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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 2018)
6 A SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2018 Housing from 1A “In looking at our need for workforce housing, the communi- ty has actually met with a lot of different potential developers to try to figure out which sites would be most viable,” Weese said. “Since the senior center was moved, the city has always intend- ed for that property to be used for housing of some sort. We feel that the 15th Street site is the fastest turnaround potential for a work- force housing site, and that’s why we want to propose it for this grant process.” Councilor Ron Preisler asked about the current activity of the garden and requested that the city help relocate the garden when the time came. “It would be a shame to have to move it,” Weese agreed, “but we are very much looking forward to finding them a new home.” The site development will also include partnership with the Neighborhood Econ- omic Development Corporation (NEDCO). “NEDCO is a nonprofit that really focuses on workforce hous- ing, and it is looking to expand its reach to the more rural parts of the county,” Weese said. City staff members have been working with NEDCO staff since Jan. 5 to develop a plan for the 15th Street site. The second track under the application is the need for techni- cal assistance with Florence City Codes, fees and program develop- ment. “This is asking the state to fund a lot of what we already have in our work plan, where it’s improv- ing our development codes, look- ing at some of our fees and trying to change our policies to be as for- ward-thinking as we can to pro- mote workforce housing,” Weese said. Funding could help cover the needed updates to the city’s devel- opment codes and systems devel- opment charges, as well as to work out a system for tax options and abatements. It could also help increase partnership development with local employers and complete the city’s Rental Unit Market Analysis. “As we’ve been meeting with developers lately, it has come to our attention that we really need to have a better idea of our local housing market,” Weese said. “It’s a Catch-22 — we have a very tight rental market, and that means a lot of the rents that are being charged aren’t documented. … People are finding rentals based on talking to each other as opposed to it being in the paper or something. It’s very difficult to know what our stan- dard rents are in town. What that will take is a little elbow grease to call around and figure out what the general rule of thumb is for rents for different types of housing units.” If Florence’s projects are approved by the state, the city will be required to match a certain amount of the project. The staff report stated, “There is no specific match requirement specified, but the application sub- mittal indicates preference for projects that will leverage local employers, jurisdictions and non- profits to complete projects. Potential methods the city may provide a match can include potential donation of land and/or discounted sales, staff time alloca- tions, grant administration and potential additional funding as appropriate.” Weese said the state funds “won’t be something that will fund an entire project, but it is some- thing that gets us moving in that direction.” According to Weese and Reynolds, the new program isn’t clear on the exact timeline or even funding levels. They expect to hear about the next step in the process in approximately 90 days. “We feel really good about it,” Reynolds said. Mayor Joe Henry thanked Weese for the presentation, and said that the Governor’s Regional Solutions Office was one of the partners in the city’s efforts to get to this point. He said that South Valley/Mid Coast Region Coordinator Jackie Mikalonis, who works with Benton, Lane, Lincoln and Linn Counties, was a huge asset to the community. “After Gov. Brown’s visit here last March, Jackie came down with a team of her employees to talk to us about what they could do for Florence. …That’s an honor in itself,” Henry said. He added that Mikalonis came to Florence for the Deluxe Corporation’s “Small Business Revolution — Main Street” reception on Jan. 3 and was able to talk about Florence’s progress with representatives from the TV program. “This is another indicator of the direction we are going,” Henry said. “We’ve been working on some of these exciting things as we try to deal with the housing issue. We are working hard on it and making some good progress. That is partly a reflection of the relationships that our staff and our council have developed with outside entities, such as the state and county.” At that point in the council meeting, two Florence residents stood for public comment. The first was Larry Null, 87, who identified himself as a car- penter — and had been since 1948 — who said it was “vitally important” to use the housing ini- tiatives to do training for local workers. “They should do some training here in this town for the workers who will be employed in these projects, and make proper apprenticeship programs so that young and old can get into these trades,” Null said. “They will have a living wage and proper training to go into their own busi- ness.” Null emphasized that the mat- ter should not be overlooked before it is “too late” for people in the workforce demographic in the area. “I’m talking about a need for Florence,” he said. “We used to train these high school students, and there were women in our car- penters union in 1881. That’s how long we’ve been training people of all ages. Florence needs those jobs.” Henry thanked Null for his comments, and also assured him that training and jobs were part of Senior Class Fish Fry Tuesday, February 20th 5:30 - 8:00 PM All you can eat Fish (or Chicken) and Chips, Non alcoholic beverage and cobbler Mo’s Restaurant - Florence Adults $12.50 Children $6 o! Raffl es To Proceeds go to Siuslaw Senior Grad Night Mo’s Old Town, Florence • Daily 11 am - 8 pm an upcoming council work ses- sion. In addition, the Florence Housing and Economic Opportunities Project (HEOP) has yet to reveal its findings on employment in the area. Councilor Joshua Greene said, “The need for training is happening nationwide. There are not enough young people being trained as car- penters, which is a problem with all the new development they want, since there is no one they can hire. It is a major problem, and I just want you to know that it is not going unnoticed.” The second speaker was Cal Applebee, current executive director of the Oregon Coast Military Museum and former director of the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce. He said he worked for 30 years in the title and escrow business, and said revisions are necessary for the Oregon Land Use Law system. “I really encourage you to jump on this opportunity — and don’t just stop there,” Applebee said. “There’s more to it than just affordable housing. All of our construction and development across the board needs some relief from regulations, fees and everything to make it cost feasi- ble for our society and our com- munity. But this is a good start.” The City of Florence has scheduled a groundbreaking for construction on City Hall for this Thursday, Feb. 1, at 12:30 p.m. in front of City Hall, 250 Highway 101. For more information about city projects, especially as many City Hall functions have moved to the Public Works Facility at 2675 Kingwood St, visit ci.florence.or.us. Theft In addition to her 20 days of jail time and 48 months of proba- tion, Bursaw is responsible for restitution and is not allowed to have contact with any of her vic- tims at Driftwood Shores. Bursaw was taken into custody following her sentencing and is currently scheduled for release Feb. 14. from 1A Alletson was present during Bursaw’s sentencing last Thursday and had asked for a total of 54 days of jail time — one for each of his employees who had been stolen from. 589 Ivy St. 2/2-2/4 9am-4pm tools, furniture, fi ne china, antique pedal grinder, collection of story book dolls, & much, much more. FREE garage sale signs 541-997-3441 with your ad Friends of Florence Van Fans Game Day Fundraiser $15.00 per person February 21, 2018 Florence Elks Lodge • (North Door - Follow Sign) Doors Open at 11:30 A.M. • Lunch Served at NOON Fore more information or to RESERVE A TABLE Please call: Viola Sears • 541-991-3721 Sharon Grove • 541-997-8629 Deadline for Reservations February 16, 2018 Visit us online: www.TheSiuslawNews.com. DENTURE SERVICES INC. LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED Open 4 days a week! 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Call: 541-997-8263 SATURDAY Enjoy great food and good times. PAN SEARED SCALLOPS Topped with tarragon caper sauce and crispy prosciutto served with Smoked Salmon mashed potatoes and fresh salad. Happy Hour • Monday-Friday 3:00pm to 5:00pm Enjoy drink specials at the bar! 1285 Bay Street in Old Town Florence • (541) 902-8338 1285restobar.com MEATLESS MONDAY Healthy vegan and Vegetarian expertly prepared meals! WINE WEDNESDAY Enjoy a palate-pleasing variety of half price wines by the bottle! ALL YOU CAN EAT COD THURSDAYS 5-8PM Enjoy all the hand-battered, golden fried cod and chips you can eat! CULINARY CELEBRATION WEEKENDS Ask about our featured specials! Wine | Beer | Martinis | Small Plates | Seafood | Dessert 1297 Bay Street Florence • 541-997-1133 www.bridgewaterfi shhouse.com Homestyle Comfort Food New Winter Menu Including: Shephard’s Pie & Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes Fall/Winter Hours: 10am-5pm Daily The Grill Restaurant & Lounge Open Daily for Breakfast 10am-1pm Lunch 10am-5pm Daily Happy hour 2-5pm, Beer, Wine, Cocktails at Sandpines 1201 35th Street at Kingwood, Florence Highway 101 & 35 St. 541-997-4623 ext. 5
