HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/17/08 City Council NewsletterEUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
April 17, 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
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CITY INFORMATION BOOTHS INCLUDED AT 10 ANNUAL EARTH DAY CELEBRATION
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FIRE & EMS DEPARTMENT OBSERVES 136 ANNIVERSARY
EARTH DAY CLEAN-UP OF DOWNTOWN VACANT LOT
UNPLUG YOURSELF FOR TURNOFF WEEK
FIREMED CAMPAIGN UNDER WAY
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INFILL AND OPPORTUNITY SITING TOUR PLANNED FOR APRIL 28
ARBOR DAY CELEBRATED WITH COMMUNITY TREE PLANTING
AROUND THE CITY
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City Information Booths Included at 10 Annual Earth Day Celebration
The tenth annual Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 19,
from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at EWEB’s River Edge Plaza will
have something for everyone. This year’s event theme is “The
Power to Change” and features educational activity booths, the
John H. Baldwin Film & Lecture Series, two musical stages, a
Procession of All Species, kid’s activity room, book sale and
much more! What better time to discover what makes our
community such a great place to live? Staff from several City of
Eugene programs will be on hand to share information with
attendees.
A display with information about lawn care choices will
be presented by staff from the Public Works
Stormwater Management Program. Attendees can
pick up bookmarks with embedded seeds, beneficial
bug posters and other handouts.
The City of Eugene Solid Waste and Recycling
program will have a compost information booth that will
educate attendees about the importance of diverting
food waste through backyard composting. Children
will be able to spin the worm wheel and win a gummy
worm when they answer a question about worm bin
composting. This booth will be staffed by OSU
Extension Service Compost Specialist volunteers. The compost information booth will also have
a free drawing for an Earth Machine compost bin.
The City of Eugene’s Transportation Options Team will be partnering together and offering route
planning assistance for biking, walking and taking the bus. Bike maps will be available along with
an opportunity to sign up for the Transportation Options e-newsletter InMotion.
The Parks and Open Space volunteer coordinators will be staffing the Earth Day booth and will
feature information about how community members can get involved in improving Eugene's parks
and natural areas. The booth will also have park maps and community gardens program
information available.
Mayor Kitty Piercy will be the opening speaker for the event.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1
April 17, 2008
For more information about City participation at the Earth Day Celebration at EWEB Plaza, contact Kathy
Eva, Public Works public information specialist, at 682-2739, or visit www.earthdayoregon.com.
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Fire & EMS Department Observes 136 Anniversary
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This month marks the 136 anniversary of
continuous operation of the Eugene Fire &
EMS Department, the City's oldest. The
department began operating in April 1872,
staffed by the seven volunteer members of
Eugene Hook and Ladder Company No. 1.
Funds for equipment were raised entirely
through donations from businesses and
citizens, though the City did authorize $50 for
the purchase of leather helmets. (One such
helmet is on display in the lobby of the
Downtown Fire Station.)
By 1900, the City had four fire stations.
Horses (including Pete and Jerry, for whom
the conference room in the Downtown Station
is named) were purchased in 1905, and the
first gas-powered fire truck was delivered to
the City in 1913. Over the years, the
department and the City it protects continued to grow and change. Stations, staffing, and equipment
were added gradually as the need increased. The department assumed responsibility for ambulance
service in 1981.
Today's Eugene Fire & EMS Department has 11 fire stations and a staff of 219.25 (FY09 proposed
budget); in 2007 the department responded to more than 20,000 calls for service. Although the
department has a long and proud history, the challenges of the future are always on the horizon, and Fire
& EMS continues to work to address those challenges. For more information, please contact Fire & EMS
Chief Randy Groves, 682-7100.
Earth Day Clean-Up of Downtown Vacant Lot
City of Eugene officials, staff and community members are invited to participate in cleaning up the site of
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the former Woolworth’s building, between 10 Avenue and Broadway, adjacent to the Centre Court
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building in honor of International Earth Day. This event will occur on Tuesday, April 22 at 11:30 a.m.
The City will provide gloves for those who don’t bring their own, safety tools and a dumpster. Volunteers
are encouraged wear sturdy shoes or boots as they remove litter and other debris. BRING Recycling has
been contacted to assist with reuse of any materials.
The idea for the clean-up is credited to Drix, a former chair of the West University Neighborhood
Association. Drix views the clean-up as a way to celebrate the vision for downtown’s future development.
For more information please contact Richie Weinman, Planning and Development at 682-5533 or
Richie.d.weinman@ci.eugene.or.us.
Unplug Yourself for Turnoff Week
An important message from Eugene Public Library, "kids: unplug yourself! Turn on your imagination and
turn off your screens for a fun week without TV, movies, or computers, April 21, through April 27,” or just
cut down on screen time each day -- every hour counts. Visit any Eugene Public Library starting April 14
to pick up Turnoff Week pledge cards and get great ideas for stuff to do and a bookmark too.
Kids ages 5 - 12 are invited to create posters on the theme “Power Down, Dream Big.” Drop in at the
Downtown Children’s Center Monday, April 21, through Friday, April 25, anytime between 3:30 p.m. –
5:00 p.m. Posters can be entered in the national contest, brought home for display, or posted at the
Library.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
April 17, 2008
Turnoff Week is supported by more than 70 national organizations including the American Medical
Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Education Association, and the
President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. For more information, contact Eugene Public
Library, 682-8316.
FireMed Campaign Underway
This year's campaign to sign up new and returning FireMed ambulance members has now begun. At the
end of this week, Fire & EMS staff will mail more than 17,000 renewal notices to current members, and
begin registering participants for the upcoming fiscal year. As in the past, Eugene is contracting with
Springfield Fire & Life Safety for advertising and telephone information.
The popular program provides medically necessary emergency transport
for an entire household at no out-of-pocket cost for a full year. This not
only protects families against the expense of ambulance service (at a
basic rate of $1,150 per transport), but also provides an important
revenue stream for the service, which has struggled with severe Medicare
and Medicaid reimbursement reductions over the past few years.
The price of FireMed membership remains the same as last year, $52 for
basic membership, which covers ground transport, or $84 for FireMed
Plus, which adds air ambulance coverage. The cost of a single trip by air
ambulance can easily run into five figures, and this year FireMed Plus is an even better bargain than
before with the announcement by Life Flight Network that it will base emergency medical aircraft at the
Eugene Airport.
The telephone number for FireMed is 726-3636, and the website is www.firemed.com. For more
information, please contact Gail Draper, Ambulance Billing Manager, at 682-7108.
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Infill and Opportunity Siting Tour Planned for April 28
The Planning Division is coordinating a joint Infill and
Opportunity Siting Task Team tour scheduled for April
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28. The tour will be the first chance for the Infill
Compatibility Standards (ICS) and Opportunity Siting
(OS) Task Teams to talk with each other about their
common goal – finding compatible places and ways to
accommodate more housing within the urban growth
boundary. The Task Team members will ride an LTD
bus to view a sampling of infill and multiple family
development projects in 11 of the city’s 19 residential
neighborhoods. The tour highlights infill development at
all points on the density scale and in different kinds of
neighborhoods, from Jefferson-Westside to River Road
to Amazon Neighbors (and eight others). A map and
information about the tour will be posted on the project
OS Task Team members test a siting exercise.
web pages so that interested members of the community
can replicate it on their own.
The ICS Task Team is meeting on the second Monday of every month. The team unanimously approved
its charter in January, set up subcommittees in February, and appointed committee members in March.
Detailed work is underway at the committee level on issues under the broad categories of single-dwelling
infill, multi-dwelling infill, and subdivisions. Included in this work is the council-directed “test-case” of infill
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compatibility standards along 19 Avenue in the South University neighborhood.
The OS Task Team meets every three weeks on Wednesday afternoons. Winter achievements include
approving a charter and work plan, drafting the “10 tenets” of Opportunity Siting, and completing a series
of educational discussions on topics such as financial tools, development process, and form and density.
Work is underway designing a process to solicit neighborhood input in the identification of potential
opportunity sites. A volunteer neighborhood group is being sought to help refine the public outreach
process.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3
April 17, 2008
To learn more, please visit www.eugene-or.gov/infill and www.eugene-or.gov/oppsiting or contact Project
Manager Terri Harding at terri.l.harding@ci.eugene.or.us or 682-5635.
Arbor Day Celebrated with Community Tree Planting
On Saturday, April 12, community members
gathered in the South University
Neighborhood to celebrate Arbor Day. Mayor
Kitty Piercy helped kick off the celebration by
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accepting Eugene’s 29 consecutive Tree
City USA award from the Oregon Department
of Forestry. Tree City USA, a program of the
National Arbor Day Foundation and
sponsored by the Oregon Department of
Forestry (ODF), recognizes cities that have
developed programs that plant and care for
trees.
The volunteer team that planted more than 30
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trees along 23 Avenue included members of
the Eugene Tree Foundation, the Lane
County Chapter of the Oregon Landscape
Contractors Association, the First
Congregational Church, the Webelos and
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Volunteers planted more than 30 trees along 23 Avenue.
Cub Scouts, Gutenberg College, McKenzie
Study Center, and nearby residents.
The “Trees for Concrete” project in honor of Arbor Day was organized by the City of Eugene’s
NeighborWoods program and the Eugene Tree Foundation in an effort to create a more livable and green
urban environment. Crews from Public Works Maintenance excavated sections of concrete sidewalks
creating nine new planting pits for street trees adjacent to the First Congregational Church. For more
information about Arbor Day or NeighborWoods projects, contact Rick Olkowski, NeighborWoods
Coordinator, at 682-4831 or Mark Snyder, Urban Forester, at 682-4819.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 4
April 17, 2008