For the past five years one of the members of the CMCA Board, Merilee Sommers, has been hard at work preparing a directory for Cape Meares residents.  She has dedicated a good many hours to this project during this time period.  The work is now completed.

It should be made clear that nearly all of the information collected for this directory was found by viewing public sources that are available to everyone who has the time and the inclination to seek the information.  In some cases e-mail addresses and cell phone numbers were shared with Merilee. Most all of the information was collected by her research of local databases.The directory also identifies the permanent residents as well as individuals who own property here and are occasional visitors.  There is also information regarding those individuals who are members of the CMCA Board.

At the last meeting of the CMCA Board on August 9, there was a discussion of what we should do with the directory now that it has been completed.  It was decided at the meeting to share the document with all of the Board members, all of the volunteer fire fighters for Cape Meares, and all of the Map Your Neighborhood (MYN) captains.

It was further decided to prepare a survey that would be distributed to community members to determine how much interest there would be in sharing the directory with residents from our community.

Members of the CMCA Board are sensitive to privacy issues even though nearly all of the information that is included in the directory is public information.  Having a directory for our community has obvious benefits.  It is of critical importance in matters related to all kinds of emergencies that we potentially face.  It also has considerable value for new residents who move to Cape Meares and have an interest in knowing who their neighbors happen to be.

We do know that there may also be possible abuses of a directory.  Someone from outside our community might get a copy of it and send unsolicited information to either a mailbox or to an e-mail address.  Frankly, because of postage charges the likelihood of receiving a junk mailing is not high and many e-mail systems now have fairly good protection when it comes to spam mail.

The only way the Board would release the directory is by responding to a direct request from a resident of Cape Meares.  It would not be released to anyone outside of the community unless the Board is advised to do otherwise.  It would not be placed on the capemeares.org website unless there was a general consensus from residents of doing just that.

The directory is now an Excel file and it could be saved as a PDF so that anyone who has a computer and an Adobe Reader application would be able to view it.  If anyone wanted a paper copy be advised that the document is over 24 pages long.  The Board would not supply any paper copies of the directory to any residents.

The CMCA Board will continue to maintain the directory of local residents because it is essential for MYN and other uses. If there are any changes in your personal status related to mailing address, telephone number (cell or landline) or e-mail address please contact Merilee Sommers.   Phone:  503-842-8600;  E-mail:  merileesommers@gmail.com

Please take the time to respond to a few short questions that will be used by the CMCA Board to decide whether and/or how to share the directory with interested Cape Meares residents.  We ask you to indicate your answers to the items by no later than Sunday, August 31.

Thank you.

Click on the link below to access the survey.