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Published By Your City Hall |
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 In last week’s article, I shared some background information on what appears to be an increased number of homeless citizens living in or around Coos Bay and increased criminal activity. I don’t believe both are exclusively linked, but some citizens do. I shared what many believe are some of the contributing factors to the increase in the numbers of those experiencing homelessness and criminal activity. I also shared a recent court ruling, Martin v. Boise, which provided those experiencing homeless the ‘de facto right’ to sleep on public property throughout the western United States.
In addition, newly enacted state legislation, HB3115 and HB3124 have impacted local government’s ability to manage homeless camping on public lands. While HB3115 didn’t put an outright ban on local anti-camping ordinances, it requires local governments around the state to adopt policies that are “objectively reasonable” in regulating when, where and how people can live outdoors.
In this week’s article, I would like to share some of the efforts being undertaken to address homelessness, related issues, and impacts. To start out, in 2018 the City Council established a Homeless Work Group with a diverse membership of community, county, state, and federal representatives. The group is led by Councilors Stephanie Kilmer and Drew Farmer. Since 2018, the Homeless Work Group fostered several recommendations to the Council which included the following being implemented:
- Creation of a Community Resource Officer position in the Coos Bay Police Department. The Community Resource Officer position was created with the intent to work primarily with our homeless population to assist them in finding resources to help them locate permanent housing and gain stability. More information about the position the officer’s duties can be found at the following article links: Community Resource Officer Program Begins Work with Homeless Population and Community Resource Officer Program Update.
- The creation and adoption of a Camping Ordinance (CBMC 8.45). The newly created ordinance follows the Martin v. Boise decision, as well as Oregon HB 3115, as it required the establishment of objectively reasonable time, manner and place regulations. More information about the ordinance can be found here: City Council Approves New Camping Regulation Ordinance.
- Amending of the Towing of Illegal Vehicles Ordinance (CBMC 10.40). The ordinance was updated to best practices and falls in line with the recently passed Camping Ordinance (Ordinance 545, codified as CBMC 8.45). More information about the amended ordinance can be found at the following link: Ordinance Update on Towing of Illegal Vehicles.
- The creation and adoption of an Exclusionary Ordinance (CBMC 12.48). The ordinance empowered law enforcement officers to temporarily trespass law violators off specific public properties. More information about the ordinance can be found at the following link: Coos Bay adopts Ordinance to Trespass Individuals on Public Property.
- The establishment of a commercial Property Watch Program which allows the person responsible for commercial property to partner with the police and authorizes officers to act on their behalf when they are not there. More information about the program can be found at the following link: Property Watch Program Offered in Coos Bay.
- The creation of a public / private partnership to establish and fund transportation assistance to help unsheltered individuals and families to travel to other areas where they had a place to live. The program is called Homeward Bound. More information about the program can be found at the following article link: Senior Officer Reunites Man with Family.
As I had listed in last week’s article, one of the contributing causes of homelessness is the housing crisis. According to the Oregon Division of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) Coos Bay is considered a “severely rent burdened city” as we have at least 25 percent of renter households which are paying more than 50 percent of income on rent. In addition, housing is in short supply and the housing prices are going up (New Numbers Show Oregon Homes at Their Least Affordable in 15 Years). Increasing housing supply is an established Council Goal and we have undertaken the following efforts to that end:
- To increase housing units, the city created standards to allow Accessory Dwelling Units near primary residential housing. Additional information about ADUs can be found at the following link: Accessory Dwelling Unit Permitting.
- The City entered into an agreement with Coos County, ORCCA and now Northwest Housing Alternatives in an effort to clean up a contaminated former school in Englewood and create affordable housing. The former school at that location was destroyed by fire in late 2014. The former owner of the property abandoned it and left the area. The County foreclosed on the property for unpaid property taxes. The City agreed to clean up the property, in return, the County agreed to transfer the property to Northwest Housing Alternatives who agreed to build multifamily housing at the location. For additional information, see the news articles at the following links: A happy ending for Englewood School in sight, Englewood School Brownfield Clean-Up in Progress and Making Way for a New Housing Development.
- City staff are working with the Gloria Dei Lutheran church and their developer, Northwest Housing Alternatives, on an affordable multifamily housing project they are planning to build. See the following link for a recent news article: Gloria Dei Plans Affordable Housing Project in Coos Bay.
- The City worked with the owner of the Buggy Bank Building in an effort to repurpose the underutilized upper floor of the building to create 11 new studio and one-bedroom apartments. See the following link for additional information: Highlighting New Housing Options.
- The City worked with the owner of the Tioga Building, to not only give the building a fresh new look, but to assist in getting some of the many unused apartments back into service. See the following links for additional information: Significant Changes to Historic Tioga Building.
- The City is considering incentives for housing developments. One proposed incentive is a 10-year property tax exemption for development of new multi-family construction projects. See the following link for a recent news article: Coos Bay Considering Incentives for Housing Development.
- The City entered into a public / private partnership in an effort to create a transitional shelter. The City provided the necessary land and infrastructure while the Devereux Center secured Pallet shelters and management services for a transitional housing. See the following news article for more information: Coos Bay Transitional Shelter To Use Innovative Housing Approach.
- The Council adopted short term vacation rental and homestay regulations in an effort to limit the number of such businesses in the city to avoid over saturation and preserve housing for residents. See the following links for additional information Council Adopts Short Term Vacation Rental and Homestay Regulations and Council Approves Ordinance on Vacation Rentals.
- The City applied for and was awarded a grant to work with a consultant to develop a Housing Needs Analysis and a Housing Production Strategy, both essential elements outlined in HB2003 and intended to provide framework for further incentivizing and simplifying housing development. See the following links for additional information and or news articles: Coos Bay Updating Housing Needs Analysis in Hope of Encouraging More Development and Housing Production Strategy Kickoff.
 The references above are not an all-inclusive list of work being undertaken here at the City, but it does provide a glimpse at some of the efforts underway to address homelessness related issues and their impacts to Coos Bay. There is no silver bullet or one size fits all solution! We will talk about this and more at next week’s Town Hall meeting, which is scheduled for Monday, July 25, 2022, at 5:30 p.m. in Council Chambers. There will be time set aside for public comments/questions.
-Joe Benetti, Mayor of Coos Bay
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 It is the time of year when gardens are planted, and flowers are blooming, and both require water. The City of Coos Bay provides six months of summer sprinkling/irrigation sewer rates for individually metered single-family sewer users who are customers of the Coos Bay - North Bend Water Board.
The sewer rates for this group of residential sewer users are placed on a sprinkling rate during the May through the October billing cycle. The rate is a flat rate, calculated from the average water consumption for the prior six-month billing cycle of November through April. During the May through October billing cycle an individually metered single-family dwelling will pay this flat rate or their actual rate, whichever is less.
The City is divided up into several different billing cycles because the Coos Bay-North Bend Water Board is not able to read the entire City’s water meters in one week. That means the May through October billing cycle for the residents throughout the City will vary. Some customer’s May through October billing cycle will start at the end of May and others will start in June; each customer is provided six months of sprinkling rates.
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 Millions of neighbors take part in National Night Out across thousands of communities from all fifty states, U.S. territories, and military bases worldwide on the first Tuesday in August. Most neighborhoods host block parties, while others take part in festivals, parades, cookouts and various other community events with safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events, visits from emergency personnel, exhibits and much, much more.
National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. National Night Out enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of
community. Furthermore, it provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances. There is a National Night Out Community Block Party planned this year on August 5, starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Eastside Park. Hope to see the community there!
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Volunteers Become Career Staff
 The Coos Bay Fire Department (CBFD) is pleased to report that two of our student firefighters have been offered full-time positions with the Charleston Rural Fire District. Student firefighters are enrolled in Southwestern Oregon Community College in either the Fire Science or Paramedicine associate degree program.
Student firefighters, also known as cadets, sleepers, or resident volunteers, live in the fire station. Student firefighters are trained and mentored by the career staff. Once trained, they provide much needed supplementary manpower on emergencies and routine projects. Coos Bay has had a student program even before the college was founded in 1961. The Department has a maximum capacity to house nine students.
Chase Howerton of Coos Bay and Tyler Easter from the Grants Pass area have both been hired by Charleston as full-time Firefighter/Engineers. Chase joined the Department’s student program one year ago and Tyler has been in the program for two years. Their hiring will create vacancies in the student program, but the Department is happy to see them achieve their goal of acquiring a career in the fire service. We are proud of them, their achievement, and the success of the student program.
In addition to these two students moving on to a career in the fire service, volunteer firefighter Wyatt Cunningham was hired by La Grande Fire Department last month. Their success is a testament to the training that they receive from CBFD career firefighters.
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 North Coos 9-1-1 has grown through the years, providing a full host of dispatching services for many local jurisdictions. The dispatch center is currently providing police and fire dispatching services to the Coos Bay Police (CBPD), Coos Bay Fire (CBFD), North Bend Police (NBPD), North Bend Fire (NBFD), Coquille Police (CQPD), Coquille Fire and Ambulance (CQA/CQFD) Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians (CFTP), Coquille Indian Tribe (CQTP), and Southwestern Oregon Community College Public Safety (SWOCC).
The employees of the North Coos Dispatch Center are all trained and certified in Emergency Medical Dispatch, which allows them to provide lifesaving first aide instructions to those experiencing a medical emergency or calling on behalf of a victim of a medical emergency.
To help keep the community informed of the activities in the North Coos 9-1-1 Center we are going to be publishing monthly statistics.
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Essential Annual Basin Cleanings
Over the last week the maintenance and treatment crew have been working on cleaning the aeration basins at Water Treatment Plant No. 1. Aeration basins add air to the wastewater to provide oxygen to the wastewater bugs that eat the solids (poop). This is a very important part to treating wastewater as the bugs eat the solids prior to the water being disinfected and exiting the plant.
 These basins can have buildup (which mainly consist of sand and grit) throughout the year that accumulates at the bottom of the basin and therefore needs cleaned annually. This annual cleaning is essential to also perform routine maintenance and observe for any repairs needed. The crews are also certified in confined space entry which is needed for cleaning these basins. Most of the large maintenance at the treatment plants is performed in the summer months when the flows entering the plant are not as high as in the winter.
There are many more large maintenance activities planned for the remaining summer months that we will keep you informed of as they are performed.
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 The City of Coos Bay will have an election for the positions of Mayor and three City Councilors (Mayor – a two-year term; Councilors – a four-year term) to be held on November 8, 2022. Interested citizens may obtain information and file at the Coos Bay City Hall located at 500 Central Avenue, Coos Bay, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. June 1, 2022, through August 30, 2022. Candidates filing by petition are asked to file before 5 p.m. on August 23, 2022.
To qualify, a citizen must be a registered voter and must have resided within the City of Coos Bay for at least one year preceding the election date. Questions can be address to City Recorder Nichole Rutherford at 541-269-1181, ext. 2244.
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 The South slough Reserve Summer Series lineup is out! Join us this July and August for more than a dozen free events:
- Come to a community hiking day on July 23-with transportation available from Coos Bay Public Library.
- Bring your little ones to Tide of the Toddlers to learn about the amazing world of birds on July 30.
- Get an introductory course on crabbing August 6.
- Take a paddle and hike through the South Slough with a naturalist guiding the way on August 27.
Check out more events and register today at www.southsloughestuary.org
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JOB ANNOUNCEMENT
9-1-1 Dispatcher – Certified and Entry Level
The City of Coos Bay is soliciting applications for the position of certified and entry level 9-1-1 Dispatcher. It should be noted that preference points will be given to certified dispatchers applying for this position. In addition to preference points, certified applicants would be eligible for a $7,500 hiring bonus ($3,500 after being hired and $4,000 after successful completion of probationary period) as well as the possibility of up to $1,000 moving expense reimbursement. For Entry Level candidates, this position will be open until August 8, 2022. For Lateral candidates they must apply by August 1, 2022, to be considered in the lateral process. For complete announcement and application packet, click below.
JOB ANNOUNCEMENT
Contracts Administrative Specialist
The City of Coos Bay is soliciting applications for the position of Contracts Administrative Specialist. To apply for the position, interested parties should submit a city application, resume, and letter of interest to the City Manager’s Office or by email at administration@coosbay.org. City applications are available from the City Manager’s Office, City Hall, 500 Central Avenue, Coos Bay, Oregon 97420, by telephone 541-269-8912, or listed under Government, Job Openings on the City’s website. The deadline for submitting an application is 5 p.m. August 11, 2022. For complete announcement and full application packet, click below.
JOB ANNOUNCEMENT
Records Specialist
The City of Coos Bay is soliciting applications for the position of Records Specialist. To apply for the position, interested parties should submit a city application, resume, and letter of interest to the City Manager’s Office or by email at administration@coosbay.org. City applications are available from the City Manager’s Office, City Hall, 500 Central Avenue, Coos Bay, Oregon 97420, by telephone 541-269-8912, or listed under Government, Job Openings on the City’s website www.coosbay.org. The deadline for receiving applications is 5 p.m. August 2, 2022. For complete announcement and application packet, click below.
JOB ANNOUNCEMENT
Collections Supervisor
The City of Coos Bay is soliciting applications for the position of Collections Supervisor. To apply for the position, interested parties should submit a city application, resume, and letter of interest to the City Manager’s Office or by email at administration@coosbay.org. City applications are available from the City Manager’s Office, City Hall, 500 Central Avenue, Coos Bay, Oregon 97420, by telephone 541-269-8912, or listed under Government, Job Openings on the City’s website. For complete announcement, click below.
JOB ANNOUNCEMENT
Codes/Planning Specialist (Full-Time)
The City of Coos Bay is soliciting applications for the position of Codes/Planning Specialist. To apply for the position, interested parties should submit a city application, resume, and letter of interest to the City Manager’s Office or email at administration@coosbay.org. City applications are available from the City Manager’s Office, City Hall, 500 Central Avenue, Coos Bay, Oregon 97420, by telephone 541-269-8912, or listed under Government, Job Openings on the City’s website. The deadline for receiving applications is 5 p.m. on August 5, 2022. For complete announcement, click below.
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