HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Newsletter - 01/20/05EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
January 20, 2005
City of Eugene
777 Pearl Street, Room 105
Eugene, Oregon 97401-2793
(541) 682-5010
(541) 682-5414 (FAX)
www.ci.eugene.or, us
107 CITIZEN VOLUNTEERS DONATE NEARLY ~6,000 HOURS TO EPD IN 2004
ODOT BEGINS WORK ON I-~05 OVERLAY PROJECT
AURORA BUILDING RECEIVES HUD "DOORKNOCKER AWARD"
THE DRAWER BOY OPENS AT HULT CENTER
SANTA CLARA NEIGHBORS INVITED TO PREVIEW DRAFT PLAN FOR NEIGHBORHOOD PARK
RUGGED VOLUNTEERS MAKE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS AT DELTA PONDS
EMPLOYEE GIVING CAMPAIGN SUPPORTS COMMUNITY SERVICES
~07 Citizen Volunteers Donate Nearly ~6~000 Hours of Service to EPD in 2004
In 2004, 107 citizen volunteers donated 15,914 hours of
service in 40 different assignments through the Eugene
Police Department's Volunteers in Policing (VIP)
Program. Thirty-two volunteers are graduates of the
Citizens' Police Academy. The volunteers range in age
from 17 to 85.
Volunteers provide support in each of the department's
four divisions. Examples of volunteer assignments
include: helping staff a VIP booth at the Lane County
Home Show; filing police reports and citations in the
Records Section; wearing the McGruffthe Crime Dog
costume at community events; fundraising; role-playing
for special team scenario trainings; shuttling vehicles to
and from Fleet Maintenance and restocking patrol vehicle trunks; helping staff maintain community
access to the four neighborhood substations; collecting and organizing memorabilia for a police museum;
reviewing police reports and entering data for the Financial Crimes Unit; giving consumer scams, fraud
and identity theft prevention presentations to community groups; issuing citations to violators of disabled
parking spaces, conducting home vacation checks; sending letters to the registered owners of speeding
vehicles as part of a traffic calming effort and partnership with the Planning and Development
Department's Neighborhood Radar Program; preparing certified copies of audio tape records for the
Communications/911 Center; assisting with production of the department's monthly newsletter; providing
reception for the Property Control Unit; filing fingerprint cards for the Forensic Evidence Unit; and
electronically entering pawned property for the Operations Analysis Unit.
The Eugene Police Department is currently recruiting for additional volunteers to help staff the four
neighborhood public safety substations (Bethel, City Center, West University and Whiteaker) and to
provide reception for a volunteer-staffed police information line we hope to implement. For more
information, contact Volunteers in Policing Program Coordinator Carrie Chouinard at 652-5355 or
carrie, f. chouinard~ci, eugene, or. us.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1
January 20, 2005
ODOT Beqins Work on 1-105 Overlay Proiect
A project to repave and make other enhancements to Interstate 105 in Eugene is scheduled to begin this
week. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has awarded the $13 million construction
contract to Oregon Mainline Paving of McMinnville.
Initial work will involve installing traffic control signage, removing trees and shrubbery in construction
areas, replacing bridge rails, and building auxiliary lanes between I-5 and Coburg Road and the Coburg
Road and Delta Highway exits. Most of this work will be done at night and is not expected to significantly
affect traffic. The schedule also includes a 66-day "window" targeted between April 27 and June 20
where various portions of 1-105 will be closed for paving, resulting in significant traffic impacts. The
project is anticipated to be substantially completed in July 2005.
ODOT and local agencies, including the City of Eugene, have worked together for more than a year to
coordinate projects and minimize impacts on the traveling public while 1-105 is under construction. A
"Congestion Mitigation Program" has been developed within LTD's Commuter Solutions program,
Eugene's alternative modes program, and other local agencies. Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) is
working with staff from Eugene and other local agencies to coordinate information services such as a
hotline, a web site, and other forms of outreach. The first phase of outreach and resource material will be
available online the first week of February at www. KeepUsMoving.info. For more information about the
project, contact ODOT Project Manager Jeff Payne at 541-744-8080 or Petra Schuetz at LCOG, 541-
682-3000.
Aurora Buildinq Receives HUD "Doorknocker Award"
The Aurora Building, the affordable housing development
located at 11th Avenue and Oak Street in Eugene,
received one of only fifteen "Doorknocker Awards"
awarded by the US Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) to local governments nationwide. St.
Vincent dePaul's Aurora Building, funded in part with
Eugene's federal HOME funding, is a mixed-use building
with 54 residential units. The project was recognized by
HUD for demonstrating the successful use of sustainable
design and "green" building techniques in a downtown
setting. The project has geothermal heating, cooling, and
water heating systems, which will cut tenants' heating bills
by approximately 50% and water heating bills by 70%,
thereby increasing affordability for Iow-income tenants.
The Aurora Building is convenient to public transportation and within walking distance of many
businesses, shops, a community college, and the public library. The building's design incorporates local
artwork, including glass tiles from the Aurora Glass Foundry. For more information, contact Linda
Dawson, Planning and Development Department, 682-5071.
The Drawer Boy Opens at Hult Center
The Willamette Repertory Theatre opens The Drawer Boy on January 26 for a two-week run on the
Soreng stage.
Already being hailed as a modern classic, The Drawer Boy is currently the most
in-demand play in North America with TIME magazine naming it one of the Ten
Best Plays of 2001. It is the story of two WWll veterans-turned-farmers who
allow an actor to study their lives and livelihoods. This holds up a mirror to their
secrets and reveals more truth than the three of them ever expected. This
heart-warming story of mystery and loving discovery is full of surprises, humor
and heart and proves that when it comes to making choices, always choose
friendship.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
January 20, 2005
The Willamette Repertory Theatre is in its sixth season of producing quality professional theatre at the
Hult.
Pre-performance talks will be held in the Hult Center Lobby on January 26 and 27 at 6:45 p.m., before the
two preview performances on those dates. The DrawerBoy runs through February 13. For more
information, contact the Hult Center Ticket Office at 682-5000.
Santa Clara Neiqhbors Invited to Preview Draft Plan for Neiqhborhood Park
On Tuesday, January 25, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.,
neighbors in the north Santa Clara area are invited
to preview the draft design for the new Filbert
Meadows Park, located off Naismith Boulevard ~ii: ~' '"~tl":~
north of Irvington Drive. A draft concept plan has
been prepared based on the results of the first
public workshop held in November. In this follow-
up session, participants will have the opportunity
to review the results of the first workshop, discuss
the draft concept plan and help prioritize
improvements. The meeting will be held in the
Spring Creek Elementary School cafeteria at 560
Irvington Drive.
The 3.3-acre park was purchased with 1998 parks
and open space bond measure funds for use as a
neighborhood park. Improvements to the park are funded by park systems development charges.
Construction is scheduled for summer 2006. The draft concept plan, as well as a report on the results of
the first workshop, may be viewed online at www.ci.eugene.or, us/parks/filbert. For more information or to
give input, visit the website or call Robin Hostick, park planner, at 682-4915.
Rugged Volunteers Make $iqnificant Proqress at Delta Ponds Last Weekend
Despite the freezing rain, approximately 55
Girl Scouts, Rotary, Lions, Alpha Phi Omega,
and other Stream Team and Volunteers In
Parks volunteers turned out to restore habitat
and build trails at Delta Ponds last Saturday
morning. The Downtown Lions, Girl Scouts
from Troop #378 and members from the UO
Alpha Phi Omega national co-ed service
fraternity gathered just off Goodpasture
Island Road north of the car dealerships at
the site that the Lions adopted nearly eight
years ago through Stream Team. The
diverse group of volunteers of all ages was
first briefed by Eugene Stream Team
Coordinator Lorna Baldwin and Delta Ponds
Habitat Enhancement Coordinator Laud
Mullen about the history of the site and the
long-term goals of the larger restoration and
recreation effort underway at Delta Ponds, funded by the City, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau
of Land Management, and several other local and state partners. Eager to contribute and stay warm on
the frigid winter morning, the volunteers got to work and, in a little over two hours, planted 112 native
trees and shrubs in four distinct experimental plots, plugged 235 willow and dogwood cuttings along the
shore, built a 3-foot fence around one plot, watered and installed paper weed barrier on all the plants, and
mulched nearly all the plots with chips. Information gathered from these experimental plots will be useful
in preparation for the thousands of native trees and shrubs that will be planted next fall in those areas of
Delta Ponds that were recently cleared of blackberries and other invasive species.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3
January 20, 2005
"It was a lot to accomplish in a little over two hours but everyone seemed to be in good spirits with hardly
a mention of frostbite despite temperatures in the Iow 30s," says Lorna Baldwin. "The Lions were
delighted with the turn-out, the Girl Scouts are going to start building raised beds at the new native plant
nursery, at which all of the plants that were used for this project were cultivated, and several members of
the Alpha Phi Omega group asked to be notified of future Stream Team projects."
Just a stone's throw north on Goodpasture Island Road, Rotarians from several different clubs were also
hard at work on the Delta Ponds North Trail. The group, who has been working on this project since last
fall, spread approximately 35 yards of gravel and installed an informational sign at the current parking
area. "It was a phenomenal effort made by an unmistakably committed group of people," says Volunteers
In Parks Coordinator Matt McRae. "We anticipate completing this first phase of the North Trail in one
more work party."
Stream Team provides educational and volunteer opportunities for members of the community, from
elementary-age children to college students to older adults, to learn about and care for the city's
waterways and natural areas. Volunteers In Parks supports citizen involvement in activities such as park
beautification, litter control, trail development and maintenance, weeding, and other special projects in
Eugene's parks. For more information about Volunteers In Parks, call Matt McRae, program coordinator,
at 682-4845. For more information about Stream Team, call Lorna Baldwin, program coordinator, at 682-
4850. For more information about habitat enhancement at Delta Ponds, call Laud Mullen, program
coordinator, at 682-4925.
Employee Givin.q Campai.qn Supports Community Services
The City's of Eugene's Community Campaign, the annual charitable giving campaign for City employees,
raised $120,163 for services in the community in 2004. This is the second year the campaign has
exceeded the $120,000 mark and the second highest total ever.
The City's Community Campaign provides a convenient opportunity for employees to give to their favorite
causes through payroll deduction or single contribution. Many of the benefiting agencies are the City's
partners in providing important community services which it, as a municipal organization, does not or
cannot provide. The funds that are supported by the combined campaign are: United Way of Lane
County, Black United Fund, Earth Share of Oregon, Equity Foundation, Community Health Charities, and
the Children's Trust Fund of Oregon. These charities represent local efforts to support the physical,
mental, social, economic, cultural and environmental health of area residents.
City employees have historically worked together to be one of the top employee campaigns in Lane
County. At the United Way celebration on January 19, the City of Eugene campaign was recognized as
the eighth largest in Lane County. The average gil~ for City donors this year is $305.76, a 15% increase
in individual giving over last year.
Congratulations and thanks go to all of the volunteer department campaign leaders and to the City's
Loaned Executive, Debbie Wells of Building and Permit Services, whose hard work made this year's
campaign another success for the community. For more information contact Jan Bohman, City
Manager's Office, 682-5587.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 4
January 20, 2005