Council Still Debating Climate Change
The Florence City Council met last night for their final meeting of the year and one of the last topics discussed was climate change. Councilor Greene presented a letter to the council calling for a serious look at what Florence could do to positively affect our environment. There was also a letter submitted that called for a comprehensive Climate action plan with several hundred signatures attached. The issue of Climate Change and Florence’s impact and response has been an issue for several years now, and some members of the community have taken to criticizing the council and specifically Mayor Henry for not moving on with a plan. Mayor Henry said that while he would not be forced to sign a Paris accord type pact, he was in favor of making Florence a more environmental friendly place, something he says has been underway for some time.
“I think the city has moved in the right direction. we have a newly remodeled city hall that has energy efficient upgrades. We have additional bike and pedestrian paths and we have several more on the drawing board.”
Mayor henry also included the new public works building and the banning of plastic togo containers. He also agreed that the city could have done more, but what was done was within the constraints of the city’s budget. He also said that he sees a time when the City of Florence could become energy independent.
Council Honors FEC Director
The Florence city Council last night officially recognized Kevin Rhodes the director of the Florence events center for his years of service. City Manager Erin Reynolds says that Rhodes has exhibited many outstanding qualities during his tenure, but one special aspect has made the difference in the success of the FEC
“His strongest quality is that of Hospitality. While many of those who use the facility are there to perform and play a part we all know that Kevin is no act, his service comes with a genuine heart for hospitality.”
The council added on their kudos to Rhodes and he was presented with a watercolor rendition of the Events Center. Rhodes says he plans on playing golf, his guitar and spending time with friends and family in his retirement.
COVID-19 Update
Yesterday’s numbers released by Lane County Health show some of the lowest numbers for new COVID-19 cases in the past several weeks. There were only 28 cases reported for Lane County and no new cases for the Florence area. Later in the evening the Oregon Health Authority released their numbers and Lane County jumped to 72 cases for the day. The numbers differ due to the time of compilation. OHA reported 1,180 new cases for the state as the total topped 95 thousand cases. The state also received its first doses of the vaccine yesterday. 975 doses were delivered to Legacy Health in Portland with another 30,225 doses expected throughout the week. OHA says it is expecting to deliver 10,725 doses to skilled nursing facilities by early next week.
