By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com
The Yachats City Council will discuss the city’s code enforcement program at its Wednesday, Sept. 18 meeting.
The topic was put on the 6 p.m. agenda after councilors Leslie Vaaler and James Kerti expressed frustration during last week’s council meeting with the lack of information on the status of the current program, program philosophies and efforts to enhance it.
The code enforcement issue – how to handle the duties, whether to hire an employee or contract with someone – has come up repeatedly in city meetings this year.
The city has been contracting with David Mattison of Tillamook since January to be both the city planner and code enforcement officer. He spends Tuesdays in Yachats and then works from home for up to eight hours a week at a rate of $75 per hour.
In 2018 the city contracted with a succession of three people for code enforcement, and from mid-September through December it was handled by City Manager Shannon Beaucaire and then-planner Larry Lewis.
Code enforcement has been brought up repeatedly as one of the possible ways to help resolve controversy over vacation rental issues in Yachats. In addition, people testifying to the council this year, including two Planning Commission members, have asked for a more comprehensive and responsive program.
Beaucaire explored sharing an employee with the city of Waldport and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, but has said that program may be two years away. There is also hope that a new complaint system on Yachats’ new website will more quickly bring issues to the city’s attention.
After increasing pressure and complaints, Beaucaire said last month and in the city’s September newsletter that she is working with a temporary employment agency to find someone to work with Mattison on code enforcement.
The city recently advertised a contract position on the internet via a Coos Bay-based employment agency, offering pay of $15 to $22 an hour.
Beaucaire told the council last week she had one interview lined up, but was hoping for more.
“If it’s the right person, I’ll move forward,” she said.
On Tuesday, Beaucaire said she, an office staff member and a council member interviewed two candidates last Friday and an offer was made Tuesday to Matt Phillips “chosen because their personality and approach seemed a better fit for the community.” Phillips was expected to start Friday, Sept. 13.
Pressed for details by Kerti last week, Beaucaire said the position would be for up to 20 hours a week for six months and focus on certain projects.
But Vaaler objected, saying the city’s overall code enforcement goals were unclear and public sentiment to do more was increasing.
“Our citizens want a lot more than this,” she said, requesting a “serious policy discussion” of code enforcement at the council’s Sept. 18 meeting.
The rest of the council agreed to do that.
Also, a part-time contracted office assistant, Anita Sites, started work Tuesday. Sites will help with phone calls, visitors to City Hall, tackle record projects and other administrative work, Beaucaire said. The job was advertised for 20-40 hours a week and lasting up to four months.
Sites and the new code enforcement assistant brings to seven the number of part-time, short- or long-term contractors working at City Hall.
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Editor’s note: Quinton Smith worked from June 15 to Sept. 15, 2018 as the contract code enforcement officer for the city of Yachats. A retired newspaper editor, he started YachatsNews.com in January 2019.