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
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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