HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/28/08 City Council NewsletterEUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
February 28, 2008
City of Eugene
777 Pearl Street, Room 105
Eugene, Oregon 97401-2793
(541) 682-5010
(541) 682-5414 (FAX)
www.eugene-or.gov
IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION
ELECTION UPDATE
DOWNPAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
CITY VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES NOW AVAILABLE ON CENTRALIZED WEB PAGE
ADAPTIVE SCUBA DIVING GIVES WOMAN “WINGS”
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& CHARNELTON REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TO BE RELEASED
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AROUND THE CITY
Election Update
During the past week, the following candidates have completed the filing process for Eugene elected
positions:
Nick Urhausen for Mayor;
Andrea Ortiz for City Council Ward 7
Several new candidates turned in prospective petitions this week:
Frederick Griswold for Mayor
Maurie Denner for EWEB Wards 2 and 3
Joann Ernst for EWEB Wards 1 and 8
Petitioners for the referendum petition on the two cents per gallon gas tax turned in 1,341 signature
sheets on Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday afternoon, after review of the circulators’ certification of
the petitions, the City Recorder’s Office submitted 10,937 signatures to Lane County Elections for
signature verification. Lane County will complete that process by March 13 at 5 p.m. to determine
whether the petitions have sufficient valid signatures for the measure to be placed on a ballot.
For more information, contact City Recorder Mary Feldman at 682-8353.
Downpayment Assistance Program
In February, Eugene’s Homebuyer Assistance Program (HAP)
met the target set for this fiscal year in down-payment
assistance loans. Twenty-two households received loans of
up to $10,000. The funds are offered to first-time homebuyers
as an interest-free loan, deferred until the borrower sells or no
longer occupies the home.
The sales prices for the units ranged from $97,000 - $226,000
for an average sales price of $138,722. Ten of the loans were
made to purchasers of the Westmoreland Village
condominiums. The program will resume activity in July of
2008 when additional funding becomes available. For more
information about the program, contact Bob Briscoe in the
Planning & Development Department, 682-5446 or via e-mail,
bob.briscoe@ci.eugene.or.us
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1
March 3, 2008
City of Eugene Volunteer Opportunities Now Available on Centralized Web Page
Community members interested in
exploring City of Eugene volunteer
opportunities have a new resource
available to them. Staff recently
finished developing a centralized web
page providing information about City
of Eugene volunteer opportunities
including program names and
descriptions, staff contact information,
photos, and links to more detailed
information about each opportunity.
Additional volunteer program
opportunities will be added to the
page in the coming months.
In fiscal year 2007, more than 4,000
volunteers contributed 81,000+ hours
of service to the City of Eugene!
to browse volunteer opportunities and learn how City services are
Visit www.eugene-or.gov/volunteer
enhanced and improved with the support of citizen volunteers! For more information contact Volunteers
in Policing Program Coordinator, Carrie Chouinard at 682-5355 or carrie.f.chouinard@ci.eugene.or.us.
Adaptive Scuba Diving Gives Woman “Wings”
Last November, an Albanian woman who was
in Eugene to study at the U of O experienced
what she called, “the most extraordinary thing
in my life.” She was referring to Adaptive
Recreation’s Adapted Scuba Diving Class
that is co-sponsored by DIVE Northwest.
The program, offered every month at Sheldon
Pool & Fitness Center, begins with classroom
instruction, followed by one-on-one instruction
in the pool. Teuta Halila, who is a paraplegic,
was conflicted by the idea of going scuba
diving. She was terrified of water as a result
of bad experiences as a child, but at the same
time was drawn to it; she wrote, “…when I
looked at (the water), it seemed so beautiful,
blue and peaceful that I wanted to go in and
embrace in my arms but as soon as my foot was in water the sea would turn to be black and fierce and
my fear would come back again.”
In a letter to Adapted Recreation Programmer, Patty Prather, Teuta described the experience as “a
feeling of freedom….I totally forgot the fear I had from water…. I felt like I was flying in the sky.” She
concluded, “I highly recommend other people with disabilities to try this wonderful experience with scuba
diving and you will see that disabilities we have do not define us. Just try and challenge yourself and you
will see that I am telling the truth.” For more information, contact Patty Prather, 682-6365.
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10 & Charnelton Request for Proposals to be Released
The 10th & Charnelton Development Site Request for Proposals (RFP) will be released on Monday,
March 3. Internet access to the RFP will be available at www.eugene-or.gov/downtown. For more
information, please contact Denny Braud at 682-5536 or denny.braud@ci.eugene.or.us).
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
March 3, 2008