7 July 2014
Re-Zone Proposal Subject of Hearing
A 14 ½ acre parcel of land north of Munsel Lake Road could be rezoned from “Service-Industrial” to “High Density Residential” following a hearing set for this evening at Florence City Hall.
The majority of the property under consideration is owned by Glen Seifert and is the site of a former scrap metal operation.
The use of the property has not changed in decades, but the zoning has shifted several times in the past 21 years. Originally unzoned, it was designated as Mobile Home in the early 1990s.
The latest zoning, Service Industrial, has been in effect since 2003, the same year that Seifert discontinued scrap metal operation on that particular parcel.
Seifert currently owes the city approximately $120-thousand in unpaid street and utility assessments. Lane County is also owed several thousand dollars in unpaid property taxes.
The rezone, if approved, could clear the way for sale of the land, allowing development and repayment of the back fees and taxes.
The City Council meets at seven this evening.
Vacancy on school board to be discussed
The regular ‘second-Wednesday’ of the month meeting for the Siuslaw School Board has been moved to the third Wednesday… July 16th.
Under board rules, the body has the option of not meeting in July of even numbered years.
The board will be meeting this month, but due to personal schedules they will be doing so a week later than normal, on July 16th.
One topic of discussion expected will be the recruitment and appointment process to fill a vacant position on the board. Oregon State Trooper Scott Salisbury resigned earlier this year when he was transferred to a different post.
It’s not known if the board will have any discussions on the status of Superintendent Shawn Wiencek. She is still on an unexplained personal leave, her second of the year.
Lost Souls Memorialized
More than 5,300 people were cremated at Oregon’s state mental hospital between 1913 and 1971. Two-thirds of them were never claimed, their remains abandoned inside copper canisters that were discovered a decade ago in a shed.
They were dubbed the “forgotten souls.” A research effort to unearth the stories of those who moved through the hospital’s halls, and to reunite the remains with surviving relatives, takes center stage today as officials dedicate a memorial to those once-forgotten patients.
Hospital officials have been working for years to reunite the remains of their former patients with surviving relatives. Since the urns were found by lawmakers on a tour of the hospital in 2005, 183 have been claimed.
The 3,400 that remain are listed in a searchable online database.
