CCMinutes - 05/10/04 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

three years ago and now two of them were running for office and were not participating in campaign spending limitation. Mr. Meisner congratulated Friends of the Library on the success of the annual book sale, which raised $73,000. He reported that he had met with Amtrak officials from Washington DC, and they were so impressed by Eugene's depot project that they were looking for funds to assist the project. He noted that the Downtown Eugene, Inc., awards ceremony would be held on May 14, 2004. He asked that the Parks and Open Space Division work with citizens of the Santa Clara area to take some temporary steps to create some park amenities at the location of the proposed Filbert Meadows Park, which was currently vacant land. Ms. Solomon commented that a new park in the Bethel area, Bethel Community Park, was a wonderful addition to the community and when she visited it over the weekend it was filled with people. She reported that she had attended the eighth year celebration at the Service Station on Highway 99 and commended the City for helping to provide that service to citizens who needed it. Mr. Poling stated he had toured the proposed Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) project sites for next year. He said that projects would include adding pass-through lanes from Interstate 5 to Coburg Road and Coburg Road to Delta Highway on Highway 105, similar to the lanes from the Q Street on-ramp to Interstate 5. Referring to the proposed cuts to LRAPA funding, he asked if a liaison officer could be established between LRAPA and the citizens of Lane County to ensure continuation of air quality monitoring and a local contact person in the event that LRAPA was eliminated. He asked what budget reductions LRAPA had experienced over the past three years. Mayor Torrey invited councilors to attend a dinner at the Cascadia Mayor's Conference to be held May 13, 2004, at Valley River Inn. Ms. Bettman stated her objection to Mr. Papa's comments that she felt mischaracterized several councilors' intent. C. WORK SESSION: Public Works Accreditation Mr. Taylor introduced the item and commented that he had been impressed during the past year with the commitment to continuous improvement and best practices. He said that the Public Works Department over the last several years had been involved in a self-assessment as part of its efforts to become accredited under the American Public Works Association (APWA). Public Works Director Kurt Corey noted that the council would be receiving a Parks and Open Space periodic report that would answer questions from Mr. Meisner and Ms. Taylor regarding the status of neighborhood parks in their respective wards. Mr. Corey provided an overview of the accreditation process, using a slide presentation to illustrate the purpose of accreditation and the steps involved. He related that 15 agencies had completed the accreditation process and 31 were currently seeking accreditation; Eugene's Public Works Department would be the first agency in Oregon to become accredited. He listed the benefits of accreditation and stated that Public Works was pursuing it voluntarily for a number of reasons, including: MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 10, 2004 Page 5 Work Session