Chip Seal Roadwork Scheduled for Monday; City Council to Review Comprehensive Plans; Twilight Program in Trouble; Bond Advisory Committee to Update Council

Chip Seal Roadwork Scheduled for Monday

The city of Florence will begin chip sealing on Monday at Rhododendron drive from Lighthouse way to Fawn View Lane.  The process will continue as long as the weather does not cause delays until Wednesday the 18th.  The practice of chip sealing helps extend the life of roadways through a three step process of first laying down this coat of heated asphalt and covered with this chips that are compacted into the surface and then coated with a seal coat to finish binding the process.  Traffic will be slow in that area and alternate routes are preferred during the procedure since traffic will be limited to one lane.  Wait times can be lengthy if traffic does not voluntarily reroute.

City Council to Review Comprehensive Plans

The Florence City Council will meet Monday evening at the Florence Event Center at 5:30.  On the agenda for the evening is a look at comprehensive plan amendments.  The city will be looking at three in particular.  The Florence Realization 2020 proposing changes to the Florence Buildable Lands Inventory, Housing Needs Analysis and Economic Opportunities Analysis performed in 2017.  The Housing and Economic Opportunities Project addressing housing and economic development as it pertains to Realization 2020 and the Tsunami and Earthquake Comprehensive plan.  The city will also hear oral and written arguments as it pertains to plans to shut down a portion of old town for the city’s 125th anniversary celebration on July 27th.  the city will also consider approval of two vehicle purchases for the Florence police Department totaling $113,241 dollars

Twilight Program in Trouble

The Siuslaw School District was recently notified that they were not awarded a grant that funds their Twilight program for Siuslaw Schools.  The title iv (4) B Grants are very competitive according to Special Program Director Lisa Utz.  This particular Federal Grant has funded the afterschool program for the past ten years and though the loss of the funding will provide a hardship, Utz says the elementary program will be in place by September for the 2018/2019 school year.  She says the program will still serve the k through 5 students but will have to be greatly reduced.  Utz is hopeful that other avenues for funding will be found, but that this could be a transition year to the end of the program unless monies are found.

Bond Advisory Committee to Update Council

The Florence City Council will also hear a presentation from the Siuslaw School Bond Advisory Committee that will outline the bond proposal that will be on the ballot in November.  School Superintendent Andy Grzeskowiak told Coast Radio News that it is important for voters to realize that the proposal to build new is a cheaper and more cost effective route than trying to upgrade existing structures.

“Remodeling the building to replace all the individual mechanical systems allowing the modern building codes and then address the classroom and other educational needs would actually estimate to cost more than new with the extensive amount of work needed at the high school.”

The school bond advisory committee met at the high school last night and will meet every Thursday evening for the foreseeable future to allow community members to get the information needed to make an informed vote in November.