Tuesday, July 23rd was a sunny and warm day to meet at the Eastside Fire station for the monthly ‘Walk with the Mayors.’ Mayor of Coos Bay Joe Benetti began the walk by expanding on the history of the Eastside community, “The Eastside merged with Coos Bay in 1983, at the time all three cities were asked to join together and Eastside said yes.” Mayor Benetti went on to speak to the unification of both cities and how it created the largest city on the Oregon coast with the merger. Fire Chief Mark Anderson then explained how the Eastside fire station had once been the city hall, combining all the resources into one building. He even pointed out that there were still jail cells within the structure from before the merger of the two cities.
The small group this month was made up of Mayor Benetti, North Bend Mayor Jessica Engelke, Nichole Rutherford the Coos Bays City Manager, Mark Anderson Coos Bay Fire Chief, and several residents who had questions about the city in this face-to-face discussion with the city leaders. The walk took the group from the fire station down to the edge of the Millacoma Marsh were the discussion turned to the importance of the area and giving residents places to go to walk and see the natural resources of the area. The marsh trail offers opportunities for hikers to experience much of the wildlife of the area. It is one of the few remaining salt marshes of the Coos Estuary that residents can visit.
Mayor Jessica Engelke expanded on the need for hiking areas during the walk explaining North Bends own focus on using the tenants of the blue zone model to create a space for North Bend citizens to thrive within. A blue zone is a region found where people live exceptionally long lives due to a combination of many factors including healthy drinking water, ability to partake in physical activities, low stress, whole food diets and access to quality healthcare. In other words, she explained, “Where people live healthy and happy lives.” The city of North Bend had tried in the past to receive grants to become a blue zone city, but so far have been unsuccessful. The focus of the current council and mayor is to continue to work towards the ideals of the blue zone to encourage residents to live healthy lives and attract new residents to the area.
The talk of offering residents a healthy place to live leaned the conversation into the difficulty of finding affordable housing in the area and the lack of healthcare providers as residents watched their doctors come and go. Both mayors agreed this is a question they hear a lot, how to improve healthcare and encourage professionals to move into the area. It is something that they hope the urban renewal programs can help with as funds work to improve the city which makes the area more appealing to those looking for a new home.
The relaxed atmosphere of the walk gave residents the time to speak of their concerns in a place outside of the strict functions of a city meeting. These monthly meetings, both mayors explained, are a way to open themselves up in a more informal fashion for residents to discuss their concerns. It also continues their want of collaboration between the two cities, something both groups thought was especially important with the communities so close together. The meetings are open to all residents to meet the mayors and other city officials and see a different part of the city each month. Next month's meeting is slated for August, and will this time be somewhere in North Bend, but a place and time has not been decided yet. For more information you can visit either city website www.coosbayor.gov or www.northbendoregon.us.
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