10/29/09 - City Council Newsletter

Home Browse Search

more than 1,600 residents whose properties are adjacent to curbside bike lanes and to dozens of area landscapers and yard-service owners. The postcards remind people to not place leaves in bike lanes and offer alternatives such as using yard-debris containers or composting leaves on site. Public Works also has produced a 30-second video PSA for local TV stations, placed messages on the back of LTD buses, and scheduled ads to run in local newspapers. The response from the local bicycling community for the most part has been favorable. Staff continues to work with residents on viable alternatives that allow leaves and cyclists to co-exist. For more information, contact PWM Surface Operations Manager Eric Johnson at 682-4904 or Eric.P.Johnson@ci.eugene.or.us. Fire & EMS Receives Public Education Grant from Fireman’s Fund Insurance Cody, Official Fire Safety Dalmatian of Eugene’s Fire & EMS Department, will have additional resources for teaching fire safety skills to Eugene’s young people, thanks to a $7,500 no-match grant from Fireman’s Fund Insurance. This is the second grant Fireman’s Fund has awarded to the Cody Program; the first allowed the department to purchase a trailer to transport Cody’s props and curriculum materials. The new grant will enable Cody and his owner and trainer, Deputy Fire Marshal Amy Linder, to purchase 10 traveling trunks pre-loaded with age-appropriate fire safety information that can be used for classroom teaching with or without Cody’s presence. The grant will also provide for the purchase of a number of smoke alarms that will be carried on the City’s fire engines and offered to local residents when fire crews identify a need. For more information, please contact Interim Fire Marshal Doug Perry at 682-5887. Planning Division Enhances Intern Program For over 20 years, the Planning & Development Department has been fortunate to provide real world opportunities to smart and motivated student interns. Over the past year, the Planning Division has increased the division’s intern capacity, raising the program’s visibility and generally strengthening it overall. As part of the Planning Division Intern Program, interns work in a professional office environment, receive mentoring from City staff, and most importantly, gain valuable professional experience from their work on a variety of planning-related projects. In return, the program builds on City and school relationships, particularly with the University of Oregon’s Planning, Public Policy, and Management Department and the School of Architecture and Allied Arts. In addition, this program allows Planning staff to build relationships with future planners while receiving much needed assistance on a variety of high priority projects. Given that the internship program is primarily volunteer-based, these services have been particularly valuable during these budget-tightening times. This term, Planning Division interns have provided critical assistance with several priority projects, including Strategic Neighborhood Action Plans, Infill Compatibility Standards and Opportunity Sitting, and Walnut Station Mixed Use Center. For more information on the Planning Division Intern Program, see http://www.eugene- or.gov/planningintern or contact Heather O’Donnell via email at heather.m.odonnell@ci.eugene.or.us, or by phone at 682-5488. Medics Prepare for Firefighter Role As one more means of controlling ambulance service costs, and in view of its new partnership with Rural/Metro Ambulance, the Fire & EMS Department has made the decision to discontinue the “90-series” single-role ambulance service, which had been provided during times of peak demand (basically daytimes and evenings) since 2002. To place the existing 90-series employees, the department offered these individuals – all women – the opportunity to enter into training to become regular firefighter/paramedics. Of seven eligible employees, six accepted and are currently undergoing training. Upon successful completion of firefighting training they will be assigned to fire stations on regular shift assignments. There they will serve in employee-in-transition status until they have met performance objectives established by the department. The vacancies that these individuals will fill were created through normal attrition in the firefighter ranks. Here and elsewhere, firefighters are typically hired in groups in order to minimize training costs and provide adequate staffing flexibility. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 October 29, 2009