11 April 2014
Council Split on Information Gathering
How to go about protecting the City of Florence’s interest in unpaid utility assessments in the North Florence Local Improvement District has opened up a difference of opinion on the City Council.
Joe Henry – “I just don’t believe as a council person I’m doing my job if I don’t know and do everything that I can do to recover some of that money. And in a legal opinion it was told to us that there are other alternatives in terms of legal action to go after the people that benefitted from the LID if they’re not paying their payments.”
Councilor Joe Henry wants as much information about the options they have in regards to the nearly $1.5-million owed from several different property owners. Mayor Nola Xavier disagreed. She says they already have most of the information they need; plus the city has a very good relationship with all but one of the property owners.
Nola Xavier – “They have been trying to, under the difficult economic situation that they’re dealing with, doing the best that they can with us and we have an open channel with them and we’re trying to preserve that.”
Henry doesn’t see how gathering more information would threaten that.
Joe Henry – “I’m not necessarily saying that we should run out and file legal action against somebody. I’m just saying that we should research it to find out what all of our options are.”
He wound up in the majority Monday night when the council overrode the mayor and directed staff to bring them more specific information on their options.
Two Options Remain for Cover Oregon
Officials with Oregon’s troubled health insurance exchange say they have narrowed the options for the site’s future to two: Hook up to the federal exchange, or stay with the current technology and hire a new contractor to fix it.
Cover Oregon’s interim chief information officer Alex Pettit told board members Thursday that transferring technology from another state is too expensive for the exchange “within its existing resources.”
Earlier this month, Maryland chose to replace its glitch-filled exchange with technology from Connecticut at an estimated cost of 40-to-50 million dollars.
In Oregon, an analysis found the least expensive fix for the state’s health exchange would be linking it to the federally run marketplace, at a cost of between 4-and-6 million dollars.
The board also accepted the resignation of interim executive director Bruce Goldberg effective immediately.
Salmon Fishers Should See Plenty of Time on the Water
Salmon fishers along the Oregon Coast should be in for plenty of action in the coming months.
Because of improved hatchery and naturally produced Coho populations, the 2014 seasons should provide the most time on the water for anglers in several years.
Chris Kern with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says in addition to a good year for Coho, they’re expecting very good Chinook runs as well.
In fact, the Chinook fishery is already underway with good catches being recorded for both sport and commercial troll fishermen.
The Pacific Fisheries Management Council set season dates this week for a variety of different species and types of fishing.
A summary can be found at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife website.
