City Council Newsletter - 04/05/07

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South Ridgeline Habitat Study Community Meetings Underway The Planning and Development Department has conducted five of six planned community meetings to hear citizens’ views on conservation of natural habitats along the South Ridgeline. Meetings have been held in the Laurel Hill Valley, Churchill, Crest Drive and Southeast neighborhoods, and a general interested parties meeting was held at the Downtown Library. So far, about 90 residents have participated in the meetings, where they learn more about the habitats along the ridgeline, and the trade-offs faced by the City in deciding how to address the remaining unprotected natural areas. The meetings have also included discussions in which citizens share their views on conservation and conservation measures with each other, before providing written input to the City. Feedback on the meetings from participants has been very positive. The Eugene Planning Commission will review the input from all six meetings on April 30. For more information, please contact Neil Björklund, at 682-5507 or via email at neil.h.bjorklund@ci.eugene.or.us. Municipal Court Implements 24 Hour Phone Payment System Effective April 2, Eugene Municipal Court implemented a credit card phone payment system to provide greater access to customers by accepting payment of court fines and fees 24 hours a day. The system provides an alternative for many court customers who are unable to contact or appear at court during regular business hours. The phone payment system has been translated to provide access to Spanish- speaking customers. More than 40 people have utilized this new phone payment alternative since implementation. The system will accept payments for minor traffic and ordinance violations and adjudicated misdemeanor charges. The phone payment option cannot be used when the court has taken further action due to non-compliance. Some examples of further action are a warrant, license suspension, or external collection status. Callers can access the system using their date of birth along with a summons number, docket number, and, in some cases, a driver’s license number to retrieve account information. The system will confirm the caller has charges eligible for payment and provide them with appropriate information. The caller can choose to make a payment or listen to a list of all charge descriptions and amounts owed to the court. The call flow provides an opportunity for the caller to transfer to a court staff member during regular business hours. Completion of this two-year project is due to the combined efforts of Central Services staff in Municipal Court, Information Services and Finance. Several staff members from the three divisions worked together with the vendor to successfully implement the phone payment system. For further information, please contact Kristie Hammitt at 682-5019. Action Plan at Monroe Middle School Aims at Providing ‘Safe Routes to School’ A generation ago, about 50% of children routinely walked or biked to school. Today, far fewer children are walking and biking and more parents are driving their children to school. This has resulted in increased vehicular congestion around schools. The Centers for Disease Control estimate that nationally fewer than 15% of students walk or bike to school today. At Monroe Middle School, a Safe Routes to School planning committee has developed an action plan to encourage more students to walk, bike, or take the bus. The plan is designed to improve safety around the school and promote physical activity during trips between home and school. The steering committee consists of staff from Monroe Middle School, the City’s Public Works, Police, and LRCS departments, Lane Transit District’s Commuter Solutions program, Paul’s Bicycle Way of Life, Bicycle Transportation Alliance, and the University of Oregon. Funding for the program comes from an Alliance for Community Traffic Safety (ACTS) Oregon mini-grant awarded to Lane Transit District’s Commuter Solutions program. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 5 April 5, 2007