Emerald Coast Jobs

NOAA wave of fortune more like a ripple

NEWPORT — The research vessel Bell M. Shimada cruised into Yaquina Bay on Friday with only the high school band as fanfare, and moored at the brand-new pier built especially for the 209-foot ship and its five federal cousins.

The crew disembarked for a low-key reception at the Rogue Brewery, then, after a couple of days of refueling, restocking supplies and R&R, was slated to head right back out to sea to resume a survey of West Coast hake fish. Hake is an indicator species that helps scientists understand the health of other populations, such as chinook salmon.

Thus began the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s era in Newport, a relocation from Seattle that was hotly contested by Washington lawmakers and wildly celebrated in this Oregon Coast town, where officials put together a “Cadillac” proposal that lured the federal agency’s Marine Operations Center — and the 175 government jobs that go with it — to Oregon.

But the ship’s quiet arrival and departure over the weekend serves as an important reminder to a community that has eagerly anticipated NOAA’s arrival for months: This is not going to be an explosion of economic activity.

All but 65 of the government’s workers will remain at sea for all but a few days here and there, when the research vessels come to port for repairs, fuel, groceries and rest. The ships’ crews can live anywhere they want, really, because they spend so much time at sea that it doesn’t make much difference where they call home. Some crew members may choose to stay on board while they’re in port for brief periods in Newport, which won’t benefit local landlords and merchants, although ships will certainly rely on local contractors for maintenance, diesel and food, boosting those companies’ incomes.

That leaves the on-shore employees, those who’ll staff the 28,000-square-foot administration building and run the 17,000-square-foot warehouse constructed earlier this spring along with the quarter-mile-long pier and six ship berths for a total cost of $29.8 million.

Even those employees won’t arrive all at once, even after the lease on NOAA’s current base in Lake Union ends June 30. Many who have worked in Seattle and enjoyed the trappings of urban life didn’t take the news well when they learned they’d be moving to a town with a fraction of the population, restaurants and other big-city amenities they were used to.

Transportation Talk - CITY COUNCIL LIVEBLOG - TheDestinLog.com

We are now moving on to talk about Transportation. Whit Blanton from RPG contractors is also on the phone.

RPG has completed transportation projects throughout the state of Florida.

Gallander said he met with Okaloosa County last week, where they talked about the city’s multi-modal system and the potential of Okaloosa County getting rid of their transit program.

He said the city has plans for transit stops in the capital improvement plan and showed that they would be used. Gallander said most of the transit stops are used by tourists.

Gallander is going to meet with the TDC board in the upcoming weeks, to show them what Destin wants for its multi-modal program moving forward.

Blanton said the city has been recognized on the state level for their multi-modal program and how well they have been implementing the plans.

“The district three staff told everybody on that conference call that Destin did a great job… I thought that was a great compliment,” he said.

Blanton is saying that Hwy. 98 is a big barrier and could be hard to work with.

He is saying that fixing traffic and making changes in the corridor is going to take some time and effort.

Blanton is citing a study and implementation plan that was used in Sarasota, where utilized different strategies for a traffic plan.

Williges wants to know what type of traffic calming devices the city is looking at along Hwy. 98.

Planner Hank Woollard is saying that the city doesn’t know what is going to work best, and that is what they are trying to find out. Woollard said there are about a dozen or so options that can be considered.

One would be to put in shrubs along the roadway, which gives drivers the impression the road is narrower than it really is.

“There are dozens of proven, effective techniques that have worked in other places,” Woollard said. “We decide which is going to work best, through expertise… and we go from there.

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