12 June 2013
FEC Funding Committee Reconvenes
A group of residents with the expressed task of finding a way to fund operations at the Florence Events Center will get together for their second meeting tomorrow. The FEC Committee, chaired by Mayor Nola Xavier, will meet at City Hall beginning at ten AM. When voters gave approval for construction of the center in 1994 it was with the promise from elected officials at the time that no general fund or property tax money would be used to support operations.
Since that time, city officials have been able to keep the center open with a combination of user fees, donations and room tax money. But, it’s been determined that the current funding model is unsustainable.
The committee is exploring a variety of different methods to keep the FEC afloat. Tomorrow’s meeting will feature an update on earlier discussions, as well as presentations from several different regular users of the center.
State Budget Impasse
A vote on a $6.55-billion funding package for public schools over the next two years is on hold and it’s not clear just when it will be brought up again.
Democrats in the Oregon Senate delayed the vote when it became clear they didn’t have support of the handful of Republicans needed to pass it.
The move is the latest wrinkle in a budget impasse that shows no signs of breaking with three weeks remaining before a deadline to approve a new two-year spending plan.
Democrats are trying to shift the conversation away from a heavy focus on cutting pensions for government workers… they’d like to concentrate instead on raising new revenue.
Proposals Sought For Lane Forest Work Camp
A former work camp in the middle of the Coast Range is being offered by Lane County Officials to anyone who would like to put together a proposal to lease the facility… as long as it meets certain guidelines.
The Lane County Forest Work Camp was constructed as a residential complex in a rural setting to provide alternative incarceration for low-risk offenders. It was closed several years ago when the Sheriff’s Department could not afford to operate it.
Brian Craner is the county’s Capital Projects Manager. He said they would like to offset the costs of preserving the facility by leasing it to a qualified party that can operate it in some fashion that meets current zoning limitations.
Craner said it could be used for a rehabilitation or forest management program.
Letters of interest laying out the possible user’s qualification and a brief description of how they would operate the camp are due in his office no later than noon Monday, June 17th.
Gas Prices Subsiding in the West
Gas prices in the west continue to inch downward while they are still soaring in the Midwest and Great Lakes Region.
Locally, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline dropped by nine cents this week to $3.79. That compares to a four cent decline in the statewide average as measured by Triple-A of Oregon to $3.84.
Meanwhile, average prices in Indiana and Illinois jumped by 14-and-16-cents a gallon in the same time period.
Marie Dodds with Triple-A says refinery and supply issues in the Midwest are getting the blame for high prices there. Those same issues were credited for the rise in West Coast prices in April and May.
