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SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF FLORENCE • DUNES CITY • WESTLAKE • MAPLETON • SWISSHOME • DEADWOOD • YACHATS AND ALL POINTS BETWEEN
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2015
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LOOK AT US NOW, A CITY IN MOTION
Mayor Henry addresses new direction
for Florence in State of the City
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
Mayor Joe Henry presented the
State of the City at the Florence Area
Chamber of Commerce Noon Forum
on Feb. 19, building his address
around two phrases: “Look at us now”
and “A city in motion.”
He focused on the changes already
made by the city as well as new plans
for the future.
“The state of our city is excellent
because of the many difficult deci-
sions and investments all of us have
made in our community over the
years. … Our future remains bright if
we accept the challenges ahead and
rise to meet them,” Henry said.
Henry thanked his fellow Florence
city councilors, Joshua Greene, Ron
Preisler, George Lyddon and Susy
Lacer, for joining him in a productive
team.
The council passed the city’s Five-
Year Work Plan on Feb. 17, which had
seven main goals: to deliver efficient
and cost-effective city services, to
expand and diversify the Florence
economy, to improve the city’s livabil-
ity and quality of life, to sustain the
Cormorant
impact on
the rise
THE
together as a team.”
“That document is a living, breath-
ing document that covers so many
opportunities for us… It’s got every-
thing in there,” Councilor Greene
said.
The council also hired Erin
Reynolds as city manager, a position
open since May 2014, and applicants
have begun filing for the Florence
police chief position.
See
CITY 7A
R ED C ARPET
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
O N
city’s strong financial position, to
strengthen and improve organization,
to improve the city’s communication
program and strengthen citizen trust
and improve the community’s safety
and perception of safety.
As the work plan was passed,
Councilor Lacer said, “I love this
work plan. I’m very excited about our
future.”
Henry said, “I second that. It’s a
very exciting work plan. A lot of work.
And we’re going to work very well
Port addresses marine bird
and floating restroom issues
during Feb. 18 meeting
B Y J ACK D AVIS
Siuslaw News
Megan Gerber, office manager of Don
Wilbur Ltd., gave a presentation Feb. 18 on the
Wilbur Island mitigation bank to the Port of
Siuslaw commissioners, sharing concerns over
the negative environmental impact the estimat-
ed 1,200 resident cormorants were having on
both local fish and habitat.
A mitigation bank is wetland property that
developers can rent or purchase to replace wet-
lands that might be lost due to development.
Gerber’s presentation to the commission
explained the process.
At the end of her presentation, Gerber said,
“Hundreds of cormorant pairs are resting in a
patch of spruce on the south side of the Siuslaw
River. The noise is astonishing and their excre-
ment is killing the trees. The cormorants are
also eating salmon smolt and other salmonids
in huge numbers.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has
recently approved reducing the cormorant pop-
ulation on East Sand Island in the Columbia
River by authorizing shooting 11,000 birds and
oiling the eggs to prevent hatching.
“We have approached the Corps of
Engineers about reducing the population of cor-
morants here as well,” Gerber said.
Port commissioner Jay Cable said the Corps
of Engineers allowed the Salmon and Trout
Enhancement Program volunteers to haze cor-
morants along the Siuslaw River two years ago.
It had no impact on the cormorant population.
Cable said that Bolan Island between the Smith
and Umpqua rivers is almost completely dead
because of cormorants resting in the trees.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, the average cormorant eats one pound
of fish per day. That equals 1,200 pounds a day
taken from the Siuslaw River; almost 500,000
pounds per year. The increase in cormorant
populations has been linked to outlawing of the
pesticide DDT in the 1960s and 1970s.
Current cormorant population in the United
States is estimated at 2 million birds by the
Fish and Wildlife Service. The numbers grew at
an annual rate of 7.9 percent between 1975 and
2000. The current cormorant population growth
rate is somewhat less.
In other business, the board agreed to contin-
ue to maintain the dock and restroom facilities
in Mapleton, but will seek a partnership with
another entity to defray costs.
The floating restroom project, being funded
by the Oregon State Marine Board (OSMB),
has resurfaced.
See
Scoreboard
Sports
Tides
Weather
Big Night Buzz
Tara Lewis and Paul and Tanya Garrett pause for the paparazzi on their way to watch the live
broadcast of the Oscars presentation Feb. 22 at City Lights Cinemas. The gala event, complete with
red carpet photos, was a fundraiser for local charities. According to movie theater co-owner Michael
Falter, the event raised nearly $500. Tanya Garrett won the competition for Best Dressed.
Travel Lane County markets the coast
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
Florence City Council received
an update from Kari Westlund,
president and CEO of Travel Lane
County, who explained budget and
marketing strategies involving the
coastal area.
Travel Lane County is a private
corporation that invests funds gen-
erated through the 9 percent Lane
County and Florence Transient
Room Tax (TRT) as well as funds
from Travel Oregon, which
Your
INSIDE
W E D N E S D AY
Classifieds
B7
Library Tidings A5
Opinion
A4
Police
A2
PORT 7A
PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAEL FALTER
B4
B
B1
A2
Weather
T ODAY
T HURSDAY
F RIDAY
S ATURDAY
Mostly
cloudy
54
45
Clouds
& rain
54
46
Clouds
& rain
53
41
Mostly
sunny
55
39
receives the 1 percent statewide
TRT.
“We’re responsible to go out and
market the Eugene, Cascades and
coast areas as a visitor destination.
The more people we bring in to
meet our mission of increasing
overnight visitors, the more room
tax there is and the more money we
have to go out and do our job,”
said Westlund.
The coastal economy captures
25 percent of visitor spending in
Lane County.
She said, “Because you have so
much recreation and so many jew-
els here, people come over and
play. They may not always spend
the night, but they are spending
money in your local economy.”
She added, “Hotel visitors are
generating about 40 percent of vis-
itor spending. They are the most
lucrative target. That’s why our
mission is focused on overnight
visitors staying in commercial
accommodations, whether that is a
hotel or a campground.”
Travel Lane County is running
advertising campaigns, such as
Sports—B
commercials on television and
online and print ads.
Visitors can go online to
www.eugenecascadescoast.org to
see the custom landing page and
view the video advertisement that
also can be seen in Portland mar-
kets. They also have a TripAdvisor
platform.
“We participated in an Oregon
coast travel show to be broadcast
on television and on Alaskan
Airlines in-flight,” Westlund said.
See
MARKET 7A