This story originally appeared on YachatsNews.com and is used with permission.
The Port of Alsea is postponing looking for a new manager until winter after the man hired for the job resigned and business this year dropped significantly.
“I have been telling you every month for the last few months that this year has a totally different feel to it financially,” manager Roxie Cuellar told the five-member board at its meeting Thursday. “And it’s not just us.”
“It’s everywhere,” a board member added.
“I am really worried about it,” Cuellar said. “The phone is not ringing.”
The board hired Ron Graves of Waldport in April to work three days a week during a six-month probationary period before taking over for Cuellar in the fall. Cuellar had planned to retire after nine years on the job.
Graves, who has a landscaping business, resigned May 24 after not receiving a commitment from the board that he would indeed take over as port manager in the fall, Cuellar said.
“I told him we just can’t do that right now, we’re not there yet,” she said.
Graves’ position paid $19 an hour during the probationary period and would have been approximately $65,000 a year as port manager.
The board’s discussion around whether to hire another candidate for port manager came down to finances “because that is really what this is all about,” Cuellar said.
“I don’t know what the result is going to be this summer but I know we can’t wait until fall to find out because this is our money-making season and if we’re off this year, then we may not have the reserves to go into the winter,” she said. “And that’s what scares me. The property taxes we receive in November and December don’t last very long.”
Cuellar told the board she still wants to retire, but recommended it wait until the financial situation becomes clearer so they will know how much they can afford to pay. And if the summer season does get busy, Cuellar said she would not have time to train someone.
“It’s much easier to do it after the busy season is over and we get into October and November when we are slow,” she said. “Also, by the time we get to the middle of October we will know what are situation is. So that’s my recommendation, we just sit on it for a while and not try to recruit.”
The board agreed.
Cuellar also informed the board she needed to cut her schedule by one day a week and would take a 20 percent pay cut. Her salary will go down to $52,000 a year and save the port approximately $1,500 a month.
Exactly how much revenue the port is down, Cuellar told the YachatsNews, is something she just does not know yet. But it did take a “big hit” between the 2022-23 season because of inflation. Revenue was steady, but utilities, insurance and other bills went up.
The Port of Alsea district stretches from an area south of Seal Rock through Waldport, east to the Lincoln-Benton county line and south through Yachats to Lane County. It is overseen by a five-member board and manager, who is responsible for preparing the budget, which is about $500,000 including bond funds.