Councilor Chosen
The Florence city Council last night decided on who they would be placing in the open city council seat. By unanimous decision the councilors have chosen Rob Ward as the replacement for former council member Maggie Wisniewski. Ward is the president of Northwest Land Surveying inc and member of the Florence Urban Renewal Agency. He will serve out the remainder of Wisniewski’s term. The official swearing in of Ward will be at the city Council’s next meeting on March 21st.
MUPTE Projects Approved
The City of Florence approved two multi unit property tax exemption projects by unanimous decision. Northwest Housing alternatives and Our coastal Village can move forward on 84 affordable housing units for the Florence Community. Mayor Joe Henry says construction is expected to begin later this year.
Grant for Communications Upgrade Approved
The Florence city council approved the acceptance of a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for $70,950 dollars for an upgrade to the radio communications equipment utilized by the emergency services in the area including fire and rescue, ambulance and Florence Police. Commander John Pitcher said the acquisition of new equipment will be able to increase coverage as well as being a better system all around for the West Lane communities. As it stands the taxpayers will not have to bear the cost of the upgrades according to Pitcher
“So the Florence share so far will be $129,000. So with the USDA grant , the initial grant and the sub grant we have 79,500 dollar through the PSAP reserves we cover the remainder of that for 58,050 so there will be no additional cost to the City or the department for this coverage.”
The Oregon Department of Transportation will take over the site ownership on Herman Peak releasing Siuslaw Valley fire and Rescue from the responsibility
Water Relief for Low Income Families
The City council will also be receiving funds to help assist individuals with water and sewer costs over the next two years. The program is similar to the LIHEAP program that helps individuals that have difficulties paying for electric bills. City Manager Erin Reynolds
“We’ll have a $150,000 to provide utility assistance for the watere and waste water portion of the utility bill. So that’s over the next 24 months broken up into 6 month segments.”
Reynolds says the information will begin to get disseminated to the general public as this is a brand new program for Low income households.
COVID-19 Update
5 more individuals have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the Florence area yesterday (1491) as the total number for all time cases nears 1500 individuals. COVID – 19 cases for Lane County were at 103 for the 3 day period and the state recorded 1,116 cases for the same period. Hospitalizations, which was the key to dropping the mask mandates, declined to 304 cases which is 38 fewer than yesterday. Although the breakdown of cases has not been specifically disclosed there is a strong indication that some of the drop in cases is a direct result of the deaths reported.