City Council delays appeal decision; West Lane Emergency group center of disaster planning; Senior Center fundraising nearing goal

City Council delays action on Ocean Dunes Appeal

The Florence City Council will continue their discussion on whether or not to uphold an appeal of an earlier Planning Commission approval of the Ocean Dunes “Planned Unit Development”. Susan Sweatt (SWETT) appealed Phase 2 of the project saying it didn’t adequately protect wetlands and was not compatible with her neighboring property on Munsel Lake Road. After reviewing the record of the approval and hearing testimony last night, two councilors, Alan Burns and Nola Xavier said they were inclined to deny the appeal. Xavier outlined her reasons…
200 – “The Planning Commission has sufficient conditions of approval on it and I think that the protection is still there to make sure that whatever happens those wetlands can be protected so I would deny the appeal.”

Councilor Sue Roberts disagreed, and despite code requirements that any roads through the area must be approved by the Oregon Division of State Lands and the Army Corps of Engineers, wanted the city to have more say in the matter. Mayor Phil Brubaker echoed that opinion.
201 – “I’m siding with Councilor Roberts. I don’t have any basis on which to defend whether or not this preserves natural amenities as compatible, maintains the natural features of the site or is integrated with the surroundings until I see a plan.”

Neither specified just how they felt the Planning Commission may have erred in their decision. The council will take up the matter again August 17th. The potential tie-breaker in the matter… Councilor Dave Franzen… was absent last night. He’s recuperating from an illness.

The Western Lane Emergency Operations Group, a local coalition of emergency responders and supporting groups, will be the center of a $250-thousand study aimed at helping coastal communities recover from a large scale disaster. The group formed three years ago following the tsunami in Indonesia and since then has been primarily concerned with coordinating the initial response. The grant, from the federal Department of Homeland Security, will be administered by the Oregon Partnership for Disaster Resilience on behalf of Lane, Douglas, Coos and Curry Counties.

The drive to collect $100-thousand in cash for a new senior center prior to an August 12th deadline appears to be nearing completion. As of yesterday morning, the tally was just under $88-thousand. Local pilots raised about five-grand over the weekend in an ‘Airport Day’ fundraiser and now a trio of local restaurants have committed to helping out. Just before the deadline, Tuesday the 11th, the World Market Buffet at Three Rivers Casino and Hotel will donate an amount equal to 50-percent of their food sales to the drive.
215 – “I think with this we’ll do in excess of $5,000 donation towards the Senior Center because I think there’ll be a very good turnout and we’re very excited about it.”

Casino General Manager Mike Rose said the Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians did not hesitate in approving the offer. The World Market Buffet will be joined by the Beachcomber Pub and Grille and the Grape Leaf. Once again, that will be one week from today on August 11th.

TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:

Youth Baseball:

The South Coast 14-under Babe Ruth Allstars picked up a victory in their first day of pool play in the Northwest Regionals at Moscow, Idaho. The team includes four players from Florence. One of those, Josh Iabacello (YABBA-kello), singled in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning as South Coast beat Alberta, Canada 7-6. The Allstars take on the Idaho champions this evening.

Northwest League Baseball:

The losing streak has extended to four… the Eugene Emeralds fell hard last night, 14-1, to the Tri City Dust Devils in the first of a five game home stand at Civic Stadium. The Ems gave up two unearned runs in the top of the first inning off an error and that set the tone for the rest of the evening. None of the five Eugene pitchers were able to get anything going and the Emeralds bats were silent after the first. The two teams meet again tonight.