Little History on Oceanside Action Partnership

The Oceanside Action Partnership (OAP) was conceived from an informal neighborhood think-tank when brainstorming ideas on how to best help our Oceanside community accomplish community advised improvements. We realized that the community needed, but had never had a centralized organization that was striving to bring all available resources together so that the Oceanside community at large could seek funding for those projects that mattered most to them and benefitted the greater populace. With that purpose in mind,the mission was formalized “to educate the Oceanside community on and collectively prioritize, pursue funding, and oversee project management of community projects.” 

When Oceanside voters rejected the idea of incorporating, the OAP idea was presented to the community. The proposal was viewed as an excellent opportunity to reunite a divided community, connect neighbors and neighborhoods, and get people working together again in a shared initiative. The community came together, formed a Coalition Study Team, and created a community report. This report was shared with the community at three different community town halls. There were requests for more detail and clarity, but no one voted against pressing forward.    The idea gained county support and the Tillamook Coast Visitors Association (TCVA) was appointed to sponsor and manage the community workshops in order to collectively prioritize community projects and help us create our action plan. 

As envisioned, the community coalition was composed of Oceansiders and partners (such as Oregon State Parks and Rec District, Tillamook County Public Works, County Officials and Staff, Netarts Oceanside Fire Rural Protection District, Netarts Oceanside Water District, Oceanside Water District, TIllamook People’s Utility District, (TCVA), commercial partners Roseanna’s Cafe, Three Arch Inn, Oceanside Surf Shop, and approximately twenty other partners). The OAP was officially formed and its Board continues to manage the original mission. With its strong early collaboration and initial projected success the OAP community has grown to over 180 community participants.     

The TCVA is currently formalizing a report of the community priorities ranked by the coalition. We are expecting to have this report by early September 2023. When we receive this report, we will coordinate another community meeting to confirm and accept the prioritization of our community projects. Once prioritized, we will form small teams to work on each project. The teams will be composed of volunteer researchers, a grant writer, and a project manager. 

We all have projects that speak to us–that we are passionate about seeing to fruition. The OAP is the tool that was created to allow your voice to be heard and your project to become a reality. Please come to our next community meeting, join a small team, make new friends and new connections, and experience the joy of making a difference in this beautiful place we call “home”.