Coos Bay work session pauses John Tapitz Park clearing after residents, council raise concerns

Coos Bay — City staff told a council work session that they have paused further clearing at John Tapitz Park and will return with a plan after several council members and residents raised concerns that recent fuel-reduction work looked like a clear cut rather than selective thinning.

The discussion, at a Nov. work session, centered on a state fire marshal grant the city received to create defensible space around the park’s perimeter and a professional services agreement with Rush Russell Shaping and Excavation. City Manager Nicole said the grant award was described in staff remarks as $75,000, but a council member noted that a professional services agreement template appearing in the packet referenced $50,000; Nicole said staff would double-check the contract template and amounts.

Why it matters: Council members said they support fuels reduction to reduce wildfire risk around homes, but several said the scale and appearance of the work surprised them and residents. One council member who had taken the item to council requested that future park-focused projects be routed to the parks commission and then to the full council so citizens and commissioners can weigh in before ground work begins.

Councilors and participants pressed staff for details about scope and methods. Chief Atkins said the contractor performed brush mowing that did not disturb soils or roots and that most vegetation should regrow within one to two years. Chief Atkins also gave incident data, saying there were 36 responses in the park area this year, about 28 of which were fire-related, to underline the safety rationale for reducing fuels.

Kelsey, representing the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office, framed the work in statewide wildfire-resilience guidance, describing the home-ignition concept (immediate zone and intermediate zones often characterized as 5, 30 and up to 100 feet depending on terrain and risk) and said the state has invested roughly $1 million in Coos County fuels-reduction projects since 2023. "Any fuel reduction work you can do in all 3 of those areas is important and significant to saving homes," Kelsey said.

Council members asked for visual aids and more detailed contract language. Staff offered a drone video of the site and confirmed that they will prepare a written plan for how the remaining grant funds would be used and how maintenance would be handled going forward; staff said initial heavy work was intended to be followed by maintenance using city staff and temporary workers. A parks commission member recommended seeking a complementary grant to replant low-fire-risk native plants to preserve park aesthetics.

On next steps, the council agreed to pause further clearing pending a plan and additional review and to put the item on a subsequent agenda (staff suggested Dec. 16) so the public and commissioners can review proposed follow-up work. Staff said grant deadlines can sometimes be extended if necessary; one participant read a completion deadline in the grant documents as Aug. 31, 2026. Staff also said approximately one-third of the grant funds had been spent to date (staff estimated about $25,000), though an earlier public comment cited a lower figure; staff will reconcile the exact amounts.

The meeting included public comments on other topics earlier in the session, including community invitations for holiday assistance drives. The work session concluded with thanks to staff and a reminder that no formal decisions were taken at the session.

Ending: City staff will return with a detailed plan for the remainder of the defensible-space work at John Tapitz Park, including how remaining funds would be spent, how maintenance will be carried out, and when the council and parks commission will review the specifics.