SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015
The second way to deter-
mine value was to use a recent
appraisal of a vacated alley
north of Florence. That amount
came to $5 per square foot, or
$12,850 for the appraisal value.
“The value received would
go towards the streets fund,”
Southerland said. “The city
council would just have to
determine which value they
would like to use. The appli-
cant also reserves the right to
direct the city to hire an
appraiser, at (the applicant’s)
cost, to determine a different
value.”
Councilor George Lyddon
said, “Since we want to help
business owners expand and
develop, … they want to vacate
this property to progress their
plans. It would be, I think, in
our best interest to help them
and accommodate them in val-
uation of the alley.”
“As Councilor Lyddon said,
I think we need to be fair if
we’re going to try to encourage
owners,” Mayor Joe Henry
said. “I certainly don’t think we
should go for the higher.”
Councilor Susy Lacer said,
“I looked at those two values,
and my first inclination was to
go with the lower value to pro-
mote business development, as
that’s something that this coun-
cil has made a priority. The
other side of that is the higher
dollar amount means more
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money into our streets fund.
It’s a balancing act, as (is) so
much of what we do up here.”
“I’d like to see a value that’s
fair for both sides. I think $5
per square foot is low and I
think $14.95 per square foot is
pretty high,” said Councilor
Joshua Greene.
All five councilors agreed
that the higher valuation would
be too high for the property
owner.
Lyddon said, “We want to
set a precedent. We want to
make a word in this town of,
‘Yes we can help you and
we’re here to help you.’ If we
start this off the right way and
develop a reputation of being
helpful … I think it will go a
long way and will pay divi-
dends much more down the
road, as opposed to right now.”
“That alley has no value, if
you get right down to it,”
Henry said. “We had stated that
as a council we would make it
business friendly, user friendly.
We’ve talked about the fact that
doing business in Florence is
costing Florence business
because of the fees that we
charge in economic develop-
ment. … If an alley has no
value, it seems that $5 per
square foot is a fair amount.”
When put to a vote, howev-
er, the council decided that $5
per square foot was slightly too
low.
Councilor Ron Preisler said,
“That valuation of $5 per
square foot has nothing to do
with the prime real estate in
town. I think that the city coun-
cil is showing good faith
towards the community by
modifying and not using the
$14.95 per square foot.”
Greene said, “It sets a prece-
dent for us to work with in the
future. It does bring another 30
percent more money, which we
do need ultimately, especially
for streets.”
The council voted 3-2 to
value the vacated alley at $7 per
square foot, or approximately
$17,990. An application fee of
$3,000 to initiate the vacation
also would be required.
Now, the issue will go to the
Planning Commission for a
public hearing Tuesday, March
10, at 7 p.m. in City Hall. It
will then return to the city
council for final approval.
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Siuslaw fire department
consults community
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
Siuslaw Valley Fire and
Rescue (SVFR) held its first
meetings to gather information
for a new five-year strategic
plan on March 3. Internal staff,
volunteer firefighters and com-
munity members met in three
meetings throughout the day.
Jack Snook, president of
Emergency Services Consulting
International (ESCI), led the
meeting for the 18 community
members at 6:30 p.m.
“With the Siuslaw Valley fire
department, their whole purpose
is to serve you and to serve the
needs you have in the communi-
ty,” he said. “Basically, in sim-
plest forms, we take input from
the community regarding
expectations, concerns and pos-
itive feedback that you have for
the fire department. We think
that’s important for them to get
feedback from you.”
“You folks were all selected
because of your positions in the
community, your knowledge of
the community, and probably,
your feel for what the expecta-
tions are for the district in your
community,” SVFR Board
President John Scott said.
Fire Chief Jim Langborg said,
“This being Florence, every-
body is involved in some type of
volunteer organization, at some
level, on top of their job, so I
know how valued your time is.
This is extremely important to
your fire district. You’re going
to help us determine where
we’re going to be going in the
next three to five years. As far as
Rhody
from 1A
Kiwanis President Bob
Sneddon said, “We adopted the
park three or four years ago and
we’ve not done a lot on it. ...
We’ve done stuff quietly.”
Kiwanians have worked
since then to clear weeds, but
haven’t had a big work day yet.
Saturday, April 11, is Kiwanis
One Day, when Kiwanis clubs
around the world volunteer in
community service projects.
Local Kiwanis members will
work with the Rhody Court sen-
iors to give a “facelift” to the
park, according to Sneddon.
Volunteers will freshen the
bark mulch, weed the area,
prune the native plants that
Ternyik planted, plant more
I’m concerned, as the chief,
you’re the end user. You’re the
customer. Your opinion is some
of the most valuable we’re
obtaining in this project.”
Community members spent
more than two hours analyzing
SVFR’s strengths, challenges
and the expectations the com-
munity has for the fire depart-
ment.
“At the same time we’ve also
called the volunteer firefighters
together and we’re doing some
work with them,” Snook said.
“We’re trying to determine the
strengths of the organization
from their perspective: the
weaknesses,
opportunities,
threats and challenges. They’re
doing the same thing from an
internal perspective. They will
look at the list of services and
say what they think the priorities
are. We’re asking them if there’s
additional services that the fire
department should consider.”
Earlier in the day, Snook and
his ESCI colleague Mike
Hansen met with SVFR’s inter-
nal stakeholders, its staff of
seven.
Snook said, “We’re going to
spend another day with them
after we input your information
tonight and what the volunteers
have to say.”
“Everybody in the organiza-
tion should have their hands on
this by the time we’re done. Of
course the community, you’re
going to have a big part in that
too. It should be a working doc-
ument that should be a guide
and a map for the organization
for the next three to five years,”
he said.
shrubs and possibly add more
flowers.
“I think it’s great,” Sneddon
said. “A lot of what we do in
Kiwanis is aimed at developing
youth and leadership. This fits
right in with our stated direc-
tives. This is an opportunity for
them to create a legacy and
leave an impact.”
Wobbe said, “We really want
this to be a gift to the communi-
ty that could be seen by the
30,000 who come to Florence
on Rhody Fest weekend. And
it’s something to present to the
city council as a gift.”
Community members may
join the 2015 Rhody Court and
Kiwanis on April 11 to hear
from Ternyik about the care of
native plants and to help with
the landscaping.
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