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Home My WebLink About10/24/13 - City Council Newsletter City of Eugene 125 East 8 Avenue, 2 Floor thnd Eugene, Oregon 97401 (541) 682-5010 (541) 682-5414 (FAX) www.eugene-or.gov EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER October 24, 2013 IN THIS EDITION VOLUNTEERS MAKE A DIFFERENCE AT ALTON BAKER PARK EUGENE GARNERS HEALTH AND SAFETY AWARDS STAFF TEAM WINS “AWARD OF MERIT” FOR EUGENE@150 CELEBRATION FAMED POET BILLY COLLINS AT EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY HULT CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS DELIGHTS WITH A PLETHORA OF PERFORMANCES PUBLIC MEETING: 13 AVENUE PAVING PROJECT TH AROUND THE CITY Volunteers Make a Difference at Alton Baker Park Alton Baker Park is Eugene’s largest developed park and is home to dozens of recreational features and facilities serving the City of Eugene since 1959. Many Eugene Park Steward volunteer groups contribute to making Alton Baker Park a top recreation destination, including Lowe’s Home Improvement and Rotaract, a Rotary-based service organization for young adults focused on networking, learning about a variety of professions and building community. Earlier this year, Lowe’s associates volunteered time to replace concrete, repair and repaint benches and tables, and maintain the fence line at Alton Baker Dog Park. They were taking part in the Lowe’s Heroes Program, a long-standing relationship between Lowe’s stores and the local community. “Knowing this community has a love of animals, the store voted to do something to benefit animal-lovers. We have store associates who bring their animals to Alton Baker Dog Park,” said Cynthia Russ, store manager. Lowe’s Heroes Program is an encouraging example of the growing partnership between the Eugene Rotaract volunteers at the rain garden in Alton Baker Park. business community and Eugene Park Stewards. Rotaract adopted the developed portion of Alton Baker Park about two years ago and has been active in the park ever since. They follow a slightly different model than some other adoption groups, waiting on stand-by and ready to pitch in whenever needed. Their spontaneous approach allows those little projects that crop up to be quickly addressed. Members of the Rotaract Club appreciate that volunteering through Eugene Park Stewards is convenient, dependable and gives them a sense of satisfaction. “Rotaract’s most successful project is the rain garden installation near the shelters because it addressed an ongoing maintenance issue while providing a stormwater educational tool. Community members really got excited about it and joined us to complete the project,” said North Region Volunteer Coordinator Katie Blair-Terrazas. This lasting project has made mowing easier for Park Operations staff this time of year because it is no longer a low and muddy place for water to collect. Individuals, clubs and business volunteers who like to work outdoors can find their place with a group at Alton Baker Park. Learn more about Eugene Park Steward volunteer projects and park adoptions by contacting Katie Blair-Terrazas at katie.a.blair@ci.eugene.or.us or 541-682-4831. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 October 24, 2013 Eugene Garners Health and Safety Awards Healthiest Employer Award: For the fourth year in a row, the City of Eugene was named one of Oregon's top 10 healthiest employers of its size by the Portland Business Journal. The mission of the Healthiest Employer Program is to reward companies which demonstrate innovation and leadership in their workplace wellness initiatives. Organizations were assessed in six key categories: culture and leadership commitment; foundational components; strategic planning; communications and marketing; programming and interventions, and reporting and analysis. LOC/CIS Safety Award: The City of Eugene was presented with the top safety award at the 2013 League of Oregon Cities (LOC) annual conference. The award is a joint recognition from LOC and Citycounty Insurance Services (CIS). This year CIS created a separate category for large employers and the City of Eugene was the first large employer to receive the Gold Safety Award, which is given to the employer with the lowest injury frequency rate. For more information, contact Risk Services Director Myrnie Daut, Central Services Department, at 541-682-5790. Staff Team Wins “Award of Merit” for Eugene@150 Celebration City staff who planned and implemented last year’s celebration of Eugene’s150th anniversary received an Award of Merit from the Public Relations Society of America Portland Chapter at a ceremony on Oct. 17. The award recognizes those who have “raised the standards of public relations through the use of successful tactics, campaigns and programs.” Events of the four-month celebration coordinated by the staff team included a kickoff party downtown; the creation and installation of a Blue Heron public art sculpture dedicated to the anniversary; creation and playing of the Passport to History game that asked children to find historical structures around town for a chance to win a prize; walking, biking and driving tours of historical buildings; presentations on historical topics at the Eugene Public Library, development of an interactive map of historical places and a “Eugene@150Places” app for iPhone; writing and producing a video curriculum of Eugene’s history for fourth graders; a commemorative brewing of a “Commonwealth” beer; and a birthday celebration that included a procession to downtown Eugene, cakes decorated with images of historical buildings, and the singing of “Happy Birthday.” The anniversary celebration planned by the City staff team was truly a community event. The team invited residents to put on their own events under the umbrella of the Eugene@150 mission and logo and asked: “What’s your 150?” As a result, dozens of resident-organized events complemented those planned by the staff team. Members of the staff team pictured are: Billie Moser, Kathy Madison (both Library, Recreation and Cultural Services [LRCS]) and Jan Bohman (Central Services/City Manager’s Office [CS/CMO]). Other staff team members included Karina Fon and Matt McRae (CS/CMO); LaVena Nohrenberg, Tom Powers and Isaac Marquez (LRCS); Eric Jones, Kim Mast, Jeffrey Flowers and Lorna Baldwin (Public Works), and Laura Hammond, Becky Taylor, Nancy Young, and Steven Ochs (Planning and Development Department). For more information, contact Jan Bohman at 541-682-5587. Famed Poet Billy Collins at Eugene Public Library The Downtown Eugene Public Library will host a reading by Billy Collins, the United States Poet Laureate for 2001 – 2003, at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Collins’ work has inspired both critical acclaim and extraordinary popularity. Collins considers humor “a door into the serious,” leading to poems that are funny, tender, quirky, moving, and profound observations of everyday life. Often heard on National Public Radio, Collins has been widely honored, including as the inaugural recipient of Poetry Foundation’s Mark Twain Prize for Humor in Poetry and winner of the 2013 Donald Hall-Jane Kenyon Prize in American Poetry. His latest book is “Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems 2003 – 2013.” EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 October 24, 2013 Collins’ level of fame is almost unprecedented in the world of contemporary poetry; his readings regularly sell out. He has been dubbed “the most popular poet in America” by Bruce Weber of the New York Times, and was praised by John Updike for writing “lovely poems . . . gently and consistently startling, more serious than they seem.” Critic John Taylor says of Collins, “rarely has anyone written poems that appear so transparent on the surface yet become so ambiguous, thought- provoking, or simply wise once the reader has peered into the depths.” Collins served two terms as the U.S. Poet Laureate, was New York State Poet Laureate from 2004 - 2006, and received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the New York Foundation for the Arts. At the event, books will be available for sale and signing courtesy of Barnes & Noble. For more information, contact the Eugene Public Library at 541-682-5450 or www.eugene-or.gov/library. Hult Center for the Performing Arts Delights with a Plethora of Performances From rockin’ and raucous, to enchanting and sublime, the performing arts season at the Hult Center is in full swing. The famous game show, The Price is Right, brought the house down in early September. Eugene Symphony’s opening night concert featured Bolero, kicked off by a swirling Flamenco dance performance in the lobby which captivated the audience. Peter Pan took flight for Eugene Ballet Company’s season opener. Gershwin’s jazzy compositions paired with Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances combined for a compelling evening by the symphony; live gypsy-style Latin music complimented Zorro, The Ballet, and the Moody Blues are still rocking with its original band members. Next week features an evening with Bernadette Peters, then STOMP sweeps into town with its “big noise” time. Dance Theatre of Harlem brings passion, power and perfection to the Silva Concert Hall in early November. And much more is yet to come in the holiday season of sugar plums and festivities. For more information, contact Marketing and Public Relations Manager Libby Tower at 541-682-8380 or Libby.j.tower@ci.eugene.or.us Public Meeting: 13 Avenue Paving Project th A meeting to discuss the 13 Avenue paving project from Garfield Street to Washington Street in 2014 is scheduled for th Monday, Oct. 28, at 6 p.m. in the Atrium of the Eugene Faith Center, 1410 West 13 Avenue. The purpose of the meeting th will be to discuss the possible addition of bike lanes, removal of on-street parking and connections for people who ride bicycles through the Lane County Fairgrounds. Please contact Reed Dunbar at 541-682-5727 with questions. For more information, visit www.eugene-or.gov/13thAvePaving. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 October 24, 2013