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home with a broader sense of community and renewed enthusiasm. <br /> <br />The City of Eugene and Lane County partner to offer $500 incentive grants to any public or private kindergarten <br />th <br />through 12 grade school that becomes an Oregon Green School. Eugene hosts 21 of the 28 certified Oregon <br />Green Schools within Lane County. <br /> <br />The newest school to certify and receive a $500 Green School Incentive Grant is The Little French School in west <br />Eugene. Also receiving a $500 grant is Cesar Chavez, a 4J elementary school that moved up to merit level by <br />providing a school tour and outreach to other schools during last November’s Hope in Action Conference held <br />annually in Eugene. Fourth-grade teacher Tana Shepard heads Chavez’s green school efforts and says, “Ultimately <br />it is walking your talk, and it truly takes the whole community to be involved to be successful.” <br /> <br />For more information about the Oregon Green School Program, contact Anne Donahue at 541-682-5542 or go to <br />www.iseesustains.org. <br /> <br />Westmoreland Landbanking Site Opens for Affordable Housing Proposals <br />The City is seeking proposals to build new affordable housing at the Westmoreland landbanking site in west Eugene. <br />The three-acre site is located just north of 1717 City View Drive, and was purchased by the City in 2004 from the <br />Eugene School District for $480,000. Applicants are encouraged to show how they will efficiently use the site and <br />include units and services that would meet the high needs of families with children in the area. Proposals are due to <br />the City of Eugene by May 14. Application materials and more information are <br />available at http://www.eugene-or.gov/affordablehousing. The City of Eugene will <br />accept proposals from public agencies, and from for-profit and non-profit <br />developers. All proposals will be reviewed by staff and evaluated by the <br />intergovernmental Housing Policy Board. The selection process is expected to be <br />completed by July 2010. <br /> <br />The City’s nationally recognized landbanking program identifies strategic <br />opportunities to buy land for future affordable housing development. The sites are <br />made available to developers through a competitive application process. The <br />program helps reduce land costs for developing affordable housing. The <br />landbanking program also makes it easier for developers to take advantage of <br />other state and federal resources. Ultimately, landbanking ensures the creation of <br />quality affordable housing that enables low- and very low-income persons to <br />succeed and creates many local jobs during construction of such projects. Since <br />Playground at Prairie View <br />Landbanking Site <br />1983, over 700 affordable housing units have been created in Eugene through the <br />landbanking program. <br /> <br />For more information, contact Becky L. Wheeler at 541-682-5532 or Becky.L.Wheeler@ci.eugene.or.us. <br /> <br />City of Eugene Benefits from Federal Broadband Stimulus Award <br />On behalf of a consortium of local government agencies called the Regional Fiber Consortium, the Lane Council of <br />Governments applied for a grant from the United States Department of Commerce National Telecommunications <br />and Information Administration for broadband upgrades in three Oregon counties: Douglas, Klamath and Lane. The <br />grant of $8,375,000 will build fiber optic connections to 110 community anchor institutions, including schools, <br />medical facilities, and first responder police and fire stations. In communities where some of the critical institutions <br />are already served, such as Eugene, the project will bring service to the remaining un-served locations. The <br />consortium has been informed that the grant was approved and preparations are being made for an area-wide press <br />release involving the local Congressional delegation. <br /> <br />In Eugene, the grant will provide fiber optic connections to Fire Station 8, Fire Station 9, Fire Station 11, Fire Station <br />15, Petersen Barn, and a backup fiber path to the new police building. Construction is expected to be completed in <br />12-24 months. For more information, please contact Information Services Director Randy Kolb at 541-682-5070 or <br />randy.c.kolb@ci.eugene.or.us. <br /> <br />Outdoor Program Goes Virtual <br />In typical fashion, Recreation’s Outdoor Program has jumped whole-hog into the virtual world – while still remaining <br />grounded in real-world adventures – as part of a new marketing strategy. With the help of students Julie Onizuka <br /> <br />EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 <br />March 4, 2010 <br />