SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2016
City
from 1A
Then he listed specific suc-
cesses, such as resurfacing
parts of Rhododendron Drive,
determining city code in
regards to the sale of medical
and recreational marijuana and
developing the Economic
Development and Public Arts
committees.
“Our second broad goal was
to sustain and improve the
city’s livability and quality of
life for Florence residents and
visitors. This goal is an impor-
tant aspect of all of the goals,”
Henry said.
City staff focused on parks
funding and development last
year, with $240,000 dedicated
to parks in the current 2015-16
budget year.
Henry said, “We are part of
discussions for improving the
soccer program in Florence by
reconfiguring the south section
11 A
of Miller Park and adding a
soccer field to be a public
amenity.”
Three committees also
sought to address livability:
Environmental Management
Advisory Committee, Transit
Advisory Committee and the
new Public Arts Committee.
Henry noted that several of
the goals were intertwined
together.
“Our next major goal was to
create a strategy and actions
aimed towards sustaining and
expanding the Florence econo-
my,” he said.
The Florence Urban
Renewal Agency, Economic
Development Committee and
the city planning department
are working with Lane
County Economic
Development Department,
South Coast Development
Council and Regional
Accelerator and Innovation
Network (RAIN) to bring and
CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS
(541) 997-6111
375 9th St
Florence, OR 97439
www.spruce-point.com
Learn how to embrace life changes while managing your health
Maintaining a Positive Mental Outlook on Life
Thursday, January 21st, 2pm
Learn How to Keep Your Memory Sharp
Thursday, February 18th, 2pm
Diabetes and Diet—Making Food Choices
That Work for You
Thursday, March 17th, 2pm
We invite you to
join us.
Florence Mayor Joe Henry meets members of the Siuslaw Middle School choir before his State of the City address
last Thursday. The students sang the National Anthem to open the address at the Florence Events Center.
expand businesses in the
area.
The fourth goal was to sus-
tain and improve the city’s
communication program and
strengthen citizen trust. The
city has accomplished that by
increasing council and staff
involvement in community
activities and events and by
increasing social media avail-
ability.
“The mayor, councilors and
staff have spoken at many
homeowners associations,
social and civic clubs to get
the message out that we are a
‘City in Motion’ and to
encourage others to be
involved,” Henry said.
The final goal was to sustain
and improve the city’s finan-
cial position and organization-
al structure.
Interim Finance Director
Andy Parks and City Manager
Erin Reynolds were vital in
preparing a balanced budget,
updating and improving the
long-term financial plan and
increasing efforts on employee
training.
“As we move into yet
another budget season, the city
will need to explore financing
for streets, economic develop-
ment, emergency management
and parks while providing all
of our essential services,”
Henry said.
Now, the council and staff
are finalizing goals for 2016.
Follow Chantelle on Twitter
@SNews_Chantelle. Email her
at cmeyer@thesiuslawnews.com.
Watershed
eries and hydrology, horticul-
ture, timber and wildlife and
to discuss road issues.
A lively exchange between
residents and Bauer over con-
cerns ranging from road clo-
sures to herbicide use preced-
ed the group gathering around
the three tables to get specific
questions answered.
Before the table discussions
began, Greg Lindsey read a
prepared statement to the
group recapping the history of
Mapleton and the surrounding
area and lamenting the loss of
timber revenue jobs.
“At the end of the ’70s and
’80s we started to see a shift in
the harvest levels and the spot-
ted owl became the focus of
our forest service and jobs
began to go away,” Lindsey
said.
Lindsey requested a 90-day
extension to the Jan. 30 com-
ment deadline the forest serv-
ice was proposing.
“We, as concerned citizens,
are asking the forest service to
stop all activities in the
Siuslaw National Forest until
an assessment can be done,”
Lindsey said. “We want the
government to use our tax dol-
lars to have an assessment
done by three different private
timber consulting firms. We
request that the deadline you
have of Jan. 30 be extended
for 90 days for us to gather
information regarding this
matter.”
In response, the forest serv-
ice has decided to suspend the
Jan. 30 deadline.
District Ranger Michele
Jones said, “We want to find
solutions that meet the needs
of the community and the for-
est service. Making sure the
community has been heard and
that we work together is more
important than a deadline at
this time.”
Jones said the forest service
was not expecting the large
turnout and that the format for
the meeting was too crowded
to be able to address every-
one’s concerns.
She said, “In the future, we
will be contacting land owners
to meet with them. I know
they have some very specific
interest related to their private
lands.”
According to Jones, the for-
est service is working on set-
ting up larger venues for
future meetings to better
accommodate the number of
interested participants.
Comments can be submitted
to District Ranger Michele
Jones, c/o Donni Vogel, P.O.
Box 400, Waldport, OR
97394.
Email comments can be sent
to comments-pacificnorthwest-
siuslaw-centralcoast@fs.fed.
us. Include “Indian Creek
Landscape Management
Project” in the subject line.
from 1A
invasive plants following most
project activities,” Bauer said.
Three tables were set up
with forest service personnel
to answer questions about fish-
•Wednesday, 7 p.m. - Family Connections
•Sunday, 9:00 a.m. - Bible Study
•Sunday, 10:30 a.m. - Worship Service
Corner of 10th & Maple St. • 541-997-3533
www.florencecrossroad.org
email: office@florencecrossroad.org
541-999-5083
HOLLOWAY & ASSOCIATES, LLC
Certified Public Accountants
733 Highway 101, (across from Safeway) • Ph #541-997-3434
We specialize in
Karla D. Holloway
CPA
Tax Strategies
Bookkeeping and Accounting Services
Payroll Services
Preparation of Tax Returns
for Individuals
Corporation
LLC’s
Estates & Trusts
Business Consulting
Quickbooks Installation & Training
Serving Florence for 37 years
Proud to be a Florence and Reedsport-Winchester Bay Chamber member.
Rod McCulloch
CPA
Call Now
For Your
Complimentary
Consultation!
“A sneak peek into the City
Council’s goals for 2016 will
be a continuation of the 2015
goals in a more condensed and
focused manner,” Henry said.
“We expect 2016 to be filled
with staff activity focused on
completing the work that was
started in 2015.”
__________
Port
from 1A
“This presents a win-win
opportunity for the Port of
Siuslaw, the public, the envi-
ronment and the local econo-
my,” Caputo said.
Prior to closing the regular
session and opening an exec-
utive session to discuss other
real property transactions,
commissioner
Nancy
Rickard presented the design
that was chosen by port staff
for the port’s “Dancing with
Sea Lions” art project, spon-
sored by the Florence Events
Center to commemorate its
20th anniversary.
The life-size fiberglass sea
lion is one of 20 that will be
painted by local artists and
displayed in Florence and the
surrounding area this spring
and summer.
Ron Hildenbrand submit-
ted the design that the port
chose. The finished piece will
go on display in April.
__________
Follow Jack on Twitter
@SNews_Jack. Email him at
jack@thesiuslawnews.com.
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
Liing Life to the Fullest & Feeling Younger Longer