YACHATS – Is the Yachats Commons a community center? Is it an events center? Is it a school? Or is it all three? And, if so, just how will that work?
Yachats city manager Heide Lambert hopes to begin the first of several community conversations Thursday, Feb. 9 on what users of the Commons have in mind for it. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. in the multipurpose room and will be co-facilitated by Forage Design + Planning of Portland.
“The Commons has always been the heart of the community,” Lambert said.
But now that the pandemic shutdowns are over, it is busy again – and some groups are beginning to ask about its future use.
It’s already the home of the Yachats Youth and Families Activities Program, the only major pre- and after-school program in south Lincoln County. It is used daily by community members for everything from exercising, to art, to pickle ball, basketball and ping pong, to holding city council meetings and storing books for the Friends of Yachats Library.
And then there are art events and concerts sponsored by Polly Plumb Productions, agate and craft festivals, and dinners and gatherings that fill the multipurpose room and kitchen.
Lambert said the city wants to help satisfy – if it can — those three major user groups – the community, the pre-school and event organizers.
The key may be better planning for the overall uses of a renovated Little Log Church Museum, a new library, the current city hall and the Commons, she said.
Lambert has already asked Civil West Engineering of Newport to make a “full assessment” of the building’s condition.
And there are always surprises that pop up – like the 3,000-gallon empty oil tank the city discovered last week buried to the west of the building. The city has a bid of $13,000 to dig up the tank, remove it and remediate the area, Lambert said.
The city also hopes to get a grant to pay Forage Design to do a full strategic plan for city and community buildings.
Thursday’s meeting is open to anyone in the community, including the main user groups.
“The message is that we’re trying to take care of it,” Lambert said, “ … and to show everyone we can work together to keep this the heart of the city.”
The Commons building dates back to 1930 when it started as a three-room school by the Lincoln County School District, and expanded several times through 1968. Due to declining enrollment, the district closed the school in 1983, but continued to rent it out for events until 1990 when Yachats residents voted to buy it and 3.5 acres of land for $195,000.
Great to read about this forward looking planning.