RV Couple Claims Harassment
A person who refers to himself as a citizen of Florence is saying he is unduly being targeted for parking his RV on the city streets of Florence. Jeff Iak has begun a Facebook campaign and sent letters to the City Council stating that he believes that what he has experienced has been tantamount to harassment by City Code officer Dan Frazier. Iak stated in his correspondence to the city council that on three occasions they have been asked to move. He also said on social media that they are currently unable to find or afford conventional housing. Florence City Manager Erin Reynolds confirmed the actions of the city code officer, but said that the city does not target individuals, but merely respond to complaints lodged by individuals.
“so when we receive a complaint from, usually another community member or a neighbor about something like
a vehicle being parked somewhere for a long time, or a trailer or an RV, etcetera that we do go out and make contact and that is usually done by the code enforcement officer.”
The city code states that Parking for Extended periods of time: a motor vehicle or trailer of any kind on a street or other public property for a period in excess of 72 hours without permission of the city council must be moved. Iak has sent an email to the city council requesting to be acknowledged by the council to address citizens that are not conventionally housed. Iak says he and his partner have been Citizens of Florence for two years
Food Share Recipient of Grant Money
The Lane County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to provide $3-million to support projects at 17 different community organizations in Lane County. Board chair Pat Farr called it a “great day” and said he was proud to help support the “great work” of so many community organizations. The money will be spread across the county and is funded by a one-time master grant from the American Rescue Plan Act. Some of it is bound for Florence where it will be used to help feed people. Florence Food Share will get $25-thousand to be used for operations. Another recipient of funds was DevNW which recently developed a housing project in Florence.
Report on Local Creeks and Rivers
Officials from the Siuslaw National Forest have released their final comprehensive river management plan for several creeks and rivers in their jurisdiction. The plan mainly deals with Franklin Creek off the Umpqua River outside of Reedsport and Wasson Creek south of Dunes City and North of Reedsport. The plan includes setting management standards, guidelines, visitor capacity determinations and monitoring protocols. After the release of the comprehensive plan they are required to post an objection period for the public to respond. That period began yesterday. A link to the project is available at Coast Radio’s website. https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=59324.
COVID-19
1943 COVID-19 cases have been registered in Florence since the beginning of the pandemic. The number is 13 more than last week and appears to be going down from the previous weeks where numbers were in the range of 30 per week. At the same time Lane County is reporting that it is in a high risk for COVID-19. Numbers have been slowly decreasing over the past several weeks around the state moving the 7 day average to below 730. Hospitalizations have been on a slight decrease but overall has stayed near the 300 mark with 36 individuals in ICU. The majority of cases have been of the latest strain BA-5. A strain specific vaccine is expected in September.