08/01/13 - City Council Newsletter

Home Browse Search

determination, drive and resilience to confront discrimination and make unique contributions to their communities and the world. The exhibit also highlights the crucial role of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in advancing the status of women with disabilities. For more information, contact Equity and Human Rights staff at 541-682-5177 or visit http://www.miusa.org/booklaunch and www.lanecountyhistoricalsociety.org. Hult Center Troupes Take Show on the Road The community is lucky to have a wealth of creative, talented and passionate artists and arts managers living in, and contributing to, the community. Many of them hit the road to perform in communities around the state, region and beyond. A current journey will take local dance company Ballet Fantastique on the road to Italy, its first stop. The dancers are performing this weekend in Rome. During June and July, the Oregon Bach Festival presented over 50 events in Eugene and traveled to Portland, Bend, Corvallis, Florence and Ashland. Last spring, Soromundi: Lesbian Chorus of Eugene, toured the Pacific Northwest with stops in Seattle and Portland, and Eugene Concert Choir performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Eugene Ballet Company knows the road well with annual performances throughout the Western United States, and Eugene Symphony needs four buses to travel to Roseburg or Florence. The Shedd Institute/Oregon Festival of American Music is well established in Florence and Corvallis. Throughout the summer and fall, Eugene Opera puts on special mentor events in Central and Southern Oregon. Harmonic Laboratory presented a dazzling digital show via (sub) Urban Projections in November 2012, and at the Hult Center in the spring, and will perform at an international symposium in Brussels, Belgium in mid-September. Clearly, no dust gathers under the feet or instruments of local performing artists. They are Eugene’s ambassadors wherever they perform, and when they are not on the road, the community is lucky to have them at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts. For further information, contact Hult Center Marketing & Outreach Manager Libby Tower at 541-682-8380 or libby.j.tower@ci.eugene.or.us City Celebrates Opening of Innovative Affordable Housing On July, 30, 2013, Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy, St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) executives, and project partners celebrated the opening of an innovative affordable housing project. Stellar Apartments provides 54 units of affordable, new rental housing to families, individuals, seniors, and veterans earning at or below 50 percent of the Area Median Income based on family size. The site was part of the City’s Landbanking for Affordable Housing Program. The development includes four units specifically for VetLIFT (Veterans Living Independently Following Treatment) clients with families and 10 more units for National Guard families, either currently serving or those who have completed combat deployment. Stellar Apartments is the first affordable housing development in Oregon to include a building built to the Passive House design standard. The Passive House design employs innovative construction techniques to achieve “stellar” energy efficiency. The entire development has been designed to achieve Earth Advantage certification, which includes energy efficient design and equipment, nontoxic building materials and finishes, and sustainable landscape design. These features will lower residents’ utility costs and add to the affordability of the housing. As part of a pilot program, the Stellar Apartments will provide an opportunity to compare the performance and benefits of Earth Advantage to Passive House standards, and will further the goals of the City’s Community Climate and Energy Action Plan and the Eugene-Springfield 2010 Consolidated Plan. This effort is a partnership between the City of Eugene, SVDP, Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB), and Passive House consultants. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 4 August 1, 2013