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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 23, 2021)
6A | SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2021 | SIUSLAW NEWS City Lights meets GoFundMe goal SIUSLAW NEWS FILE PHOTO City Lights Cinemas is at 1930 Highway 101 in Florence. While closed to the public during the week, people can buy movie theater concessions on Friday and Saturday nights. tory of the listing, the lack of interest in purchasing the He also reviewed the his- parcel thus far and his en- thusiasm for revisiting the plan for selling the space. The report also included information on water runoff issues, a main impediment to sales, and Meyer’s discus- sions with city staff to make sure the property was in fact PORT from page 1A Shoppe LOCAL On Friday, City Lights Cinemas announced that it has officially reached its fundraising goal to keep the doors of the central Oregon Coast’s favorite movie the- ater open. “You did it!” said City Lights co-owner Michael Falter on the cinema’s Go- FundMe campaign page. “We met our generous challenge when we round- ed $59,000, and the (com- munity) match now puts us over our original goal.” City Lights’ fundrais- ing campaign sought to raise $65,000 to keep the theater operational under COVID-19 restrictions. Part of the campaign was a challenge match issued from a community member who promised that every dollar donated would be matched up to $12,000. The City Lights team has been hard at work fundrais- ing while providing an on- line streaming platform and concessions on two nights a week. “These last few months have given us all much to be thankful for -- it hasn’t been an easy time for any of us, but knowing we have your support has made all the difference,” Falter said. The Curbside Popcorn sales take place Friday and Saturday from 4 to 7 p.m. People can pick up movie theater popcorn, drinks, nuts, candy, sodas and even beer, cider and wine. “Thank you, and we’ll see you — someday soon(ish) — at the movies,” Falter said. Learn more online at www.citylightscinemas. com. ready to sell. “I want to emphasize that I only presented this for us to have some talking points,” Meyer said. “One funda- mental question is, do we want to try to do some of the development ourselves? Or, if we could get somebody excited, taking their presen- tations and see what they might be able to do in mar- keting the property?” Meyer, along with City of Florence Public Works Director Mike Miller, have walked the property and dis- cussed specific aspects of the parcel which may need some improvements. These will be delineated for commission- ers at a future meeting. The port commissioners in attendance agreed with Meyer and the approach to ultimately sell the property, with further discussion ta- bled for a later meeting. There were few additional comments from commis- sioners during the closing portion of the meeting, with the exception of a remind- er of an upcoming work session scheduled with the Lane Council of Govern- ments on Jan. 28. The session will begin the work of updating the Port’s Strategic Plan and will be held at the Port of Siuslaw Office with limited atten- dance opportunities avail- able for the public. Florence resident Michael Allen, who has been among the most vocal in leading the effort to increase the attention given to the topic of climate change, kept with his goal of convincing com- mittee members to adopt an official stance on climate change. “About three years ago, I asked EMAC to become a resource in Florence for de- veloping actions to address our climate crisis. At that time, the members of EMAC were supportive but the mayor preferred it to be ex- ternal to the city. In the last three years I’ve approached the EMAC two more times, but unfortunately it was not receptive to taking on that role,” Allen said. However, the times have changed, he added. “Last December, the may- or and city council had an in-depth discussion about climate change — a first of its kind. The discussion was led by then-Council- or Greene, who suggested a group to be formed that involved the city and com- munity, one charged with developing a comprehen- sive climate action plan,” Allen continued. “Both Mayor Henry and Council- or Woodbury made some compromises that appeared to agree that we need to do more.” Allen also provided re- cent statements from the mayor during last Decem- ber’s meeting that support- ed the idea of exploring and potentially adopting some initiative regarding climate change. Allen quoted the mayor as saying, “I am not against a plan to protect our envi- ronment. I am not against having a group... I think it should, in my view, be done through EMAC. It could be a subcommittee of EMAC. I don’t think you would have resistance to that. So, I am all for getting input from our community members and then formulating a plan that the council feels is pru- dent and encourages all of our committees, especially EMAC and the members of our community, to address.” Any future shift in the attention given to creating a climate plan for the city is still to be determined, but the shift toward a more open discussion was notice- able. The final major issue dis- cussed was a delayed rate review for solid waste haul- ers, which FarleyCampbell recapped. She reported that the final figures have been presented to the City of Florence for its semi-annual review. FarleyCampbell added that review will be available at the next EMAC meeting. In closing, Titmus thanked outgoing members Kirsch and Melller. Kirsch was effusive in her closing remarks, as was Mueller, who both thanked city staff and the other members of the committee. The next EMAC meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 16. #MyFlorence Shop. Eat. Support. SAVE. SHOP EMAC from page 1A There are also two cur- rently seated ex-officio members, Brian Enochian representing County Trans- fer & Recycling and Dave Twombly from Central Coast Disposal, both of whom attended virtual- ly. There is one remaining ex-officio position open on EMAC, which will be ap- pointed next week by Flor- ence Mayor Joe Henry. During the meeting, there were brief reports from the Tree Board, Bio-Solids and Litter and Waste reduction sub-committees, with Tit- mus suggesting the season was arriving for soil prepa- ration and planting of some species of trees. The subject of yard waste and the impact it has in the environment was also discussed by Philben, who noted the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in Lane County is the Short Moun- tain Landfill in Goshen. Studies have shown that as much as 50 percent of waste gases emitted come from organic materials such as yard and food debris. The issue of climate change and the proper re- sponse to be taken by the city in dealing with the issue was again the most debated item discussed by EMAC. Philbin spoke of her con- cern that COVID-related procedures be adhered to and the need for some sort of clarification of the city’s position on climate change. YOU MATTER The past year has been challenging. From the coronavirus pandemic, protest movements, elections and changes in government, you have been able to rely on your local community newspaper to report the facts and provide you with the information Getting rid of 'Huh?' for over 20 years you need to make informed decisions. Call today to schedule an appointment. 541.991.4475 HEARING Scott C. Anderson, Au.D. Steven G. Anderson, Au.D. Local community journalism offers stability when you need ASSOCIATES of Florence HearingAssociatesofFlorence.com FLORENCE • 1901 Hwy 101, Ste A it most. You can continue to count on us for Real News. 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