11/13/08 - City Council Newsletter

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? Wednesday, November 19, 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. at Arts and Technology Academy Cafeteria at Jefferson, 1650 nd West 22 Avenue ? Thursday, November 20, 5:00 to 7:30 p.m., Churchill High School Library, 1850 Bailey Hill Road All three open houses will have stations with information on the existing pedestrian and bicycle system, planned improvements, and innovative walking and biking design treatments. Participants will be asked to identify existing problems and needed improvements to make Eugene more walkable and bikeable. City staff and members of the Master Plan Advisory Committee will be on hand to guide the public through the stations and collect public comments. Interested members of the public can attend any one of the three scheduled meetings. If you have any questions about the Pedestrian-Bicycle Master Plan meetings, please contact City of Eugene Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator Lee Shoemaker at lee.shoemaker@ci.eugene.or.us or 541-682-5471, or visit the master plan website at www.eugene-or.gov/pwprojects. Amazon Pool Hosts 2008 High School Water Polo Championships For the first time Amazon Pool was the site of the High School Southern Conference Water Polo Championships on Saturday, October 25. Boys’ and girls’ teams from five schools from Eugene, Cottage Grove and Ashland competed, and there were more than 500 people in attendance. The South Eugene Boys and North Eugene Girls won championship titles. Amazon Pool is one of only four facilities in the state that meet the standards for water polo competition. The others are in Beaverton, Gresham and Corvallis. Southern Conference teams rely on Amazon for the majority of their water polo games, and the University of Oregon also holds practices and collegiate tournaments at the site. Amazon Pool also hosts South Eugene High, Sheldon High and Marist High and several club teams for swimming and water polo practices, meets and games. For more information, contact Aquatics Section Manager Rich Fay at 682-5314. City Facilities Rated Among the “Best of Eugene” In late October, Eugene Weekly’s annual reader poll named several City facilities as “Best of Eugene.” The Eugene Downtown Public Library won first place in two categories: best public space and “best place to meet someone you’d take home to mom.” The Weekly’s editors noted, “The gorgeously housed Eugene Public Library contains more knowledge in book, CD, DVD, video, audio, Braille, and other formats -- including those human search engines, reference librarians -- than anyone could encompass.” Alton Baker and Hendricks Parks took second and third places in the public space category. The Weekly’s readers also named Alton Baker Dog Park as the best, noting that a “slew of dog-loving volunteers have worked hard to make this the Garden of Eden for our four-legged friends.” In a new category, the newspaper’s readers named the City’s purchase of the Amazon Headwaters and Saving the West Eugene Wetlands (along with BRING Recycling) the winners in a three-way tie as the Best Eco-Improvement Project Award, noting that “The city’s purchase of one of the Amazon Headwaters parcels preserves some of the last pristine forest inside Eugene’s urban growth boundary.” The paper said the West Eugene Wetlands conservation plan, adopted in 1992, set precedents across the country. For more information, contact Kathy Madison at 682-6342 or Kelly Darnell at 682-8414. City to Receive $618K in Foreclosure Funds The City of Eugene was notified that it will be receiving $618,519 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s new Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The program will provide assistance to local governments to aid in the purchase of foreclosed properties at a discount and to rehabilitate them when necessary. This major new program is part of the 2008 Housing and Economic Recovery Act. Funds were allocated to the State of Oregon and are being provided to cities and counties based on a formula. Households with up to 120% of area median income may qualify, although 25% of the funds must be used to benefit families at or below 50% of area median income. Properties must be located in eligible census tracts (see map). The program guidelines are being developed and will be implemented in early 2009. The Congressional timetable for using these funds is very ambitious. The State is asking that properties be acquired by the fall of 2009. The Oregon Housing and Community Services Department is seeking public comment on the program at this time. Information will be posted to the City’s website as it becomes available. For more information, contact Linda Dawson, Planning and EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 November 13, 2008