Official City of Gearhart Blog

Keeping our residents informed while maintaining the quality & livability of our community.


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TEAA 2021 Season Gallery Show Kickoff

Trail’s End begins its 2021 season of monthly Gallery Shows February 5th – 28th. The Gallery is open Fridays-Sundays, 11am-3pm.

boat metal installations by Carol Braden

The first show is an all member show with a unique collection of watercolor, oils, metal, mixed mediums, sculpture and glass. More about the artists members, along with more about membership and more about our shows and activities can be found at TrailsEndArt.org.

oil and cold wax, Lewis & Clark Farm, by Kitty Paino

Trail’s End is the oldest non-profit art association of its kind on the Coast. The building  was constructed when Gearhart was a booming resort town in 1903, before being moved to the present meadow after the downtown was destroyed by fire. It eventually became a schoolroom and gym for the Gearhart school. It was finally converted to art classroom/studio and a gallery by the Association mid-century and fully restored in 2020 for the organization’s 70th Anniversary. In addition to the changing gallery shows of original art, there is also a gift shop full of prints, small objects, artworks and notecards.

shirt metal installations by Carol Braden

We are located at 656 A Street in Gearhart. Phone 503 717-9458 and email trailsendartassociation@gmail.com.


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Gearhart Parks Survey

REMINDER: Gearhart Parks Survey collection is in full swing! Water statements go out next week and will include a paper copy. Skip the paper hassle and complete the survey online NOW: (copy/paste link) https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GearhartParks
You can also click the live link in the blog post below.

Official City of Gearhart Blog

Please complete by March 1st, 2021.

Rather than fill out the paper survey, please do the survey online at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GearhartParks

ONE survey per household, please.

The City of Gearhart and the Parks Master Plan Committee is requesting input from Gearhart and outside residents regarding how park properties are currently used and how improvements could better address the community’s needs and desires. The survey has two benefits: 1) providing guidance to the Parks Master Plan Committee and staff in developing a Parks Master Plan and identifying long-term and short-term projects for the park properties; and 2) to better position the City to seek grant funding to assist with project completion. Your assistance by completing the survey will be greatly appreciated! We require an address to validate surveys. If you prefer the paper survey, please send it to City of Gearhart at PO Box 2510, Gearhart, Oregon 97138. Or, you can drop the survey…

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Mayor’s Report January 15, 2021

You may see something in the press soon, about the local school systems trying to reopen for in-person, or at least hybrid learning in mid-February. With Clatsop County in the Extreme Risk category due to the Covid-19 infection rate for at least the next several weeks, this goal may need to be pushed even further back for our Clatsop County children.

Studies have already been published showing that children who aren’t able to interact and learn together can negatively affect our children’s learning, social skills and psychological health.

Clatsop County’s Covid -19 infection rates are at record high. Public Health authorities report that when our residents fail to follow basic public health guidelines, the rates go up and stay there.

As a (retired) nurse let me say: Parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, sons and daughters, please lead by example, and follow the following guidelines:

  • Keep groups small- socialize out of doors when possible and maintain social distancing and masking in public places and when not able to stay at least 6 feet away from other persons.
  • Avoid indoor gatherings with folks out side your family unit.
  • Follow all workplace rules related to masking and social distancing and symptom monitoring.

We need everyone to hang in there and follow these established public health guidelines while we wait for everyone who wants a vaccine, to receive one. Following these guidelines over the next one month may make the critical difference in getting our public schools open.

Working together as a community, as one team, is the only way for infection rates to slow down and to let us all breath a sigh of relief.

The video from the press conference is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYgLrojx-cs

The county has a website with Vaccine information and FAQ’s at https://www.co.clatsop.or.us/publichealth/page/vaccine-information-faqs.

Stay safe,

Mayor Paulina


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Gearhart Parks Master Plan Citizen Advisory Committee Worksession

The next Gearhart Parks Master Plan Citizen Advisory Committee worksession will be held next Wednesday, January 20th at 5:30 p.m. The public may attend, but there is no public comment during a worksession.

CLICK HERE FOR ACCESS INFORMATION DIRECTLY FROM THE CITY WEBSITE CALENDAR

(Go-To-Meeting access information for citizen committee meetings does not change. You will use the same link, phone number, and/or access code each time the PMP Citizen Advisory Committee meets.)

REMINDER: The Gearhart Parks Survey is still open for responses – CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE IT NOW! If you have already returned a paper survey or completed the online Survey Monkey version, THANK YOU! Paper surveys will go out again in water bills at the end of this month allowing enough time to return them prior to the March 1st deadline.


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WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! – 2021 Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (NHMP)

FROM THE CLATSOP COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HAZARD MITIGATION HOME PAGE:

Multi-Jurisdictional Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (MJNHMP) Update 2021

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! The Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (NHMP) identifies hazards that threaten our communities, evaluates our vulnerabiklity to those threats, and outlines strategies to reduce or eliminate the risk posed by those threats. 

Citizen participation is a critically important piece of the update, because the NHMP has greatest value to the whole community when it relies on input from the whole community. So, please take some time to share your perspective on the draft Plan and how natural disasters impact Clatsop County, and pass the Plan along to others so they can take the opportunity to do the same. We appreciate your time and interest in the Clatsop County NHMP.

Clatsop Community Survey 

As part of the review and update process and to ensure a plan that meets the needs of the whole community, we need input from the citizens who live and/or work in Clatsop County.  The survey asks the public’s opinion on topics such as identified hazards, personal impacts and personal preparedness.

CLICK HERE TO QUICKLY COMPLETE THE SURVEY

2021-26 Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan Review

The NHMP is a lengthy document, so to avoid feeling overwhelmed by its contents, we recommend starting with the Table of Contents, which will give you a feel for how the plan is laid out and which areas are of greatest interest to you.  Are you interested in a particular community or jurisdiction?  If so, each of the participating entities is featured most comprehensively in the Community Risk Profiles section. Click HERE to view the 2021 MJNHMP Draft Plan then use the survey or email clatsopemd@co.clatsop.or.us to provide comments and feedback.

The draft NHMP and surveys are available for public review and comment through Friday, January 15, 2021.


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Mayor’s Report for January 2021

Mayor’s Report

JANUARY 2021

Well It’s been a solid month into my new role as Mayor of Gearhart. What a month its been!

First I must say that the insurrection that occurred at our nation’s capital on Wednesday must be denounced. Violence can never be a solution to our differences.

Covid remains throughout the greater Clatsop County community. The county has a website with Vaccine information and FAQ’s at https://www.co.clatsop.or.us/publichealth/page/vaccine-information-faqs. Information on vaccines will be available on that website as more vaccine comes into the county and distribution timelines are updated. In the meantime keep socially distanced, wear a mask as posted and required indoors or when not able to maintain at least 6 ft from others (except those in your household), wash hands frequently and keep groups small. Diligent use of these measures might keep the county from moving into the “Extreme Risk” category again. Here is a link to a video from the Oregon Health Authority:   https://youtu.be/zPI-Pge8c7g

The Council had a work session last week to learn more about the Oregon Solutions Elk Collaborative. I would like to plan a virtual town hall sometime in late January or early February to outline the various aspects of a Gearhart Elk Management Plan. The Elk population has roughly tripled to quadrupled in the past 10 years. We have lush food sources for the Elk and it seems they can’t get enough of living the life in Gearhart, much like the rest of us. At any rate, I have started a power-point presentation to share some of the information I have learned and look forward to sharing it soon.

The City Council has also reviewed the draft of the Gearhart Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan (part of the Clatsop County Plan). This update has been in the works for a while, and we will be sending it to the Planning Commission next month for their review and for public comment. The Council made some minor changes in the priorities, but for the most part they remain the same as for the last 5 years:

  1. Relocate the Gearhart Fire Station to a site outside the large tsunami zone.
  2. Develop a community self-sustainability program to provide food, shelter, hygiene, water, communication and utilities (we have done a lot on this goal for the last of couple years thanks to the City staff, CERT team, and the help of some grant funding.
  3. Develop and implement a community disaster preparedness program.
  4. Educate the community about hazard risks and hazard mitigation. Councilor Dan Jesse suggested a new committee to coordinate hazard mitigation activities and if you would like to volunteer for such a committee let me know and we will work to make that happen.

The city council is completing work on the Fire Station due diligence report and I hope to have that available to the public later in the first quarter. I am excited to see this process move forward. I know the firefighters need a larger training space, storage for equipment, and a decontamination room, as well as many other things that would be a part of the new station. Thanks to all the volunteers and our staff who have worked throughout the pandemic to answer our calls- 500 last year!

The Council was able to distribute 23 grants to Gearhart small businesses before the end of the year. It was great to see the smiles (behind the masks) as we delivered checks. Thanks to the city staff and council who worked through 3 special meetings to get this important task done. The grants were part of the CARES act money the city received.

The Business Committee has been working on an inventory of Gearhart businesses, the Parks Master Plan Committee has just sent out a survey and we have received a great response so far, if you haven’t filled one out for your family, please look for it in your water bill or a link on the blog or city website. Finally, Gearhart is participating in a planning project for improving safety on Highway 101 throughout Gearhart, this is a long-term project that is described in the Gearhart Transportation Plan (at the city website).

Stay safe Gearhart! Here’s to a happy and healthy 2021!

Mayor Paulina