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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 2018)
SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2018 | 9A RESULTS from page 1A It’s that youth that the coun- cil will rely on with Lucio, as it looks to bring about city plan- ning changes that help foster and strengthen the lives of the city’s younger workforce and help bring in younger entrepre- neurs to the city that will both strengthen and stabilize the local economy. “So grateful for the love and support that has poured my way,” Lucio wrote on her Face- book page after the election. “I’m thankful for each and every one of you who have supported me running for city council. Friends and family from Oregon to Tex- as, thank you for your thoughts, prayers and encouragement. Thank you to the citizens of Florence for electing me and giv- ing me the honor to serve you.” Lucio was locked in a tight and sometimes contentious race for council with fellow council candidate Maureen Miltenberg- er, who came in just 208 votes behind Lucio in the current Lane County vote count. But don’t expect Miltenberger to remain silent in local politics, as she will still continue to work on local environmental issues as a mem- ber of the City of Florence Envi- ronmental Management Adviso- ry Committee (EMAC) and the Democratic Club of Florence. The latest vote count for the two had Lucio at 2,048 and Miltenberger at 1,840 votes. With 2,964 votes, Council- or Woody Woodbury, the third candidate for an open city coun- cil position, handily won reelec- tion. This is the first time that Woodbury’s position has been up for a city vote, as he was first appointed to the position in Jan- uary to replace outgoing council- or George Lyddon, who moved out of town before finishing his full term. Incumbent Mayor Joe Henry, who ran unopposed this elec- tion, received overwhelming support with 3,245 votes, com- pared to 205 write-ins. Region-wide, the Siuslaw School Bond left voters with a heart-wrenching choice between upgrading schools for the dis- trict or keeping local property taxes down. The bond failed to pass with 4,933 against, 3,615 for. On the one hand, the electorate was faced with the deteriorating school grounds of Siuslaw High School and Siuslaw Elementary, both of which need renovations for seismic safety and new fa- cilities that would enhance stu- dent education. One of the key factors in helping grow the local economy is good schools, and the district was hoping that the new changes would be a rallying point for bringing in new busi- nesses and professionals to the community. On the surface, public support for the bond seemed high, with the Siuslaw News receiving edi- torials and letters in favor of the bond, and very few in the nega- tive. But the financial realities of the bond were too insurmount- able for some. The bond asked for $2.72 per $1,000 of assessed property value, which would mean an increase from $180 per Victorian Belle’s Christmas Bazaar November 16, 17 & 18 FRIDAY & SATURDAY, 9am-7pm SUNDAY, 9am-3pm ~ Three Rivers Casino ~ FREE ADMISSION & OUTSIDE FAMILY ENTRANCE year to $544 per year for prop- erty owners with a median-as- sessed home of $200,108. Proponents of the bond point- ed out that the current 20-year middle school levy, which is cur- rently costing property owners 90 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, will expire this December. Because of this, they argued, the bond only had a net increase of $1.82. It was also pointed out that the bond would only have been is- sued as needed for construction, and that the first year of the proj- ect would be primarily dedicated to planning, staving off the stick- er shock until 2020. However, the price tag was still considered steep for many taxpayers. In comparison, the Eugene School District’s $319.3 million bond measure, which passed this election by a 66 to 34 percent margin, only would see an increase of $135 a year for a median-assessed home. Oregon’s housing crisis, which the Siuslaw region is keenly feel- ing, mixed with the seasonal na- ture of employment of the area, makes any tax increase difficult for homeowners, particularly for low-income families, which would have seen the greatest benefit from school improve- ments. Not only would the bond hit homeowners, but it would more than likely be passed down to renters as well, who have already seen a drastic increase in rates over the past year. According to the rental aggregate website Rent Jungle, Florence has seen a 17.98 percent rent increase from 2017 to 2018, with the average rent being $812 per month, up from $666 the year prior. But still, the core issue of ag- ing school facilities remains a problem for the district. As the community grows, so too will the number of students gradu- ating from Siuslaw High School, and the limitations of the facili- ties will only be magnified in the years to come. SWITCH TO THE Aut o CONVENIENCE OF AUTO PAY! Pay SAVE TIME & SAVE MONEY Use your Credit or Debit Card account to renew your subscription to The Siuslaw News (includes online edition) by using AUTO PAY. Complete the credit card information on the enclosed billing notice and make your payment the easy way with Auto Pay. The district has been unable to pass an improvement bond since 1999, with the last attempt being made in 2016 for a $40 million bond measure. That failed nar- rowly by 300 votes. Siuslaw is expected to once again attempt to pass a bond, though what it will look like in the future is unknown. Property taxes, along with two other measures, were on the bal- lot in Dunes City this election in what council members described as a vote for the very future of the city’s existence. With the final re- sults of the election, the future of Dunes City is on shaky ground. Measure 20-295 would have issued a five-year local option tax on Dunes City property owners, which would have cost owners around $2 or $3 a year in extra fees. The purpose of the measure was not to get money from tax- payers — the city was only ex- pected to receive $1,216 in total from the measure — but to keep payments flowing into the city from state taxes, including cig- arette and gas taxes. These tax- es give the city anywhere from $70,000 to $100,000 annually. But because of a missed rule change a decade ago, the city is now in danger of losing that money altogether. Before 2007, any city could receive those taxes. However, a rule change made it so only cities that assess a tax on their citizens could receive those funds. Dunes City has never imposed a prop- erty tax. The rule change went unno- ticed by state and city officials until recently, when it was found that Dunes City could no lon- ger accept that money unless it imposed a tax. That was the at- tempt of Measure 20-295, except it failed to pass with 244 for, 645 against. Because of that, it is more than likely that the city’s annual bud- get will be slashed by $70,000 to $100,000, a difficult task for a city that is already financially burdened. The city had also hoped that measure 20-295 would help gain some additional funds. The mea- sure, which was planned to allow the city to negotiate for a munic- ipal judge to enforce city code rules, was not expected to bring a windfall to the city but could have cushioned a financial loss if Measure 20-295 did not pass. It would also give the city some teeth in enforcing regula- tions such as nuisance laws. Cur- rently, city staff are taking on the responsibility of enforcing laws, since Dunes City has no police force nor a judge to enforce rules. The city has found that many ci- tations that it gives out are being ignored by residents. The judge measure was hoped to fix this by giving some legal framework behind citations, but the measure failed, 313 for, 547 against. The only measure that did pass in Dunes City was Measure 20-293, which places a perma- nent ban on medical marijuana processors and dispensaries, as well as recreational marijuana producers, processors, wholesal- ers and retailers in the city. The measure came about when three commercial medi- cal marijuana growers applied for permits to begin operations within city limits. A temporary ban was placed on additional op- erations until the Dunes elector- ate could decide if they wanted such facilities in their city. The ban was approved this week with 566 for, 331 against. However, the future of that ban is linked with the future of the city, which is now in flux be- cause the tax measure did not pass. Will the city be able to cut make cuts and still remain finan- cially solvent? Will it find ways to more effectively enforce code without a judge? Will it be forced to unincorporate, going back to county rules which, incidentally, have much more lenient mari- juana zoning rules? It is unknown exactly why voters didn’t pass the judge and tax measures. Perhaps the full implications of the measures were not communicated to the electorate, or perhaps the idea of any tax, no matter how small, was antithetical to the spirit of the community, along with stronger government enforce- ment of city code. Or perhaps, as expressed by some residents in an October article in the Siuslaw News, some people just don’t feel the area should actually be a city. Whatever the case may be, the residents and representatives of Dunes City will have some tough discussions in the coming months, as the existential ques- tion of “Do we really want to be a city?” — as Mayor Robert Forsythe asked in 2017 — con- tinues to be pondered. As for Oregon, 1,902,953 voters participated in the Nov. 6 election, or roughly 68.9 per- cent of eligible voters. Gov. Kate Brown was reelected, garnering 49.9 percent of the vote, just slightly more than the next can- didate, Knute Buehler, who re- ceived 43.8 percent of the votes. At the federal level, District 4 voters reelected Rep. Peter DeFazio to the U.S. House with 55.9 percent of the vote, over challenger Art Robinson, who received 41 percent. Statewide: • Measure 102: Passed with 56.7 percent. It amends the Or- egon Constitution to allow local bonds for financing affordable housing with nongovernmental entities. • Measure 103: Failed with 57.4 percent. This amendment sought to prohibit taxes/fees based on transactions for gro- ceries. • Measure 104: Failed with 65.3 percent. This amendment sought to expand the use of a three-fifths legislative majority to approve bills raising revenue. • Measure 105: Failed with 63.3 percent This amendment sought to repeal the law limiting use of state/local law enforce- ment resources to enforce fed- eral immigration laws. • Measure 106: Failed with 64.5 percent. This amendment sought to prohibit spending public funds directly or indi- rectly for abortions and would have reduced abortion access. In the Oregon House, incum- bent Caddy McKeown retained her seat representing the Ninth District with 54.1 percent of the vote, over opponent Teri Grier, who received 45.5 percent. Locally, Dunes City’s candi- dates for city council were all reelected, including Mayor Bob Forsythe and councilors Shel- don L. Meyer, Susan Snow and Duke Wells. In the rest of Lane County, the Lane County Assessor is Michael Cowles and the West Lane County Commissioner is Jay Bozievich. In the Heceta Water People’s Utility District, Crystal Farn- sworth, Debby Todd and Alan Whiteside were all elected to four-year terms. In the Siuslaw Soil and Water Conservation District, Noland Huntington, Ray Kinney and Johnny Sundstrom were reelect- ed to their positions as direc- tors. Finally, Lane County Measure 20-290, which sought to estab- lish STAR Voting, failed with 52.5 percent of the vote. Socks for those in Need Bring in or send this ad back with your payment and save $5 OFF Yes, Sign me up for Auto Pay*! R10 Weeks = $18, (Reg $23) R6 Months = $47, ( Reg $52) BEST OFFER R1 Year = $71 ( Reg $76) Address: _____________________________________________ City:__________________________State:_____Zip: _________ Telephone Number: ____________________________________ Credit or Debit Card Exp. Date: __________________________ Security Number ______________________________________ Card Number: ________________________________________ Name on Card: _______________________________________ Signature of Card holder: _______________________________ Siuslaw News 148 Maple Street, PO BOX 10 Florence, OR 97439 541-997-3441 thesiuslawnews.com *Auto Pay Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled. Share the Socks are the most needed but least donated article of clothing for those in need. Th is winter, Th e Siuslaw News is having a sock drive to help those in need in our community. Please help us by donating new or gently used and clean socks to those in need. You may drop off your donated items at Th e Siuslaw News 148 Maple St. in Historic Old Town Florence Donations accepted until November 30th. Siuslaw News Need more info? Call us at 541-997-3441
