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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 2018)
8 A SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2018 District from 1A After that discussion, Grzeskowiak said that building tours will be available for those interested in seeing the issues of the high school firsthand. “Lastly, while people are on tours, the steering committee will peel off to prepare the final recommendation lan- guage to present to the board on Wednesday, Feb. 14,” he added. The meeting will also be the first opportunity for communi- ty members to review the results from a survey conduct- ed by phone and on-line which gathered opinions related to the need for district upgrades. Grzeskowiak said the phone survey brought in 372 respons- es and the web survey brought in another 262 responses “Both surveys are synchro- nous,” he said. “The communi- ty is generally supportive of a new high school rather than Port from 1A Port Commissioner Bill Meyer, who lives in an apart- ment building adjacent to the docks, said he was sure that all of these things had occurred at one point. “As a neighborhood we had issues with certain miscreants, primarily youth, who were giving our neighbors a hard time,” he said. He invited the moorage cus- tomers to join the neighbor- hood watch program that was active in Historic Old Town. “We worked in cooperation with the police department, and as far as I know in the last two years we haven’t had a problem,” he said. The commission said they realized that the port needed more proactive measures to prevent incidents from hap- pening in the first place. McClure suggested looking into grant funding for a securi- ty gate at the docks. “I would also like to move up on that project,” McClure said. “The moorage customers would have access between dusk and dawn. They would have the ability to go in and out of the gates, they would just be closed to the public. The gates would only be unlocked during daylight hours.” Beyond security, the letter also stated that there were problems with dock sanita- tion, citing “unsightly and offensive beer/wine bottles, cardboard and lunch contain- ers, paper cups, diapers, seabird droppings, dog mess- es, discarded immature crab and small fish carcasses and fish guts.” Commissioner Mike Buckwald took umbrage with the characterization. “I’m reading this and it makes me think we don’t do anything. I’m trying to under- stand the legitimacy of the complaint. Sure, I’ve seen trash after events and things laying around. But I have not observed this kind of mess.” Port Harbormaster Tracey David stated that the kind of sanitation issues the letter characterized were “freak occurrences.” “During the summer you get your paper plates,” he said. “Fish carcasses from people crabbing. A chicken leg here or there. All the chicken bones that come up are from the seagulls vomiting on the docks. Yes, you get the occa- sional dog walker who lets their dog defecate on the dock, and they keep walking, but the way this makes it sound, the docks are covered in crap. And I’m sorry, but this is complete- ly out of line.” While McClure agreed that trash can accumulate, particu- larly during the summer months, she stated that the staff does wash and clean the docks frequently throughout the day. However, the commission- ers did say that there were remodeling the old building, and the community is general- ly supportive of the total bond amount to include the elemen- tary and middle school proj- ects.” The majority of the other work that will not be at the high school will be at Siuslaw elementary. This could include rebuilding the south end, seis- mically securing the north end and rerouting the bus and car travel lanes. “The goal is to reset the clock on our buildings to make sure they are future ready for weather and operations here along the coast,” Grzeskowiak said. Decisions as to the final projects to be included in the bond proposal will be made in the next few weeks. Siuslaw School District Board of Directors will select the projects for which they will recommend voters approve funding at the Feb. 14 meeting. issues with seagull droppings, an issue they have been trying to work on for some time. At a meeting last month, commis- sioners discussed multiple ways of scaring off the birds in a responsible manner, including loud noises and drones. They are continuing to work on a solution. After the letter was dis- cussed, Eugene artist Bayne Gardner addressed the com- mission about doing a mural on the blue building on port property, which houses Vintage Blue Warehouse Estate Sales. “I’m an artist from Eugene and I specialize in murals. Last week I did a mural in Junction City of sockeye salmon (as a donation), and after completing that, I had an idea to do a chinook salmon. I thought Florence would be another great place,” he said. Gardner was willing to do the mural for free, but found that he had to go through the Florence Public Art committee first, which does not allow artists to paint murals for free, nor create a mural without committee approval. Public Art Committee Chairman Harlen Springer, who regularly attends port meetings, explained the rea- soning behind the decision. “If artists can come into town, go up to an owner, and say, ‘I want to put a mural on the side of your building today,’ then you can sort of imagine what that can lead to,” Springer said. “Another thing is a fairness issue. If we let Bayne put up a free piece of public art here, then the other artists around town will call me and say, ‘What’s up with that? I thought we had a process here that we all got a chance? How is it fair that you let one artist put up art here and we didn’t even know about it?’” Port Commissioner Nancy Rickard asked if the commit- tee looks for a specific theme when choosing a project. “We specifically don’t want He also wanted to clarify his position on the issue of climate change as it relates to work the committee has done and will do in the future. “I want you to know how much I appreciate the work you are involved in and the positive impact your work has on our community,” Henry said. “I really think your contributions are an important part of our city’s team effort and I really value your contributions and hard work.” Committee members thanked him for taking the time to speak with them and said they appreciated the positive words spoken on their behalf. Greene was the second and final public speaker of the evening. He began by reiterating Henry’s words concerning the importance of the work EMAC was doing. He than went on to suggest a larger role for the group as the city addresses a growing number of environ- mentally-related issues. Greene spoke specifically about the recent setbacks in recycling in the Pacific Northwest, particularly as regards to plastics. The councilor spoke about the possibility of turning a statewide problem into a long- term opportunity for local resi- dents. According to Greene, the lack of recycling options avail- able to Oregonians might best be addressed by a concerted effort to create an industrial solution to the plastics issue, saying there is an opportunity to turn a currently negative sit- uation into one that might ulti- mately provide good jobs for local residents. “The vision I am sharing is to have a facility here that takes everybody’s plastic, whoever wants to bring it to us, and cre- ate a business with however many employees it needs to take plastic from it’s original form, break it down to the appropriate form and turn it into usable products that can then be sold,” Greene said. He provided handouts to EMAC members with exam- ples of recycled plastic prod- ucts and companies that are currently involved in turning waste products into saleable merchandise. The committee said it was interested in the possibility of addressing the plastics situa- tion in Florence and discussion commenced immediately on how and when the process sug- gested by Greene could begin. Following the discussion, the 2018 committee members were formally introduced. Maureen Miltenberger was ele- vated to chairperson and Linda Serbus was voted in as vice- chair. Both votes were unani- mous. Miltenberger was enthusias- tic about the issues awaiting EMAC. “My first year on EMAC was wonderful and this year looks to be even better. Who knew that meeting monthly to talk about garbage and recy- cling could be interesting and even exciting?” she asked. “Although I am a little appre- hensive about being the chair- person, mostly because I will be attempting to fill the shoes of David Lloyd, our past chair, with the support of Linda Serbus our vice chair, and the rest of our group I am sure things will go smoothly.” The group then discussed the issues to be considered by EMAC this year, creating a work plan that included sched- uling discussions on waste rate collection fees, plastic bags and potential changes to the upcoming Black and White waste collection event. The meeting was adjourned after scheduling the next EMAC meeting for March 6. a theme,” Springer answered. “Some people would like us to have a theme all over town, but we decided as a committee we don’t want to do that. We want artists to express them- selves. That gives you a differ- ent look all around town.” “But you’re still going to exert control over the art,” Meyer said. “To the point that it’s not some obscene swastika,” Springer said. “I’m always concerned about the word ‘control.’ And somebody needs to do that. We just want to make it fair, so art doesn’t become a free for all and go crazy.” To allow artists local artists like Gardner to do murals for free, Springer suggested an alternative approach. “What we talked about today was maybe we pick 10 or 12 spots around town and put that out to local artists and say, ‘We will waive the fee for you, and we’ll let each of you paint one of these buildings,’” Springer said. “That way it’s fair, and everybody has the opportunity in getting art around town. We are trying to get art in the community.” Springer stated that he had reviewed Gardner’s work and was impressed. “He’s on the same wave- length as we are about our desire to do public art,” he said. “We support his think- ing.” Gardner also agreed with the public art committee, say- ing he fully agreed with the rules. “My point in coming here is to make you aware of the potential of that as well,” Gardner said. “It would work well with my ideas for paint- ing it. People don’t really come down to the dock, but with public art, it can really pull people down this way. It gets more people out and makes a landmark.” After the meeting, the com- missioners held an executive session, returning afterwards with an announcement on the port manager position. Originally, the open posi- tion was to be closed at the end of January and the appli- cants reviewed. However, the commission opted to extend the time period for the recruit- ment of the port manager “until filled.” The job description and application form can be found at portofisuslaw.com under the Port News section. Environment from 1A Let me Showcase your property. Amy Johnson Broker, CSA 541 999-7875 Mercer Creek Dr #00148 – Nice, wooded .32 acre lot near Sutton Lake in an area of fine homes. This wonderful North Lakes area lot is waiting to be developed and built on. Property has mature trees and native vegetation. Water and power available. $79,900. #2597-16420336 1749 Highway 101 • 541-997-1200 Help Us Fe ed Lit tle Poncho Poncho is 26 years old. He was in the Rose Parade in Pasadena CA. Poncho has lived at the SACRED ANIMAL SANCTUARY for the past 15 years. Monthly food cost, $164.00. Please make a donation at Shorewood Senior Living 1451 Spruce Street in Florence. 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