6 A SIUSLAW NEWS
Port
❚ SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2017
from 1A
This led to a greater discussion as to the
role of the port in the overall direction of
Old Town and the City of Florence.
Some members of the public stated the
port had become bogged down, focusing
strictly on moorage and its campground.
The port was missing opportunities to
expand into greater commercial and
tourist ventures.
Beer and wine tasting came up multiple
times in the meeting as a possible entry-
way into that arena.
City of Florence Public Arts Committee
member Harlen Springer stated that multi-
ple parties in Florence have been attempt-
ing to bring a craft brewery to the area, but
had little success for various reasons.
“There’s a small group of people who
are trying to get this done,” he said. “You
need to get with them and say, ‘We will
take the lead on this as a port.’ You could
find a space for a winery down here. That
would be a major coup for everybody.”
Pat Sapp, who runs the Vintage Blue
Warehouse Estate Sales on port property,
said she had thought about having a
Ambulance
from 1A
address an unusual issue that
had surfaced earlier in the
month. Langborg detailed an
incident the SVFR had involv-
ing a complaint made to the
Florence Police Department.
The complaint, suggesting
that fiscal improprieties were
taking place at WLAD, was
made anonymously.
Langborg was adamant in his
response to the complaint, stat-
ing that there was no basis for
the concern. He cited recent
reports from outside audits.
“I advised (Florence Police)
Chief Turner that both WLAD
and SVFR are in the process
of our annual audits and onsite
reviews of our administr-
ative processes. Our finance
practices
were
recently
completed. During the on-site
portion of the audit process,
I spoke with the auditors and
Squad
from 1A
“The Nerd Squad has
gone through a variety of
activities and interests over
the years,” Mielke said.
“This includes the making of
a movie, ‘Robotapocalypse,’
in 2015, which was written,
directed, acted and edited
entirely
by
the
Nerd
Squad.”
microbrewery in the building.
Sapp leases the building from the port.
One of the reasons her brewery plan didn’t
come to fruition was that the lease restrict-
ed her activities to estate sales only.
“Changes can be made,” Commissioner
Nancy Rickard said about the lease.
“We are up for discussion with a new
lease for you,” Duman added. “I’m glad
you came tonight, it’s good to have you as
a tenant.”
One of the overriding sentiments during
the meeting was the need for the port to
work with other public entities.
Siuslaw Watershed Council member
Megan Gerber thanked Rickard for always
attending the council’s meetings, and said
she could foresee the port working more
closely with the council. She recommend-
ed the two entities could partner on nox-
ious weed control, and also work toward
greater collaboration on tourism prospects
like kayak trips.
Working with the City of Florence was
frequently brought up, with the hope that
the port would work hand in hand with the
city in building a broader economic vision
for the community.
Ideas included hotels on the waterfront,
interactive museums on the past, building
a visitor center extension on port property
and fostering recreational activities, such
as a fishing dock and upriver boating
excursions.
The two storage facilities located on
the port campground were also dis-
cussed. While the commission stated the
buildings have a lot of life left to them,
the sparrow population that has moved
into the facility is creating problems for
the renters.
“I
rented
space
in
there
for a number of years,” Commissioner
Bill Meyer said. “But the droppings from
the sparrows can ruin a boat. I had to pull
it out of there.”
While one member of the public sug-
gested upgrading the buildings to accom-
modate more storage and discourage the
sparrows from coming back, another
member of the public said it may be an
economic boon for the port to tear the
buildings down altogether.
National Forest Service campground
manager Larry Ferguson, whose last
duty station was around the McKenzie
River area, felt that the space would be
better used for RV pull through sites or a
place to store a boat overnight.
“There are 30 sites at $38 dollars a
day,” he said. “That’s $1,000 a day in
revenue that we’re passing up.”
But ultimately, Ferguson wondered if
the port should even be in the business of
running a campground. Instead, the port
could privatize the facility, as many
National Forest Service sites already do.
“You eliminate the need for in-house
people that really don’t know anything
about a campground,” he said.
While the port would hold oversight
of the private company and take in fees,
it could ultimately save money by elimi-
nating the need for constant upkeep and
upgrades, as those responsibilities would
fall to the private company.
The overwhelming feeling of the
evening was that of support for the Port
of Siuslaw.
Longtime moorage resident Michelle
Culwell wanted to see a sign at the
entrance of port property, an idea that
had been suggested earlier in the month
by McClure.
“I want the port to get credit for the
good that it’s done,” Culwell said.
It was suggested that the artwork
have not been informed of
any detected findings or suspi-
cion of fraud, theft or misappro-
priation of funds,” Langborg
said. “I also advised Turner
that the two consultants who
visited our districts to conduct
the reviews did not report
any findings of illegal,
unethical or inappropriate prac-
tices.”
Langborg continued his
defense of the departments by
announcing the hiring of a new
employee. This will assist in
clarifying and eventually elimi-
nating the confusion surround-
ing the accounting practices for
both districts.
“I am bringing in a very
experienced interim admin-
istrator with a strong back-
ground in government finance
and administration to serve
as our interim office manager,”
Langborg
said.
“Another
consultant will be here to
review our payroll in more
detail, to ensure we have not
missed anything and to verify
the accuracy of our payroll cal-
culations.”
The chief then introduced
Interim Manager Ross Schultz
to the board. Schultz made a
short presentation, noting for
the record he had only been
onsite for two days and had
made a perfunctory examina-
tion of the records.
This examination has turned
up no irregularities
Langborg went on to
emphasize to the board that
these steps were not being taken
because he felt there was any
illegal or unethical conduct, but
as a way of validating the dis-
tricts’ accounting and payroll
procedures.
“I have requested that our
auditor prepare a written state-
ment that indicates they have
not detected any illegal activity
during this year’s audit in either
organization,” he said.
Langborg then went on to
acknowledge problems that
have been brought to his atten-
tion and stressed the proactive
approach he has taken to elimi-
nate any further issues of this
type.
“I have mandated our man-
agement team to have a new
time keeping process in
place by Jan. 1. Our current
system is problematic and
adds to the probability of pay-
roll errors. This is an ob-
vious and easy fix for some of
our errors, and you will be
hearing more about this in
the weeks to come,” Langborg
said.
The board had few questions
for Langborg, noting his will-
ingness to address issues and
problems as they arose.
The directors also appl-
auded his willingness to
institute any changes that
would improve district proce-
dures.
He said that students envi-
sioned an apocalyptic scenario
at Siuslaw Middle School,
where rogue robots attacked
until student heroes defeated
them with science.
“Another common staple
throughout the years is the film-
ing of our morning announce-
ments, where students present a
newscast announcing that day’s
events,” Mielke said.
Marohl has fairly high expec-
tations for the school district’s
teams, and thinks the experi-
ence gained by the students is
valuable.
“My expectations for the
Lego Robotics tournament is to
provide a fun and competitive
experience for our students,” he
said.
Siuslaw is sending three
teams to the Lego tournament
this year. Each team will com-
pete three times at the
Challenge table.
“The teams’ Core Values
presentation will demonstrate
how they are a team; how they
work
to
find
solutions
with guidance from adults; that
they learn together; they honor
the spirit of friendly competi-
tion; how it’s more import to
discover and learn than it is to
win and that the shared experi-
ence is quite valuable,” Marohl
said.
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located near the boardwalk be a place for
the sign. Springer gave the history of that
piece of art, “Florence Scenic Column”
by Kat Cunningham, in relation to public
art in the area.
“When we came down here three or
four years ago, we just wanted to put up
some art,” he said. “We came to the port,
and the port said it would give you the
space. Whatever happens with public art
in the community started right here. And
I want to acknowledge that. The first
piece of public art started here.”
At the end of the night, the commis-
sion thanked the audience for giving
their support to the port, and giving help-
ful suggestions.
“You’ve got some great ideas, but you
also need to come back and help us,”
Commissioner Mike Buckwald said.
“There’s only five of us on our staff.
We’re going to need people with the
energy and the foresight to help move
forward and accomplish these things.”
Duman added, “Come to every meet-
ing.”
The Port of Siuslaw’s next public input
meeting will be held on Wednesday, Jan.
6.
from 1A
Rice continued, “I don’t think
it’s necessarily a concern that the
Stellar sea lions are going to sud-
denly get sick with it. It’s been in
the California sea lion population
for decades. It’s nothing new. It’s
just a recurring disease process
that happens every few years.”
The general window for the
outbreaks is between September
and December, and Rice has seen
a decline in reported cases in the
past two weeks.
“We haven’t had nearly as
many reports than we have had in
the previous eight to 10 weeks,”
Rice said. “Part of that might be
the weather is getting rainier on
the beaches, and there may be ani-
mals that aren’t being reported
because people aren’t seeing
them.
“But I also suspect that as time
goes on, this disease process does
run its course. And those animals
that have become ill will pass.
And those that are able to fight it
off will most likely be able to
make it through the season.”
For those concerned about the
disease spreading to pets, Rice
encouraged vaccinations.
“I’ve talked to my own veteri-
narian about it and others, and
they support vaccinations for
dogs,” he said. “I’ve had my own
dog vaccinated. I think it’s a good
idea in general.”
But the best way to prevent the
spread of leptospirosis to pets is to
just stay away from the sea lions
all together.
“If you see a sea lion on the
beach, just use common sense,”
Rice said. “Just keep your dog on
a leash and away from the lions.
These animals can spread other
diseases as well. Leptospirosis is
just one thing that they potentially
have, just like all wildlife. You
wouldn’t want your dog playing
with a raccoon.”
The disease is spread through
direct contact of urine or other
bodily fluids.
“Unless a dog gets up close to
an alive, dead or affected sea lion
and ingests some of its urine, it’s
not likely to get infected,” Rice
said.
Not only is it safer to stay away
from the sea lions to prevent dis-
ease, Rice believed, it’s better for
the sea lions as well.
“When you see a sea lion on the
beach, if it’s alive, it’s often there
because it wants to get out of the
water and get some rest,” Rice
said. “Its body is telling it to take
some time away from the water.
And we need to respect that. We
need to give them a chance to
recover their strength when they
get on shore. And if people are
constantly coming up to them and
approaching them, it’s just going
to stress them out and make their
job just that more difficult.”
Anyone who observes a sick
sea lion should stay at least 50 feet
away from the animal and call
Oregon State police dispatchers at
1-800-452-7888.
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