05/15/08 City Council Newsletter

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The Minor Code Amendment Project Update The Minor Code Amendment Project is reaching the next important milestone. A public hearing before the Planning Commission on the minor land use code amendments is scheduled for Wednesday May 21, 2008, at 6:00 pm in the Sloat Room of the Atrium Building, providing an opportunity for interested parties to comment on the proposed amendments. The Minor Code Amendment Project was initiated by the City Council to address land use code amendments raised by community members. As a result of extensive community input and thorough review by the Planning Commission, 18 proposed amendments were selected to move forward to the formal code amendment process and will be the subject of the upcoming public hearing. Nearly all of these amendments were rated as high priorities by various community members and organizations, and address such topics as residential lot configuration, residential development standards and land use application processes. Following the Planning Commission public hearing, the Planning Commission will meet on June 2, 2008, to deliberate and forward a recommendation on the minor code amendment package to the City Council. The amendments will be the subject of a work session with the City Council scheduled for June 11, 2008. The City Council will hold a public hearing on June 16, 2008, and will make a decision on the amendments on July 14, 2008. For more information on the Minor Code Amendment Project, please visit the:www.eugene- or.gov/codeamendments. For additional information, please contact Alissa Hansen, Planning Division at 682-5508 or via email at alissa.h.hansen@ci.eugene.or.us. Make-up Artist Assists with Mass-Casualty Drills Most fire departments conduct practice drills. Many even use volunteer "victims" to make the scenarios more realistic. But few have the services of a make-up artist who has worked with the likes of Charlize Theron and Robert DeNiro. To say that David Pratt is a hairdresser at Le Salon in Springfield is to tell only a small part of the story. Pratt, 63, spent part of his career as a union (IATSE) make-up artist and hairdresser, working with big-name producers and stars on feature films shot in Oregon such as The Hunted and Men of Honor, as well as segments for The Dr. Phil Show,America's Most Wanted, and others. A year and a half ago, through a client at his current business, Pratt learned about the City's Citizen Emergency Response Training (CERT) Program, and volunteered his talents in support. Recently the Fire & EMS Department, which was preparing a series of mass-casualty-incident (MCI) drills, asked for his help in applying make-up to dozens of "victims" to create the appearance of various types and levels of injuries. Firefighters who participated in the drills described Pratt's work as "very, VERY realistic." Using everyday objects such as cellophane and styrofoam cups, plus a large and eclectic assortment of cosmetic products, Pratt created abrasions, contusions, compound fractures, and other effects best left unspecified. The MCI drills simulated three different types of incidents -- a bus bombing, plane crash, and motor vehicle accident -- all with multiple casualties. In the drills, which combined Eugene and Springfield response crews, firefighters were able to gain experience with new triage equipment and procedures and to raise their level of preparedness for the possibility of a real mass casualty incident (the upcoming US Olympic Trials being only one of many potential venues). Pratt was there for the six-day duration, devoting more than 40 volunteer hours to help make the training successful. Even though he's through with feature films ("been there, done that," he says), the Eugene Fire & EMS Department is grateful to have that Hollywood realism on its own drill field. For more information, please contact EMS Instructor Karen Anderson at 682-7134. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 May 16, 2008