City Council Newsletter - 02/22/07

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Crest Drive Community Team Hosts Second Public Open House Members of the Crest Drive Community Team (CDCT) and City staff involved in the context-sensitive solutions (CSS) process met with approximately 40 neighbors and community residents at an open house on Tuesday, February 13. Like the first CDCT open house held last fall, this event was designed to provide the public with a detailed update of the work completed thus far and to offer additional opportunities for direct feedback between the public and the CDCT. Key elements of the February 13 open house included details of the recent decision to include the middle section of Crest Drive to the project scope, a presentation of CDCT-developed transportation system concepts, results of topographic survey work and right-of-way research, and additional information about the City’s assessment policies and procedures. A common theme in participants’ inquiries during the evening focused on project timeline and cost. According to the CDCT work plan, the goal is to present a street design recommendation to the City Council by August 2007. In addition to conversation between members of the CDCT and open house participants, a brief survey designed to gather public opinion and provide further clarification about project concepts was distributed. An electronic version of the survey is posted on the project website at www.eugene-or.gov/pwprojects (click on Crest Drive) to provide broad opportunities for participation and comment. Survey results will be incorporated into the CSS process. For additional information, contact Transportation Planning Technician David Roth at Eugene Public Works Engineering, 682-5727 or david.f.roth@ci.eugene.or.us. City Website Public Involvement Project Underway In conjunction with the University of Oregon’s Community Planning Workshop, the City of Eugene is currently engaging the community through a series of interviews, focus groups, surveys and workshops about the City’s website. Staff is gathering information and opinions from a diverse group of current and potential City website users, so that everyone will have an opportunity to help guide and shape future updates and additions to the City’s site. Stakeholder interviews are complete and a report of key findings will be available on the project web page at http://www.eugene-or.gov/input in the near future. Stakeholder interviews served to assess key issues, needs and priorities within the community to inform the focus group process. Six focus groups are scheduled, beginning February 22, 2007, including representatives from the following segments of the community: Neighborhood leaders and representatives; Land use interest groups (realtors, architects, planners, advocacy groups); Educators; Social service agencies; Volunteers who work with the City; and Public officials (City Council, elected officials, boards and commissions, on-going department advisory committees). Visit the project web page to stay informed about the progress of the project. An email sign-up form is available to be notified of posted reports, upcoming web surveys and the community-wide workshop. For more information about the website improvement project and public involvement, contact Kimberly McCrea at 682-5234. Toxics Program Moves Into Second Decade Eugene's Toxics Right-to-Know Program, the only municipal program of its kind in the United States, th recently observed its 10 anniversary. Adopted by local voters in 1996, the program was administratively structured during 1997, and 1998 was the first reporting year. When reports for 2006 are received this spring, the program's website, www.eugene-or.gov/toxics, will provide nine years' worth of data on EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 February 22, 2007