Coos Bay livability committee members sign up to pilot Adopt A Block; Soulmates walking guide gets second print run

At a Coos Bay Livability Committee meeting, several committee members volunteered to “adopt” street blocks through the Adopt A Block program and agreed to promote a locally produced walking guide from the Soulmates program.

The committee said the programs aim to increase volunteer stewardship of public spaces and encourage walking and civic engagement. Committee members committed to report back with observations at the next meeting and asked staff to explore low-cost promotion methods, including a possible flyer insert in city water bills.

Adopt A Block provides an interactive map that shows which blocks have been adopted; committee members said there are “quite a few” adoptees in Coos Bay and neighboring North Bend. The program supplies volunteers with basic equipment (trash grabbers and, on request, sharps containers) and relies on volunteers and routine residential or commercial trash collection for disposal. “Most of the trash is going in the regular residential collection that’s done by whoever has that collection service,” committee members said during the meeting. Chief of Police Chris Travener added that law enforcement occasionally picks up litter but that public works handles significant cleanups.

Committee members discussed outreach tactics. Nicole Rutherford said the program “doesn’t have to be just garbage. You could also be doing landscape kind of work,” and suggested connecting Adopt A Block with walking groups and existing volunteer efforts. Several members proposed quarterly newsletter pushes, social-media posts, personal stories and an initial promotional push followed by quarterly reminders. Scott Cooper and others volunteered to adopt blocks immediately and the group set an accountability check at the next meeting.

Soulmates, a grant-funded walking-and-civic-engagement project developed in partnership with OHSU and local partners, produced a printed walking guide with trail maps, amenities and brief metrics for each route. The walking guide was produced as an initial run of 500 copies; a second run of 500 is planned. The committee was told the printing cost for 500 copies was about $1,700 plus a setup fee (rounded to roughly $2,000). A digital version of the guide will remain hosted by the library and visitor center so it can be updated.

The Soulmates study enrolled roughly 20 participants in a two-year study that gathers quarterly health and activity metrics; presenters said the study is about 18 months in and samples reported individual improvements in mobility and mental health. Committee members discussed sponsorship options for additional print runs and local distribution through nonprofits, visitor centers and businesses.

Committee members also noted related programs such as Adopt A Park and local district stewardship by the Coos Bay Downtown Association and other volunteer groups. The group discussed coordination with public works and commercial property owners for disposal and cited municipal code tools for addressing private-property accumulation of trash when enforcement is needed.

The committee assigned three action items: committee members will adopt blocks and report observations at the next meeting; staff will investigate the cost and mechanics of a water-bill flyer insert; and the group will continue quarterly promotion via the city’s communication channels. Members said they will prioritize volunteer recruitment and begin tagging adopted blocks on the Adopt A Block map to demonstrate immediate progress.

Committee members closed the item by agreeing to gather photos and short stories to promote the programs in a future newsletter.