November 2, 2020 — After dangling their toes in the water, Rogue Ales and Spirits is taking the next step toward offering outdoor food and drink at its House of Spirits location. On Tuesday, the Port Commission entertained and ultimately approved the necessary modification to Rogue’s lease of the property.

As part of the agreed upon lease amendment, the House of Spirits will now include 950 square feet of outdoor area located on the west side of the building, giving patrons a spectacular view of the Yaquina Bay Bridge and South Beach marina.

Dharma Tamm, Rogue President, appeared before the Port Commission to discuss the plans for the facility.

“Right now, we don’t really know how COVID is going to continue over the next year or who knows how long,” he said, adding “so having outdoor space where we can have people seated and serving food is really critical.”

As part of the amended lease, Rogue will pay roughly $285 more per month for increased space. Some discussion occurred as to whether the amendment should expire after a year. Tamm indicated that a long-term arrangement would allow the pub to make more meaningful changes.

“With some permanence, as opposed to a one-year thing, we can actually build it out a bit better and invest in some more infrastructure there, as opposed to just adding picnic tables. We can actually put down real tables and heaters and things like that,” he said.

Port Commissioners ultimately voted unanimously for it to be a permanent change to the agreement, with Commission President Jim Burke adding that the development “is a good addition to the Port.” Commissioner Walter Chuck was absent from the meeting.

In other business, Commissioners heard an update on options for handling bilge waste disposal. The Port provides for the disposal of as much as 20,000 gallons of bilge waste for Commercial Marina vessels each year, utilizing a two-tank system that allows for settling over time. Following a recent failure, one of two tanks had to be removed. After discussing options like removing the storage building’s roof to place a new 5,000 gallon tank or installing a centrifuge system, Commissioners encouraged staff to have the remaining tank inspected and, if appropriate, continue to utilize that option until the next fiscal year.

Port Commissioners also authorized General Manager Paula Miranda to move forward with the next steps in determining if construction of a Port administration building is feasible. Miranda was authorized to continue work with Capri Architecture and DH Goebel Architect to get drawings and plans ready so that a cost estimate can be calculated before determining whether to proceed with a request for proposals for construction.