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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 2, 2019)
SIUSLAW NEWS | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2019 | 9A REVIEW from page 8A “Those two measures are critical to the existence of the city,” Mayor Robert Forsythe said before the election. “If we have no teeth in our codes, and no tax money so we can get people to do those things, then why are we here?” With both measures failing to pass, the city still under fi- nancial threat from the state and no way to bolster law en- forcement, the city is facing an existential crisis. In the next few months, the city will look into the financial and le- gal ramifications of the events of 2018, and begin holding public town halls looking to answer the essential question: Does Dunes City really want to be a city? Airport, Port Receive Major Funding for Upgrades On Sept. 12, U.S. Rep. Pe- ter DeFazio, ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Commit- tee, announced the attain- ment of $1,050,000 for proj- ects at the Florence Municipal Airport with a Federal Avi- ation Administration (FAA) grant. This is in addition to $837,000 DeFazio obtained for dredging at the Port of Siuslaw earlier this year. Florence City Manager Erin Reynolds stated, “The City of Florence is thankful to be re- ceiving this funding to pay for significant improvements to our municipal airport. With this FAA grant, we are able to leverage local dollars with state funding to upgrade the Dave Huntington was pleased country and I will continue to son for the seat. lighting and airport runway to receive the news regard- fight for these smart invest- The race for the office of safety improvements.” ing the unexpected monies ments on the Transportation State Representative for the The funds for the 9th District was a municipal airport are two-person contest “This is great news for the many businesses and general between Democratic designated for run- way maintenance, aviation pilots who depend on these airports. I’m proud incumbent Caddie improvements and and Re- to support infrastructure investments like this and will McKeown the installation of a publican Teri Grier. continue to push for increased investments as the top McKeown defeat- precision approach path indicator to im- Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastruc- ed Grier by a vote prove the informa- of 16,181 to 13,610 ture Committee.” tion received by air to secure her fourth — U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio term in office. traffic using the air- About the Federal Aviation Administration Grant port. There were also “This is great news received by Florence Municipal Airport five statewide mea- for the many busi- sures decided by vot- nesses and general ers this November. aviation pilots who depend obtained by DeFazio, as the and Infrastructure Commit- Measure 102 proposed a on these airports,” said De- federal administration had tee.” constitutional amendment to Fazio. “These funds will allow designated no funding for The upgrade to the Flor- allow local bonds to construct for important maintenance water-related maintenance ence Municipal Airport will affordable housing and was and critical safety improve- in Florence during this fiscal begin in the spring of 2019. passed with 56.9 percent of ments to be made to our cycle. those voting in support. local air infrastructure. I’m The additional $5.6 million Election Recap Measure 103 was a pro- proud to support infrastruc- was authorized as a direct The November 2018 elec- posed constitutional amend- ture investments like this and result of the Oregon delega- tion presented voters with ment that prohibited the will continue to push for in- tion’s efforts. significantly different choices application of taxes or fees, creased investments as the “I’m pleased that the U.S. on local, statewide and na- based on transactions for top Democrat on the House Army Corps of Engineers in- tional issues as well as major groceries, which was defeated Transportation and Infra- cluded $837,000 for critical differences in the experience with 57.3 percent voting no. structure Committee.” navigation needs to ensure and qualifications of candi- Measure 104 was a pro- In April, DeFazio and U.S. the safety and navigability of dates seeking office. posed constitutional amend- senators Ron Wyden and the Siuslaw River, including The election results saw ment that would have ex- Jeff Merkley wrote a letter to dredging, jetty monitoring Governor Kate Brown defeat panded the application of Army for Civil Works Assis- and infrastructure manage- her main rival for the office, a requirement that a three tant Secretary R.D. James, ment,” DeFazio said. “These Republican Knute Buehler, fifths legislative majority ap- urging the administration to investments will ensure that by more than 100,00 votes; prove bills raising revenue. fund critical navigation needs the local recreational and 934,498 to 814,988. The race Measure 104 was defeated, of Oregon’s small coastal commercial fishing fleet for U.S. Representative from with 1,813,234 casting a no ports. To that end he spon- continues to have safe pas- District 4 was closer, but still ballot. sored and helped pass a bill sage to fishing and crabbing a clear victory for long-time Measure 105 would have that authorizes an additional grounds, and it will sustain incumbent Peter Defazio, repealed the law limiting the $15 million above what has jobs directly tied to econom- who received 208,710 votes use of state and local law en- been approved by the feder- ic activity at the Port of Siu- to the 152,414 received by his forcement resources to en- al government for Oregon slaw. This is exactly the type closest competitor, Art Rob- force federal immigration ports. of infrastructure investment inson. This is the fifth time laws. Measure 105 was de- Port of Siuslaw Manager we need more of across the DeFazio has defeated Robin- feated with 1,172,163 voters Fun STARTS HERE Every Saturday d at 10pm ONE WINNER WILL WIN $10,000 GUARANTEEED Earn entries every Sunday through Saturday. One entry for every 50 points earned. Insert your players club card every Saturday from 4pm to 9:45pm to activate your entries. MONDAYS MONDAYS WEDNESDAYS TUESDAYS THURSDAYS Y A T S D N A Y A PL AT THREE RIVERS CASINO HOTEL IN FLORENCE! $89 Hotel special SUNDAY - THURSDAY Call 1.877.374.8377 to book today! Use code SNJAN89 when booking. Must have or sign up for a Players Club card at check in to be eligible. FLORENCE 8 7 7 - 3 7 4 - 8 3 7 7 | T H R E E R I V E R SC A S I N O . CO M opposing the measure. Measure 106 would have amended the constitution to prohibit spending public funds directly or indirectly for abortions. This measure failed with 1,195,718 op- posed. Locally, Florence City Council had two openings, as term limits were up for coun- cilors Woody Woodbury, who was appointed in 2018, and Susy Lacer, who complet- ed her four-year term. In the election, Woodbury retained his seat and local business owner Geraldine Lucio de- feated her opposition, Mau- reen Miltenberger, by a vote of 2,048 to 1,840. Dunes City’s candidates for city council were all reelect- ed, including Mayor Bob For- sythe and councilors Sheldon L. Meyer, Susan Snow and Duke Wells. Siuslaw School Bond Fails The Siuslaw School District spent hundreds of hours as- sessing district needs in 2017 and 2018, crafting a propos- al to upgrade the elementary and middle schools with a bond that could be paid by area voters over the next 30+ years. Eugene architectural firm Pivot coordinated the effort to determine the most need- ed areas of improvements and the necessary upgrades as all buildings in the district are seismically unsafe. The mechanical systems and the security of students attending school were also major fac- tors in the thinking by SSD Administration and staff. Public meetings were held at different points in the pro- cess and input from stake- holders was solicited and shared with voters. A Pub- lic Action Committee was formed and after many more meetings and consultations, the final plan to renovate and replace district buildings was estimated to cost $108 mil- lion. The action committee made presentations to civic groups with the hope that the information presented to the voters would be convincing and Measure 20-291 would pass. That hope was not re- alized as voters rejected the bond levy by a vote of 4,972 to 3,652. Western Oregon Tribal Fairness Act Goes into Effect In a rare example of bi- partisan law making, House Resolution (HR) 1306, The Western Oregon Tribal Fair- ness Act conveyed more than 32,000 acres of land, currently under federal con- trol, to three tribal entities in western and southern Or- egon. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives in the summer of 2017 and the Senate approved the bill by voice vote for delivery to President Trump on Dec. 27, 2017. The bill took effect on Jan. 9. The Western Oregon Trib- al Fairness Act places 17,519 acres of federal land, current- ly managed by the Bureau of Land Management, (BLM) into trust for the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and 14,742 acres of federal land into trust for the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians. It would also amend the Coquille Restoration Act to require the Interior Department to manage the Coquille Indian Tribes’ for- estlands in the same way as other tribal forestlands. HR 1306 was introduced in March by District 4 Rep. Peter Defazio and the legis- lation was co-sponsored by District 2 Rep. Greg Walden. The legislation was co-spon- sored in the Senate by Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden. Coquille Tribal Chairwom- an Brenda Meade is pleased with the change in the law and the shift in the position of the federal government. See REVIEW page 10A