Introduction: 

Over the past year a tremendous amount of discussion has taken place on how best to access resources for new community projects in Oceanside. In an effort to better access community resources the ONA authorized a new subcommittee composed of 10 volunteers (9 ONA members) to research the formation of an Oceanside Community Coalition to streamline grant funding requests. In the course of our research we had discussions with neighboring communities, county personnel, and other community partners* on the best steps to get project funding. Our committee has concluded that as a part of the ONA, forming an Oceanside Community Coalition subcommittee would be a viable and effective means of identifying and prioritizing projects and accessing funds. As proposed, this coalition would be made up of our neighbors (via the ONA), local businesses, non-profits, various state and local government agencies, local special districts and county officials. A critical part of this process (requiring ONA membership for community members to participate) would include the development of a 10-year Community Investment Plan using input from the community to identify and prioritize projects. 

Why do we need a 10-year Community Investment Plan? 

In order to effectively access financial resources for projects identified and approved by our community we will have to develop a long-term plan for Oceanside projects. This allows the community to take a "big-picture" approach to project selection and planning as well as offering an opportunity for the entire community to participate in the selection process. Through the development of a 10-year Community Investment Plan we can identify, pursue, and prioritize community projects that build on each other year after year in a logical sequence. Having a plan to reference makes the grant application and project management process more efficient; while one active project is being managed the application process for the next project can be started so the community can hit the ground running when deadlines approach and funding is approved. The 10-year Community Investment Plan will serve as the roadmap for projects pursued by the Oceanside Community Coalition, designed and approved by the ONA membership in conjunction with our community partners. 

The ONA is our Citizens Advisory Committee and is representative of the Oceanside community. The ONA is not structured as a 501 (c)3 or 4**, so it is limited in its ability to fiscally sponsor request. Many of our community partners are structured differently and do not have these same grant award limitations. By establishing the Oceanside Community Coalition our community will be able to utilize the grant limits of whichever partner is most appropriate to secure funding for a given project. Creating the Oceanside Community Coalition would ensure the voice of Oceanside is represented and community projects prioritized by the ONA would be realized in a systematic and timely manner. 

Past Grant Funding Successes 

Tillamook County Tourism Facilities Grants, funded by the transient lodging tax (TLT) , were implemented in 2014 and became available in 2015. The community of Oceanside has applied for three grants and all have been awarded. Oceanside was also the recipient of additional monies from the county. 

• In 2018, a $15,000 grant was awarded to the ONA to develop the beach access plan;

• In 2021, the county provided $60,000, ORPD provided $55,000, and the Roads Department funded $67,000 outside of the grant process to help fund the beach access project;

• In 2022, a $55,000 grant was awarded to the Oceanside Community Club to repair the roof; and

• In 2023, a $58,000 grant was awarded to the Oceanside Community Club to resurface the parking lot next to the community club.

Funding on a project-by-project basis is acceptable, but a community-driven plan is a more effective approach for long-term planning. Developing a 10-year Community Investment Plan through the Oceanside  Community Coalition, based on community needs would ensure coordinated requests are put forward annually and would help assure the community is properly represented with a united voice. The plan would also help identify additional sources of funding beyond the TLT, as well as discuss with elected officials ways in which they can help secure project funding. 

Membership 

In our study, we interviewed our community partners (listed below). There is overwhelming interest from most of them to proceed with creating the Oceanside Community Coalition and they are interested and want to be involved. One partner stated by forming the coalition you will have a focused effort, a stronger voice, and a much greater possibility of winning grants and awards. Another partner said he has lots of ideas for us and is anxious to share. 

In addition to the ONA membership, the Oceanside Community Coalition would also invite the following community partners: 

Oceanside Community Club 

Oceanside Protection Society 

Cascade Gliders Association 

Oceanside Commercial Businesses 

Oceanside Water District 

Netarts Water District 

Tillamook Public Utility District 

Netarts Oceanside Sanitary District 

Netarts Oceanside Fire District 

Tillamook County Sheriff Department 

Current Cafe and Lounge 

Roseanna's Cafe 

The Oceanside Inn 

Fusion Lodging 

Tillamook County Solid Waste Administration
Tillamook County Transportation District 

Tillamook County Library 

Tillamook County Roads Advisory Committee (CRAC) 

Tillamook County Community Development 

Tillamook City Manager 

Tillamook County Chief of Staff 

Tillamook County Visitors Association 

Tillamook County Emergency PlanCoordinator 

Oregon Coast Tribal Nations 

Oregon State Parks and Recreation District 

Oregon Department of Transportation 

Tillamook County Commissioners 

The study group has been in contact with each of these community partners to invite them to participate and provide their commitment and support. 

What does ONA approval of the coalition mean? 

If the ONA membership approves the creation of the Oceanside Community Coalition, the mission, its duties, and its formation would be formalized over a series of public workshops hosted by Tillamook County Visitors Association (TCVA) to be held at the Oceanside Community Center. TCVA has been instrumental in the creation of similar plans in Pacific City, Rockaway Beach, Bay City and  Garibaldi and is the county provided resource expert. 

The cost of the workshops and creating the plan would be sponsored by TCVA at no cost to the Oceanside community. The ONA membership volunteers would donate their time and talents in these workshops. 

The ONA membership will be active through membership vote, in the creation, endorsement, and ratification of the Oceanside Community Coalition 10-year Community Investment Plan. There will be an ONA membership vote after the plan is drafted to approve and adopt. 

This plan will collectively identify and prioritize community projects. It will create a formal, systematic structure to pursue funding sources, opportunities, and oversee the project management function of the selected community projects. We will pursue community projects each and every year from appropriate funding sources. The Plan would be designed as a living document where required change is identified and managed for the plan to remain relevant, and the collective voice of the community expressed. The ONA will be responsible for all updates to the plan. 

An Example Of Recent Partnership Success 

TVAC opened a round of funding for a Facilities Grant. Oceansiders identified a need of resurfacing the upper parking lot at the community center. The parking lot is owned by the State of Oregon (OPRD). The OPRD was unable to pursue TLT funding directly and did not have the budget allocated for this expense in 2023. The financial scope of the project is $58,000 (exceeding the ONA request for funding limit). Oceanside Community Center was asked to participate as the fiscal sponsor (meeting the funding limit authority).

The Project team included Oceanside Community Club (Fiscal Sponsor), community grant writer (Bruce Jaeger), Project Manager (Jeff Mason), TCVA (funding source), Oregon Parks and Recreation District, Netarts Oceanside Fire District, Tillamook County Transportation, Tillamook County Library), Oregon Coast Tribal Nations, and local contractors to complete the project. The grant's advisory board to the Commissioners recommended a $29,000 award, requesting the OPRD fund the difference. The Commissioners reviewed the proposal, recognized the community collaboration involved and the specific partner limitations, and approved the $58,000 award for the project. This demonstrates the value of the partnerships and the community collaboration which will be foremost in forming the coalition. 

An additional benefit of the coalition is that all partners would be informed of the coming project, and have an opportunity to review how this will affect them. For instance, if Netarts Oceanside Sanitary District was planning a line replacement on the site they could install their lines in the ground before the parking lot is resurfaced, resulting in significant cost savings and efficiencies for the Netarts Oceanside Sanitary District and the community. 

The coalition will ensure connectivity and inclusiveness of the right decision makers, follow aligned interests of all parties, create the most viable outcome for the community needs, promote stronger relationships with all community partners, and establish a fully visible expectation with realistic timelines. 

Workshop Expectations 

The primary goal of the workshops would be to develop a 10-year Community Investment Plan. The workshops will be scheduled once the ONA membership approval to proceed is secured. A rough outline of what we would be working towards is shown below. The attendees of the workshops would include any ONA members wishing to be included, and the community partners (listed above). 

How is the 10-year Investment Plan developed? 

First, TCVA hosts a Community Information Meeting to address the following topics:

• What is a 10-year Investment Plan
• What are the current community needs
• How lodging tax can be used per ORS
• What other funding avenues are available
• Description of three workshops to follow
  

Second, TCVA hosts a series of workshops.

• Workshop #1 :
• What does the community value; what are community assets; determine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT). Approx. 90 mins

• Workshop #2:
• Review of input from workshop #1; define what community initiatives are and what's possible per various funding sources; develop initiatives that align with values, assets and SWOT; list activities for each initiative. Approx. 2 hours

• Workshop #3:
• Review previous workshop input; determine vision and mission based on previous workshop input; describe what does success look like; define benchmarks-measuring accomplishments. Approx. 90 mins
  

Third, the coalition then develops the 10-year Investment Plan (The Plan) based on community input received in the workshops. 

Fourth, The Plan is presented to ONA membership for review and approval.

Fifth, The Plan is presented to all community partners (including our elected officials). 

How is the Plan Maintained? 

ONA will annually solicit feedback from the ONA membership to review past and queued projects and solicit input for projects to be added to the prioritized project list (consideration to funding source, project duration, community impact, etc). This is a living document where change is managed. 

As projects launch they would be assigned a project team which would include an ONA Sponsor, a grant writer, fiscal sponsor, project manager, funder, and contractors. We have discovered from our neighboring communities that there is often a county representative also assigned to support the project. 

Neighboring Communities Coalitions Plans: 

Pacific City Plan, https://tillamookcoast.com/southcounty/ 

Bay City Plan, https://www.ci.bay-city.or.us/documents

Rockaway Beach Plan, 

https://tillamookcoast.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Rockaway-Beach-DRAFT-WAYFINDING-PLAN_September-2019-1.pdf

City of Garibaldi, 

https://www.ci.garibaldi.or.us/DocumentcenterNiew/201212022-January-6-couocil-work-session-packeti

* Project Partners refers to "an individual, group, or organization who may affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity or outcome of a project. ISO 21500 uses a similar definition.

**What is a 501 (3)c ? Organizations described in section 501 (c)(3) are commonly referred to as charitable organizations. Organizations described in section 501 (c)(3), other than testing for public safety organizations, are eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions in accordance with Code section 170. 

What is a 501 (c)4? To be tax-exempt as a social welfare organization described in Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 501(c)(4), an organization must not be organized for profit and must be operated exclusively to promote social welfare.

Supplemental information gathered from meetings with plan leaders from neighboring communities: 

Beware of Pitfalls 

In our study we were apprised of several challenges in creating, executing, and sustaining the Plan. 

1. The Community Investment Plan needs to be simple, inclusive, results driven and adaptable. Beware of plan upon plan upon plan where nothing is accomplished. 
2. Maintaining the energy over time of a large number of volunteers for grant writing and project management. The group needs to be diverse and evolving. 
3. Stay engaged with the community, our community partners, ensuring vacancies are filled quickly. Create and maintain a coalition web page for information sharing, marketing, and branding. 

Community Benefits 

In our study we also learned of these benefits resulting from creating the Plan: 

1. Identifying community assets and projects, setting project priorities brings the community together as one. 
2. Greater visibility and connectivity with community, partners and public officials 
3. Systematic and regular occurring project pursuit with a much larger base of active contributors. 
4. More community improvements actualized.