CC Newsletter - 02/09/06 - Laserfiche WebLink

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NW Youth Conservation Corps, Churchill High School's Rachael Carson environmental education program, Positive Youth Development, and LEAD, a teen organization for low-income youth, plus a few additional students, teachers and community members. The task force members enjoyed positive and productive interactions with the youth. One such interaction occurred when some teens from NW Youth Conservation Corps learned about a successful, sustainable business, Golden Temple Foods. Kartar Khalsa, a member of the task force and a principal of Golden Temple, explained the goals of the business, the philosophy behind it and the ability to "do good and do well." The girls expressed an interest in visiting Golden Temple to experience a local sustainable business in action. Task force co-chair Rusty Rexius related this story; "As I was saying goodbye to the group I was working with, one of the girls looked at me and said, 'Thanks for doing this...you're actually nice'." Mayor Piercy said, "I think a real connection was made about sustainable practices. We heard a lot about youth voices in decision- making. They also took the opportunity to express their desire for a youth center in our community. I'm excited to get our community's youth involved and I want to keep the ball rolling." The purpose of the SBI is to gather ideas from the community and make recommendations to the Eugene City Council on ways to retain, expand and create businesses and jobs that use sustainable practices or produce sustainable products. "Sustainable" refers to businesses and practices that are environmentally, socially, and economically sound. For more information, see the SBI page on Mayor Piercy's webpage (a link is on the City's website, www.eugene-or.gov) or call the Mayor's Office at 682-5010. Building Codes Program Receives Excellent Insurance Service Office Rating Every five years, the Insurance Service Office (ISO) performs a review of Eugene’s efforts to properly enforce state building codes. ISO evaluates communities across the nation and serves the insurance marketplace with statistical, actuarial, underwriting, claims data, loss control, and premium audits. The evaluation is extensive and includes a review of staff credentials and experience, plan review and inspection procedures, training, and the use of technology. ISO assigns a grade ranging from 1 (exemplary building-code enforcement) to 10. Eugene received a grade of 2; no jurisdiction in Oregon received a higher grade out of the 47 evaluated. Out of nearly 9,000 communities evaluated nationally, only six have a grade higher than Eugene. These classification grades are used by insurers as advisory material for underwriting and rate-setting. The presumption behind this is that municipalities with well-enforced, up-to-date codes should demonstrate better loss experience, and insurance rates can reflect that. For more information on the ISO rating or evaluation, contact Stuart Ramsing, building official, Planning and Development at 682- 6801, or stuart.g.ramsing@ci.eugene.or.us. Cultural Services Forms Partnership with Eugene Police Department In December 2005, staff from the Hult Center and the Eugene Police Department (EPD) created a partnership to provide youth and family outreach. The partnership identifies three key outreach efforts that will increase opportunities to attend Hult Center events: 1) encouraging families to plan activities together; 2) providing opportunities to youth whose family situations make it difficult to attend performances; and 3) including students from the Lane School in the Hult Center’s Kid Critic program. The collaboration was inspired by an October 2005 workshop presented in conjunction with the Hult Center Presents performance of The Stinky Cheese Man, a live theater production by the Dallas Children’s Theatre. Crime Prevention Specialist Tod Schneider noted, “I really appreciated the Stinky Cheese workshop. As a violence prevention specialist, I’m always looking for new ways to engage kids while teaching lessons about empathy, anger management and problem solving.” Involvement with the performing arts is a great way to engage kids of all ages. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 March 3, 2006