By Mayor Charles McNeilly
Welcome to the City of Rockaway Beach Monthly Update with a look back at the month of May.
Our community welcomed student volunteers from the Neahkahnie School District. These awesome students worked with the Rockaway Beach Volunteers on clean up throughout town. This event was very well coordinated, and all participating agencies were included in the planning and scheduling well in advance.
City Hall
With the City Council approval of our Cyber Security policy, the City applied for and has been approved for the maximum insurance coverage amount offered. Our hats are off to Melissa Thompson, our City Recorder!
Our City’s Budget Committee approved our 2024-2025 budget and sent it to City Council for adoption. Adoption of the budget will be considered at the June 12th City Council meeting.
The Sourcewater Protection Plan Development Advisory committee, five representatives from Sustainable Northwest, as well as landowner representatives from Nuveen and Stimpson toured the Jetty creek watershed. Hosting this tour was a nice gesture by the landowners and shows their support of our work on this project. Nuveen’s Pacific Northwest Region Manager coordinated the tour along with Stimpson’s Director of Western Resources. Sustainable Northwest’s Director of Science, Public Forestlands Program Manager, Senior Wildlife Manager and others were in attendance. The committee represented the city very well.
City Manager Shepard met with the Oregon Forest Legacy Grant coordinator. We are on track to submit by the end of June a request of approximately $4 million to be used for purchasing the lower half of the Jetty Creek watershed. If successful, the funding will not be available until late 2025. And, we have a lot to complete before then!
The City is recruiting to fill an open administrative position at City Hall. Ally Modrell is moving out of the area. We thank Ms. Modrell for her time at City Hall and wish her the best. See our city website for the job posting.
Councilor McGinnis and Council President Cheek attended the Salmonberry Trail Intergovernmental Agency quarterly meeting. Councilor McGinnis spoke about Rockaway’s Salmonberry Trail project. I understand Councilor McGinnis’ presentation went very well. Thank you, Council President Cheek and Councilor McGinnis, for your continued dedication!
Council President Penny Cheek, Councilors Tom Martine and Mary McGinnis, and Mayor McNeilly attended Tillamook PUD’s Dinner and Board Meeting. We invited Tillamook PUD to hold their next North County Board meeting in Rockaway Beach.
The City applied for $2.75 million in congressionally directed spending for a major sewer system project several months ago. This application was submitted to Senator Wyden’s and Senator Merkley’s offices. We received word that this application passed the first round of review and is moving on to the next. Nice job City Planner Mary Johnson.
Marni Johnston, Finance Director, changed a few of our internal processes which have allowed us to rebalance our cash holdings to maximize investment returns. So far, these efforts have increased monthly earnings by an additional $10,000. It is expected that further work will increase returns even further.
The City purchased a business license module add-on to their accounting platform. After much work, we will have a complete and accurate database on the businesses in Rockaway Beach. This information will be used to enhance support for our business community.
Fire Department
The week of May 19th to May 25th was National EMS week. Our Fire Department celebrated the week by placing a daily message on their Facebook page and encouraging citizens to stop by and check out our rescue and medical equipment.
The Radio group met in person at the end of the month to discuss current issues and set goals for the future. They discussed how the group was to be activated along with the roles and responsibilities. Activations to include Earthquake/Tsunami, Winter Storms, Power outages, and Man-made disasters. Responsibility of the Radio group is to gather information from the local zones and report to the Incident commander.
As Chief of the Tillamook County Fire Defense Board, Chief Hesse has been coordinating a modernization of the County Fire Defense Board. The Tillamook County Fire Defense Board now has a website: www.tillamookcountyfiredefense.org The website has a training calendar, links to local fire department websites, budget information and their new bylaws. Nice Job Chief Hesse for your efforts here. We are all better protected when our various agencies share resources and support each other.
Fire Department staff have been training and are prepared to meet the increased demands of the summer tourist season. Volunteers and Paid staff have been on the beach providing water and fire safety messages to tourist and visitors.
The Fire Department is in the process of recruiting staff to fill the summer staffing grant program. Job announcement and applications are on the city website.
Planning Department
City has already approved more homes this year than all of last year combined. Last year the city approved 15 new homes. This year, we’ve already hit 18 homes and 3 ADUs. Nice work Mary Johnson!
Our City Planner received word from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department that our Lake Lytle Restroom grant application will be funded in full! This $430,000 in additional funding places the Lake Lytle Restroom project back on track. HBH Consulting Engineers is set to draft a construction and project management proposal for Council review. Grant funds are pending a final review by the State Historic Preservation Office and could be available as soon as August. Kudos to City Planner Mary Johnson for her persistence on this one. Watch for an upcoming article on the Lake Lytle Project in the Tillamook County Pioneer.
Planning Commission
At the May meeting, the Planning Commission denied an Application for a Variance at 101 S. Miller Street in Rockaway Beach (Tillamook County Assessor’s May #2N1032CC Lot #9600) to decrease the number of required parking spaces to construct a new mixed-use building (Variance #24.02).
The Commission also discussed updates to our City’s sign ordinance that will allow the City to install an Electronic Message Board in front of City Hall.
Public Works
Public Works held two full days of safety trainings. Topics included Lockout/Tagout procedures, Confined Space Rescue Training, Portable Ladder Safety and Personal Protective Equipment.
Our Wayside Restrooms are open and a sign has been ordered. The sign will be installed on the east side of the restroom once it arrives.
Public Works installed a security camera and signage in the Boardwalk parking lot. Let’s hope that this both discourages and prevents theft or other criminal activity in the area.
The S. Pacific St. Project has been a well-executed endeavor. The water system improvements went live; and the paving was completed at the end of May. Due to the speed and efficiency of the crew on the projects additional stormwater work was able to be included. This additional work includes the installation of drain piping and catch basins that will reduce some of the persistent “ponding” on S. Pacific St. Hats off to Superintendent Dan Emerson and his staff!
ANCHOR STREET PARK – Ribbon-cutting June 21st @Noon – 220 S. Anchor St.
The final touches to the Anchor Street Playground and Parking Lot … lighting, rubber mats (37,000 lbs.), equipment adjustments, etc. … are being completed, with the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony likely to be scheduled for June 21st. The Mayor invited Sue Wilson, former Mayor, who spearheaded this project to do the honor of cutting the ribbon. Early indications are that this will be a popular spot for children of all ages; and it will likely open before the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.
City Council
At the May City Council meeting, the Council:
- Received an update on the High Grounds Project. The High Grounds Project will replace our aging Fire Station and locate the Station out of the Tsunami inundation zone.
- Heard a presentation on the Tillamook PUD and PacifiCorp W2R2 Infrastructure Project. The TPUD and PacifiCorp will increase resiliency and reliability of the transmission lines coming into Rockaway Beach over the Coast Range.
- Approved an amendment to Ordinances Chapter 113, Section 113.02 related to short-term rentals under construction waiting list changing the criteria for the under construction waiting list from a building permit to a City zoning permit.
- Moved the July City Council Meeting to July 17, 2024.
- Adopted the 2023 Tillamook County Multi-Jurisdictional Natural Health Mitigation Plan restoring eligibility for federal pre- and post-disaster mitigation funds.
- Adopted a Cybersecurity Policy which paves the way to acquire Cyber Security Insurance for our City.
If you haven’t already, please add your email address to the City’s email listserv (through the City’s website); you will receive Council Workshop and Council Meeting Agendas and materials about one week in advance of the meetings; the same time the Mayor and Councilors receive the Agendas and materials. In addition, you will receive the Planning Commission Agenda and materials; and the Sourcewater Protection Plan Development Advisory Committee Agenda and materials; as well as other communication of interest from the City.
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.
We are pausing the Mayor and Manager What’s on your mind? community meetings, I am still listening!
