Located three miles north of Eugene, Coburg is a quaint, historic city with an agricultural past (and present) and is a regional employment center for light industrial businesses. Coburg was founded in 1847 by Jacob Spores and John Diamond, after whom Diamond Peak is named. The city gets its name from a particularly fine stallion from Coburg, Germany, as Coburg was known in the 1800s as a place to buy high quality horses.

Today, Coburg has a population of 1,085 with employment at 3,000 from the city’s 85 businesses. Recent growth can be attributed to the 2014 completion of a wastewater project, which included the city’s first municipal sewer system and road improvements at the Coburg I-5 Interchange. For the past five years, Petra Schuetz has served as Coburg’s city administrator. For the previous seven years, she served as the City’s contract planning director. 

“My position oversees the day-to-day operation of six departments: administration, court, finance, planning, police, and public works (water, sewer, streets, and parks),” shared Petra. “The city has fourteen members on staff, seven reserve officers and five major contract employees (city attorney, engineer, building inspector, municipal judge, city prosecutor). Our population may be small, but we have a higher than average level of service for a community our size.” As a small city administrator, there is never a dull moment. 

“I am proud of what we have accomplished for the Coburg community, including several new partnerships and grants, delivery of the city’s first sewer system, moving City Hall, eliminating what was a General Fund deficit that had lasted many years, stewarding major water and street/interchange improvements, and significant internal reorganization,” continued Petra. “I deeply believe in public service and the positive impact my work has at the ground level. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve as city administrator for my community.”

Coburg is working on a number of projects this year. It is in the middle of a community visioning process, which will hopefully result in the City’s first-ever mission statement. With that in place, Coburg can define its focus and set a course for the next few years. The City has also initiated the development of Coburg Main Street, which should benefit from the visioning process as an organization forms and sets priorities for Coburg’s downtown area. 

Other city projects include:

• Constructing portions of the Coburg Loop Path, an off-street path system in and around the city

• Extending water service under I-5

• Developing a new city well and water storage facilities

• Implementing a Hazard Mitigation Plan

• Improving security and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) access to City Hall

• Creating a new city website

• Building new play equipment at Norma Pheiffer Park

• Updating the Comprehensive Plan

Coburg is on the move! It is organized and in the best financial position in a generation.  The city has been transitioning to accommodate slow incremental growth and working to diversify their economic base while preserving the small town look and feel that makes Coburg a wonderful place to live and work. As budget season evolves, the City expects to have proposals for an additional police officer, stormwater master planning, broadening emergency planning efforts, and pursuing new revenue to address street maintenance.

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