SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 2021 | 5A
Peace Harbor Foundation benefits from unique gift
David and Linda Lauck
fell in love with the Oregon
Coast during a vacation
more than three decades ago
and decided that Florence
would be the perfect place to
call home during their gold-
en years. Their new proper-
ty’s gorgeous lakefront view
wasn’t the only reason they
settled on retiring in rural
Lane County.
“We knew that, as we got
older, having quality health-
care close by would be ex-
tremely important to us,”
Linda said. “PeaceHealth
Peace Harbor Medical Cen-
ter is large enough to serve
our community’s healthcare
needs, but small enough
to care. We never felt like
strangers; we felt like we
were part of a large extended
family.”
Ensuring continued ac-
cess to quality, compassion-
ate care for the community
they’d grown to love was im-
portant to the Laucks. After
meeting with the Peace Har-
bor Medical Center Founda-
tion’s leadership, they knew
that they had found the per-
fect way to give back to their
community while still enjoy-
ing the benefits of living in
their own home.
“We partnered together to
create a charitable giving ar-
rangement called a retained
life estate. The Foundation’s
knowledge and caring attitude
made a big impression—we
will always think of gifting our
home as a good decision,” Lin-
da said.
Sadly, David passed away in
2016; last year, Linda decid-
ed it was time to move into a
smaller home, which allowed
the foundation to sell her gift
of real estate during her life-
time.
“It just made sense. This gift
will create the Lauck Family
Endowment,” Linda said. “I
love knowing that the gift of
our property will help Peace
Harbor continue to provide
amazing care to our commu-
nity for years to come.”
door to a unique philan-
thropic opportunity to sup-
port quality healthcare in
your community. Donate
your property to the Peace
Harbor Medical Center
Foundation, either now or
when you no longer need it,
and get some or all of these
charitable and financial ben-
efits, including:
• Reliable annual pay-
ments for life
• Bypass of long-term cap-
ital gains tax
• The ability to continue
living in your home
• An immediate charitable
income tax deduction
• The ability to help ensure
Peace Harbor will be able to
serve you and those you love.
WORK from page 1A
The five main components
of the workplan include the
professional delivery of city
services, sustaining the city’s
quality of life, developing the
economy, building commu-
nication and trust within the
community, and sustaining
the city’s financial position.
Mayor Joe Henry, who has
contributed to the develop-
ment of workplans for sev-
eral years, spoke briefly on
the plan before more specific
discussions began.
“We established five over-
arching goals almost sev-
en years ago and, as Erin
mentioned, we have accom-
plished many of the things
we set out to do,” he said.
“But in general, I think we
need to remember that No.
1 — by our charter, 90 per-
cent of our resources, efforts,
time, talent and treasures
— are devoted to providing
essential services to the city.”
The mayor also addressed
the animosity that colored
many council deliberations
during the past few years.
This part of the discussion
took place under the head-
ing of “communication and
trust.”
“There has been — to be
honest — some pretty ugly
things that have gone on
in the last couple of years
and we hope that we can
put those behind us and
move forward together as a
team,” Henry said. “For the
first number of those years,
even though we had differ-
ing backgrounds, differing
political views and differing
goals, we worked together as
a team.”
He went on to say he
would do what he could
to make this version of the
council more respectful and
productive.
The current City Work
Plan covers most aspects of
city operations and includes
many facets of physical and
infrastructure needs, finan-
cial accountability and hu-
man resource concerns.
Most of the meeting pro-
gressed with all councilors
agreeing on the proposed
versions of committee goals,
and the small selection of
topics discussed in detail.
There will be the oppor-
tunity to fine tune elements
of the plan as the year pro-
gresses.
There were few changes
suggested until the discus-
sion reached the respon-
sibilities of the Public Art
Committee (PAC) and Envi-
ronmental Management Ad-
visory Committee (EMAC).
EMAC and PAC have at
times proven to be commit-
tees where conflicts between
members of the committee,
the public, ex-officio repre-
City Manager Erin Reyn-
olds opened the meeting and
recapped the purpose of the
meeting, and the importance
of the workplan to staff and
council, as a way of guiding
decision-making over the
next two-year budget cycle.
“I am super excited about
this workplan, as I am seeing
it come to life. One thing we
had an opportunity to talk
about as staff while doing
this shows we have made
dreams come true,” Reyn-
olds said. “Our personal and
professional dreams for the
city, the dreams of city coun-
cils past and present and, by
taking it one bite at a time,
we have been able to proceed
and make a lot of dreams
come true.”
Reynolds and City Re-
corder Kelli Weese have
worked closely to identify
the areas that are in need of
adjustment by specific com-
mittees, which then have
to be incorporated into the
formation of the new work
plan.
They have also worked to
shape the plan during per-
sonnel transitions in order to
continue towards achieving
long-term goals of the plan,
regardless of membership or
political affiliation of council
members.
HERE’S HOW GIFTING
REAL ESTATE WORKS
• Outright gift: Make an
impact and maximize tax
savings. You transfer the
property by deed to the
PHMC Foundation and the
A PHILANTHROPIC
property will be sold. This
OPPORTUNITY
will help free you from cost-
Your property opens the ly or unprofitable properties
Do you part and volunteer today to help support
these organizations in our community.
Habitat for Humanity
(like inherited property, a
real estate investment that
has failed to deliver, or a va-
cation home you no longer
use). You save taxes on the
sale and receive an immedi-
ate charitable deduction.
• Life Income gift: Make a
gift and receive income for
life. You may transfer real
property to a charitable re-
mainder trust. Upon sale,
the net proceeds are invest-
ed, and income is paid to you
and/or loved ones for the rest
of your lives.
This is a great option to
turn property with signif-
icant appreciation into a
dependable and generous
income stream. You save
capital gains taxes and re-
ceive a partial charitable de-
duction for the value of your
home.
• Estate gift. By making
an estate gift, or bequest,
you continue to live in your
home and gift the property
to Peace Harbor Foundation
through your will.
• Retained life estate. Live
in your home and receive fi-
nancial benefits now. For the
Laucks, it was very import-
ant for them to give in the
most generous way that they
could, but it had to make fi-
nancial sense for their family
as well. “Giving our home
through this option was the
perfect way to achieve both
our philanthropic and finan-
cial goals,” Linda says. When
you make this gift, like the
Laucks did, you can contin-
ue to live in your home and
receive a charitable deduc-
tion when you make the gift.
Peace Harbor Foundation
receives the property at the
end of your life (or when you
move out of the home, as in
Linda’s case).
• Commercial Property.
You can also donate com-
mercial property to receive
the benefits above.
Donating a house is a bit
more complex than other
types of donations, but it
doesn’t have to be daunting.
Linda worked with the
realtors at TR Hunter Real
Estate, including Crystell
Wise (buyers broker), Amy
Johnson (sellers broker) and
Tim Sapp (principal broker
and owner) who made the
process of listing and selling
her beloved home quick and
simple.
Knowledgeable realtors
can help you obtain a prop-
erty valuation to give cre-
dence to the value of the
home you are considering
donating; contact the bro-
kers at TR Hunter Real Es-
tate today by visiting their
website at www.trhunter.
com or by calling the office
at 541-997-1200 for more in-
formation.
Peace Harbor Medical
Center is incredibly grate-
ful for the generosity of the
Laucks. They inspired us
with this amazing gift and,
now, Linda hopes you will be
inspired too.
To learn about ways you
can use your resources to
help others, please contact
Heather Quaas-Annsa, the
Foundation’s Executive Di-
rector, at 541-902-6589 or
hquaas-annsa@peacehealth.
org.
sentatives and the council
have occurred in the recent
past.
These conflicts have often
resulted in public displays
of animosity, which City of
Florence staff is working to-
wards eliminating by includ-
ing more specific training to
address conflict and tension.
In addition, a small, ded-
icated group of people de-
manding a more proactive
approach, led by local envi-
ronmentalist Michael Allen,
for more than a year and a
half has weekly been protest-
ing Florence’s lack of recog-
nition of climate change.
Allen has also taken ad-
vantage of the public speaker
opportunity offered all res-
idents at city council meet-
ings to voice his concerns
to the broader community,
often citing Henry by name
as an obstacle to his goal.
The group’s efforts have
been successful in garnering
public support, but not in
convincing a majority of the
Florence City Council to im-
plement an official climate
change policy.
The recent election of two
new councilors, and the ap-
pointment of a third, has
realigned the council, as re-
flected in comments made
by councilors Bill Meyer and
Margaret Wisniewski during
recent work sessions regard-
ing environmental and social
issues.
The first to speak on this
topic was the mayor, who re-
iterated his previously stated
objection to the issuance of
any type of proclamation or
official position which ac-
knowledges a “climate emer-
gency.”
Henry has consistent-
ly shared his opposition to
such a policy based on con-
cerns over potential political
connotations should the city
advocate or engage in such a
policy. He has also stated he
does not believe that science
has proven there is perma-
nent global climate change
due to human activity.
“I am very concerned with
our environment. I just per-
sonally don’t agree that we
should engage in the climate
change movement because I
believe it is political to some
extent and we should keep
this nonpartisan,” Henry
continued. “That is not to
say we shouldn’t do each
and everything we can do to
protect our environment, if
it makes sense for the envi-
ronment and the city, and we
can afford it. They want us
to declare a climate change
emergency and they want
me as mayor to sign a cli-
mate change proclamation
and I refuse to do that. It is as
simple as that — I am never
going to do it.”
His comments regarding
the nature of the recognition
of climate change was then
immediately seconded by
Wisniewski.
“I think we definitely need
to address pollution. I would
have to whole heartedly
agree with you on climate
change; I think that is politi-
cally driven and I don’t think
we need to address it here,”
she said.
Newly elected councilor
Meyer echoed those con-
cerns and voiced his objec-
tion to any type of climate
change position for reasons
similar to those shared by
Henry and Wisniewski.
“I am not in favor of sign-
ing onto a slogan or a dec-
laration because what part
of that spectrum does that
declaration apply to?” Mey-
er asked. “If you look at the
climate change movement,
there is a broad spectrum
of applications and attitudes
and procedures and just
adopting a climate change
emergency declaration —
what part of that spectrum
are you signing on too?
“We need to be responsi-
ble for our environment and
we need to concentrate at the
city level, on specific actions
that are measurable, effective
and realistic.”
Henry also presented
what could be an exciting
and economically significant
topic for the EMAC and the
council to consider: methane
power.
Henry suggested Florence
could look into a program
that would be modeled after
one operating in Portland
that captures and reuses
off-gases, primarily meth-
ane, and redirects them to
other uses. The city also sells
the power generated by the
burning of methane while
reducing greenhouse gas
emissions.
Additionally, at the urging
of newly elected Councilor
Sally Wantz, Henry support-
ed the idea of EMAC estab-
lishing a subcommittee to
explore ways EMAC might
impact city policy in a more
substantive way than a proc-
lamation.
Next, the ongoing plight
of the PAC was once again
a topic of discussion, in par-
ticular its funding mech-
anism for the purchase of
public art. Funding through
the Florence Urban Re-
newal Agency (FURA) has
been discontinued and Hen-
ry, with the support of the
council, asked Wantz, as the
ex-officio representative to
the committee, to deliver a
clear message that funding
of public art through the city
is unlikely in the foreseeable
future.
Wantz proposed PAC set
up a sub-committee to ex-
plore funding options, and
the proposal received sup-
port from the council.
Another
important
change in the development
of the current work plan to
recent updating attempts is
the sense that the council has
a responsibility, particularly
in light of the unprecedented
challenges facing the city, to
strive to work together with
respect and a shared sense of
purpose.
The final version of the
City Work Plan will soon
be completed, incorporating
the suggestions made Thurs-
day, and the finished plan
will be circulated to council
members for their final ap-
proval before it is presented
during the March 15 Flor-
ence City Council meeting.
For more information, vis-
it ci.florence.or.us.
Jack Mobley
Construction, Inc.
• Rem
Together, we can build a world where everyone has a decent place to
live.
Call Ivy @ 541-902-9227
Helping Hands Coalition
We are in need of volunteers on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. We
need volunteers to serve food, set up for meals and also prepare meals
beginning at 11:00 am and fi nishing at 2:00pm.
New Location: Community Baptist Church, 4590 Hwy. 101, Florence
(Across from Fred Meyer)
Oregon Coast Humane Society
relies heavily on volunteers.
There are many opportunities to volunteer and a variety of skills and
talents are always in need. Volunteer interest forms may be found online,
at the shelter and at our Thrift Shop on Bay Street.
www.oregoncoasthumanesociety.org/volunteer/
Us Too Florence
Saving men one PSA test at a time. “Someone to talk to...who
understands!”
541-997-6626 • maribob@oregonfast.net
www.ustoofl orence.org
To include your organization
in this directory, please call us
@ 541-997-3441
Thank you Florence for
always supporting us.
541-997-2197
CCB#164472
NOTICE
We’re buying used cars,
trucks and SUV’s.
Any make or model,
paid for or not.
Please call today for quote.
All quotes by appointment only.
Johnston Motor Company
Since 1939
2150 Hwy. 101 • Florence
(541) 997-3475 • 1-800-348-3475