage and setbacks in the parcel. Another near certainty is that the
County/(state?) requirements for Rural˛ development is that
septic/drain fields will be used; not sewer.
The illustration below shows the current concept – two clustered
housing site areas, one west and one east of the Water District spring
area (marked in green lines with a 100 tree zone around it. Drain
fields are also shown in green though as green rectangles which are
large enough for two households. Everything subject to change as more
information is acquired.
The second speaker was Bob Long, principal consultant of CwM-H20, the
recently hired expert for the NWD. His scope of work is to assess both
the springs hydrology (#1 thru #3) as well as their vulnerability to
contamination, including a potential hazardous spill along Hwy 101.
He stated that his total work is about half-completed. His survey of
the scene has been completed and ‘most of the hydrology done’. He is
awaiting the 3-D, topographical łfine grain˛ mapping. (I believe that
this MIGHT be from DOGMI, state of Oregon). He is mentally testing
ideas around the Hwy 101 scenario. Will be pulling this all together
in the next weeks.
erry joined in, promoting the test holes are open and available for
study and interpretation. The holes are 6 feet deep; the County DEQ
staffer, Chris, must still come by and review and pass˛ each site;
always useful for sites to be evaluated by a qualified analyst; organic
soils 4 feet to 6 feet deep are visible; Tom Horning and DEQ people
must each review and evaluate each site ‹ and don’t know their
schedules.
Larry Kiser: Where and depth of spring zone?
Bob Long: Springs are of a low angle variety; are more considered an
“area” than point source; they create pipes thru a variety of means
over time tending to move horizontally. AND, delineation of
fracture zones and areas is hard to do. Can identify areas of
high, medium, and low flow areas around the springs (Roberts:
Sort of like a heat map yes).
ALSO, there are fracture flow˛ and flow thru basalts˛ in the
underlying geology. These are not visible from the surface; each test
site actually disturbs the ground, so don’t over do it; ancient
landslides and other events have churned the area. Interpretation requires experience.
My summary: So, there you have it – preliminary, on-going work; lots
of moving parts; more stable information will be made available when
its known. Everybody stating desire to be transparent, provide
visibility.
Dear Neighbors,
The following is a note from Kathie Hightower containing new information on the Summit Manzanita development. It includes notes from Rich Felley, General Manager of the Neahkahnie Water District, and Marc Johnson, a community member.
Dave Williams
Neahkahnie Community Club Secretary
Hi all-
Here’s a note and attached documents from Rich Felley, General Manager of the Neahkahnie Water District, along with notes from Marc Johnson, a community member who attended the budget meeting. Marc Johnson has stepped up to coordinate a community meeting in future, that would be open to not just Neahkahnie residents but others, to look at the wider issues here, i.e. traffic, landslide risks, others, with input from the Oregon Coast Alliance. We’ll send an announcement when we have a date/time/location. Kathie
From Rich Felley:
Here is an update since NWD last board meeting May 9th. The developer, Phil Weber, asked his surveyor to attend as Pete Adamson was unable. Attached is an image of the map Jerry Maris offered at the meeting. I am attaching an updated NOAP of the logging operation which came in on Tuesday.
Our hydrogeologist began work on April 26th. Click the link bl
NOAP for logging for Summit Manzanita
From Marc Johnson:
I attended the Water District board meeting last night (May 9) and wanted to offer a couple of observations.
Major news, I think, was the appearance before the board of Jerry Maris, a consulting surveyor from Hillsboro who has been retained by the developer to do work to determine the configuration of lots in the proposed Summit development. (Pete Adamson had been listed on the agenda as attending, but it was said he was ill and he did not attend.) Jason Morgan, a geotechnical guy, was also in attendance as part of the developer’s team.
Maris shared with the board – and all the members were there – a document showing “clusters” of the proposed homesites in a more confined area of the 70 acre site. His pitch was that this can help move development away from springs and may allow two or three individual lots to share one drain field or septic system. Maris said he had presented this concept earlier in the day to the county’s chief planner and he represented that she was “on board.” After some questioning from board members, Maris said the individual lots – still 30 or 31 sites – could range in size from 12,000 square feet to two acres. Maris emphasized several times that he was sharing an internal working document that was still a work in progress. He was reminded by the district’s director that since it was presented at a public meeting it was now part of the public record.
The other thing that seemed significant to me was that the district’s attorney, Sarah Smyth McIntosh, gently pressed Maris for an answer about whether the developer(s) would eventually be a bit more public about their plans. Maris responded that they had been “very transparent” with the water district, the county, ODOT, state parks, etc. Sarah said the district was continuing to get many questions about the proposed development and many questions outside their scope of jurisdiction and she made a bit of plea for the developer to address the community interest/concern. Maris said he would deliver the message.
I was afforded the opportunity to ask a couple of questions. No other members of the public attended. I asked about the timeline for a formal submission to Tillamook County. Maris did not offer a real answer other than to say they had hoped to have the various studies they are working on done this month, but that was not going to happen, so as soon as they could they would be making a formal submission. I also asked, I hope respectfully, if the developer was going to “show up in the community?” Maris repeated the “we are being transparent” answer and I said, with all respect, there were lots of questions/concerns/rumors and it would be wise, in my opinion, if the developer found a way sooner rather than later to present the overall concept to the community and stand for questions. He said he would deliver the message.
From Club President Sarah Johnson: Here is the latest report from Kathie Hightower and Mark Roberts, edited for brevity. Also displayed is Mark’s chart explaining Tillamook County’s decision-making process for new housing Developments. SAJ
Hi all—Here’s an update on the Summit Manzanita project as reported by Mark Roberts, who attended:
IMPORTANT NOTE: Mark and I are trying to keep on top of what is happening with the Water District as it applies to this development. We’ll keep you informed on that.
I do think there are other issues with this development, past the Water District and water safety. Things like dangers of landslides due to septic tanks/fields, the potential extreme traffic problems on 101 in summer and in RV season, with no turn lane (ie. if a vehicle coming south has to stop for a long time to turn left not the development the traffic will be halted way back,l ike it is currently coming off Hwy 26 into Seaside in summer). Neither Mark or I are in a position to address these wider issues. If anyone wants to head up a team to do so, and/or be on such a team, email me and I’ll connect you all. I’ll also connect you with Oregon Coast Alliance who is interested in fighting this kind of development. I can connect you with a community member who has volunteered to help with PR/media if necessary.
Per the Oregon Coast Alliance: “Oregon Coast Alliance is happy to talk with those who have a broader interest in fighting this development, which includes but is not limited to the water issues. We have experience in fighting developments that are inappropriately sited and/or cause natural resource and community problems. We are a land use watchdog group, that is our focus.”You can see projects they’ve worked on at their website at http://www.oregoncoastalliance
Thanks, Kathie
Hello friends. For your information and review: below is a link to the minutes of the most recent area meeting regarding the Summit at Manzanita real estate project. These were sent to me by Kathie Hightower, a resident of our community, who is following the project.
As promised earlier, we will continue to keep you apprised as this situation unfolds, as will the Neahkahnie Water District via your water bills. Stay tuned!
Sarah Johnson, President
Neah-kah-nie Community Club
Click the link below for the meeting minutes:
Dear Club Members,
The Board of Directors writes to alert you to the recent sale of approximately 180 acres of timberland east of, and adjacent to, highway 101 between Neahkahnie Meadow and Nehalem Road.
There is discussion not only of logging but also development of home sites that would rely on septic fields. The potential impact of this development on our watershed and the livability of our area is obvious.
We know you may have received this information elsewhere, notably from fellow Neahkahnie residents Kathie Hightower and Mark Roberts who are leading efforts to disseminate information in hopes the Water District’s part-time staff is not overwhelmed. (Updates will also be included with water bills.)
The perils of the situation are too serious not to spread the best information we are privy to through multiple channels. We are including here Kathie’s message along with Mark’s reporting from the 14 and 22 February Water District Board meetings… just click on the blue link below Kathie’s message. (Above you see the very preliminary plotting of the home sites with their septic fields.)
Your Neah-kah-nie Club Board of Directors
___________________________________________________
From Kathie Hightower:
Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2017 10:42:59 AM
Subject: Important info about a new development and our water safety in Neahkahnie
This is important information about a new development above 101 that might impact our water safety in Neahkahnie, and could have impact on the whole Manzanita community. We want to do what we can as a Water District and Board, and community, to make sure the development only moves forward if water safety and other concerns are addressed.
There have been two meetings with the Neahkahnie Water District and board, and flurries of emails of concerned citizens trying to make sure of the best way to move forward and to get information out. We’ve consolidated info from the two meetings, had a number of eyes on this to make sure we aren’t spreading rumors/incorrect info. This is a lot of reading, but important, and hoped to answer the questions you might have.
If any of you have additional specific questions, please send them to me (kathiejhightower@gmail.com) rather than calling or emailing the Water District. Mark Roberts and I are trying to be the conduit to the Water District and Board so they can focus their time on forward movement and not on fielding a lot of the same questions from many people. Thank you. Kathie Hightower
Happy New Year!
During the 2016 year, the Board has worked hard to implement the changes necessary to streamline our two annual events, making them more cost-effective and more efficient to put together. Thanks to all of you who embraced the new formats for both the summer Picnic in the Park and the Holiday Mingle ‘n Jingle. I hope you enjoyed them.
Picnic in the Park: The new location at the Meeting House in our Nehalem Bay State Park was easy to set-up and adapted well to our needs. Access was easy, parking was plentiful, the potluck food was (as always) delicious, and the camaraderie was terrific. In addition to the picnic lunch spread, we were grateful to have our NKN neighbors from the Emergency Volunteer Corps join us to review our preparations for the inevitable natural disaster predicted for our coastline. The 2017 picnic will be at the same place on Sunday, August 13. Save the date.
Mingle ‘n Jingle: Our second year at the Pine Grove Community House for our holiday party was another hit! According to all reports, the catered food and drink were outstanding. One guest remarked to me: “I’ve met and enjoyed talking with more people tonight than I’ve ever experienced at a NKN holiday event. It must be the fact that people are just enjoying reconnecting with neighbors.” And also the fact that there’s much more mingling than the former seated dinner format could ever offer. Don’t miss the 2017 party: Saturday, December 9. Save this date, too.
Our key to continuing success is always an expanding and participating membership, which should be the natural result of all the newcomers in our neighborhood. Please invite your new friends and neighbors to join you in Club activities, and steer them to the website: www.neahkahnieclub.org for membership information. We’re open to all full-time and and part-time residents in our area. The only requirement is that members have an interest in the Neahkahnie neighborhood. As always, please call me (503-799-3063) or email (sarahaveryjohnson @ gmail.com) if you have thoughts or questions about the Neah-kah-nie Community Club or if you want to be involved with what we’re doing.
Best wishes for the New Year!
Sarah Johnson, President
PS The Club’s Annual Meeting will take place at our home on Saturday, January 21 at 11am. All members are welcome. Please see the 1/6/17 member email from Secretary Dave Williams for agenda details..
Announcing……..
the 2016 jingle ‘n mingle!
Celebrate the Holidays with the Neahkahnie Community Club
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 5-8 PM
PINE GROVE COMMUNITY HOUSE, 225 LANEDA AVENUE, MANZANITA
We’re serving: tasty nibbles, classy hors d’oeuvres, yummy pupu, savory treats and seasonal sweets, all prepared by two popular local chefs: Julie Barker (Buttercup) and April Larsen (Bleu-Eyed Baker). We’re pouring: premium wines, beer, classic mixed drinks, soft drinks, coffee and tea.
MEMBER/GUEST RESERVATIONS: $28/person ($56/couple)
You should have received your invitation email which includes the RSVP form. In addition to making your party reservation(s), please also use this form to indicate your interest in volunteering to help with this party and/or to participate on the Neahkahnie Community Club Board next year. DEADLINE FOR RSVPs is DECEMBER 1st.
If you did not receive the invitation email and RSVP form, please contact Club Secretary Dave Williams at davensue_163 @ comcast.net or by phone at 206 418 8694.