One day after a North Bend city councilor said he would step down from the South Coast Development Council over what he called its advocacy for consolidating the city with Coos Bay, the SCDC's executive director denied to councilors any intention of his agency to back the cause.

During the council's 80-minute open session Tuesday night, attended by 23 people, Ron Opitz responded to Larry Garboden's announcement on Monday he would leave the SCDC because of the agency's grant application to the Ford Family Foundation of Roseburg. Defending the purpose of the funding request, Opitz called it a way to achieve greater harmony and teamwork between the city governments, with or without consolidation.

All six council members were present, including Mayor Rick Wetherell and councilors Frank Amatisto, Garboden, Howard Graham, Susan Ottemiller and Janet Rubin.

The SCDC's application for $7,000, directed to the foundation's Ford Institute for Community Building, seeks "funding and professional services with which to establish a methodology for bringing together the two primary cities in Coos County," according to its text. The document, released to council members at a Feb. 25 meeting in Coos Bay, also declares that political antipathy between the cities was a factor in the former timber hotbeds' economic decline.

"For many decades," the document reads, "Coos Bay and North Bend (have) conducted an ongoing struggle with each other. That political struggle was a contributor to a failed economy and now has become a distraction in our current efforts to move the economy forward."

That wording, Garboden said Monday during the council's work session, favors consolidation and so is "an inappropriate use of public and private funds," the reason he gave for leaving the SCDC.

Refuting that charge, Opitz declared the grant document takes no stance for or against unifying the cities.

"The grant is awarded for leadership in developing communities," he told councilors. "It's a doorway for the continuation of grants from the Ford foundation.

"This grant has nothing to do with consolidation. ... This is not about eliminating one city's identity. North Bend will always be North Bend; Coos Bay will always be Coos Bay. You don't have to be consolidated in order to share resources."

In its list of goals, the application to the Ford foundation calls on the Bay Area cities to "determine what decisionmakers in both communities need to be involved (and) formulate a group of chosen representatives from both cities." It alludes to sharing municipal services but does not spell out the purpose of the proposed body.

"Whether the cities are consolidated or remain separate," the document continues, "the citizens of the area can look forward to a revitalized economy and an increase in critical services provided. ... The people of Coos Bay and North Bend have experienced the loss of opportunity because of the social and political differences between these two cities. Now is the time for positive change."

"We don't have to be one and we don't have to be two to do that," Opitz concluded. "It comes down to leadership."

Unimpressed by his explanation of the grant, Jan Willis, the city administrator, called the application a provocative statement that ignores existing partnerships between North Bend and Coos Bay.

"I'm offended by some of the language in the grant," she told Opitz, criticizing the SCDC for not consulting the two city councils before writing the application. "The North Bend councilors, they make decisions on leadership."

Outlining some of the cooperative efforts that already exist between the cities, Willis continued: "We have the Bay Area Chamber, the Bay Area Fun Festival, a common transportation plan. Our police departments hold briefings twice a week and have a mutual-aid agreement."

"For two decades this area has not grown," said Opitz. "It has lost 4,260 timber jobs. ... I rest my case."

"I don't rest mine," Willis replied.

In a low-key postscript to the tense discussion, Mayor Wetherell declared his opposition to merging the Bay Area cities - in a way, he said, meant to put the issue to rest before the May 18 vote on consolidation and allow the city government to concentrate on other matters.

"I've been considered naive and a purist politically," he told the audience. "I'd like to take the high road and conduct city business without a thought to the election, but I find that difficult.

"I am personally against consolidation; I don't see the benefits for North Bend. I will not belabor it here, nor will I discuss it here."

Also Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved an ordinance to call for a vote on the merger issue. The election date, May 18, was jointly set by the North Bend and Coos Bay councils at a special meeting in October 2002.

In other business, the council approved a $46,153 bid by Chambers Plumbing and Heating to renovate wastewater Lift Station No. 3. The offer by Chambers, which covers improvements to the pumps and controls, was the lowest of three bids submitted to the city.