City leaders are inviting residents to be part of the discussion about how to best pay for wastewater and street upgrades. Two meetings scheduled this month provide opportunities for Coos Bay residents and property owners to join the conversation about this community challenge. “We must upgrade our wastewater treatment capacity, and that means raising sewer fees,” Mayor Crystal Shoji explained. “We also need to invest in our streets because we’ve deferred maintenance for so long. It just gets more expensive if we wait.” Street and wastewater options were outlined in a recent mailer sent to City residents. Shoji said none of the City’s options are attractive because each of them involves substantial cost to residents. In addition to Coos Bay residents, people living in Bunker Hill and Charleston will be affected by sewer rate increases because Coos Bay supplies sewer service to those special districts. Shoji said she hopes the meetings will be lively and well-attended, but she’s counting on residents to make the meetings constructive rather than confrontational. “These are engineering and financial problems, not political issues,” she said. “We work for the citizens, and we value their advice.” The meetings are scheduled for mid-May: • Tuesday, May 13 — noon, Coos Bay Library Myrtle Room; • Wednesday, May 14 — 6 p.m., Sunset Middle School Commons Room Citizens who can’t attend are invited to send written comments to rcraddock@coosbay.org; or City Manager, Coos Bay City Hall, 500 Central Ave., Coos Bay, OR 97420.
