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Home My WebLink AboutCC Newsletter - 10/21/04EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER October 21, 2004 City of Eugene 777 Pearl Street, Room 105 Eugene, Oregon 97401-2793 (541) 682-5010 (541) 682-5414 (FAX) www.ci.eugene.or, us PLANNING COMMISSIONER RECEIVES STATE RECOGNITION CITY OF EUGENE RECREATION SERVICES PARTNERS WITH COUNTY OBESITY COALITION OBSIDIANS AND CITY TEAM UP TO IMPROVE TRAILS AT SPENCER BUTTE WEST EUGENE WETLANDS PROGRAM WINS AWARD FOR SUSTAINABILITY Planninq Commissioner Receives State Recoqnition The Planning Division is pleased to announce that Eugene Planning Commissioner, Adell McMillan, was the recent recipient of the Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association Award for Distinguished Leadership by a Community Planner. Adell has served on the Eugene Planning Commission for twelve years. This alone would qualify her for the award, but her dedication and commitment to the community spans virtually her entire professional career. Her service on the Planning Commission has been exemplary. She is a strong advocate for affordable housing in the community. She is a centrist and innovator, who presents well thoughtout, reasoned, and articulate arguments when stating her position on an issue. She often volunteers to take the Planning Commission's ideas, projects, and programs to the public at workshops, neighborhood meetings, and City Council meetings. Adell has a long list of accomplishments and achievements while serving on the Planning Commission. A few examples of her outstanding work and commitment to the community and the values of community planning include: · Growth Management Study · Eugene Decisions Community Discussion · TransPlan update · Periodic review of the comprehensive plan · West Eugene Parkway · West Eugene Wetlands Plan · Several neighborhood refinement plans · Creation and implementation of nodal development program · Downtown Plan · Financing tools for housing · Urban renewal · Historic resource surveys · Historic landmark designations · Creation of a "Eugene Modernism 1935-65, a context statement of modern buildings that will soon EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 October 25, 2004 be subject to historic consideration Congratulations Adell! For further information, please contact Susan Muir, Planning and Development, 682-5408. City of Eugene Recreation Services Partners with County Obesity Coalition In 2001, The Surgeon General's Call To Action To Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity stated, "Overweight and obesity have reached nationwide epidemic proportions. Both the prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity and their associated health problems are important public health goals." This call to action committed to five overarching principles to prevent and treat obesity: · Promote recognition as a major public health problem. · Assist Americans in balancing healthful eating with regular physical activity. · Identify effective and culturally appropriate forms of intervention. · Encourage effective environmental changes. · Develop public-private partnerships to help implement this vision. In response to this call, the Lane County Medical Society (LCMS) is focusing efforts on the prevention of childhood obesity. The LCMS is collaborating with other key partners in Lane County, that promote physical activity and fitness or influence the nutrition of children, to their maximize effectiveness. Angel Jones, LRCS Executive Director, is representing the City of Eugene in this worthy effort. The list of participants also includes representatives of the Eugene, Bethel, and Springfield school districts, Birth-to- Three, the YMCA, KIDSPORTS, Willamalane Parks and Recreation, and Stand for Children, as well as physicians and dieticians. The goal of the coalition is to develop strategies to improve the health of children and their families through the prevention of weight problems and related chronic diseases. For more information, contact Angel Jones, 682-6065. Obsidians and City Team up to Improve Trails at Spencer Butte Earlier this month, 11 volunteers from the Obsidians Club, a local non- profit group involved in hiking, backpacking, mountain climbing, cross country skiing, and other outdoor activities, teamed up with the City's Volunteers in Parks program to spruce up worn and overgrown trails along the Spencer Butte Ridgeline Trail. In just four hours, these industrious and motivated volunteers rehabilitated 100 feet of old trail, cleaned out culverts and drains, and cleared brush from 1.5 miles of trail, including pruning tree branches that were obstructing the trail. "It was a fantastic group, very energetic and enthusiastic," said Volunteers in Parks Coordinator Matt McRae. "And, there is momentum to do more of this strenuous work on the trail." The group has scheduled another work party for Saturday, November 20, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. All interested community members are invited to join the Obsidians in their effort to improve the Spencer Butte trail. Volunteers in Parks provides all volunteers with tools, snacks and instruction. To sign up or for more information about this and other park improvement projects, call Matt McRae, Volunteers in Parks Coordinator at 682-4845 or e-mail him at v°lunteersinparks@ci'eugene'°r'us' West Euqene Wetlands Proqram Wins Award for Sustainability The West Eugene Wetlands Program has been recognized as a model for sustainability by the Oregon Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA). The award of the Julian Prize for the Sustainability Project of the Year was made last Thursday at the APWA chapter's fall conference in Welches, Oregon. The Julian Prize for sustainability was created by Oregon APWA to recognize outstanding examples of sustainability in the areas of policies, practices, and projects. The West Eugene Wetlands earned the prize in the project category. The program, which is housed in the Public Works Department, is based upon the West Eugene Wetlands Plan, a multiple-objective wetlands management and land use plan EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 October 25, 2004 adopted by the City of Eugene and Lane County in 1992. Elements of the program include planning and implementing wetland restoration and stream restoration projects, managing the West Eugene Wetlands Mitigation Bank, conducting vegetation and hydrological monitoring of restoration sites, working with partner agencies to plan and implement land acquisition, planning recreational facilities, and working collaboratively with partner agencies to implement recreation and education programming about the wetlands. The West Eugene Wetlands Program has been a model of sustainability for more than 12 years. Its achievements in the area of environmental sustainability include acquiring almost 3,000 acres of wetlands and associated uplands for permanent natural resources protection, protecting and expanding populations of plants and animals that are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, actively enhancing or restoring 800 acres of wetlands and approximately 8,000 linear feet of streams, promoting alternative modes of transportation through construction of the Fern Ridge Path along the Amazon Creek Corridor, using primarily non-chemical modes of weed control and hazardous fuels reduction, and maintaining the genetic integrity of the native plant populations in the West Eugene Wetlands through the seed collection program. Community sustainability is demonstrated by constructing 2.5 miles of multi-use trails that meet APWA standards, completing an additional 1.5 miles of walking trails, providing year-round education programs with partner organizations, developing and installing interpretive signage throughout wetlands, and encouraging community participation in restoration efforts. The program provides economic sustainability by increasing developer certainty and confidence, operating the wetlands mitigation bank as a self-sustaining revolving fund, and serving as a model for high-quality wetland restoration. Other winners of the 2004 Oregon APWA Julian Prize were the Tualatin Valley Water District in the policies category, and the City of Gresham's "Great Business" program on the area of practices. For more information about the West Eugene Wetlands Program and the Julian Prize for Sustainability, contact Eric Wold, Wetlands Program Supervisor, at 682-4888. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 October 25, 2004