HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/02/15 - City Council Newsletter
City of Eugene
125 East 8 Avenue, 2 Floor
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Eugene, Oregon 97401
(541) 682-5010
(541) 682-5414 (FAX)
www.eugene-or.gov
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
July 2, 2015
IN THIS EDITION
CITY RECEIVES COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE GRANT FOR WILDFIRE PREVENTION IN RIDGELINE
ROAD REPAIR SEASON HITS HALFWAY MARK
AROUND THE CITY
City Receives Community Assistance Grant for Wildfire Prevention in Ridgeline
The Parks and Open Space Division (POS) and the Eugene Springfield Fire Department (ESFD) have been collaborating
for years to proactively seek grant funding to reduce the risk of wildfire in the community. This spring, those efforts
were successful in bringing a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Community Assistance Grant to POS, thanks in part to
a long history of collaboration with BLM’s Eugene
District office. The BLM Community Assistance Grant,
totaling $308,557, represents the most significant
infusion of funding received to-date for reducing
wildfire risk in Eugene.
The funds will be used to reduce fuel loads on City-
owned land in the Ridgeline Park system by removing
dense thickets of invasive vegetation and overstocked
trees from forestland. Heavy fuel loads, combined with
steep and inaccessible areas, make this area vulnerable
to wildfire and pose challenges to fire suppression and
response. A fire at the wildland-urban interface in
Eugene is a significant hazard and could cause
substantial harm to over 10,000 residents and over
4,000 homes, businesses, critical communication
towers, transmission power lines, other electric
Nearly 20 BLM fuels management professionals from Oregon and utilities, and water reservoirs.
around the country toured the fuels reduction project in June.
The other major component of this BLM grant is a community outreach campaign, designed to provide Eugene
residents with tools and resources to reduce wildfire risk around their homes and to plan for their protection in the
event of a wildfire.
Residents will receive postcard mailers, signs will be installed at trailhead kiosks, ESFD will oversee radio and
television public service announcements, and a website, www.eugene-or.gov/teamup4firesafety, will connect residents
to vetted national fire prevention programs. Project activities began in May and will stretch through September.
For more information, contact Emily Steel, ecologist, at 541-682-4874 or emily.c.steel@ci.eugene.or.us.
Road Repair Season Hits Halfway Mark
Eugene’s 2015 road repair season is reaching the halfway point, with nearly a dozen streets completed or nearing
completion and more than 20 streets scheduled for construction after July 1. Advance planning and favorable weather
have been major factors in getting an early start on roadwork projects. The first project – repairs to Garden Way,
Mahlon Avenue and Willakenzie Road – got under way in early April, and some Public Works paving crews were doing
concrete paving work as early as February.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1
July 2, 2015
“We knew we had a lot of projects going into 2015, and fortunately the weather has cooperated with our paving
schedule,” said Jenifer Willer, manager of Eugene’s pavement preservation program.
Other street repairs that have been substantially completed
include portions of 25 Avenue, Timberline Drive and City
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View Street. Work is continuing on Division Avenue, 39 and
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40 avenues and Brae Burn and Donald streets. Projects
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with start dates after July 1 include portions of Valley River
Way, 19 and 22 avenues, Fillmore and Friendly streets,
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18 Avenue (Josh Street to Bertelsen Road), East 15 and
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17 avenues, Avalon (west of Echo Hollow), Cascade,
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Elizabeth and Juhl streets, and Knoop Avenue. Traffic
improvements and a test restriping of Willamette Street
from 24 to 32 avenues is planned to begin in early August.
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In addition, slurry seal treatments are scheduled in early
August on 20 residential streets, and six streets – Bertelson
Road (18 Avenue to Bailey Hill Road), Four Oaks Grange,
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Concord Street, Avalon Street (east of Echo Hollow), Pattison
Street and Central Boulevard – will receive maintenance
Recent night work on Division Avenue
overlays.
In total, the 2015 paving work represents an investment of more than $10 million in the City’s transportation
infrastructure, with nearly 35 lane-miles of streets receiving some form of pavement preservation treatment. Primary
sources of funding for the repair work include the voter-approved 2012 bond measure to fix streets, the City’s five-cent-
per-gallon local gas tax, federal funding (for the work on 18 Avenue), and Eugene’s share of the state gas tax.
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For more information, contact Pavement Preservation Program Manager Jenifer Willer at 541-501-0376.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
July 2, 2015