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Newport council hears midyear progress on seven priorities, from roads to housing
Summary
At a Jan. 20 work session, staff told the Newport City Council they are halfway through the fiscal year on seven council goals — including financial planning, gravel‑road paving, volunteer onboarding, emergency preparedness and housing — and previewed a February retreat and a possible bond discussion.
Newport — At a Jan. 20 work session, city staff gave the City Council a midyear update on seven strategic goals for fiscal year 2025–26, forecasting completion timelines and highlighting early wins and outstanding items.
Staff told councilors the city has drafted its first 10‑year Capital Improvement Program, expects the draft to be finalized in March and will present a nearly finished seven‑year financial strategy — including discussion of a potential bond package — at a February meeting. The presenter said the bond and financial strategy work will be the focus of a council work session in mid‑February.
The report covered community engagement, technology, beautification, workforce recruitment and emergency preparedness. On engagement, staff said they have revised the volunteer program to post opportunities on the new city website and streamline background checks; they reported 47 volunteers processed in 2025 with more than 11,000 volunteer hours recorded. On technology, the city launched a new website and implemented express bill pay for utility customers and online business license renewals; the police department also rolled out an online non‑emergency reporting form that a resident said produced a response within half an hour.
Beautification and tourism work included hiring a consultant for a destination management plan and two surveys: a stakeholder survey that doubled its 40‑person goal and a visitor survey that drew more than 1,000 responses. Staff said results will inform activation and public‑art priorities. The council learned the Oregon Coast Council of the Arts (OCCA) is taking a leading role on public arts, including sculpture pads and mural work at city facilities.
On emergency preparedness, staff reported distributing more than 2,000 preparedness flyers in English and Spanish and planning a nine‑week CERT class to begin in March. The city also applied for a grant to study solar power for the city campus; staff said the funding source (state, federal or other) would be confirmed and results are pending.
On housing, staff said Newport has averaged about 75 new housing units a year over the last five years — higher than local capacity analyses but below the state’s aspirational target. The city has financially assisted two affordable housing projects by waiving system development charges and covering building fees for a separate 90‑unit market‑rate project; staff also secured a grant to develop a rental housing maintenance code toolkit and remain engaged in county homelessness efforts.
Councilors asked clarifying questions about migration data referenced in a recent state report, the distinction between volunteer onboarding and committee applications, and whether some planned items (for instance, compensation work group recommendations) remained on hold. Staff agreed to provide additional detail where requested and noted some agenda items — most notably the bond discussion — are scheduled for more focused discussion at the February meetings.
The council adjourned after the updates and directed staff to continue work on the financial strategy and other items listed for the upcoming retreat.
