Chamber Weighs in on Recent County Commissionere Meeting
An impassioned President and CEO of the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce, Bettina Hannigan lashed out at the Lane County Commissioners yesterday for what she sees as an agenda to solidify the use of 1.5% of the Transient Room Tax intended for the promotion of tourism based needs.
“Are we willing to tax 6 million dollars extracted from Florence’s room tax revenue and invest it in a summertime event instead of investing that into something that going to provide jobs and stability for our economy in the winter.”
On Tuesday the Lane County Commissioners met to discuss several items including moving forward on plans to build a stadium for the Eugene Emeralds with money included from several different sources including the TRT, monies from the state and federal coffers and about 13.5 million from the Eugene Emeralds in the form of pre-paid rent on the facility. West Lane County Commissioner Ryan Ceniga says what happened was they effectively kicked the can down the road about 6 months in the form of a pause while they tried to see if gap money in the amount of 43 million dollars could be raised. Ceniga says that if it is not raised by the end of the 6 month pause the project is basically dead in the water. The council did approve a motion to fund up to 73,852 dollars to the Klosh Group to continue work of the project during the pause which is derived from $7.5 million dollars awarded by the state. As of date an official vote on the Transient Room Tax has not been made.
Three Buttes Fire
The Three Buttes Fire north of Florence has grown to more than 144 acres in the latest numbers from the Oregon Department of Forestry. Cooler, wetter weather was supposed to have a positive effect on the fire last night but a current update as to the progress is not yet available. Yesterday afternoon’s report says crews continue to use heavy equipment to clear brush line causing a break with hopes to contain the fire behind those breaks. Infrared imaging was used from the air to map the fire and determine hot spots and active flames. ODF is hoping to make significant strides in containment before the warmer, dryer weather returns to the area tomorrow. There are still no evacuation notices and ODF officials do not believe that widespread smoke will be an issue. The Three Buttes Fire is approximately 15 miles northeast of Florence.
Free Shred Day
It’s time to get your paperwork in order. That of course that you want to safely get rid of. Oregon Pacific Bank has announced that they will be conducting another shred day for the community. The event will be Saturday, September 9th and begin at 10 am in the OPB parking lot. Throwing papers in the trash or recycling can result in identity theft if personal information is on those papers. OPB offers this service to help minimize that risk. they do ask that business owners wait until 11 oclock in order for the public to have a chance to shred before the truck fills up.
COVID
It has been in the back of some minds, the status of the COVID virus. According to official at Peace Harbor Hospital they are seeing an increase in cases of the latest variant of the virus. Currently symptoms seem to be milder than previous renditions, however they have had a few admissions as a result. A reminder to continue to healthy sanitation practices including hand washing, social awareness, and in some cases masks.
