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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2025 |

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Coos Bay City Council votes to adopt economic development strategic plan understand whether you have enough land to accommodate expected commercial and During the September 2 Coos industrial growth,” explained Bay City Council Meeting ECO Northwest’s Beth Goodman. a motion to approve a new “Its also very important Economic Development Strategic information for understanding Plan (EDSP) passed. Thanks to your existing conditions, and a $50,000 grant from the Ford forecasting future conditions, Foundation, the City contracted that inform your economic economic analysis consultants development strategy, that can ECO Northwest to conduct an inform your land use policy, and Economic Opportunities Analysis help you with coordination… (EOA). [The EOA] is planning here for According to the City, this is long term growth over the next to help comply with Statewide 20 years. The EDSP focuses on Planning Goals that require a much shorter timeline, and local municipalities to keep a implementation focus over the multi-decade supply of land for next few years.” economic development ready During a year long process, for commercial and industrial ECO Northwest has conducted growth. To make sure that enough focus groups and work sessions land is properly identified, an with City officials to get the EOA is performed. Though it necessary input and information isn’t a requirement, the EOA needed to put together and can then be used to develop the present their findings. EDSP, which helps guide policy The EOA suggests that Coos decisions and goal setting. Bay is forecast to grow by 1,523 To that end, representatives jobs by 2045, with the key from ECO Northwest presented areas of growth predicted to be their findings and policy in manufacturing, port-related suggestions to the council during industry, repair and maintenance, their work session on August 26 resident services, and visitor prior to the vote on September 2. services. “Cities do an EOA to meet According to the EOA, legal requirements. Oregon Coos Bay has 31 gross acres Statewide Planning Goal 9 of buildable land for industrial is economy, and the EOA purposes and 28 acres for is supposed to be updated commercial which they judge to be insufficient for compliance periodically to help the City BY NATE SCHWARTZ Editor

with the Statewide Planning Goals. ECO Northwest suggests a further 36 acres for industrial and 30 acres for commercial development. Achieving that healthy level of land is the job of the EDSP, which was presented by ECO Northwest’s Scott Goodman, who grew up in the area and spoke glowingly about it. The EDSP contained a vision statement which goes as follows: “By 2045, Coos Bay will be a thriving place where people of all ages choose to live, work, visit, and get involved. The city will support a diverse range of family-wage jobs while residents, visitors, and businesses will invest their time, talents, and resources to strengthen the local economy, foster an engaged and welcoming community, and create vibrant shared public spaces.”

Each of those four goals have been further broken down into tangible actions so that these aren’t nebulous ideas of how to achieve growth, but instead a genuine roadmap for getting where the City wants to go. For instance, under Goal 1 the actions suggested include things like supporting the retention and expansion of local business, inventorying and promoting cityowned and underutilized sites for economic development, and exploring opportunities to support K-12 educational collaboration. That is just three of a long list of practical strategies the City has voted to follow. ECO Northwest’s Brittany In order to practically achieve Bagent broke down some of that vision, the EDSP breaks those actions and showed off the down into four main goals: astounding level of detail that 1. Strengthen and diversify the went in to each suggestion: local economy “We really wanted to give staff enough information to really pick 2. Make Coos Bay a destination up this work and run with it… It to invest and work in explains the importance of each 3. Align land use and action, some next steps that staff infrastructure with economic or partners can take, what year priorities we would recommend that this 4. Foster strategic partnerships action begin, how to measure success, and what partners should and regional collaboration

be involved,” explained Bagent. All in, the consultants put together over 140 pages of reports and strategies to help inform the City’s economic direction, with tons of actionable steps to work toward. That is no small part in the reasoning behind the council’s vote to adopt the Strategic Plan. “I just want to say, I found this incredibly helpful for framing and graphing out exactly where we’re at, so I love this,” stated Councilor Jacob Niebergall during the voting. For our curious readers, you can ﬁnd the full ECO and EDSP documents in the agendas and minutes section of coosbayor.gov. Just look for the August 26 work session.

North Bend man arrested after gaining Pinwheels for Peace on illegal access to restricted airport area International Day of Peace

STAFF REPORT

A North Bend man was arrested early on Wednesday, September 3 after unlawfully gaining entry into a restricted area at Southwest Oregon Regional Airport and tampering with multiple of the aircraft stationed there. According to the North Bend Police Department (NBPD), they arrived on the scene at 5:31 a.m. to find that Melvin Myhill, 57, was trespassing and causing criminal mischief. Airport staff had reported that several aircraft had been tampered with, including Myhill removing one from its hangar after gaining access to a pull-cart. All in, it has been reported that 11 aircraft had been accessed, damaged, or tampered with. Myhill was observed inside of one of the private planes when the officers arrived and was arrested without incident. The NBPD called it a “Vandalism Incident” in their official communications on the subject. “A total of 11 aircraft were affected, all of which were parked inside the commercial hangar or on the apron inside the secured airport boundary. All aircraft owners and operators have been

From the Human Rights Advocates of Coos County

In today’s world, peace needs to become more than just a word. On September 21, 2025, schools around the world and across Coos County will take part in an international art and literacy project, Pinwheels for Peace. Coos County students are invited to “plant” pinwheels with messages of peace in the earth on September 21st. This day is significant as September 21 was named International Day of Peace by the United Nations in 1981. Peace begins within as a peace of mind expressing itself in kindness, supportive communication & positive community building, and widens to be associated as an opposite to the conflict of wars. Pinwheels for Peace is a non-political community project. Now more than ever we need peace, healing, harmony - returning to acceptance, unity & love. Pinwheels for Peace is an art installation project started in 2005 by two Art teachers, Ann Ayers and Ellen McMillan in Florida, as a way for students to express their feelings about what’s going on in the world and in their lives. From the first 500,000 Pinwheels in 2005, we have grown to over four million

notified and advised to conduct thorough checks and inspections before moving their aircraft,” stated official communication from Southwest Regional. Thankfully it seems no major damage was done, though one investigator found what was supposedly one of Myhill’s boots in an engine compartment. Aircrafts were able to continue to move throughout the airport as normal, with no commercial, general, or cargo flights affected by the incident. Myhill was taken into custody and subsequently released to be transported to Bay Area Hospital for a mental health evaluation. This was after he was charged with the following 17 charges:

• 11 counts of Criminal Mischief in the First Degree • 2 counts of Unauthorized Entry into a Motor Vehicle • 1 count of Attempted Unauthorized Entry into a Motor Vehicle • 1 count of Burglary in the Second Degree • 1 count of Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle • 1 count of Criminal Trespass in the Second Degree Though these are just the local charges, there is a chance that given it occurred on Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulated property that federal

charges will follow pending the ongoing, multi-agency investigation. “The Southwest Oregon Regional Airport administration is working closely with the NBPD, FAA, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Coast Guard, and Coos Aviation. Property inspections, security checks, and reporting are ongoing in coordination with federal and local authorities,” concluded the airport’s ofﬁcial statement on the matter. The investigation remains ongoing with the authorities asking anyone with further information to reach out to NBPD about Case Number N20252370 at: (541) 756-3161

See PINWHEELS Continued on Page 3

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