Yachats decides to open Commons building to all uses July 1, but request by YYFAP to move out of basement remains in limbo

 

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com

The city of Yachats will open the Commons building for all public use July 1 if Gov. Kate Brown lifts all coronavirus restrictions in Oregon before then.

Brown says she will lift restrictions – including wearing masks, sizes of crowds, and number of business customers – when the statewide vaccine rate reaches 70 percent of all adults.

As of Thursday, 68.3 percent of Oregonians over 18 had received at least one dose, with 55,697 vaccinations to reach 70 percent. The state is averaging 15,000 vaccinations a day. The vaccination rate in Lincoln County is nearly 69 percent; the rate in the Yachats Zip code is 78.4 percent.

The Commons – like most other city buildings – has been closed since March 2020. The Yachats City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to open it when Brown lifts the restrictions or on July 1 – whichever is later.

Councilor Ann Stott, who been pushing the city to reopen the Commons, said local organizations trying to schedule summer or fall events need to know the status of the building so they can make decisions.

The city had planned opening the Commons weeks ago, but the resignation of the community services coordinator and the end of a contract for an administrative assistant ended that idea.

The city now has a custodial service to clean the building daily and it is getting electronic lockboxes for doors to allow for users of the Commons to let themselves in and out. Deputy recorder Kimmie Jackson said she is familiar with the city’s online reservation system and can handle that.

But not all uses in the Commons are as clear cut.

The council heard from the Yachats Youth and Families Activities Program that it would like a decision soon on its request to move from the basement and into the former city offices in the southwest corner of the Commons. YYFAP made the request to move upstairs last year after city offices went across the parking lot to the former 501 Building.

The city’s Parks & Commons Commission voted 6-1 in December to recommend the city rent the 750 square feet of office space to YYFAP.

But a change in council members and chaos within city offices has left the commission’s recommendation in limbo.

The longtime nonprofit organization provides pre-school, after-school and summer activities for Yachats-area children – the only such service for working families in the area. It is greatly expanding its programs this summer and fall, thanks to a $216,000 state grant and other outside funding. The city also contributes $30,000 to the group.

Board president Tracy Crews told the council that the basement has no emergency exits in case of a fire or other disaster, and has issues with mold and rats.

“It’s really about the safety of the kids,” Crews said.

If it is allowed to rent the former city offices, YYFAP needs time to clean, paint and install carpet, she said, before in-person classes resume in September.

While the council voted 4-1 Wednesday to allow YYFAP to use the bathroom in the former city offices during camps this summer, it stalled on whether to allow it to move classes there as well.

Councilor Greg Scott said he felt a decision on that “is premature” because the crush of other business and the loss of staff has prevented the council from taking time to discuss the topic.

“We have not had a conversation about the use of the Commons as a community center,” he said, with no talk about other uses for the offices or seeking public comments on what to do. “I’m just advocating for a thoughtful discussion.

“We were elected to run the city and this is a distraction,” he said.

That drew immediate push-back from a handful of parents, YYFAP board members and staff who – for the first time in months – joined the online council meeting.

After an outline of the camps and activities this summer – including an “invention camp” offered by Oregon State University, parents told the council how valuable YYFAP is to younger families trying to work and live in Yachats.

Gretchen Hetzler said she hopes to enroll her child in the fall pre-school.

“It’s important to support this for working families,” said Hetzler, adding that the program has been around so long that many adults still in the community — including her husband — attended YYFAP programs.

Councilor Mary Ellen O’Shaughnessey said the council needed to remember why YYFAP needed to move – safety and health issues in the basement.

“It’s one of the few commitments to the families of this community,” she said.

But what happens next to YYFAP’s request to move was not settled.

In other business Wednesday the council:

• Approved the 2021-22 city general fund budget of $1.66 million. It did make several small changes, including funding the library from the general fund and funding parks and trails operations from transient lodging taxes.
• Agreed to have volunteers John Theilacker and Drew Tracy work with the Siuslaw National Forest, Southwest Lincoln County Water PUD and the city of Waldport on forest health issues in the three jurisdictions’ watersheds.
• Heard an update from trails representatives on the design of a proposed boardwalk along Ocean View Drive overlooking the Yachats River. Volunteer Loren Dickinson said the group’s designer will be meeting with the new owners of the former Landmark property to discuss how their Yachats Farmstand project can mesh with the boardwalk.