Race for mayor of Yachats pits first-term incumbent seeking to finish his work opposed by council member who often questions process, challenges decisions

 

 

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com

John Moore is seeking re-election as Yachats mayor because he wants to complete projects that the city has under way.

Leslie Vaaler thinks many of those projects need a closer look.

That’s why over the past two years Moore and Vaaler have often been on opposite sides of 3-2 votes on everything from the city budget, to visitor center spending, paving Driftwood Lane, testing wastewater for coronavirus, remodeling the 501 Building, to who should be council president.

Moore and Vaaler are campaigning in the Nov. 3 general election to be Yachats’ mayor. Should Moore win, he would move on to a second, two-year term in January. If Vaaler wins, she would give up her four-year council seat in January to become mayor, and the remaining four council members appoint a replacement to fill her council seat for two years.

While Moore said he would love unanimous votes on council decisions, he recognizes that will not always be the case – and is not necessarily a bad thing.

“If you get five people together in Yachats you’ll have five different opinions on almost any subject,” he said in an interview with YachatsNews. “In that regard, we have a council that pretty representative of the community.”

Vaaler said the council has had “way too many” 3-2 decisions, which indicates larger issues. Those split votes, she believes, indicates the need for more work by city staff and more discussion by residents and the council.

“If there’s two councilors uncomfortable with something it may be time to step back and see what the issue is,” Vaaler said in an interview.

Moore, with his wife Sara, moved to Yachats in 2015 from McKinleyville, Calif., two years after retiring from a mortgage business he owned. He grew up and started his professional work in Eureka, Calif. In Yachats, he immediately got involved with the city, joining the Public Works and Streets and Parks and Commons commissions. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2016, losing to Gerald Stanley. He ran again in 2018, winning over Ann Stott.

Vaaler, with her husband Jeff, moved to Yachats in 2016 after two years in Eugene. They had moved to Oregon from Austin, Texas where they were university math professors. Vaaler soon began attending city commission and council meetings and ran for council in November 2018, winning one of the two positions in a four-person race.

YachatsNews asked Moore and Vaaler to answer a series of questions, and then respond to a final one specifically for them.

In addition to this Q-and-A, Moore participated in a two-hour forum on Sunday, Oct. 18 sponsored by YachatsNews, which videotaped the event. Beginning Friday, you can view that forum on this website’s YouTube channel.

Why are you running for mayor of Yachats?

John Moore: Everything in government is slow and involves a process, and two years on the job just isn’t enough. I have been working with the city in various capacities for the last five years, and another two years as mayor would allow me to bring a number of our current projects to completion, such as Ocean View Drive which I have been involved in for the last four years, the city office relocation, possible move of the council chambers to the 501 Building, determining the best use of that space in the Commons when vacated, and a number of other projects. I want to see these projects through to completion. Additionally, we need some stability and continuity in our City Council, and these are not good times to be making sweeping changes.

Leslie Vaaler: Many people in our community urged me to run for mayor, and after careful deliberation, I decided to do so. I believe Yachats works best with a mayor who listens respectfully, who welcomes robust discussion, and who recognizes the value of diverse points of view. My priorities include open and honest communication, citizen input, and responsible stewardship of our financial and natural resources.

What in your education, work/professional background and/or previous civic experience would make you 1) a good mayor, and 2) able to work with four other elected council members?

Vaaler: It all begins with family. Even when I was young, family meals exposed me to serious, and at times animated, discussions of current events, history, and science. I learned that good people can have different viewpoints, and that sometimes you can sway others with thoughtful explanations. I saw that you can disagree lovingly. Even though I was the youngest of three children, my contributions were taken seriously. I am grateful to my two older brothers for sometimes even letting me be our leader. I thank my husband and my children for all the ways they expanded my thinking and made me ready to lead the council.

Starting when I was eight and extending through my college years, I spent eight weeks each summer at camp. I learned to enjoy living and working with others who might have different backgrounds, temperaments, and preferences. It was at camp that I had my first tastes of teaching and, as a head counselor, of leading a group and collaborating with other leaders.

Aside from being a camp counselor, all my employment was in academic settings. As a teacher of college students, I became confident talking to large and small audiences. I respected my students’ time and I came to class well-prepared and eager to convey information in a manner that was clear and that gave it context. As mayor, I will strive to let citizens know the reasoning behind decisions, just as I worked hard to let students understand the thought process behind a mathematical proof or solution. In my classes, I encouraged students to ask questions or share comments, and I will welcome all voices from our community. I was known to be a challenging teacher, but there were often waiting lists for my classes. As mayor, I will challenge our council to serve Yachats well.

My favorite part of teaching was working with students in small groups. My office hours were well-attended, and I enjoyed assisting all who sought extra help. Students found me approachable, and our discussions extended well beyond mathematics. I look forward to the many conversations I will have as mayor, and I promise to be available to our citizens.

In Yachats, I have served on the council since January 2019, so I have experience working with other elected Yachatians. I listen carefully and treat everyone with respect.

For anyone who wants assurance that I can compete on the formal credential side, I have a bachelor of science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a PhD from Princeton, both in Mathematics. I was employed as a university faculty member with research, teaching, administrative, and service responsibilities. My research was supported by the National Science Foundation. I taught many undergraduate and graduate mathematics courses. I am the primary author of an actuarial mathematics textbook that was selected as a 2007 Robert Hamilton Book Award winner and as a suggested reading by the Society of Actuaries. I was the Associate Director of the Actuarial Program at the University of Texas, administering a scholarship program and advising students. At the University of Texas, my committee service included representing the College of Natural Sciences on the Faculty Council and chairing the Faculty Welfare Committee.

Moore: My degree was in business administration, with an emphasis in management. I spent 30 years in lending, primarily in residential lending, but some commercial lending as well. Half of that time in lending was as the owner/president of an FHA lending company, the Senior Finance Center.

I have been involved with nonprofit groups since college days, serving not only at the local level, but as a regional officer and as a national officer. My last experience with a large nonprofit was serving with the Humboldt Senior Resource Center in Eureka, Calif. We operated two Alzheimer’s day care centers, three dining facilities and three senior centers in the county, and had about a $5 million annual budget. I served six years on their board, two years as president, and 15 years on their finance committee. Our biggest project was a $5 million capital campaign to build a state of the art Alzheimer’s day care center that we were able to open during my year as president.

I have been working locally with elected officials not only as your mayor, but as chair of two city commissions for the two years prior to my current term.

What are 2-3 of your (not the council’s overall) priorities if you are elected? Please be specific and explain why these are your goals.

Moore: We need to finalize the transfer of Ocean View Drive and complete the trail improvements along that street. Almost two years ago, we applied for a grant to fund the cost of a traffic safety plan that would have given us among other things an independent, professional recommendation of the best overall traffic flow pattern for Ocean View Drive. We just learned that we were unsuccessful in obtaining that grant, so the council will need to make that final determination.

Several years ago, we had public meetings about that and the vast majority of residents recommended one way traffic north from West Second Street to Seventh Street, and the only reason we decided to temporarily go southbound on that section is that the trucks that deliver groceries to C&K Market cannot make the turn from U.S. Highway 101 to Second Street. Even if we widened that turn at this point, they still would not be able to turn around and back into the loading dock.

We need to have a number of public meetings to get your input once again on the traffic flow before making the final decision – that will take several sessions, since we are so limited on the number of people that are able to attend at any time.

We have already budgeted some of the funds (provided revenues support it) required to purchase a system that would allow us to re-use 80-90 percent of the water needed to backwash our water treatment plant. Backwash is needed every day, and each backwash uses about 60,000 gallons of water, which is currently sent through the wastewater treatment plant.

This would reduce the need to draw about 1.8 million gallons of water every month from Reedy Creek, which would allow 1.8 million gallons a month to flow into the Yachats River throughout the year, and provide us with more water to use during the dry spells when our supply is so critical.

This answer also is a part of your question on water security.

The third, naturally, and not necessarily in this order, it to keep stressing to each of us the need to keep doing the precautionary things we are doing to help prevent the spread of COVID in our community.

Vaaler: Keeping the community safe is a top priority. When I say this, I certainly include protecting our community in the face of challenges created by the current pandemic. But this is only one important part of keeping Yachatians safe. Water security is an important safety goal, as is emergency preparedness.

I believe that the recent wildfires accented the urgency of locating additional escape routes, in addition to U.S. Highway 101, out of Yachats. We should work with interested citizens and with the Forest Service to locate routes and to make sure that these routes remain passable. We must make sure all Yachatians have access to information about available roads and about the circumstances under which they should be used.

Yachats had a 2020 vision plan. What is our 2035 vision plan? A well-developed long-term plan would help guide council decisions and would lead to more proactive governance. I would like to see council work to develop a Yachats long-term plan, crafted with broad citizen participation.

What does leadership mean to you? How would you (or do you) bring that to bear in your role as mayor?

Vaaler: Leaders welcome, they inspire, and they make people feel excited to contribute to something important. They encourage others to dream big and to voice their ideas. Leaders work hard in the best interests of their communities.

If I am elected mayor, I will fulfill the mayoral responsibilities as spelled out in section 8 of our City Charter: “The mayor presides over and facilitates council meetings, preserves order, enforces council rules, and determines the order of business under council rules. The mayor is a voting member of the council and has no veto authority. With the consent of the council, the mayor appoints members of commissions and committees established by ordinance or resolution. The mayor must sign all records of council decisions. The mayor serves as the political head of the city government.”

I will be mindful that I have a special leadership role, but also that all councilors are political leaders, elected to serve the people of our community. I will encourage council to work as a collaborative leadership team. The mayor has special responsibilities, but I will not view myself as above any councilor or any citizen.

Moore: Leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act toward achieving a common goal. That would be easier if I were to lead off every council discussion by giving my opinion first, but I follow our council rules that say that all council members should give their opinions before the mayor gives his.

I have followed that guideline throughout my term. We still have robust discussion on issues, and when it comes time to vote, each councilor makes his or her choice known based on the discussion. This term, apparently I have made some persuasive arguments, as the majority of the council have agreed with me the vast majority of the time.

Now that Lincoln County is in Phase 2 of the state’s reopening process, when should the city reopen its facilities – everything from the Commons to city offices to the library — to the public? What about city meetings?

Moore: I’m not opposed to opening the city offices on a limited basis, or opening the Commons for traditional uses, provided we stress to everyone using our facilities that they need to continue to wear face coverings, maintain appropriate physical distancing and stress the need for frequent hand washings.

We are seeing increases in the number of COVID-19 cases as other cities have reopened their communities, and we need to stress the need to continue the cautious practices we have been maintaining.

Our library is entirely staffed by volunteers, and I think that leaving the decision of how much to reopen the library and how they do that should be left to our librarians and our library volunteers, as they are the ones most impacted by that decision.

City Council and commission meetings are likely to remain virtual for some time to come. One advantage we’ve seen with virtual meetings is that it allows our residents to attend our meetings even if they are out of town.

The coronavirus is likely to be with us for some time, and we need to remain cautious about getting fully back to “normal.”

Vaaler: Many in our community are especially vulnerable, and we need to think of their safety when we consider reopening additional facilities. Reopening comes with added risk for everyone, not just for those who visit the facilities. I appreciate the many ways citizens have contributed during the pandemic, through responsible distancing, wearing masks, and helping their neighbors.

After the county moved to Phase 2 in September, our City Council unanimously chose to keep our indoor facilities closed, and I believe that for the near future, it continues to be too risky to reopen them. People will need to continue to practice preventive measures for months to come, and it would be irresponsible to bow to political pressure to reopen soon.

Since April, meetings of the City Council and of our commissions have been held electronically. It makes sense to consider whether any meetings should be scheduled in our large multi-purpose room, but we will need always to think of our community’s safety, the city’s liability, and the costs of cleaning during a pandemic. Come spring, and spring will come, it would be nice to use our community park for some meetings.

Even without an outbreak in Yachats, many are suffering. Businesses face increased costs and reduced revenues. Residents experience financial hardship, loneliness, and despair. Employees deal with new stresses as they provide important services. The city must remember everyone’s needs. In each decision I make, I promise to consider your health, safety, and well being.

Vacation rental licenses and operations are a long-running issue in Yachats (and elsewhere). Are you satisfied with the results of the council’s work the past year? Should the license limit remain at 125, or should it go up or down? Should the number of licenses increase as the number of houses in the city increase?

Vaaler: The City Council conducted a thorough review of our vacation rental regulations, with relatively little disagreement among councilors. Naturally, there were some points on which I would have preferred a somewhat different outcome, but overall, I believe council worked well on this issue and developed an ordinance we could all support. Moreover, we took the time to consider all public input we received.

I believe the next step on this issue needs to be a careful look at how the city can best enforce our existing regulations. We must make sure complaints are resolved quickly, and we must make it easy to track the status of a complaint. Action must be taken to stop unlicensed rentals as well as any underpayment of transient rental taxes. Council will need to balance the costs of increased enforcement against potential benefits, which include improved livability and peace of mind for our residents, as well as additional revenues. As we document the cost of enforcement, I would be open to council taking another look at the annual fees charged for vacation rental licenses.

The city will hold a lottery on Nov. 6 to determine the order in which those who have applied will be placed on a newly-created license waiting list. It has been three years since licenses stopped being available, and it would be unreasonable to advertise a license-waiting list lottery, only to turn around and immediately reduce the cap number.

Going forward, I believe discussion of vacation rentals should focus on measures designed to preserve the character of neighborhoods, as well as to relieve stress on our water supply at times when water is needed for our residents and for our businesses.

Moore: The City Council had numerous public meetings regarding the vacation rental policies, and we received considerable input from vacation rental owners and property managers, but disappointingly did not receive much input from the rest of our residents on the topic. All in all, I am satisfied with the final result we agreed on.

For the time being, I do believe that we should stick with a cap of 125, although future councils certainly may want to modify that if they perceive that circumstances warrant it.

We appear to have a number of unlicensed rentals operating now, and I made the recommendation at our last meeting that the council should look at companies that monitor vacation rental usage to put us in a better position to enforce the current rules.

Some people have made the argument that we should increase the limit as the number of houses grow – I would prefer staying at 125 for at least another few years while we stop the unlicensed usage and let the market stabilize before making further adjustments.

The city over the past three years developed what appears to be good-sized financial reserves. This year the budget committee and City Council voted to use some of those reserves to maintain city services and possibly add 1-2 employees, should current finances recover from pandemic restrictions. Do you agree with that approach? If so, why? If not, what would you do differently?

Moore: The budget was prepared based on a projected sharp decline in transient rental tax income and food and beverage tax income, and if all projected expenses were actually spent, and if the very conservative revenue projections turned out to be accurate, then we would have dipped into our reserves to be able to maintain basic services to the community.

However, the reality is that many of those projected expenses were only intended to be spent IF we exceeded our projected revenues. They were placed into the budget to allow the city manager the flexibility to make those expenses without needing to come back to the council for an amended budget on each of those line items.

The intent was not to have to dip into reserves, but allow our manager the flexibility to do her job. That makes sense to me and I support that decision.

Whenever you hire someone to manage a complex operation like a small city, you need to give that manager the freedom to actually manage the operation.

Vaaler: One reason one saves is to be ready for a crisis, such as a pandemic. I am thankful that the city had built up significant financial assets. It was important that we were able to provide essential city services, and I was glad we had money to maintain our existing infrastructure. Moreover, it was right that we took measures to assist our citizens and our businesses. Still, as we face reduced revenues and new COVID-related costs for an indefinite period, I think that, in the absence of meaningful federal action to help local governments, we need to be especially careful with discretionary spending.

I believe that new staff positions should only be approved following careful review by the council. Spending decisions must be made judiciously and must cohere with long- term plans built with broad community participation. Yachats must make choices mindful of the need to have adequate reserves to support emergency preparedness, critical infrastructure projects, and acquisitions that protect our watershed and viewshed.

Water “security” is a Yachats council goal. Would you support spending money to acquire land for adding/protecting water sources? How about spending to acquire land for water storage?

Vaaler: I support spending money to acquire land for adding and protecting water sources. I also support pursuing land purchases that can be used for raw water storage reservoirs, pools which fill during the winter and spring and on which we can draw in the summer and early fall as needed.

Yachats receives its water from Reedy and Salmon creeks. Their flows depend on sources from upland forested areas. These areas need protection from logging and from other man-made disturbances. We also need to protect the forested viewsheds that contain our future water sources, which include creeks both north and south of the Yachats River.

The city is working on a pair of water plans: a water master plan, which will outline our needs for new water resources for future sustainability, and a Water Source Protection Plan, which addresses ways to protect the water resources we already have. These water plans should give us the needed foundation so we can compete for grants that would pay a substantial portion of the cost of acquisitions. We are fortunate that View The Future and McKenzie River Trust stand ready to help move these projects along, and that these organizations have people familiar with the progress made by other coastal communities that have worked to protect their watersheds.

Moore: There are several key factors involved in “water security.” As the city grows, we will have a higher demand for water, and we need to improve our ability to source water, especially during the dry month(s) every few years. The dry periods are likely to worsen as climate change continues.

We also need to conserve water, and the backwash system I referenced in my second answer is part of that solution.

Acquiring lands adjacent to our water sources would indeed give us control of the lands abutting those creeks to ensure that future logging or other activities would not contaminate our water source, and that is part of an overall “water security” goal. I would certainly hope that some of our non governmental partners (View The Future, McKenzie River Trust, etc.) would be able to fund the bulk of the cost to acquire any such lands abutting our creeks.

Before spending additional money to acquire land for water storage, we need to carefully evaluate the properties we already own to see if they might be suitable for additional water storage. For instance, we purchased two parcels south of the bridge, adjacent to each other, and the south tank was sited on the second parcel, as the first was deemed to be less desirable. Now that the south tank is situated and operational, it might make sense to put another tank on the first parcel just uphill from it. We also might be able to accommodate an additional tank at the top of Horizon Hill, next to our existing tank. We already have our water lines connected to the Southwest Lincoln County Water People’s Utility District, and can connect with them during dry periods if need be.

Leslie Vaaler: You have a detailed, questioning approach as a councilor that is valued by many people. But you are also many times in the minority on council votes or decisions. What will be your approach as mayor, given the different role and duties that entails?

As your mayor, I will work to build consensus and trust. I will listen respectfully and encourage thoughtful discussion, recognizing the value of different perspectives. My experience having been in the minority on a number of issues only strengthens my belief that councilors should listen to all voices with respect and with open minds.

I believe that my willingness to study issues carefully, paying attention to details, will be useful as mayor, including as I prepare for council meetings. I will work with the city manager to make sure meeting materials are in order, and I will keep council discussion moving along productively.

I will ensure that Yachatians are informed about upcoming questions and that people feel warmly welcomed to comment before decisions are made.

John Moore: Some people are making public involvement and/or transparency an issue in this election. What is your opinion on how the city of Yachats has done in this regard?

I think the city has done a good job of conveying information to our residents about the city’s plans and projects. There are regular updates talked about in our monthly newsletters, all meeting agendas are posted regularly at the post office and on our website, and information is frequently posted on the Yachats Village Residents group in Facebook.

For communication to work successfully, it requires not only telling people the information – it also requires someone to read it, and that’s a frustration. You know the old adage, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t force it to drink.” The same applies to keeping our residents informed – anyone who really wants to be informed about what the city is doing can easily do so by just reading the newsletter and browsing the posted agendas in the post office.

If you see an item on the agenda you’re interested in, it might well be worth your time to either attend the meeting virtually, or listen to the audio once it’s been posted on the website. That way, you can hear the entire discussion.  It’s frustrating to hear someone complain about not knowing what the city is doing, but when questioned, they acknowledge that they don’t read the newsletter, don’t look at the website, don’t look at the agendas posted in the post office, and don’t sign up for automatic notifications from the city.