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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 2021)
10A | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2021 | SIUSLAW NEWS CLEAN UP from page 1A “We had about 30 people that signed in and they collected about 40 pounds of trash. We are lucky here because we have a number of beach clean-up events during the year, so there is not as much trash as we get at other locations along the coast,” he said. “We just want to thank every- one that came out to help, it is great to have that kind of support for our environment.” Volunteers at the three locations reported remarkably clean beaches and the total amount of solid waste collected was approximately 100 pounds, gathered by about 100 indi- viduals. In addition, SOLVE held similar events all along the Oregon coast and reported wide-ranging support for the clean-up, despite COVID-related fears and restrictions. Larissa Gordon, communications coordinator for SOLVE, recapped the weekend clean-up. CITY from page 1A “Arbor Day is now observed throughout the nation and the world; and Whereas, Trees can reduce the erosion of our precious topsoil by wind and water, cut heating and cooling costs, moderate the tempera- ture, clean the air, produce life-giving oxygen, and pro- vide habitat for wildlife; and Whereas, Trees are a renewable resource giving us paper, wood for our homes, fuel for our fires and countless other wood products,” Henry read as part of the official proclamation. He then proclaimed April 30, 2021, as Arbor Day in the City of Florence. “I urge all citizens to cele- brate Arbor Day and to help care for our urban forests in Florence and western Lane County, and be part of the planting of new trees and the creation of forested areas for all citizens to enjoy,” Henry stated. The meeting continued with a brief workload to consider, consisting primarily of approv- al of the consent items on the agenda. There were two items listed, Resolution No. 14, Series 2021, a resolution reaffirming the City of Florence’s Council Goals and adopting the 2021- 2023 City of Florence work plan. There was also a request from Public Works Director Mike Miller, who asked the Florence City Council to con- sider authorizing City Manager Erin Reynolds to enter into a 2021 Fund Exchange Program intergovernmental agreement with the Oregon Department of Transportation. BEST OF HAWAII FOUR-ISLAND TOUR PHOTOS BY MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS Volunteers in the Florence area gathered 100 pounds of debris during the SOLVE Earth Day Cleanup on Saturday. “On April 17, a reported 2,471 volunteers took to the outdoors, im- proving the environment through litter cleanups, beach cleanups, in- vasive plant species removal events, and native tree and shrub plantings,” she said. “This was truly a statewide effort, with volunteer projects hap- pening from Astoria to Bandon and The main thrust of the eve- ning was the acceptance and approval of the City Workplan and goalsetting for the 2021- 2022 biennium. The process to take the current workplan and update it has taken months, as new members to both city committees and the city coun- cil have had to familiarize themselves with the applica- ble process and procedures in place. Each of the many city com- mittees and commissions has had the opportunity to review the workplan suggestions for their particular group and sub- mitted suggestions to council for either additional items to be included or removed from the plan all together. The extensive work done over the past months has al- lowed for all involved parties to make their thoughts on the city workplan known and there were no additional comments from councilors on either subject as both items were ap- proved unanimously. The approved City Work- plan and Goals can be viewed in its entirety at ci.florence. or.us. Next, Reynolds gave coun- cilors an update on the poten- tial for some traffic delays to occur as a construction project on Ninth Street. According to a press release cited by Reyn- olds during her report, Las- key-Clifton Corporation be- gan construction of the Ninth Street Waterline and Roadway Improvement Project April 20. The contractor will com- plete exploratory excavation in several locations along Ninth Street between Rhododendron Medford to Pendleton.” According to Gordon, in one day across Oregon, more than 22,256 pounds of trash were collected and 8,810 square feet of invasive species were removed by SOLVE volunteers. “While most projects occurred on April 17, some Oregon Spring Clean- up projects occurred the weekend Drive and Kingwood Street to verify underground utility lo- cations. Actual installation of the new 16-inch water main and other construction activities is expected to begin on Monday, May 3. “There will be some traf- fic disruptions but, of course, we are coordinating our pub- lic works crew along with the contractor and our important emergency services, including our Florence Police Depart- ment and ambulance district, as well as any traffic going to and from the PeaceHealth Peace Harbor hospital cam- pus,” Reynolds said. She also highlighted a new initiative to provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which includes hand sanitizer, masks, and cleaning supplies, for businesses. In addition, there will be a Lane County Vaccine Clin- ic held at the Florence Events Center, 715 Quince St., on Fri- before, and will continue next week through Earth Day and into the weekend,” she added. The first Spring Oregon Beach Cleanup was held in 1986 and the first SOLVE IT for Earth Day event was held in 1990. Together, these two events have helped remove over 17 million pounds of litter and debris day, April 22. Appointments will be required with signups now available at www.lan- ecounty.org/vaxclinics. All county residents 16 and older are now eligible for vaccines. Ending the short meeting on another positive note, As- sistant City Manager Megan Messmer updated the council on city plans to conduct an unusual alternative to the city’s traditional Rhododendron Festival celebrations — with a COVID inspired change. “The City of Florence is working with our communi- ty partners to host a COVID safe reverse parade this year to continue the tradition of the Rhododendron Grand Floral Parade, to showcase our community’s creativity and re- siliency, and to celebrate our local businesses and organi- zations,” said Messmer. “This year, instead of having our floats travel down the parade route, parade attendees will drive along a lineup of statio- from Oregon’s urban and natural landscapes. The statewide SOLVE event was funded by Portland General Electric (PGE) and Dave Robertson, vice president of public affairs at PGE and a SOLVE Founder’s Circle member. Robertson said he was also quite pleased with the Earth Day events and reinforced his company’s com- mitment to the effort to clean-up dis- carded Oregon solid waste. “PGE customers and employees are passionate about preserving the health of Oregon’s environment, which is why we enthusiastically support SOLVE’s Oregon Spring Cleanup,” he said. “Events like these celebrate our commitment to build- ing cleaner, greener communities through PGE Project Zero. It’s won- derful to be part of an Earth Day event that engages volunteers from across the state, from Central Ore- gon to the Coast, all in an effort to make our state a cleaner and health- ier place.” nery parade floats along Oak and 27th streets, starting at Miller Park.” She explained that the event will be a float-only parade, with all floats asked to be dec- orated and/or constructed in our tradition of celebrating Rhody Days. Those wanting to participate can register their float April 14 through May 3 at www.ci.florence.or.us/ community/reverse-2021- rhody-parade. Councilor Bill Meyer then updated the Florence City Council on the progress being made at the Port of Siuslaw campgrounds, as the port has added dozens of new full-ser- vice campsites for the expand- ing RV traffic Florence is expe- riencing. Next, Councilor Sally Wantz spoke positively of the work done by the Environmental Advisory Management Com- mittee (EMAC) and urged the community to embrace the Arbor Day proclamation by planting a tree in support of the day or by taking a more physi- cal approach to appreciation by actually hugging a tree. Following this, Councilor Maggie Wisniewski passed along her observations from meeting with the Public Art Committee before Mayor Henry asked for any final com- ments. Hearing none, Henry ad- journed the meeting. 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