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<br /> <br />City of Eugene <br />125 East 8 Avenue, 2 Floor <br />thnd <br />Eugene, Oregon 97401 <br />(541) 682-5010 <br />(541) 682-5414 (FAX) <br /> <br />www.eugene-or.gov <br />EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER <br />July 2, 2015 <br /> <br />IN THIS EDITION <br /> <br />CITY RECEIVES COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE GRANT FOR WILDFIRE PREVENTION IN RIDGELINE <br />ROAD REPAIR SEASON HITS HALFWAY MARK <br /> <br />AROUND THE CITY <br /> <br />City Receives Community Assistance Grant for Wildfire Prevention in Ridgeline <br />The Parks and Open Space Division (POS) and the Eugene Springfield Fire Department (ESFD) have been collaborating <br />for years to proactively seek grant funding to reduce the risk of wildfire in the community. This spring, those efforts <br />were successful in bringing a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Community Assistance Grant to POS, thanks in part to <br />a long history of collaboration with BLM’s Eugene <br />District office. The BLM Community Assistance Grant, <br />totaling $308,557, represents the most significant <br />infusion of funding received to-date for reducing <br />wildfire risk in Eugene. <br /> <br />The funds will be used to reduce fuel loads on City- <br />owned land in the Ridgeline Park system by removing <br />dense thickets of invasive vegetation and overstocked <br />trees from forestland. Heavy fuel loads, combined with <br />steep and inaccessible areas, make this area vulnerable <br />to wildfire and pose challenges to fire suppression and <br />response. A fire at the wildland-urban interface in <br />Eugene is a significant hazard and could cause <br />substantial harm to over 10,000 residents and over <br />4,000 homes, businesses, critical communication <br />towers, transmission power lines, other electric <br />Nearly 20 BLM fuels management professionals from Oregon and utilities, and water reservoirs. <br />around the country toured the fuels reduction project in June. <br /> <br />The other major component of this BLM grant is a community outreach campaign, designed to provide Eugene <br />residents with tools and resources to reduce wildfire risk around their homes and to plan for their protection in the <br />event of a wildfire. <br /> <br />Residents will receive postcard mailers, signs will be installed at trailhead kiosks, ESFD will oversee radio and <br />television public service announcements, and a website, www.eugene-or.gov/teamup4firesafety, will connect residents <br />to vetted national fire prevention programs. Project activities began in May and will stretch through September. <br /> <br />For more information, contact Emily Steel, ecologist, at 541-682-4874 or emily.c.steel@ci.eugene.or.us. <br /> <br />Road Repair Season Hits Halfway Mark <br />Eugene’s 2015 road repair season is reaching the halfway point, with nearly a dozen streets completed or nearing <br />completion and more than 20 streets scheduled for construction after July 1. Advance planning and favorable weather <br />have been major factors in getting an early start on roadwork projects. The first project – repairs to Garden Way, <br />Mahlon Avenue and Willakenzie Road – got under way in early April, and some Public Works paving crews were doing <br />concrete paving work as early as February. <br /> <br /> <br />EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 <br />July 2, 2015 <br />