Longtime Yachats commission changes its name and focus as city moves to clarify role, purpose

By GARRET JAROS/Lincoln Chronicle

YACHATS – Volunteering is a vital part of Yachats’ spirit and is considered a core community value — so much so that it would be difficult to swing a stick without hitting a council, commission, committee or workgroup member.

For the record there were – at least until Tuesday – four commissions, three committees and at least one hearty workgroup of people dedicated to maintaining local trails and removing invasive species.

What occurred Tuesday is nothing more than a change of one group’s designation from a commission to a committee with a new name. But it is also a restructuring of sorts as the city looks to clarify roles and purpose of all the groups.

The Parks & Commons Commission, which had been searching to define itself after a split-vote by members in October not to dissolve, approved a draft ordinance at its meeting Tuesday to become the Community Spaces Committee. The ordinance will go to city council Dec. 17 and if approved will be made official Feb. 1.

The commission has been engaging in a conversation about its evolution, structure and role with the fundamental question of how can it best support the city and the community, city manager Bobbi Price wrote in her presentation for council.

And to understand what that is, it’s helpful to look at where it started, she wrote.

The ordinance that created the commission dates back to the 1990s when Yachats operated under a “strong mayor” form of government with no city manager, very few staff members and relied heavily on volunteer-led commissions to support operations.

Recognizing the current structure is outdated, city staff and the Parks & Commons Commission examined how it could evolve beyond focusing on parks – usually handled by the trails team workgroup – and the Commons which is mostly handled by city staff – to a more general advisory body focused on the greater Commons area and city-owned community spaces.

To align with best practices, Price said she reached out to the Oregon City Managers Association to ask how other municipalities structure volunteer groups. She came back with a definition for commissions as groups with final decision-making power while committees serve only as advisory groups.

“Because this group is focused on advising, supporting funding mechanisms and helping the city council achieve its goals, the title of ‘committee’ is the most accurate designation,” Price wrote in the presentation for council and reviewed by commission members.

Commission members fine-tuned the draft ordinance detailing the scope and parameters of the new committee at their Tuesday meeting while also defining 16 goals for the coming year which included a bevy of projects at the Commons.

• 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]