Depoe Bay parks commission approves Thursday-night community book club

The Depoe Bay Parks & Recreation Commission voted on Oct. 15 to establish a community book club that will meet primarily on Thursday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m., members said during the commission's meeting.

Unidentified Speaker 1 moved to approve the program, describing it as “Billy's book club” with meetings mostly on Thursday nights, and Unidentified Speaker 4 seconded the motion. The motion passed by voice vote after multiple commissioners responded “Aye.”

Commissioners and organizers discussed next steps: drafting a flyer, printing copies through the city and posting the event to the commission’s planned Facebook page. The group discussed possible first meeting dates (members named Nov. 25 and other tentative late-November dates during planning) and agreed to confirm facility reservations with city staff before broad promotion.

Members proposed The Spear Cast Through Water by Simon Jiménez as an initial selection and debated whether that title would appeal to older residents in town; several commissioners urged rotating selections to broaden participation. One commissioner said the first session should be treated as a pilot to gauge interest and scale refreshment or other small costs accordingly.

City staff reminded the commission that, for city-sanctioned events that require use of community funds, organizers should present a cost breakdown to City Council for approval before the city will release budgeted community-event dollars.

Organizers were asked to finalize a flyer and send it to staff for printing and distribution to libraries and local businesses; staff agreed to print copies for the commission to distribute. The commission will follow up at its next regular meeting with a finalized schedule and publicity plan.