06/18/09 - City Council Newsletter

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Mariposa Woodland is located in Spencer Butte Park, and contains unique oak-pine woodland, oak savanna, and prairie habitats within its 30 acres. These habitats have become increasingly rare since Euro- American settlement in the Willamette Valley. Approximately 200 wildlife species depend partly or wholly on the plant communities found in these habitats, including 45 at-risk species. A unique feature to Mariposa Woodland is the presence of numerous large Willamette Valley ponderosa pines, some of which are thought to be 500 years old. These are the largest and oldest ponderosa pines in Eugene Parks and Open Space ownership. The primary project identified at Mariposa is to release Oregon white oak and Ponderosa pine trees from shading by Douglas-fir trees. Younger Douglas-fir trees, which have grown quickly and overtopped the oaks and pines in the past 100-150 years, will be removed to provide the slower-growing tree species with needed sunlight and soil moisture. The Mariposa Woodland plan incorporates the lessons learned from oak savanna and oak woodland enhancement projects conducted locally on lands owned by The Nature Conservancy, Lane County, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and City of Eugene. The diversity in ownership of lands where the projects are occurring underscores the critical need for conservation of these habitats. Input was also collected from a peer-review process that included staff from conservation partners, local organizations, foresters, and key researchers. Now that the Mariposa Woodland Management Plan has been finalized, the Parks and Open Space Division will begin seeking grant funding for implementation. The plan can be viewed at www.eugene-or.gov/NRLibrary by clicking on the “Management Plans” link. For more information, contact Natural Areas Restoration Supervisor This magnificent Ponderosa pine grows along one of the Trevor Taylor at trevor.h.taylor@ci.eugene.or.us or 682-4888. trails in the Mariposa Woodland. Public Forums for Police Facility and Future of City Hall The Eugene City Council is considering a number of ideas for moving City Hall offices and for the possible location of a police facility. The council wants to gather public input as it considers next steps in providing needed City facilities. Two public forums next week will provide information on the proposals and gather community response and ideas. The council wants to hear from the community on two questions: What do people think about moving police offices to an existing building on Country Club Road, and what should be the future of the City Hall site? th The first forum will be held on Tuesday, June 23, at 7:00 p.m. in the Atrium Building, 99 West 10 Avenue, and the second is on Thursday, June 25, also at 7:00 p.m., at Sheldon Community Center, 2445 Willakenzie Road. Input from the meetings will be compiled in a report to the City Council. The City Hall master planning process, concluded last year, resulted in a vision for City Hall based on the values and priorities of Eugene residents. Although the City Council determined that a new, consolidated City Hall building is currently beyond the City’s means, insights gained during the master planning process provided guidance for how to move forward incrementally and find innovative ways to solve the space, safety and mechanical challenges facing the existing City Hall, consistent with community values. One possibility currently under consideration is to move the Police Department from its home in City Hall to an existing, mostly vacant building on Country Club Road that can be readily and economically adapted to accommodate police needs. Another option is to leverage the City's interest in a pair of downtown development projects to provide space for City offices rather than spending the tens of millions of dollars necessary to update City Hall for another 30-40 years of use. For more information, contact Jan Bohman, City Manager’s Office, at 682-5587. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 June 18, 2009