By Mayor Charles McNeilly
Welcome to my City of Rockaway Beach Monthly Update with a look back at the month of November 2024.
Our Annual Christmas Tree lighting on Friday at the Wayside was a huge success with an amazing crowd of residents and visitors. Thanks to Public Works and Rockaway Beach Business Association for bringing this celebration of the season to our community.
The Coffee with the Manager and Mayor meetings were restarted and around 14 residents attended and shared their thoughts, concerns, and asked questions of the City Manager and Mayor. I added notes from the meeting to the December City Council Meeting packet for all to read. We are taking December off for the holiday, so the next Coffee with Manager and Mayor will be on Thursday, January 23rd at 9:00 am in the 2nd Floor Conference Room of City Hall. I hope to see you there.
There were 5 city businesses that wrapped-up their facade improvement grant projects recently. A total of 7 applications were received and approved for grant funding for a total of $102,951. However approximately $25,000 has not been invoiced for two projects that have not yet started, although the deadline for completion is very near. Nan Devlin of the Tillamook Coast Visitor Association (TCVA) reports that comments from the business owners were very positive, and they were all thankful to receive their grant funds to help them achieve long-wanted plans for improvements to their properties. A new Grants page is now available on our website. You’ll see the complete Façade Grant improvement report posted there. As we move forward with the new community grant program this page will evolve.
City Manager Shepard received a wonderful and long-anticipated update from EV Charging Solutions (EVCS). EVCS partnered with Rockaway Beach, and 9 other cities in Washington and Oregon to string DC fast charging stations along Hwy 101. Our Anchor St. parking lot was 1 of 2 sites selected in Oregon for the charging stations. The plan is to install equipment that will allow for 8 electric vehicles to simultaneously utilize high powered DC fast charging stations. These will be installed and operated by EVCS at no cost to the city. We received word this week that the project is now moving forward, and the next step is to finalize a site host agreement. A representative from EVCS will join us at our December meeting with more details. This is another win for Rockaway Beach at no cost to the City or its residents!
The Sourcewater Protection Plan Development Advisory Committee reviewed and commented on the Source Water Protection Plan approach to implementation. The next step will be to have a review and comment period on the Sourcewater Protection Plan.
Let’s not forget about the tornado that touched down in Rockaway Beach on Veteran’s Day. The most important news was that no one was seriously injured. Unfortunately, the EF-0 Tornado did leave a trail of damage to both public and private property. Damage to roofs, outbuildings, fences, power lines, windows and trees was noted in a West to East path from the beach between Nehalem and N. 3rd. The Neah-Kah-Nie School District administrative buildings suffered the highest reported damage, estimated to be between $150,000 – $200,000. I’d like to thank the Fire Department, and Rockaway Patrol Deputies for their quick response that night. Our Public Works Department and the Tillamook PUD personnel worked quickly and diligently to clean up the mess and return services to residents.
City Hall
Rockaway Beach is recruiting to fill a new Administrative Assistant position at City Hall. This is a customer service focused position that will also work on utility and other customer accounts. Please share this with anyone you know who may be interested in a career with Rockaway Beach. There is additional information and an application on our City website. We plan to hold a first review of applications on December 13th.
Hats off to City Hall staffer Elizabeth Avila for her work rolling out the new annual online short-term rental (STR) licensing through Granicus. It’s not easy to migrate over 500 STR licenses from a paper-based system to a new digital system. However, after hundreds of letters, emails and phone calls, and help from other staff, she was successful. Now that we have a complete digital database, the next step will be the rollout of the 24/7 STR complaint hotline. More to come on this soon.
None of our public meetings would be possible without the amazing work of our City Recorder, Melissa Thompson. Melissa spends countless hours preparing the minutes, reports, resolutions, public notices, ordinances, listserv announcements, scripts, virtual meeting setup, printing, coordination with presenters, staff and officials. Melissa also preps the meeting rooms and runs all the equipment, virtual meetings software, and presentations during the meetings. Melissa really shined in mid-November as she prepared and coordinated the City Council Workshop, City Council regular meeting, Special City Council meeting/Land Use Appeal, Sourcewater Protection Plan Development Advisory Committee meeting, and Planning Commission meeting. All of these took place within 8 days. On two occasions, there were multiple meetings on the same day. Melissa is an incredible asset to this city, and she should know just how much we appreciate all she brings to the table.
Finance Director Marni Johnston reported that the Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP) dividend payment for October set a record at over $62,000. Thank you, Marni, for taking such good care of our City’s finances.
Fire Department and Emergency Preparation
Remember to save the date of December 14th for the annual Santa at the Station event. Santa will arrive at 6:00 PM. Pictures with Santa, Fire Truck rides, cookies, hot chocolate, and door prizes will be some of the activities. All are welcome to stop by.
Our Fire Department was called to assist with the structure fire in the City of Wheeler. Crews from around the county and the City of Cannon Beach also provided support to the Nehalem Bay Fire District on the incident. We were saddened to hear about the loss of life due to the fire, and our heart goes out to their family. Chief Hesse reported that we have many reasons to be proud of the actions of our crew that day, and that all our crew members returned home safely
The Fire Department performed its annual hose and ladder testing. All the Department’s firehoses were pressure tested and inspected for abnormalities that make the hose unsafe. The ladders were tested for load bearing and safety.
The Fire Department began a Firefighter 1 Academy. Eight crewmembers are taking part in the program which includes on-line classroom training followed by practical hands-on training. The 80-hour class will be completed by January. At the completion of the class, the Firefighters will be certified to perform interior structure firefighting as well as general firefighting tasks. We are so thankful for the residents that volunteer to staff our Fire Department.
The Fire Department will be hosting an EMT class beginning in January. The class is held in cooperation with Tillamook Bay Community College. This will be the 5th year the class has been hosted in Rockaway Beach and over 80 EMT’s have been added to Tillamook County from these trainings.
On the first Wednesday of the month. The Fire Department held its monthly preparedness meeting at City Hall. This month’s subject was “Are you Red Cross ready.” This program was taught by a member of the Red Cross. If you were not able to attend the meeting in person, look for a link of the recording to watch the video on the City website under Emergency Management.
The Fire Department received its new portable Cardiac Monitor this week and placed this unit in service. The new monitor will have an immediate impact on diagnosing and providing treatment for patients experiencing cardiac events. It’s a huge improvement over the previous unit and its life-saving capabilities are impressive.
Tillamook County just received a grant from the State Fire Marshall that will be revising the county’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan. Each fire district and municipality in Tillamook County will have an opportunity to participate in the plan. Rockaway Beach’s Fire Department will keep the council posted on the progress.
Planning Department
The EPA Community Change Grant application was finalized and submitted. This $15,894,353.90 request was for our project to improve and safeguard the drinking water of Rockaway Beach. To achieve this, the team’s plan includes the desire to improve the area’s green infrastructure, utilizing nature-based solutions by securing and acquiring key forestland parcels in the Jetty Creek Watershed and constructing a reservoir to increase water storage capacity for the community.
Planning Commission
Commissioner Zedrick stepped down from the Planning Commission. She served admirably for over four years during a very busy and productive period for the Commission. Thank you, Georgeane, for your dedicated service to our community!
At the November meeting, Commissioner Umholtz announced she will not be able to complete the remainder of her term on the planning commission. Thank you, Zandra, for your dedicated service to our community!
We’ve posted notice of both open positions on our Planning Commission this week on the City Website. Applicants for the Planning Commission must be a resident within the City of Rockaway Beach or a registered voter in Tillamook County living as a full-time resident within the City’s Urban Growth Boundary. Applications may be picked up at Rockaway Beach City Hall or found online. The deadline for submitting applications is January 6, 2025. Selection of the new Planning Commission member is tentatively scheduled for the City Council meeting on January 15, 2025. Applications can be submitted in person at Rockaway Beach City Hall or by email to cityrecorder@corb.us. Please share this with anyone you know who may be interested in serving our community in this capacity.
During the November meeting the Planning Commission was briefed by Superintendent Dan Emerson on the capabilities of the new digital Message Center being installed at City Hall.
Public Works
A big thank you to Public Works for getting us through the season’s first king tides and bomb cyclone. Flooding was minimal and debris from the high winds was cleaned up quickly. Great job Public Works! Please keep in mind that Public Works monitors these major drainage basins around the clock but can only step in to intervene when conditions allow staff and equipment to operate safely. During king tide events, these “safe operating windows” are often short and fleeting.
The new wall for the new wayside beach access ramp was poured this week. The forms have now been removed, and we’ve had our first look at the artwork included in this second attempt. There are twenty-four separate pieces incorporated into the wall, including chinook salmon, starfish, and seagulls. They look great! Nice Job elevating this project Superintendent Emerson!
Public Works is gearing up for street rehabilitation work for next spring and has already solicited bids for the work. This planned rehab work, more commonly called a slurry seal, is a cost-effective road surface maintenance process that will extend the life of the pavement and push out the need for full asphalt overlay. The city budgeted $50,000 in slurry seal projects this year and utilized the adopted Street Capital Plan to select the roads to be treated. Scott Fisher wrote about this plan in his November 26th Fenceposts article. It is an informative read.
City Council
Installation of new speakers and microphones is completed in the Council Room. Hopefully, this resolves the issues our meeting attendees reported with hearing the proceedings. Thank you to Josh Gandy for his work on this project.
Topics covered at the November City Council Workshop:
- Review of FEMA BiOp Pre-Implementation Compliance Measures (PICM).
- Review of Ordinance 2024-06: An Ordinance Amending City of Rockaway Beach Zoning Ordinance 143 Section 4.050 Sign Requirements; will be considered at the December Council Meeting.
- Review of Grievance Process Policy Related to Public Meetings Law; will be considered at the December Council Meeting.
- Small Community Grant Program Update; will be considered at the December Council Meeting.
- Discussion agreed to move January 8th Regular Council Meeting to January 15th
- Council asked the Planning Commission to consider and recommend any changes to short term rental ordinance to accommodate Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant housing as STR’s.
At the November City Council Meeting, Council:
- Approved Resolution 2024-42 Adopting the 2025-2029 Strategic Plan
- Initiated an amendment to the Rockaway Beach Zoning Ordinance and directed staff to move forward with the adoption of a tailored version of the updated 2024 FEMA Model Ordinance.
- Approved Resolution 2024-43 Authorizing a Loan from the Safe Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund by Entering into a Financing Contract with the Oregon Infrastructure Finance Authority; this will fund the Nedonna Beach Water Main Replacement Project.
- Approved Resolution 2024-44 Authorizing Execution of a Statutory Partnership Agreement with Sustainable Northwest. This resolution approves an agreement with Sustainable Northwest for the purpose of applying for and completing the EPA’s Community Change Grant – a potential source of funding for ensuring long-term water security.
- Approved Resolution 2024-45 Authorizing Application for Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) Grant to Support the Lower Jetty Creek Acquisition. This resolution demonstrates support and authorizes staff to submit a grant application to OWEB for funding land acquisition around the Jetty Creek Watershed.
- Approved Resolution 2024-46 Recommending Granting of Liquor License Approval for Green Coast Market. This resolution recommended that OLCC grant a liquor license application for Green Coast Market for off-premises liquor sale.
Tillamook Coast Visitors Association
Rockaway Beach branded reusable shopping bags arrived last week. We now have two different sizes. City Hall staff will reach out to city business license holders and begin the process of distributing bags to our merchants at no charge. Don’t hesitate to spread the word to our business community and let them know they only need to give City Hall a call to participate. A big thank you to Nan Devlin and TVCA.
Key Dates in December for Community Engagement
Emergency Preparedness on Wednesday, December 4th 6:00 pm presents Dr. Jonathan Allan of the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. Dr. Allan is the head of the Tsunami Modeling and Mapping Program. He will discuss the risks of major earthquakes and tsunamis; and storm waves and coastal erosion. Being well informed will enhance your safety.
The City Council Workshop is Wednesday, December 11th at 4:30 pm in the City Hall 2nd Floor Conference Room followed by the City Council Meeting at 6:00 pm downstairs in the City Hall Council Room.
Santa at the Station is Saturday, December 14th at 6:00 pm. Visit with Santa Claus; ride on a fire truck; enjoy cookies and hot chocolate; and maybe even win a prize in the raffle.
The Planning Commission meeting is Thursday, December 19th at 5:00 pm in City Hall Council Room.
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 wish you all a glorious holiday season and …
I am still listening!