COOS BAY — A question about residency has the Coos Bay School Board questioning whether to vacate the seat currently held by Wally Hazen.

Now in his 14th year on the board, Hazen owns a house on Cape Arago Highway, well within the boundaries of the Coos Bay School District. About five years ago, he purchased property in Fairview out past Coquille, where he subsequently developed a blueberry farm and built a second house.

Several months ago, School Board Chairwoman Kathy Murray learned from an unnamed source that Hazen was spending a significant amount of time in Fairview. She shared this information with Superintendent Bob De La Vergne and the district’s legal counsel, David Dorsey.

At Monday’s School Board meeting, Dorsey raised the question of whether Hazen no longer qualifies to serve on the board.

In a presentation that cited Oregon Revised Statues, case law and several dictionary definitions, Dorsey essentially said it was up to the School Board to decide if Hazen could remain in its ranks.

Given several options, the board chose to schedule a special meeting at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 20 to discuss the matter.

Hazen said he spends nights in Fairview when he is pruning his blueberry crop in the winter months  or during July when the fruit is harvested. He considers the farm to be a business, while he thinks of himself as a Coos Bay resident.

“Coos Bay has been my home and it will continue to be my home,” he said.

Hazen said before he ran for re-election in May 2007, he briefly considered running for an at-large seat on the South Coast Education Service District. He opted to run in the Coos Bay election after consulting with Coos County Elections Department staff. They advised him that because his driver’s license, vehicle registration and voter registration list his Barview address, he was within the letter of the law.

“The Coos Bay School Board is where I prefer to be,” he said after the meeting.

In his presentation, Dorsey explained that a School Board can vacate an office if the holder “ceases to be a resident of the district or zone from which nominated.” He noted that Hazen’s house in Fairview was approved for occupancy in the fall, though much of his mail still is sent to the address in Barview.

“This is an issue about which reasonable people can disagree,” Dorsey said. “The fundamental basic decision the School Board must make is whether to take Mr. Hazen at his word when he says that it has been his intent to be a resident of the Coos Bay School District or instead to go by the old saying of ‘actions speak louder than words.’”

Dorsey said the board could do several things. It could ignore the issue, postpone discussion to a later meeting or hire a hearings officer to conduct a meeting and gather public input. He also said the board could vacate the seat if four members agreed to do so, though he recommended against doing this  to allow for public comment and for Hazen to further consider the situation. Board Members Andy Post and Randy Miles were absent, which also contributed to the decision to postpone deliberations until next week.

The only comments from a board member other than Hazen came from David Ford, who joked that Hazen should have purchased a property along the Coos River, which would have prevented such discussions from occurring.

“I think of you as part of the Coos Bay community rather than Coquille’s,” Ford said to Hazen. “But there will probably be other input.”

Hazen said that while the Fairview house has been approved for occupancy, he is still making improvements to it. After the meeting, he would not say if he spends the night in the Fairview house or inside a travel trailer, parked on the property for about the last three years. Hazen said he thought at one time he might retire to the blueberry farm, but now has plans to build a new home south of the property he has in Barview. He currently shares the existing house on Cape Arago Highway with a daughter, son-in-law and grandchild.

Hazen remained confident he would avoid having his seat vacated, noting his long service and popularity with voters.

“I think the record will be very clear,” he said.