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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (March 23, 2019)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | MARCH 23, 2019 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 NED HICKSON , EDITOR | 541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM Opinion The First Amendment C ongress shall make no law respect- ing an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Govern- ment for a redress of grievances. “I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” —Thomas Jefferson (1800) Clarifi cation on our coverage of the March 18 City Council Meeting Due to several emails regarding last Monday night’s Florence City Council meeting, includ- ing discrepancies in each of the emails we received regarding the number of those “for” and “against” approving the current system of appointing FURA members, we felt it important to review the tape from that meet- ing, which was made available Wednesday, so that we could respond as comprehensively as possible. Our intention as a newspaper is to reflect the clearest and most accurate representation as possible in our report- ing. When that intention is called into question, we take it seriously and treat it as such. In addi- tion, if we are incorrect, we will be the first to admit and rectify it as quickly and succinctly as possible. For that reason, we are including this lengthy clarification in an effort to provide context to our reporting, as well as specific references that our readers can verify for themselves. Each comment ref- erenced below is time stamped from the video of the meeting available on the City’s website at the follow- ing link: https://vimeo. com/325454727. At last Monday’s City Council meeting (March 18), a total of eight individuals spoke on the subject of council ap- proval of City of Florence Ordinance 1, Series 2019. In addition, there were 29 written submissions, according to Mayor Joe Henry, none of which were read aloud. What follows is a recap of who spoke during public comment (in- cluded below, with time stamps) in their own words. While some were specific in their point of view, there was also some ambiguity — whether it be due to assumptive knowledge of the current process (noted below) or through an effort to keep a neutral tone. The comments from speakers Mark Tilton (24:00), Sally Wantz (27:50) and Pat Riley (41:30) were made in opposition to the ap- proval of Ordinance No. 1, Series 2019. It should be noted that Pat Riley retired from the Siuslaw Public Library District’s Board of Directors in 2017 but continues to serve on the FURA Board of Directors. Mark Tilton, a current member of the Siuslaw Library Board of Directors, sent the following email as a clarification regarding his comments: “At no time did either one of us [Mark Tilton and Pat Riley] say that the library and other Special Districts should “appoint” representatives to the FURA Board. Unfortunately, the Siu- slaw News report was a critical misrepresentation of our testimony. We asked that the language currently in the FURA bylaws and city code stat- ing that ‘special consid- mendation as a repre- sentative on the FURA board and are given “special consideration,” with final approval given by the mayor, not “the city.” For example: In an email to Mayor Henry from previous SVFR Chief Jim Langborg (Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017) regarding John Scott’s retirement from the SVFR Board and the need to replace him on the FURA board as a rep- resentative of the SVFR From the Editor's Desk Ned Hickson eration shall be given’ to FURA board applicants submitted from these agencies be honored.” It is worth noting that the wording “special con- sideration shall be given to” is the current policy regarding these appoint- ments. Looking back at our reporting, the word “rec- ommend” would have been a more accurate representation of Mark Tilton’s intent rather than “appoint.” (i.e., …as members of the library district, they should be able to recommend mem- bers from their district to the FURA Board and given special consider- ation.) • Comments from Bill Prosser (31:45) and Sher- ry Harvey (36:05) were supportive of the adop- tion of the ordinance. • Comments from Jo Beaudreau (37:40) were conciliatory in nature, taking no clear position on the ordinance itself, stressing instead for non-partisanship and “working together.” • John Scott (39:23) stated in his comments, “We should maintain the tradition of having each taxing district select a representative and have that representative accepted by the city… and by allowing the City Council to be part of the appointment of the non-special district rep- resentatives would be a perfect way to do this.” This is where some ambiguity comes in. The statement indicates support for the current process (“We should maintain the tradition of having each taxing district select a represen- tative…”) but then adds “…and have that repre- sentative accepted by the city…” The last part of his statement isn’t the cur- rent process; as it stands, each special district makes its own recom- special district, Langborg wrote: “Just a quick note to pass along the SVFR Board selected Woody Woodbury to serve as the District Representa- tive for FURA. It is our understanding the Mayor is the person who makes the final appointment for FURA appointments…” In that context, John Scott’s statement would suggest he is aware that the Mayor has final say in appointing FURA members, and that “maintaining that tradi- tion” would be to support the current process, not oppose it. So, counting him as “against” is murky. • The eighth speaker, Don Drozdenko, made it clear that he was in support of keeping the current process: (35:00) “I want to support the recommendation of the City Attorney.” In looking back over the meeting video, we did feel the need for a correction on two things: 1) The term “recom- mend” rather than “ap- point” should have been used in referencing Mark Tilton and Pat Riley’s position on the process of Special Districts rep- resentation on the FURA board. 2) The tally of those “against” changing the current process of FURA board appointments, and those “for” making that change to the current city charter. In our March 20 article (“Committe Appoint- ments Remain With Mayor After 3-2 Vote”), we stated that the tally was “six of eight speakers supporting the Mayor’s position.” After additional review of the tape and the eight public statements made March 18, we feel a more accurate tally would have been: Against: 3 (Riley, Wantz, Tilton) For: 3 (Prosser, Harvey, Drozdenko) Neutral/Unclear: 2 (Scott, Beaudreau) Lastly, yesterday (Friday) afternoon, we received the following email from Jo Beaudreau, who wanted to clarify her position on the matter. In the end, our objec- tive with this clarification is to be as accurate as possible regarding the positions of those who spoke on March 18. To that end, I felt it neces- sary to include her email here: “I wanted to clarify my position on the FURA matter. I am opposed to having one person be able to choose FURA members. It should be a non-partisan, full-coun- cil vote with transparency and proper representa- tion. FURA-type agen- cies are ripe (too easy) for misapplications of funds and corruption. This has happened in Chicago (and other cities?) and I would hate for our town to have this happen (I was also laughed at when I made this comment on March 4). I am still working on my public speaking abili- ty and apologize that my thoughts were not as clear as they could have been. Additionally, I’d like to note that during the March 4 City Council meeting, myself and Har- len Springer voiced our concerns and a letter was read by Susy Lacer at the request of Councilor Ron Preisler when there was little notice to the com- munity about this im- portant matter. Furthermore, I do feel like my comments have opened me up for retalia- tion, both personally and professionally. Sincerely, Jo Beaudreau” I hope that this in- depth clarification, along with the link to the meeting where public statements were made on March 18, will answer any questions regarding what was said, why we reported on it as we did, where we felt corrections were warranted, and most importantly give community members the opportunity to determine for themselves what was communicated and by whom. As always, my door is open for anyone who would like to discuss their thoughts or con- cerns. — Ned Hickson, editor Siuslaw News 541-902-3520 USPS# 497-660 Copyright 2019 © Siuslaw News Siuslaw News Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon. A member of the National Newspaper Association and Oregon Newspaper Pub- lishers Association. Periodicals postage paid at Florence, Ore. Postmaster, send address changes to: Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439; phone 541-997-3441; fax 541- 997-7979. All press releases may be sent to PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com. Jenna Bartlet Ned Hickson Susan Gutierrez Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Jeremy Gentry Publisher, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 Marketing Director, ext. 326 Office Supervisor, ext. 312 Production Supervisor Press Manager DEADLINES: Wednesday Issue—General news, Monday noon; Budgets, four days prior to publica- tion; Regular classified ads, Monday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Display classified ads, Friday 5 p.m. Saturday Issue—General news, Thursday noon; Budgets, two days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Thursday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Thursday noon; Display classified ads, Wednesday 5 p.m. Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m. NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In Lane County — 1-year subscription, $79; 6-month in-county, $56; 10-week subscrip- tion, $25; Out of Lane County — 1-year subscription, $102; 6-month out-of-county, $69; 10-week subscription, $35; Out of State — 1-year subscription, $134; E-Edition Online Only (Anywhere) — 1-year subscription, $65. Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: TheSiuslawNews.com Letters to the Editor policy The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the edi- tor as part of a community discussion of issues on the local, state and national level. Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. All letters need to include full name, address and phone number; only name and city will be printed. Letters should be limited to about 300 words. Letters are sub- ject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the volume of let- ters received. Letters that are anonymous, libelous, argumen- tative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or documented will not be published. Letters containing poetry or from outside the Siuslaw News readership area will only be pub- lished at the discretion of the editor. 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Donald Trump The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461 TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213 www.whitehouse.gov Oregon Gov. Kate Brown 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. Salem, Ore. 97301-4047 Governor’s Citizens’ Rep. Message Line: 503-378-4582 www.oregon.gov/gov U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 541-431-0229 www.wyden.senate.gov U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753 FAX: 202-228-3997 541-465-6750 www.merkley.senate.gov U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.) 2134 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6416 541-269-2609 541-465-6732 www.defazio.house.gov State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5) 900 Court St. NE - S-417 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1705 FAX: 503-986-1080 Email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@ oregonlegislature.gov State Rep. Caddy McKeown (Dist. 9) 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1409 Email: rep.caddymckeown @oregonlegislature.gov West Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich 125 E. Eighth St. Eugene, OR 97401 541-682-4203 FAX: 541-682-4616 Email: Jay.Bozievich@ co.lane.or.us
