By Mayor Charles McNeilly
Welcome to the City of Rockaway Beach Monthly Update with a look back at the month of July 2024.
The City’s five-year strategic planning process is proceeding. Our strategic planning consultant, SSW, will gather input from Rockaway Beach Business Association and
Rockaway Beach Chamber of Commerce in August; and will host our first Strategic Plan Town Hall on Wednesday, September 18th from 5:30 to 7:00pm. Please mark your
calendars and plan to attend! So far, we have over 500 responses to our communitysurvey! If you have not completed the survey, paper copies of the survey are available
at City Hall, or CLICK HERE to complete the survey electronically, and more information is available on our city website.
The City wrapped up contract and pricing negotiations with Granicus for our Short-Term Rental Management Program software. The City was able to reduce future costs
significantly compared to those initially proposed. This software will more than pay for itself with improved STR compliance and will make the STR complaint process easier
and more centralized. You will receive more information about this at a later date.
QR Code Stickers are installed at motels, short-term rentals, merchants and restaurants throughout Rockaway Beach. A scan of the QR code loads our official visitor web site
(visitrockawaybeach.org) into the browser on a smartphone giving the user access to a list of places to eat, to shop, to sleep and numerous other things to do while in
Rockaway Beach.
I will deliver the State of the City Message at the August 14 City Council Meeting. This is your opportunity to learn about the City’s accomplishments over the last year,
challenges ahead, and the City’s agenda for the next year. I hope to see you there.
City Hall
We are making a “full court press” on protecting our drinking water source – Jetty Creek Watershed. Please read our Jetty Creek Watershed Management and Acquisition Effort Memo posted on our City website . It provides an excellent discussion of all of the moving parts in our Jetty Creek Watershed Program.
We received word this week that the Oregon Health Authority Drinking Water Services and the Department of Environmental Quality have recommended our FY-2024 Drinking Water Source Protection grant for funding through Business Oregon. This $75,000 grant will cover the next phase of work for the Jetty Creek acquisition project such as forest stewardship planning, an appraisal, timber inventory, and other due diligence expenses. City Staff will work with Business Oregon to complete the process.
The City submitted a $5.5 million grant request to NOAA for purchase and (other necessary work) for the lower half of the watershed. The Sourcewater Protection Plan
Development Advisory Committee finished their work on risk assessment and prioritization during their July meetings.
The city is gearing up for the first of two Sourcewater Protection Plan Town Halls on Thursday, September 12th at 5:30pm. Our source water protection consultant, GSI, will
update our residents on the plan’s progress and hold a Q&A. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend!
Our new business license software is ready. Businesses will receive their renewal notices shortly. This new software will allow for better communication between the city
and our business community.
City Hall wrapped up recruitment for a full-time hire to fill the vacant Administrative Assistant II position. We were faced with a tough decision as, once again, the candidate
pool was very strong. All of those interviewed seemed more than capable of succeeding here. The top two were both exceedingly impressive. Our new Administrative Assistant
II, Elizabeth Avila will work under our City Recorder and will fill in for City Recorder at our public meetings when needed. You’ll be able to meet our new hire working the front desk (among other duties as assigned) beginning Monday, August 5th.
Ziply Fiber is considering expanding their network into the City of Rockaway Beach. This presents a great opportunity for much improved telecom/internet services for
motels, businesses, residents, 2nd home owners, and visitors. Staff is working through some logistical checklists with Ziply, and will then invite them to propose a non-exclusive franchise agreement.
Fire Department and Emergency Preparation
The Tillamook County Fire Defense Board issued a county wide burn ban effective July 4th. Please remember that the ban does not include permitted campfires in designated
sites, and permitted residential fire pits.
Our Fire Department recruited two new seasonal Firefighters who began service in July.
Both are certified EMTs and also certified Wildland Type II Firefighters. Payroll for these seasonal firefighters is fully funded through a state grant.
Captain Grace is wrapping up a 6-day CERT Train-the-Trainer course. This course is designed to prepare participants to deliver Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
CERT Basic Training course. The ability to train and certify our CERT members “in house” is a huge leap forward for the program. Here in an informational link about the
training. Thank you, Captain Grace, for taking this on!
Captain Grace, Emergency Management Lead, and the Salmonberry Trail Foundation are organizing a wild foraging class on the old growth cedar tree boardwalk Wednesday,
August 7th at 6:00 pm. Join them at the boardwalk parking lot.
Among their many other calls, the Fire Department responded to a vehicular fire on the morning of June 26th, and a water rescue the following Sunday. Neither ended with any serious injuries. The Fire Department responded to a second water rescue. This time near the south jetty and a report of a capsized boat. Our department worked with the
Garibaldi FD and the coast guard. Kudos to Fire Chief Hesse, his crew and our partners!
Three years ago on July 8th, Chief Hesse responded to a medical call and saved the life of a man in cardiac arrest. Every year on the event’s anniversary, this individual reaches
out to Chief Hesse and thanks him for saving his life that day. Hesse received this year’s call last week. We are blessed to have the medical response capabilities we have in Rockaway Beach. Your support of our city staff, and support for the resources needed for training and proper equipment make this type of success story possible.
Planning Department
The crew from the Oregon Marine Board returned this week to complete their in-water survey for the Lake Lytle Park. With this accomplished, design work on the in-water
amenities can begin. Our Engineers have been tasked with gaining permit approvals for the new restrooms and necessary utilities, and removal of invasive Eurasian Watermilfoil has been added to the project’s overall scope.
Work on the Salmonberry Trail project continues. Alta Planning and Design conducted outreach at the June 27th Annual Picnic at Phyllis Baker Park, and was at the Wayside
on July 4th. The city is on track to submit a funding request through ODOT’s Community Paths Program. Fortunately for us, the request will constitute an amendment to an
existing award and has a high likelihood of approval. The City will request $6 million in construction funds in August. Thank you, City Planner Mary Johnson, for all your work
on this one!
You can join the Salmonberry Trail Foundation for a guided walk by Councilor Mary McGinnis August 3rd, 4th, 10th or 11th. To reserve a slot go to the Salmonberry Trail
Foundation event reservation website (tickettailor.com/events/thesalmonberrytrailfoundation).
Planning Commission
At a special meeting on June 27th, the Planning Commission approved a conditional use application for a single-family dwelling in the commercial zone.
A final order is expected to be released soon on the Planning Commission’s partial and conditional approval of application PUD 24-1 Nedonna Wave Phase 2. We anticipate
this decision may be appealed to the City Council, and are making preparations for a training session on the process for Council Members.
The city submitted its quarterly housing assistance grant report this week. This grant is funding the work of Cascadia Partners which will assist the city in bringing its planning
program into compliance with Senate Bill 406. Cascadia has completed the code audit review. The review included that of our zoning code, subdivision ordinance and comprehensive plan. Cascadia will complete the process by drafting suggested revisions to bring these documents into compliance with SB406. Our Planning Commission is tentatively scheduled for a first look at their work in September.
Public Works
The Public Works Department concluded interviews for a seasonal Utility Worker to help with facility maintenance during our busiest time of year. You can expect to see the new hire around town.
The Public Works Department installed a new set of signs at their office. This brings a more professional look to an already professionally run City department.
Public Works, among a plethora of other activities, performed maintenance to the N. 3rd Avenue beach access after a community member suggested that the access point be
evaluated.
Our Public Works Department supported the NKN Robotics Summer camp by delivering a dump truck of sand for the “testing sandbox”. It’s wonderful to see these types of
partnerships! Nice job Superintendent Emerson.
The bid opening for the Wayside Access Project was a huge success. The lowest bid received was well under initial estimates. The Council will have the opportunity for final
approval of the project at our August 14th regular City Council meeting.
In June, a Public Works vehicle was rear ended while traveling along Hwy 101. Fortunately, our employee was not at fault, and it appears no permanent injuries were
sustained. Unfortunately, the Public Works vehicle was totaled, and a replacement purchase was not scheduled for this Fiscal Year. Superintendent Emerson was able to
find a used vehicle that fell within the funds available to him. Great Save!
A Landscape Designer who recently purchased a vacation home in Rockaway Beach has reached out to the city to volunteer their services for our Anchor St. Park project.
The designer has offered not only to design the parks plantings, but also to donate the plants as well. Superintendent Dan Emerson is working with them to implement their design. This is yet another great example of the wonderful residents we have here in Rockaway Beach!
City Council
At our July City Council Workshop the Council discussed League of Oregon Cities (LOC) Legislative Priorities and subsequently submitted our top five which are, in no
particular order:
• Behavioral Health Enhancements
• Lodging Tax Flexibility
• Operator-in-Training Apprenticeships
• Place-Based Planning
• Restoration of Recreational Immunity
The LOC will tally the votes of all cities and use the cities preferences to develop a lobbying plan for the upcoming legislative session.
At our July City Council Meeting City Council approved an ordinance regarding the feeding and keeping of wild animals, making it consistent with state law, and added a
provision regarding penalties. This is an excellent example of community members expressing concern about the feeding of deer in Rockaway Beach; and City Staff and
Council working together to address their concerns.
City Council reappointed Sandy Johnson and Nancy Lanyon to the Planning Commission for four-year terms. Thank you Sandy and Nancy for volunteering for this vital work.
Tillamook Coast Visitors Association
Our official visitor web site (https://visitrockawaybeach.org/) had 18,526 users in July 2024 which was a 109% increase over July 2023. Perhaps as the result of our QR Code Sticker Program, we had a month over month increase of 93% in users accessing our visitor web site while in Rockaway Beach.
One of many tourism promotional campaigns to come includes our QR Code on B-Line Cargo delivery trikes in downtown Portland, from September through May. Another use of our official visitor site QR Code.
Please stay informed and engaged!
The most efficient way to keep up to date on your City government is to add your email address to the City’s email list through the City’s website, at the bottom of landing page.
If you have ideas to share; questions or concerns about what is going on in the City of Rockaway Beach, please email me at charlesforrockawaybeachmayor@gmail.com.
I am still listening!
