08/16/12 - City Council Newsletter

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In announcing the award, Susan Rossi, U.S. Paralympics community and veterans program manager said, “This program was very popular and highly competitive. We are excited about this offering and are very hopeful that the assistance that Deloitte provides will allow you to grow in your ability to meet the needs of athletes with disabilities in your area.” Begun just six months ago, Adaptive Recreation’s Paralympic Sports Club is a community-based sports development program that involves children and adults with physical and visual disabilities in sports and physical activity. For more information, contact Patty Prather at 541-682-5311. SNAP Is Happening Neighborhood Services has opened the third Strategic Neighborhood Assessment and Planning (SNAP) cycle for new applications. Both City of Eugene-recognized neighborhood associations, and community-based organizations, are eligible to participate in a SNAP process. Community-based groups can initiate a SNAP, but must have the support and collaboration of their neighborhood association. The process takes three to six months to complete, depending on the scope of the project and capacity of neighborhood leadership. Once a SNAP is successfully completed, the neighborhood is eligible for up to $5,000 in grant funds to implement actions from their plan. The SNAP process offers focused staff assistance to neighborhood and community groups to assess needs and develop a plan that identifies and outlines goals, strategies and actions to address them. The SNAP process engages a broad community of neighborhood stakeholders, builds partnerships and collaborations with the City and other organizations, and provides direction for neighborhood associations and community groups. Past SNAP projects have ranged from general goal-setting, prioritization, outreach and work planning for a neighborhood association to more specific projects such as community engagement concerning urbanization in the Santa Clara and River Road neighborhoods, Latino business development, and urban agriculture. A proposed project can be located in part of a neighborhood or can span multiple neighborhoods. The updated SNAP guide and application are now available on the Neighborhood Services website: http://www.eugene-or.gov/index.aspx?nid=233. A pre-application consultation with Neighborhood Services staff is required by Aug. 24, and applications are due on Sept. 7. The selected neighborhood(s) will be notified by Sept. 21, and work will begin in October. For more information, contact SNAP leads Rene Kane at 541-682-6243 or rene.c.kane@ci.eugene.or.us or Lorna Flormoe at lorna.r.flormoe@ci.eugene.or.us or 541-682-5670, in Neighborhood Services, City Manager’s Office. Controlled Ecological Burns Help Native Fire-Dependent Species Thrive This fall, the Rivers to Ridges partners will be undertaking controlled ecological burns at several West Eugene Wetlands sites. The City of Eugene’s Natural Resources team, with the assistance of the Eugene Fire and EMS Department (EFD), has planned a small, controlled ecological burn at the City’s Willow Corner site. The burn planned on this six-acre City-owned th land, at the corner of West 18 Avenue and Bertelsen Road, is part of a much larger, controlled ecological burn planned in collaboration with the West Eugene Wetland partner organizations, including The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The Rivers to Ridges Partnership (formerly known as the West Eugene Wetlands Partnership) relies on controlled ecological burning as a restoration tool to protect valuable biological diversity in prairie and savanna ecosystems. Removal of standing dead vegetation also benefits the community by decreasing the chances of uncontrolled wildfires at the wildland-urban interface. City staff works hard to make sure the community is protected from potential negative impacts of fire. EFD and the City’s Natural Resources staff carefully assess weather conditions and burn only on days when the wind will blow smoke away from residential areas. The Lane Regional Air Protection Agency reviews the controlled burn plans each year, issuing a permit and conditions under which burns may proceed. City crews mow fuel breaks around the perimeter of each burn unit to prevent fire from traveling outside the planned burn area. Finally, controlled ecological burns are managed by experienced and highly trained fire crews, including EFD, who are working from detailed burn plans. These plans provide extensive prescriptions describing how to conduct the burn to provide maximum protection for the community. Additional controlled ecological burns may be performed by Rivers to Ridges partner agencies on lands elsewhere in the wetlands, including on lands owned by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 August 16, 2012