Nearly 15 months after closing the Commons building because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Yachats City Council has voted to re-open it to small, local groups.
The council voted 3-1 last week to reopen after city staff develops a plan using current Oregon Health Authority guidelines and how to monitor use.
Councilor Ann Stott has been bringing up the issue for more than a month. Mayor Leslie Vaaler, who has been reluctant to reopen facilities, voted no, saying she was worried it would put undue burden on city staff. The decision came at the end of a 4 1/2 hour meeting and after Councilor Mary Ellen O’Shaughnessey had to leave.
The council had asked the Parks & Commons Commission to discuss the issue and give it a recommendation. The commission voted 4-2 to recommend reopening when Lincoln County returns to the “moderate” risk level (it currently is at “high” but expected to go to “moderate” Friday) and voted 5-1 to have the city contract with someone to monitor and clean newly-open portions of the building. Commission chair Dawn Keller and vice-chair Linda Johnson voted against reopening.
Before the vote, Vaaler pointed out that a memo Keller wrote to the council on Commons reopening or ideas did not represent any recommendation from the commission.
Stott has been arguing that the community facility needs to reopen, that people can decide on their own whether to use it, that portions of the Commons could be closed off, and that users would be responsible for obeying city directives and state guidelines.
“We’re creating more out of this than it is,” she said, referring to open gyms elsewhere and other cities which have partially reopened their recreational facilities. “I think a trial is
warranted.”
Interim City Manager Lee Elliott told the council that he and community services coordinator Heather Hoen would develop a reopening plan.
Last week, Gov. Kate Brown and the OHA last week changed indoor capacity limits for indoor recreation in public or private facilities. In high risk counties, the maximum capacity is 10 percent of official occupancy limits or 50 people, whichever is larger. In moderate risk counties, the occupancy is 20 percent of capacity or 100 people, whichever is larger. The
maximum capacity of just the Common’s multipurpose room is 250.
