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Vincent dePaul was selected through a request for proposals process. This development will have 60
<br />units and will primarily serve families with children. Some units will be dedicated to people with
<br />developmental disabilities. Other units will be rented to parenting teens who are assisted by the Looking
<br />Glass New Roads program. Rents will be affordable to households between 28% and 50% of area's
<br />median income. (Median income for this area is $54,300.)
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<br />This project is projected to cost $7.4 million. The City granted $890,000 ($450,000 land, $425,000
<br />HOME, $15,000 SDCs) and other local subsidies include $25,000 toward EWEB SDCs and $150,000
<br />from the Lane County Road Fund.
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<br />Metropolitan Affordable Housing Corporation's Apple Orchard is being constructed on a 2.5-acre
<br />landbank site that was acquired in 2002. This 40-unit development on Lone Oak Drive will have rents
<br />affordable to tenants who are between 30% and 50% of median income.
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<br />The project is expected to cost $4 million. The City granted $698,800 ($210,000 CDBG, $400,000
<br />HOME, $88,800 SDCs) to subsidze the rents. Additionally, other local subsidies include $45,500 from
<br />EWEB SDCs, a $25,000 CDBG grant and $50,000 in rehabilitation loans to NEDCO for renovation of
<br />homes on the site that will be sold to a qualified buyer.
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<br />Both projects are receiving construction loans from the City's HOME grant and both are receiving a 20-
<br />year property tax exemption. Since 1989, the City has been instrumental in the construction or
<br />acquisition of 1,220 units of subsidized housing, often resulting in dramatic improvement in the lives of
<br />the fortunate tenants. For more information, please contact Richie Weinman, Urban Services Manager,
<br />Planning and Development Department at 682-5533 or Richie.d.weinman~.ci.eu.qene.or. us
<br />
<br />Summer Readinq Success at Euqene Public Library
<br />Nearly 2200 children and teens participated in Eugene Public Library (EPL) Summer Reading programs
<br />this year, including an aimed-for 20% increase in elementary-age kids, the program's target audience.
<br />The main purpose of Summer Reading is to keep reading skills up while school is out. This year, EPL
<br />Summer Reading programs focused on talking together about books, recommending titles to others,
<br />exploring creativity, and contributing to a community reading goal.
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<br />The children's program, Discover New Trails @ Your Library, led elementary-age kids on a reading trail
<br />through nonfiction subjects with Dewey Dare? Discovery Days/. workshops at all EPL locations. Both kids
<br />and parents were enthusiastic about the nonfiction focus, reporting that they explored new topics and
<br />learned more about how the Dewey classification system works. Kids received a free paperback book at
<br />sign-up, and celebrated the program's end with a family party at Amazon Pool. Avid readers met the
<br />community goal of 1,000 written-up book recommendations at the Downtown Library, and 200 at each of
<br />the branches, earning the adoption of "educator" birds at Cascade Raptor Center: a red-tailed hawk
<br />(Downtown), a kestrel (Bethel), and an owl (Sheldon).
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<br />The teen program's theme was Get Lost @ Your Library: Find Yourself Between the Stacks and the
<br />Stars. Activities emphasized ways for teens to discover new talents and ideas, particularly through self-
<br />expression and the arts, ranging from cartooning to tango. Compared with past years, there were more
<br />events for teens at the branch locations, and more book discussions. The teen readers adopted a red-
<br />shouldered hawk, and closed the program with local Teen Choice Awards.
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<br />For younger kids, EPL staff continued its usual schedule of storytimes, and also took the fun outside in
<br />collaboration with the City's Recreation Division. From special events like We Are Bethel, the Whiteaker
<br />River Festival, and the Multicultural Festival, to weekly Razzle Dazzle Storytimes in a different City park
<br />each week, kids and their families enjoyed stories, songs, and magic - with the promise of more when
<br />they visit the Library.
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<br />Generous gifts from the Friends of Eugene Public Library and the Eugene Public Library Foundation
<br />helped fund Summer Reading 2004. Library volunteers were a treasured support, too, contributing 200
<br />hours of service over the course of the summer.
<br />
<br />Learning and fun for kids of all ages at the Library continues with back-to-school programs starting in
<br />September. For more information, call 682-5450.
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<br />EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
<br />October 1,2004
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