21 January 2015
Turning things around at the Boys and Girls Club
Leaders at the Boys and Girls Club in Florence are struggling to regain a firm financial footing. Several people have already been laid off and programs have been cut in order to reign in costs. A daily fee of about $6 will be imposed on the after school program effective February First and charges at the club’s QCCF Child Care and ABC Preschool have been raised by about 17-percent.
The club is nearly a quarter million dollars in debt. Half of that is a mortgage on the now-closed teen center. Administrative offices in the building on 15th street are still open. The club owes about $90-thousand in past due payments, much of that on a maxed out credit line. It also owes about $23,500 to Executive Director Jonathon Hicks. Another 25-grand is owed to the City of Florence for Systems Development Charges assumed by the club when it took over the Quality Child Care of Florence last year.
More layoffs of the largely part-time staff will likely come with a decline in utilization of the after school program due to the cost.
Hicks has taken a pay cut from $76-thousand to 26-thousand and the club’s board of directors is actively working to refinance the debt and return the club to more stable footing. If they are unable to do that though, they say the club may have to shut down entirely.
Public Private Partnership Expands Refuge
The Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge grew a little bit at the end of December thanks to a mixture of public and private interests.
14 acres of land around Whale Cove in Lincoln County, two miles south of Depoe Bay, were added to the refuge December 31st when title was transferred from the private landowners.
Bryce and Beebe Buchanan bought the property more than a decade ago at a time when there were several development proposals. Their intention was to preserve it, protecting habitat for several species of nesting seabirds, raptors and songbirds. The high-visibility cove, visible from nearby Rocky Point State Park, is also home to many species of marine mammals.
The Beebes sold the land for $1.1-million… about half of the appraised value. $650-thousand for the purchase came from an Oregon Department of Transportation’s Scenic Byways Grant, the other $450 came from Bandon Biota, a private company owned by Mike Keiser, the owner and developer of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.
Bird prevention to restrict travel on bridge
A project to place netting material, designed to keep birds from nesting beneath the concrete spans of the Siuslaw River Bridge, will restrict travel across the span to a single lane much of next week.
Crews will begin working Monday morning… and through Thursday next week between nine a.m. and three p.m.
They’ll be using a “snooper crane”, a device allowing them to work beneath the deck.
Flaggers will control traffic with delays expected to last no more than 20 minutes.
Disaster Planning Kickoff
Emergency operators will host a public forum Tuesday morning to kick off a 12-month disaster planning process for the Florence area.
The project is coordinated by the West Lane Emergency Operations Group… a consortium of public agencies, non-profits and some private interests.
Tuesday’s meeting begins at 9 AM at Siuslaw Valley Fire and Rescue’s main station on Highway 101.
The project is funded through state and federal grant money aimed at helping communities prepare, respond and recover from disasters and significant emergencies.
