Waldport council’s goals for 2026-27 give emphasis to downtown cleanup, gymnasium work

By GARRET JAROS/Lincoln Chronicle

WALDPORT – Waldport’s natural beauty is undeniable, from its sand-sculpted bay and arching bridge to its thickly clad forested highlands and ocean views, all perfectly encapsulated in the town’s motto of “Where the forest meets the sea.”

In the heart of town is a new city park with a dog park, asphalt walking track, playing field with new soccer goals and a jewel of playground. A new mini-golf and glamping resort is taking shape and across Alsea Bay a hotel that for years has looked to be on its last leg might be making a comeback.

And yet despite all of that there is still an image problem – a lack of downtown curb appeal that draws tourists and travelers to stop along the highway to explore and stay for a while.

And that was the topic that rose to the top as the city council discussed and approved its goals for 2026-27 during Thursday’s meeting.

“We need to somehow build spirit both in the downtown and in our neighborhoods,” said Councilor Susan Woodruff. “A spirit of really caring. So people come to town and they say ‘Wow, these people really care about the town. And about their neighborhoods’.”

Pursuing those things will lead to attracting tourists and new residents, she added. And while some residents feel the town can do without tourists, it is the lifeblood that feeds the city’s economic engine.

“I agree,” said Mayor Heide Lambert. “And driving into town and seeing the public restroom all boarded up and spray painted and stuff like that really caught my attention. So that’s what I’m thinking of when you are saying that. When you come into town that’s the first thing you see.”

Or the sidewalks that have weeds springing from them, Woodruff continued, and the weeds in the planters or between the curbs and the road.

“And I know that all takes time and staff, I understand that,” she said. “But somehow, we need to figure out how to engender the spirit of our volunteers, whatever they need to do to get those things taken care of. And I know bathrooms are a huge problem because of vandalism.”

City manager Dann Cutter cut in to say he met with the Lincoln County sheriff Wednesday to talk about the vandalism and said he believes it is just a few groups of people causing most of the damage. But he said there is a concerted plan, including adding surveillance cameras, to put an end to it and re-open the public bathroom on the south edge of downtown.

“That’s a big priority,” Cutter said. “And one of the biggest challenges is just the struggle that law enforcement has in regaining and building up enough staff … They are doing a great job of being able to respond to what they have, but they are overwhelmed.”

Woodruff added that efforts to improve also need to extend to much needed maintenance to parks and trails to both complete and support what the city already has to offer. To those ends, the city is in the process of hiring a landscaper and a code enforcement officer to get more “boots on the ground to look at these things,” Cutter said, and to refocus on some of the city’s “beautification goal.”

12 page list of goals

Each year the council discusses its goals for the next fiscal year in order for there to be budget planning around objectives. In the 12-page list of goals reviewed by the council, some are new, some are old and some – like prioritizing the opening the former middle school gymnasium adjacent to Louis Southworth Park – are a bit of both.

The city bought the gym and cafeteria for $475,000 in 2023 but has yet to repair and refurbish it for use. Getting that rolling is something councilors discussed at last month’s council meeting and continued Thursday.

Councilor Jerry Townsend asked whether there is any possibility of making the necessary improvements to open it to the public sooner rather than later.

“We’re working on that right now,” Cutter said. “We have a contractor providing us bids for that right now.”

Townsend asked if it would be usable relatively soon or if it was years from happening? Cutter cited two things that will need to happen this summer to make it happen – taking care of siding issues, a leak and bathroom repairs and “the big one” replacing the building’s electric panel.

Once the contractor comes back with estimates, the city will have a better idea of how to move forward, what can be put out to general bid, what can be done immediately and what can get finished with the help of volunteers, Cutter added.

“We’ve just got to get a sense of what the real costs are,” he said.

“That makes me a little uneasy because that’s a big project now that we’re jumping into, which is not finishing what we have (in our goals),” Woodruff said. “And I know we want it to be something in the future, but it just seems like – are we ready for that?”

Cutter said the focus is stabilizing the building and getting it usable, as Townsend suggested, as quickly as possible. The council agreed to having an engineering report for the building added to its goals to help the city apply for grants for a complete refurbishing.

The council then voted 5-1 to approve its 2026-27 goals. Councilor Michelle Severson was not present and Lambert voted against.

“And I’m voting no because I believe it is premature because we do not have the input of the public, nor an audit,” Lambert said.

Contract deputy

Council voted unanimously to renew its current agreement with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office for contract deputy services. Through a cost-saving arrangement, the city joined with Yachats two years ago to share one full-time deputy between the cities while also having one deputy dedicated to Waldport. The cost of renewing the contract increased by 3 percent from $286,461 to $290,841, which was attributed to cost of living increases.

Because of an ongoing staffing shortage at the sheriff’s office, including the loss of five patrol deputies, the hours of the deputy shared by the cities has been reduced.  Getting back to the full staffing of the original agreement is not likely to happen until January, Cutter said in reporting what he was told by the sheriff’s office.

“We’re still getting good coverage and we’re getting responsiveness, it’s just they don’t have the manpower to do what we’d love them to do,” Cutter said. “And it’s not something they can just solve overnight.”

In other business, Cutter said:

• The curbs and lines along the Crestline sidewalk project will be repainted as soon as it gets a bit warmer.
• Gazebos have been ordered for the pavilions and dog park at Louis Southworth Park. They are expected to arrive next month.
• Concrete crossings along Highway 34 at Bay Street and along Cedar at Starr Street are in place. Both intersections had significant pothole issues. This is an experiment following other cities example of placing high density concrete at intersection crossings to better improve visibility and robustness. Two more crossings will be selected in the coming fiscal year.
• The unfinished audit for 2021 is now complete and is expected to be available for review at the council’s May meeting. Audits for 2023-2025 are being worked on and are expected to be completed more quickly.

• Garret Jaros covers the communities of Yachats, Waldport, south Lincoln County and natural resources issues for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at [email protected]