SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2018
Development
from 6A
you have seen that there are a
whole lot of things going on in
town, and some great ideas being
planned,” Henry said.
Zahas, who, with Leland
Consulting Group and Murray,
Smith and Associates Civil
Engineering, presented at the
meeting, said, “We looked at
Florence’s assets and strengths
we can play off toward the goal
of economic opportunity and
development in the Urban
Renewal District and the Old
Town area. Tonight, we are trans-
lating those ideas into opportuni-
ties.”
The consulting groups wanted
to focus on housing, employment
and other revitalization goals by
looking at businesses, culture,
the Siuslaw Public Library,
Florence City Hall, parks, public
art and open spaces.
“We work in communities of
all sizes and we usually see half
the turnout in cities twice as big,”
Zahas said of the 150 people who
attended. “It’s a testament to
your commitment to your city
and what you see as the potential
for Florence.”
Throughout 2016, city staff,
councilors, committee members
and the community worked to
market Florence, develop a pub-
lic art plan, maintain and
improve parks and streets and
begin pursuing a Coast Guard
City designation.
Florence was also named the
“most beautiful town” in
America by Expedia.
In June, Lane County present-
ed the Rural Prosperity Initiative,
a program that will offer a coor-
dinated support system that
draws on local expertise, builds
capacity and caters to the indi-
vidual needs of rural communi-
ties. Lane County also budgeted
for a county economic develop-
ment liaison dedicated specifical-
ly to rural areas.
“We came to the conclusion
that successful economic devel-
opment emphasizes community
development, capacity building
and collaboration,” Hatfield
Fellow Aniko Drlik-Muehleck
said. “Economic development is
not a standalone thing. It requires
an entire community.”
Florence’s partners have been
LCC and its Small Business
Development Center, South
Coast Development Council,
Florence Area Chamber of
Commerce, RAIN, Lane Council
of Governments, Travel Lane
County, Oregon Department of
Transportation and more.
Florence City Councilor
Joshua Greene said, “I’m just
happy to hear that the county
realizes the asset that we have to
offer and the fact that we can
help each other.”
That July, after Florence
wrapped up the 109th annual
Rhody Days and the annual
Fourth of July celebration, both
chamber events, new Chamber
Executive Director Bettina
Hannigan addressed Florence
City Council. In 2015-16, the
chamber brought in $2.3 million
at its various events.
“Stable economic develop-
ment, tourism, education and
community all play a signature
part of the chamber’s overall
focus,” Hannigan said. “We can
all agree that we want to see a
city that brings opportunities for
our families and our children.”
In August, State Sen. Arnie
Roblan and State Rep. Caddie
McKeown held their fifth annual
Oregon
Coastal
Caucus
Economic Summit in North
Bend. The main takeaway for the
Florence City Council was about
housing and economic develop-
ment, issues that affect much of
Oregon’s coastal properties.
“Right now, the housing mar-
ket is tight in Florence,” Henry
said. “There’s a major demand
that’s almost crisis proportion.
And that’s both coast-wide and
all over the state of Oregon.”
After a conversation with
Siuslaw Outreach Services’ Bob
Teter, Henry said, “Up and down
the coast, we’re trying to get
employers and help schools
develop qualified trained work-
ers. One of the obstacles we keep
running into is, if we keep bring-
ing these people into town,
where are they going to live?”
Reynolds said looking at
Florence’s city services may pro-
vide part of an answer.
“We’re in the business of pro-
viding a chance for businesses to
thrive and grow here,” she said.
“We’re committed to having a
great street infrastructure sys-
tem, providing a good quality of
life for our people and being
where people want to live and
work. More importantly to eco-
nomic development, we are
committed to being a place you
want to have your business.
Whether it grows, stays or adds
employees, we hope it brings
new money into our community
and increases the quality of life
for everyone.”
The caucus also allowed
Florence a moment to shine as
Henry introduced the panel:
“Small Town, Big Ideas: The
Role of Eco Tourism, Innovation
and Entrepreneurship.”
“The panel talked about
Florence — and our small com-
munities on the coast — and
some of the small successes that
we’ve had with economic devel-
opment and tourism,” Henry
said.
RAIN’s Cummings also pre-
sented during the panel.
“I had the opportunity to
speak about our successes and
how Florence has stepped up to
be the first rural coastal commu-
nity to implement a formal entre-
preneurial partnership with
RAIN,” she said.
RAIN sealed the partnership
Nov. 1, 2016, with the hiring of
David Youngentob as the coastal
venture catalyst to work with
Florence and Lincoln County
startups. He had previously
worked with rural communities
“Is Coastal Living
in Jeopardy?”
Series List
This series covers the current hous-
ing and employment crisis facing the
Siuslaw region. Through in-depth
interviews with government offi-
cials, volunteer organizations, prop-
erty managers and employers, the
series examines the problems facing
the region, the solutions that the
community is working on and what
the community can do to help.
Nov. 15: SOS
Nov. 22: State of housing
Nov. 29: How we got here
Dec. 6: Time to step up
Dec. 13: Volunteer economy
Dec. 27: Jobs and workforce
Jan. 3: Economic Development
This exploration of the Siuslaw
region will include education on
Jan. 3 and conclude on Jan. 17.
The series is available online at thesiuslawnews.com, or in print by request.
and entrepreneur support groups,
as well as being an entrepreneur
who started his own traded-sec-
tor bio-science company.
“We decided that the coastal
market needs a rigorous pro-
gram. David will be looking at
revamping our pre-accelerator
course since there are differing
needs on the coast,” Cummings
said. “The intention is that entre-
preneurs will feel certain they
have a market for their product
— and possibly even be selling
by the time the course is com-
plete.”
On Oct. 24, Oregon Economic
Development
Association
awarded RAIN the Outstanding
Collaborative Award in recogni-
tion of the work done to fuel the
region’s economy through an
entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Also in November, Florence
selected entrepreneur Jesse
Dolin as the city’s economic
development catalyst to focus on
Florence’s 1,500 businesses and
use staff time to pursue partner-
ships, grants and support eco-
nomic development efforts.
“To have someone who can
always say this is their priority
— growth of our community —
that’s an amazing thing that the
Florence City Council decided to
fund,” Reynolds said.
Dolin said, “I believe in con-
necting people to make things
happen. … So much comes from
collaboration and partnerships.
It’s amazing what can happen
when everyone rallies together
to go after mutually beneficial
game plans.”
Florence wrapped up 2016
with a council retreat.
Henry said, “A summary of
the results achieved in 2016
reflected 155 action items in the
work plan, with 101 of those
marked ‘completed.’ … Florence
truly is a ‘City in Motion’ and
the momentum created by an
outstanding 2016 will carry the
city forward into 2017 and
beyond.”
2017 — ‘T HAT IS THE F UTURE ’
Momentum continued into
2017 as FURA began finalizing
plans for ReVision Florence with
the city and ODOT.
“We want cars to slow down
and people to say, ‘Hey, look at
this wonderful little town,’”
FURA Chairman Greene said.
“If we take Highway 101 and
convert it into a more modern,
pedestrian friendly boulevard, it
will entice investment. …
FURA, the city council and the
mayor believe that this can also
start economic investment and
development. We want to bring
Old Town up to Highway 101.
That is the future.”
Florence worked on several
projects throughout the year,
including planning the Florence
City Hall remodel, which should
begin January 2018, completing
the Rhody Drive Shoulder
Expansion Project and transi-
tioning to a biannual budget.
Florence Finance Director
Parks said the city’s focus on
five-year forecasting created a
cultural environment that would
facilitate moving to biannual
budgeting.
Reynolds said, “We have
found a lot of our city projects
end up being 18 to 24 months
long. We have been administer-
ing and planning for that long.
Administratively, it feels like we
are doing it already.”
On Feb. 6, Florence City
Council approved its latest City
Work Plan to include elements
of the new biannual budget
cycles.
Reynolds described the docu-
ment as “robust” and said it
showed validation for the city’s
work plan objectives.
“With that, we are always in
motion, and we’re always think-
ing of how to be better and work
faster or be more efficient,”
Reynolds said.
Councilor Susy Lacer, “We
have a lot of disruptions going
on around our city — bumpy
roads, construction, detours and
a fair number of inconveniences
— but that’s what happens when
you are ‘A City in Motion’ with
our goals and very ambitious
work plan. These are temporary
disruptions on the road to
becoming the kind of communi-
ty that we all want it to be.”
For Lacer, those disruptions
were part of the progress the city
underwent, including improved
water flow thanks to work done
by Florence Public Works and
new paint on Rhododendron
Drive, between Ninth and
Hemlock streets, to mark two
six-foot bike lanes.
In March, FURA and Florence
City Council voted to continue
to pursue ReVision Florence,
even after the project’s totals
reached $7.4 million.
FURA Director Mike Webb
said, “I moved to Florence in
1988. (ODOT) had just widened
Highway 101 north of Highway
126. A lot of things changed after
that. The investment was made
and it dramatically changed the
town. Sometimes you have an
opportunity to do something.”
FURA Director Patricia Riley
added, “If we do this right, the
long-term benefits will be huge.
This is the kind of thing that
(urban renewal) investment dol-
lars should be spent on.”
March also saw the visit of
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to
Florence. More than 35 people,
representatives from Port of
Siuslaw, City of Florence,
Florence Area Chamber of
Commerce, RAIN, and Florence
Regional Arts Alliance(FRAA)
joined Brown to hear about the
area’s economic vitality and
recent efforts to increase devel-
opment, create partnerships with
regional organizations, improve
infrastructure and more.
“I’m certainly committed to
moving Oregon forward,”
Brown said. “We’ve made
incredible progress over the past
couple years and I want to make
sure we continue that forward
march. Oregon is a place where
everyone can thrive.”
After tours to the Siuslaw
River Bridge Interpretive Center
and the FRAA Art Center in
Historic Old Town, as well as
Top Hydraulics at the Pacific
View Business Park and more,
Brown said, “This is a place that
truly has that innovative spirit.”
Brown also held an informa-
tional town hall at Siuslaw
Valley Fire and Rescue Station
No. 1.
One attendee said, “I would
also like to encourage everyone
to come up with solutions. This
one person cannot answer all the
questions.”
Brown answered, “What I
love about Oregon is we are
truly a state of entrepreneurs and
ssociated
ervices
orporation
Aft er 26 years of business
in Florence and Mapleton,
ASC has been merged into
Holloway and Associates,
LLC CPAs.
We thank all of our clients for
allowing us to serve you over the
years. Now, please enjoy the services
of Karla Holloway and her team of
professionals located at
733 Highway 101.
Th anks for the memories.
If you have any questions
please contact
541-997-3434
7 A
innovators, and you are so right.
I can’t do this alone. Mayor Joe
can’t do this on his own. ... This
is definitely a team effort.”
She added, “I’m falling in
love with this little town. We just
really appreciate everything
you’re doing to move this city
and the region forward. ... I look
forward to working with you as
we make this region a place
where everyone can thrive and
open the doors of opportunity.”
Last May, Florence Economic
Development Catalyst Dolin
reported that the city has started
to see fruit from a long period of
sowing into new and expanding
businesses.
“Florence really does care
about this community,” he said.
“This is a unique town, where
everyone feels connected and
wants to be a part of the city
being as vibrant as possible. It is
a place where a healthy business
and a healthy lifestyle can go
hand in hand.”
Between 2016-17, three busi-
nesses purchased lots at Pacific
View Business Park. Top
Hydraulics, owned by Klaus and
Maria Witte, was the first.
“This business is going to pro-
vide jobs for the community and
provide more of a tax base to
improve the city,” Maria said.
“We are moving forward in a
way that is responsible to the
community, the city and the
land, and also to encourage
growth here.”
According to Klaus, every-
one, from the Florence Planning
Department to area contractors,
made the experience a good
move for his business, which
rebuilds hydraulic parts for more
than 30 brands of modern con-
vertible vehicles. It is a niche
market located in Florence that
ships all over the world.
Maria said, “You see con-
struction going on around town.
It’s not just road construction,
but buildings and things happen-
ing and new business. It’s excit-
ing, this momentum.”
In June, RAIN held a show-
case for its 11 Coastal Pre-
Accelerator startups from Lane
and Lincoln counties. Pre-
Accelerators began in March in
Florence and Lincoln City, with
six entrepreneurs attending the
Florence group and five attend-
ing Lincoln City. Each cohort
covered a range of topics includ-
ing marketing and sales, finan-
cials and business modeling, and
pitching and fundraising. They
addressed these topics through
seminars and workshops, group
and one-on-one mentoring, one-
page business plans and more.
Coastal Venture Catalyst
Youngentob said, “RAIN helps
startup ventures that are being
founded here on the coast launch
and grow their businesses faster
so they can reach customers all
over country, and potentially the
world. With our partners, we’ve
been administering a three-
month boot camp for startup
founders. These people are your
neighbors that you probably
already know. These are folks
that are trying to launch a com-
pany from scratch.”
On July 10, City of Florence
signed official intergovernmen-
tal agreements (IGA) with
ODOT and FURA for ReVision
Florence. It is the first time
ODOT has recognized an urban
renewal agency with an IGA.
“What we’re pulling off with
this ReVision involves a lot of
moving parts, a lot of partner-
ships and something new,” said
Greene. “What we are doing as a
community is something that has
not been done in the state in the
way that we’re doing it. A lot of
eyeballs are watching, some
hopeful and some tentative. This
is really a methodology that
other small, rural communities
can embrace in the future.”
Reynolds agreed, saying, “It
is very exciting to be making
history with ODOT.”
In August, Florence became
the 24th Coast Guard City in
America.
U.S. Coast Guard 13th
District
Commander
Rear
Admiral David Throop presided.
He said, “It is great to be here to
honor the City of Florence,
which has had a 100-year rela-
tionship with your U.S. Coast
Guard. I knew I was coming into
a special place when I saw those
American flags flying. It has
continued to get more special
every passing minute as I spent a
little more time here and had the
chance to meet some of you.”
See
DEVELOPMENT 8A