Category: Press

What do you want Sisters to look like in 20 years?

Posted on by Ashley Adelman

SISTERS — As the city launches the update of Sisters’ Comprehensive Plan, C4C in partnership with the city invites residents to help shape that plan and share thoughts about local growth. Join a collaborative discussion with city leaders during the next Let’s Talk!—set for 6-8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19 (via Zoom video-conference).

One will get to hear from and speak with City of Sisters Community Development staff members:

  • Scott Woodford, Community Development Director
  • Nicole Mardell, Principal Planner; and
  • Emme Shoup, Community Engagement Assistant

The Comprehensive Plan update process will establish a set of goals and policies that guide how Sisters will grow and develop during the next 20 years. Issues such as housing needs and economic opportunities will be among those addressed.

Residents’ input is critical; and this Let’s Talk! is among the first opportunities one will have to share one’s thoughts. (The City will offer various opportunities to provide input over the next several months.)

On Oct. 19 city planners also will offer valuable information about local growth and the Comprehensive Plan update. Register at: https://citizens4community.com/events/2020/10/9/lets-talk-invites-you-to-share-your-opinions-on-growth

Originally published in The Nugget Newspaper

Cottage Grove to begin Local Foods, Local Places virtual workshop

Posted on by Ashley Adelman

The City of Cottage Grove invites the community to participate in its Local Foods, Local Places Workshop being held virtually Nov. 5 and 6.

Cottage Grove was one of 16 communities selected from across the nation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Local Foods, Local Places program in 2020 to help revitalize Main Street and the surrounding community through food systems and place-making initiatives.

Registration for the upcoming workshop is free and will be a two-day brainstorming session, leading to a plan of action for better integrating local foods systems into Cottage Grove’s economic recovery.

The city is asking farmers, producers, growers, restaurant owners, entrepreneurs, business owners, tourist organizations, non-profits, local government officials, etc. — all of whom have a stake in the local food system’s future — to help.

With an overarching theme of building a resilient local/regional food system, four topics have been identified by the Local Food, Local Places steering committee:

• Identify strategies to support and enhance existing commercial kitchen and food incubator spaces.

• Improve food security and public health in Cottage Grove.

• Increase the involvement of Cottage Grove’s underrepresented/immigrant populations (e.g. youth, BIPOC representatives) in local food and place-making initiatives.

• Build stronger supply chain connections for farmers and food producers with both local and regional markets.

There will be time in the sessions to discuss and refine the topics if necessary.

Participants will brainstorm potential actions or next steps necessary to advance each goal and there will be breakout rooms to detail the actions selected by participants as highest priority for each goal.

The workshop will consist of a series of seven virtual sessions leading up to the completion of a draft community action plan framed around the community goals for this technical assistance process.

For full details and to register, visit bit.ly/LFLPCottageGrove. For more information, contact City Planner Amanda Ferguson at 541-942-3340.

Library programming gathers STEAM

Posted on by Ashley Adelman

by Aurora Oberg and Kris Wiley

Roseburg Public Library’s youth programming this fall focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) through a Library Services and Technology Act grant provided by the State Library of Oregon.

Youth Services Librarian Aurora Oberg and Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) AmeriCorps Participant Katie Fischer developed a project to purchase equipment and supplies for hands-on learning opportunities that provide a sustainable, long-term source of STEAM education for youth from kindergarten through high school graduation.

The project’s centerpiece is a 12-week course that follows the nationally recognized Girls Who Code curriculum, and grant funding paid for laptop computers so each student can practice the concepts taught by Aurora, Katie and volunteer Jenn, who is Director of Engineering at her firm.

Each Thursday, 10 students come to the socially distanced coding class at the library. They begin each session by learning about a woman in the technology field, ranging from Ada Lovelace — the mother of computer programming — to women such as Simone Giertz, who has fun with robots. Highlighting women who work in technology demonstrates to students the variety of career opportunities that involve computer programming and illustrates the diversity of people in tech fields.

After learning about a new person, the adult leaders read and talk about the coding concept for the week. Students are introduced to new vocabulary and talk about how the concept already is used in their daily life. After all that talking, they get to use the computer and put what they learned into practice following a Scratch tutorial that furthers their understanding of the concepts.

Scratch is a system that interacts like puzzle pieces that can be manipulated easily and is an accessible introduction to coding languages.

As the students try things on their own, the leaders help as needed and view the students’ progress on the week’s coding lesson. It is a great time to encourage students in what they have done on their own, as well as see how complex they can develop their program in the allotted time.

The coding students learn at the library fundamental skills that can be scaled up to create things we use every day. Coding is the basic language that gives a machine its instructions. Checking the weather on a smartphone is an app created through coding. Opening a web browser to shop online uses coding. Setting a coffeepot to brew automatically in the morning uses coding.

Later in the fall, students in the class will experiment with STEAM manipulatives such as Ozobots, which are small robots they will learn to program, thereby adding skills to their knowledge base.

Finally, all school-age children are eligible to receive grab-and-go STEAM kits with accompanying Facebook videos that introduce concepts such as weather and simple machines. Aurora will announce the availability of grab-and-go kits on the library’s Facebook page (@roseburglibrary) throughout the fall.

The library has four goals for the project: providing access to library services, materials and information resources; using technology to increase interest in STEAM education and allow students to connect with STEAM in an engaging, creative and experiential learning environment; developing information literacy skills that prepare students for long-term educational and occupational success; and fostering lifelong learning by creating an encouraging environment that forges a connection to the library as an educational resource.

We have had great success with the coding classes so far and anticipate offering future sessions that allow more students to engage with coding and STEAM at the library.

Aurora Oberg is the Youth Services Librarian at Roseburg Public Library. She can be reached at aoberg@cityofroseburg.org or 541-492-7054.

Kris Wiley is the director of the Roseburg Public Library. She can be reached at kwiley@cityofroseburg.org or 541-492-7051.

Rep. DeFazio, FEMA, the United Way and UO align to support fire victims

Posted on by Ashley Adelman

By Matthew Denis

On a foggy Saturday morning, Rep. Peter DeFazio, Federal Emergency Management Administration administrator Pete Gaynor, University of Oregon chief resilience officer André Le Duc and a United Way spokesperson promised an ongoing partnership in response to unprecedented September wildfires.

“The response has been phenomenal so far,” DeFazio said. “The president signed a dispensation declaration on Air Force One within 24 hours of the fires taking off.”

Still, with more than 7,000 people displaced, 431 residences and 24 non-residential buildings burned and Oregon estimating an excess of $622 million in debris cleanup and $1 billion in total disaster costs, local communities need more help than FEMA has promised, he said.

As chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which has jurisdiction over FEMA, DeFazio is in the unique position of overseeing FEMA’s disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. The congressman is pushing FEMA to fund not only the minimum 75% deigned for disaster recovery, but an additional 15%.

He said devastated communities have nothing left to contribute.

“You see places like Blue River, they don’t have anything left and they certainly don’t have any money to put their entire town back together,” DeFazio said.

Such a request isn’t unprecedented.

FEMA has authorized a 100% federal share in 22 disasters under the Trump administration and a minimum 90% federal share in 23 additional disasters.

Six of these encompass Western wildfires, two of which are still spreading in northern California: the Glass Fire in Sonoma wine country that has burned 62,360 acres and the deadly Zogg Fire, which has claimed four lives, blazing through 56,305 acres in Shasta and Tehama counties, according to Cal Fire.

This aligns with FEMA’s long record of contributing an increased share toward serious disasters, authorizing a minimum 90% federal share on 173 occasions since 2004, 98 of which received a 100% federal share.

DeFazio was in Eugene after a midnight flight from Washington, D.C., and was headed to Medford and then to Clackamas County.

“The best way to mitigate this is to get in ahead of time. There are over 40 federal agencies that are part of this recovery,” DeFazio said. “We have to get in quickly to save hazardous waste sites from contaminating Eugene water.”

Next steps to help

The McKenzie River is Eugene-Springfield’s primary water supply. Providing water safety through cleaning burned sites will be a critical first step in disaster recovery, DeFazio said.

Also among the most immediate concerns will be locking down adequate housing for fire evacuees.

“We can’t keep these people in hotels for 18 months,” DeFazio said.

Despite $40 billion of FEMA’s $51.7 billion 2020 budget already committed to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, FEMA administrator Gaynor said the agency is actually in great financial shape to help with the 45 natural catastrophes across the United States this year.

Congress appropriated an extra $19.7 billion in disaster relief.

“Our focus is on suffering a minimal loss of life and then enabling recovery,” Gaynor said.

In addition to federal efforts, the United Way of Lane County highlighted its third round of relief with $150,000 to be distributed to seven local organizations helping wildfire victims.

The University of Oregon also pledged 31 college students who will work with Americorps to help with recovery, with seven individuals focused specifically on economic recovery to fire-damaged regions and a direct response to COVID-19.

“We will identify needs and use community-driven opportunities and resources to direct and enact a response plan that focuses on economic resilience,” UO Resource Assistance for Rural Environments program director Titus Tomlinson said.

Funds for the UO program actually began with $2.1 billion in preparedness grants, seed funding from FEMA to create a disaster resiliency program.
André Le Duc, chief resilience officer at the University of Oregon, participates in a briefing Saturday.

“Our philosophy is always to turn a dime into a dollar,” chief resilience officer Le Duc said. “We estimate that every one dollar that you put towards mitigation results in five to six dollars in growth.”

This investment falls under the Oregon Partnership for Disaster Resilience Institute for Policy Research and Engagement in its School of Planning, Public Policy and Management.

“We use it to build,” Le Duc said. “If we use it early and we use it to plan, the better the outcome for the state of Oregon.”

The impact of these collaborative efforts amidst a bitterly partisan federal environment was not lost on DeFazio.

“We’ve had great bipartisan support,” DeFazio said. “Natural disasters don’t discriminate by political party.”

Originally published in the Register Guard

‘Creative optimist’ joins City of Sisters staff

Posted on by Ashley Adelman

By Sue Stafford

With the closure of City Hall to the public due to COVID-19, the residents of Sisters have yet to meet a new addition to the staff in the person of Emelia “Emme” Shoup.

Shoup is part of an AmeriCorps program administered through the University of Oregon, Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE). The City has a contract with the U of O for 1,700 hours of Shoup’s services over 11 months, for which she will receive a monthly stipend and nine credits toward her master’s degree. She plans to use this opportunity to hone in on a particular area of interest before starting work on her Masters of Urban and Regional Planning.

Even before Shoup arrived, City Manager Cory Misley knew what her duties would be. Her official title is Assistant Community Engagement and Program Coordinator. She will be splitting her time between the Comprehensive Plan update starting this fall and coordinating projects that were identified as objectives in the Sisters Vision Project. Misley and City Recorder Kerry Prosser will coordinate her activities.

One of Shoup’s underlying talents is her creativity, which she brings with her to her work. Given the restrictions due to COVID, she said, “I look forward to finding creative ways for the public to safely engage in providing input for the Comp Plan.”

Shoup’s resume highlights her creative talents as well as her work ethic. She attended the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics for high school and at the same time participated in the Running Start program at the local community college. She graduated from high school and at the same time received her associate’s degree.

At VSAA she expanded her talents as a visual artist (pottery, sculpture, painting, drawing), which she turned into a business screen printing T-shirts and creating greeting cards, which led to commission work. She also focused on her skill as a writer in the literary arts program. In the field of moving arts (videography), she developed an interest in animation, illustration, and storyboarding, which she hopes to use during her time with the City.

Shoup’s diverse interests were apparent during her college years as she sampled a variety of disciplines from nutrition and sustainable agriculture to public health, finally settling on the Community Development Program at Portland State University. She graduated last spring with her Bachelor’s Degree in Urban Planning and Design. Part of all her pursuits has always been a strong desire to be of help to people.

Notification of her placement in Sisters wasn’t received until August 17, necessitating a scramble to find housing in a tight rental market, get moved, and report to work at City Hall in early September.

The native of southwest Washington spent some summer vacations with her two siblings and parents at Eagle Crest Resort, but had never been to Sisters. She “really likes Sisters” and reports that “the people have been great.”

The other two possible placements in the RARE program were in Astoria working with food systems and the port, or in Roseburg. With friends in Bend, Shoup was delighted to be assigned to Sisters.

Being an active person, one of the first things she tackled after arriving was summiting South Sister with friends and camping overnight on the mountain.

Last fall, Shoup studied permaculture design in Peru, expecting limited amenities, but was particularly impressed with their bus system, which was more like flying on a plane. The buses are double-deckers, with seats that allow passengers to lie down or they can watch TV wearing headphones. She had expected maybe some chickens on board.

When queried about her views on the current tenor of our times, Shoup responded.

“I try to see the light. Both sides are impatient and frustrated. We’re going through some tumultuous times,” she said. “But I have hope because a lot of us are fighting. That’s a sign of hope that people still care.”

Shoup is particularly hopeful when it comes to those she calls “the children of the COVID years,” those coming along behind her who are having to be adaptable and resilient while dealing with bizarre norms.” She would like to see society “change how we regard and trust youth.”

Shoup’s optimism can be seen in her assessment of being in Sisters: “It was meant to be.” And so far, she “feels welcomed and appreciated as I am.”

Originally published in The Nugget Newspaper

Behind the scenes at the library

Posted on by Ashley Adelman

By Kris Wiley Library News

Roseburg Public Library remains closed for the foreseeable future, and that has been quite an adjustment for us. Since the library opened in December 2018, more than 400 people visited every day, and we miss the interactions, whether it was helping with technology questions, connecting at storytime or talking books.

Even though the doors are locked and we see patrons only once a week, library staff remains committed to public service. Youth Services Librarian Aurora Oberg, Circulation Supervisor Liz Hendershott, RARE (Resource Assistance for Rural Environments) AmeriCorps Participant Katie Fischer and I juggle several projects and tasks.

Drive-up service for patrons to pick up physical items continues every Thursday from 3-6 p.m. Behind the scenes, that means we handle the book drop following professional recommendations regarding disinfection of circulating materials. We pull books from the shelves and prepare them for pickup. On Thursdays, we check out all requested materials and facilitate their transfer to patrons’ vehicles. In the first three weeks, we provided items to 126 drivers.

New patrons may apply for a library card by email at library@cityofroseburg.org. The library card application form is available at www.roseburgpubliclibrary.org — click on Policies and Forms. Nonresident payments of cash or check (made payable to City of Roseburg) may be placed in the outside book drop or mailed to the library at 1409 NE Diamond Lake Blvd., Ste. 100, Roseburg, OR 97470.

Aurora is preparing for the Summer Reading Program, “Imagine Your Story,” recognizing the program will be different than what we imagined just a couple of months ago. She is navigating new territory with other librarians and considering an appropriate online component for delivering a summer literacy program that will reach our local youth.

Aurora, Liz and I spend a significant amount of time developing the collection, including purchasing new material. We also weed items that are outdated, no longer circulate and/or are in poor condition. Weeding is essential to maintaining a vibrant, relevant collection, and it’s important to provide enough space for the materials that actually are used by patrons.

Our volunteers tell us it’s difficult to shelve books when they’re crammed together; we are making their job a bit easier by shifting the collection to accommodate shelving and browsing.

Katie and Aurora maintain our Facebook and Instagram platforms (@roseburglibrary), and I update our website, particularly the Library Resources page because a number of vendors are providing free access to their electronic books and audiobooks.

I monitor the Imagination Library program, which includes approving registrations, answering questions and troubleshooting issues. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is available to children from birth to fifth birthday, and one book is mailed to each participant for free every month.

Our service area covers children who live in the following zip codes: 97443, 97447, 97470, 97471, 97494 and 97495. Those who live outside the area should contact their local public library; there are Imagination Library service areas throughout Douglas County and the state. The library’s website has a link to the registration process.

As always, we remain available by phone at 541-492-7050 and email to answer reference questions and reserve materials. Thank you for continuing to support the library.

Sam Hillmann, RARE Program Participant begins 11-month assignment in Yachats

Posted on by Ashley Adelman

By Bette Perman

View the Future, McKenzie River Trust (A 501(c)3 regional land trust) and the City of Yachats have partnered in sponsoring a participant from the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) Program, sponsored by AmeriCorps, and administered through the University of Oregon. The mission of the RARE Program is to increase the capacity of rural communities to improve their economic, social, and environmental conditions, through the assistance of trained graduate-level members who live and work in communities for 11 months. assist communities and agencies in the development and implementation of plans for achieving a sustainable natural resource base and improving rural economic conditions while gaining community building and leadership skills.

Sam Hillmann is our RARE participant who will be spending 11-months working on projects focused on future water sustainability, with his time and expenses split between View the Future, McKenzie River Trust, and the City of Yachats. Sam will be under the supervision of Rick McClung, Yachats Public Works, to help with the completion of the Water Source Protection Plan. He will also expand his work to look for and document future water sources in consultation with a team for the City. Sam will be living in Yachats and will be spending his spare time getting to know the environment and community of citizens.

Sam grew up in Ohio and is a graduate of Ithaca College in New York with a degree in Environmental Studies and a minor in Natural Resource Management. While at Ithaca he was the manager of their 560-acre nature preserve. Sam spent his junior year in Sikkim India observing the effects of climate change and learning how communities were responding to it. His long-term goal is to pursue a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning with a specialization in conservation and climate adaptation. Sam arrived in Yachats on September 6; you may be seeing him around town. Please welcome him.

Originally published by View The Future

City of Sisters Chosen To Host AmeriCorps Participant

Posted on by Ashley Adelman

By KTVZ News Sources

SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) — The City of Sisters was recently selected to host a Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) AmeriCorps participant. The term of service will begin in September and run through July of 2021.

We are happy to introduce Emily Shoup as our RARE Assistant Community Engagement and Program Coordinator. Emme graduated from Portland State University in June of 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Community Development with an emphasis on sustainable food systems, public health, and urban planning. Emme will be moving to Sisters in early September.

The Assistant Community Engagement and Program Coordinator position will address a multitude of needs through various projects both in the City of Sisters and Sisters Country.

Ms. Shoup will be working in partnership with the Community Development Department to update the Comprehensive plan; she will assist the Vision Implementation Coordinator with the Sisters Country Vision and help facilitate community outreach for both the Vision and Comprehensive Plan. Ms. Shoup will be a critical team member on both projects.

The mission of the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) Program is to increase the capacity of rural communities to improve their economic, social, and environmental conditions, through the assistance of trained graduate-level members who live and work in communities for 11 months.

Members assist communities and agencies in the development and implementation of plans for achieving a sustainable natural resource base and improving rural economic conditions while gaining community building and leadership skills.

RARE is an AmeriCorps program administered through the University of Oregon.

RARE AmeriCorps has been in operation since 1994. RARE AmeriCorps has been supported over the years by grants from the Corporation for National & Community Service (AmeriCorps), The Ford Family Foundation, the University of Oregon, the Oregon Food Bank, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Oregon Department of Transportation, and other agencies. In addition, each participating community provides $23,500 to help place, train, and support a full-time RARE member.

The City of Sisters received a $10,000 grant from The Ford Family Foundation to partially fund the RARE position. The Ford Family Foundation was established in 1957 by Kenneth W. and Hallie E. Ford. Its mission is “successful citizens and vital rural communities” in Oregon and Siskiyou County, California. The Foundation is located in Roseburg, Oregon, with a Scholarship office in Eugene.

Renewable Energy Is A Benefit To Everyone

Posted on by Ashley Adelman

by Tina Buttell

Sometimes we forget that we’re all in the same boat. Despite our differences, we all prefer clean air and water, safe homes, good jobs, convenient transportation, and we mostly don’t even disagree about climate. We want livable futures for our children, abundant crops, lush forests and recreation opportunities.

Unfortunately, some organizations pit us against each other by exacerbating perceived differences. The Cascade Policy Institute, one of about 160 right-wing think tanks under the SPN umbrella, is one such organization in our area. SPN is a deceptive acronym for State Policy Network, which makes it sound local. It is not. It’s a nationally funded membership group of extremists in the Republican Party that pretends to support low-income, rural folks but is closely aligned with wealthy, corporate business interests, including the fossil-fuel industry. They are known for union busting, voter suppression, climate denial, expanded law enforcement and are associated with ALEC, a notorious ultra-conservative lobby.

Another detractor from our common good is J.P. Morgan Chase Bank that invested over $67 billion between 2016 and 2018 in environmentally destructive tar sands, ocean drilling, LNG (liquid natural gas) and coal. Bank of America and Wells Fargo are right up there too, with more than $39 billion and $35 billion respectively, in oil and gas during the same time. Whether you drive a Tesla or a large pickup truck, where you save and invest, and which credit card you carry, may matter more.

Meanwhile, there are some hopeful examples of constructive collaboration. Rural Development Initiatives, a nonprofit based in Eugene, assists communities to create jobs, connect to financial opportunities and coordinate value chain projects such as the Cottage Grove “Food Hub” and the Garibaldi “Fisheries Hub,” to generate long-term community wealth and economic vitality. Their goal is to shift rural economies away from inequitable extraction of resources and towards a collective, inclusive vision of the future.

A frequent argument against Timber Unity and allies is that “they don’t get it.” This isn’t really true. They are resisting taxation and other changes because they do “get” the threat of rapid, impending change to their way of life. The climate justice movement needs to ease the transition to sustainable industries and lifestyles for those most at risk for loss. In contrast, a frequent complaint against environmentalists is that Oregon’s carbon emissions are too small to matter. Oregon is small in size but is a significant global model for land-use policy, forestry, livable cities, ecotourism and more. Just as each vote counts, each person’s carbon footprint adds up and sets an example. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

An interesting new Clackamas County-Americorps partnership is the RARE program — Resource Assistance for Rural Environments — which will focus on local solar projects and carbon-emission reduction. The Urban Rural Ambassadors Summer Institute between students in La Grande and Portland is yet one more example of a collaborative vision for the future, involving a summer student exchange program with discussions of shared goals, as well as appreciation of differences.

We all can benefit from the transition to renewable energy. Besides contributing to a cleaner, cooler environment, renewables will become more prevalent and affordable even as oil and gas prices continue to rise. Rural communities are earning income from solar and wind farms, and PGE is scheduled to shut down its coal-fueled Boardman plant very soon, closing Oregon’s era of coal-generated electricity.

There are rarely simple solutions to complex problems, but together we can keep our boat afloat. As said by Abraham Lincoln, “We can succeed only by concert. It is not ‘can any of us imagine better,’ but ‘can we all do better?'”

Tina Buettell has lived in rural and suburban Clackamas County for 44 years.

Originally published in Clackamas Review.

Urban Renewal Authorizes $400,000 For ReVision Monuments

Posted on by Ashley Adelman

By Mark Brennan

The Florence Urban Renewal Agency (FURA) met Feb. 26 at Florence City Hall with a short agenda but faced a decision on whether or not to spend thousands of dollars for two gateway monuments on Maple Street, as one of the final pieces in this phase of the ReVision Florence Streetscaping Project.

The agency began the meeting with Chairperson Bill Meyer welcoming new member Mark Tilton to FURA. The attention of the group was then directed to issues related to the ongoing ReVision Florence project.

The original ReVision Florence called for monuments to be built to welcome people to Historic Old Town Florence. The plan was to have a total of three built and to place two on Maple Street and one on Quince Street.

Unfortunately, the cost for all three of the pieces exceeded the monies budgeted for the project, according to Florence Project Manager Megan Messmer. The scope of the project was reduced by eliminating the Quince Street component from the equation.

In a memorandum Messmer provided to FURA directors explaining the decision she wrote, “The budget for this project was $396,000. Unfortunately, both bids came in above the budget and the engineer’s estimate of $416,000, which included a construction estimate of $396,000 and $20,000 in contingency. … Staff does not believe that removing the Quince Street monument would have a large impact on the integrity of the ReVision Florence Project as a whole.”

Messmer’s memorandum also pointed out that when these monuments were originally designed, the Quince Street property across from the FEC was not owned by the agency. Now that FURA has control over that property and is seeking lodging or related developments there, she believes there is value in waiting to construct a gateway at Quince.

The future gateway at this location could include additional directional signage for Old Town that includes lodging, shops, restaurants and the Florence Events Center.

Messmer also wrote that the current ODOT contract will construct the base for a monument at Quince Street that will be usable for another type of monument at a later date.

During the meeting, she recommended that directors accept the negotiated bid and to enter into a contract with Specialty Metal Fabricators LLC in the amount of $375,000, for the construction of the two gateway monuments at Maple Street, which they did.

Messmer also asked directors to authorize the City Manager to enter into Amendment 5 with the Engineering firm Murraysmith for construction administration, engineering and inspection for $57,000, which will result in a net change to the contract of approximately $34,000. The total expected expenditures for the two monuments on Maple Street will be approximately $409,000.

Directors discussed the financial ramifications of the agreement briefly before approving both of Messmer’s requests.

Messmer also presented the directors with an update on the construction currently underway with ReVision and presented a proposal for a FURA Redevelopment Assistance Program, which included suggested eligibility guidelines, program application and an overview flyer.

Directors voiced support for the program and approved moving forward with the proposal.

The second major update of the meeting came from City Manager Erin Reynolds, who provided a recap of the steps taken to this point regarding the marketing of the Quince Street property which is owned by the city.

Community and Economic Development Assistant Sarah Moehrke also made a brief presentation on the property, asking the directors to approve the first phase of landscaping the area at a cost of approximately $5,000.

This phase would remove underbrush and forest debris from the location. A second phase of the landscaping effort would focus on delimbing trees and removing larger brush from the area. The second phase would be considerably more expensive, and Moehrke reported the city would continue to accept bids for Phase 2 of the project.

Directors then approved the request.

The next FURA meeting is scheduled to take place at Florence City Hall on March 25 at 5:30 p.m.

For more information, visit www.ci.florence.or.us/urbanrenewal.

Originally published in the Siuslaw News