10/07/10 - City Council Newsletter

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process offers focused Neighborhood Services staff assistance to neighborhood leadership to assess neighborhood needs and develop a plan outlining goals, strategies and actions. The SNAP process engages a broad community of neighborhood stakeholders, builds partnerships and collaborations with the City and other organizations for needed skills and resources, and provides direction for neighborhood leadership. City-recognized neighborhood associations are all eligible to participate in a SNAP process. Other neighborhood- based groups may initiate a SNAP, but must do so with the support and collaboration of their neighborhood association. Two different types of SNAP processes are currently offered: one that focuses on a one- to two-year work plan for the neighborhood - or one that addresses a specific project or issue. The SNAP process can take between three to six months to complete depending on the scope of the project and the capacity of neighborhood leadership. Once a SNAP is successfully completed, the neighborhood is eligible for up to $5,000 in grant funds to help implement part of its SNAP plan. The updated SNAP Guide and Application were released on October 1, 2010. A pre-application consultation with Neighborhood Services staff is required by October 29, and applications are due on November 12. The selected neighborhood(s) will be notified by December 10, and work will start in January 2011. The SNAP Guide and Application are available to interested parties on the Neighborhood Services website http://www.eugene-or.gov/nap. For more information, contact Neighborhood Services staff Lorna Flormoe at lorna.r.flormoe@ci.eugene.or.us or 541-682-5670, or Rene Kane at 541-682-6243 or rene.c.kane@ci.eugene.or.us. Hult Center Selects New Steinway Concert Grand This spring, it became apparent that the Hult Center’s 30-year-old Steinway had reached the end of its service life when it would no longer hold its tune through performances, and repairs would not return the piano to its former glory and the performance level necessary for a concert grand. To find a replacement, Cultural Services Division Manager Karm Hagedorn, and Events Manager, Theresa Sizemore (who is a skilled piano technician and teacher), along with University of Oregon (UO) School of Music piano faculty members, Claire Wachter and Dean Kramer, traveled the region to play and listen to eight available Steinway Concert Grande model D pianos. The two finalists were recently transported to Silva Concert Hall for a “piano play-off.” The selection team moved throughout the hall during the performances given by doctors Kramer and Wachter, and Chris Hepp of Sherman Clay Pianos, critiquing and discussing each piano’s “voice,” sustain, tone, action, “playability” and other more subtle nuances. UO Piano Technician Alan Philips lent further technical expertise. After careful deliberation, the team selected the piano dubbed the “Bellevue”, a reference to the former location of this piano. Both pianos demonstrated the capability to fill the 2,500-seat hall and, while the new Hult Center Steinway has already been described as “majestic,” “virile,” and “regal,” the tipping point for its selection was that it also, in Hagedorn’s words, “resonates and responds with a delicate sweetness that will capture your heart.” Everyone from beginning piano students to touring professionals will play this fine instrument and Hult Center staff is proud to have had the opportunity to bring it home to Eugene. For more information, call Karm Hagedorn at 541-682-5700. City Receives Silver Safety Award The City of Eugene was presented with the Silver Safety Award at the annual League of Oregon Cities Conference, held at the Eugene Hilton on September 24. The annual Safety Award Program for Oregon cites was initiated by the league to stimulate participation in loss prevention programs and provides recognition to cities with low accident frequency rates. The City has received this award, which demonstrates excellence on the part of City employees to improve safety performance, every year since 2001. For more information, please contact Safety/Loss Control and Environmental Program Manager Craig Sorseth, Risk Services Division, at 541-682-5762. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 October 7, 2010