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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Newsletter - 02/03/05EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER February 3, 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 EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY CLOSED FOR STAFF TRAINING EUGENE OUTDOORS! DUE IN HOMES THIS WEEKEND FRIENDLY AREA NEIGHBORS INVITED TO 2ND WORKSHOP TO DISCUSS PARK IMPROVEMENTS CELEBRATION PLANNED FOR AURORA BUILDING AWARD QUARTERLY UPDATE ON MAJOR CAPITAL PROJECTS VOLUNTEERS PLANT TREES ALONG HARLOW ROAD RECREATION SERVICES SUMMER SWIM AND WATER POLO LEAGUE ANNUAL LEAF COLLECTION PROGRAM ENDS FOR THE YEAR Eugene Public Library Closed for Staff Traininq All Eugene Public Library locations--Downtown, Bethel Branch, and Sheldon Branch--will be closed on Thursday, February 10, for Staff Training Day. Library items can be returned at outside book drops at all locations. The Library catalog, databases, and 24/7 L-net reference services will continue to be available at the website: www.ci.eucjene.or, us/library. City of Eugene offices on the 4th floor of the Downtown Library building will remain open on Thursday, February 10. The parking level of the Downtown Library will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For more information, call Library Information at 682-5450. Eugene Outdoors! Due in Homes this Weekend The next edition of Eugene Outdoors! is due in homes this weekend. Learn what's in store for Eugene's parks, recreation and open space in the next 20 years. The issue is dedicated to informing residents about the new draft Eugene Parks, Recreation and Open Space at the December 8 City Council meeting. Included is an overview of the ~;i',.:;:.:~:i,~;:::':.: lr:J;~:.l;~;%r.~:l?~:;:;: r ::~:~llll::;,~;=.",:'k ....... Willakenzie and South Eugene. Creative proposals to address these ~;:;::;%::;';;" ;~,*;;;':;.';:;:,';;:;:, ;;:';;;::;:%, The centerfold consists of a map of all existing and proposed parks, recreation and open space facilities in seven park classifications-- metropolitan park, community park, neighborhood park, special use iL, facility, urban plaza, linear park/greenway, and natural area park. The issue also encourages residents to participate in the final public involvement phase for the comprehensive plan process coming up in February and March in a series of open houses in each of the planning districts. For more information about Eugene Outdoors!, contact Therese Picado, Parks and Open Space public information specialist, at 682-4814. For more information about the comprehensive plan or the upcoming open houses, contact Andrea Riner, Parks and Open Space planning manager, at 682-4909, or visit www'ci'eugene'°r'us/parks/PROS/c°mpplan'htm' EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 February 3, 2005 Friendly Area Neiqhbors Invited to 2nd Workshop to Discuss Park Improvements Neighbors of all ages are invited to preview, evaluate and prioritize options for improving Friendly Park, a 1.2-acre neighborhood park located at the intersection of West 27th Avenue and Monroe Street. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, February 8, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Adams Elementary School Library, 950 West 22nd Avenue, Eugene. This is a follow-up to the first neighborhood workshop held last October. A report of the first workshop is available online at www.ci.eugene.or, us/parks/friendly. Improvements will be funded by the parks and open space bond measure approved by voters in 1998. For more information otto give input, fill out and return the comment sheet on the website or contact Philip Richardson, park planner, at 682-4906 or philip.s.richardson@ci.eugene.or, us. Celebration Planned for Aurora Buildinq Award St. Vincent dePaul (SVdP) invites you to celebrate the City of Eugene's HUD Doorknocker Award on Thursday, February 10th at 10:30 a.m. at the Aurora Building, 100 East 11th Avenue. The event will begin in the lobby and will be followed by a reception at Tea & Crumpets, next door. The HUD Doorknocker Award is among the first 20 ever presented by HUD for innovative design in affordable housing. The Aurora Building is a mixed-use building with 54 residential units that demonstrates the successful use of sustainable design and "green" building techniques in a downtown setting. Partners in the Aurora project included the City, SVdP, the State of Oregon, Lane Community College, and EWEB. Representatives of all concerned are being invited to the event. For more information, contact Linda Dawson, Planning and Development Department, 682-5071. Quarterly Update on Maior Capital Proiects A report on the Facility Management Division's current capital construction and rehabilitation projects can now be found on the City's internet site at: http://www.ci.eugene.or, us/asd/facilities/Projects/council updates/index, htm Facility Management is responsible for construction and maintenance of approximately 100 of the City's General Fund buildings. This building inventory includes a wide range of new and historic structures, such as the Sheldon- McMurphey-Johnson House, the Library, and the City's fire stations. For further information, please contact Design and Construction Manager Mike Penwell at 682-5547. Volunteers Plant Trees Alonq Harlow Road Last Saturday, the City's NeighborWoods program kicked off the 2005 tree-planting season. Twenty-five volunteers from Eugene Tree Foundation, the Red Lion Hotel, and Cub Scouts from the nearby Bertha Holt Elementary School spent the morning planting 35 new trees. Thanks to the hard work and enthusiasm of all these volunteers, big leaf maple, northern red oak, catalpa, London plane, and Oregon ash now line Harlow Road between Honeysuckle Lane and Calvin Street. It was tough work. Janice Matthews, Regional Director of Human Resources for Red Lion, says, "Although I woke up pretty stiff and sore the next day, I really had a good time. I drove down Harlow twice yesterday just to look at the trees. Good feeling." The Red Lion Hotel is a new NeighborWoods tree planting partner this year, and NeighborWoods Coordinator Rick ©lkowski was impressed with how dedicated the Red Lion employees, who dubbed themselves "Team Red" for the project, were to contributing to their community. "1 could not have had a better planting crew. Everyone worked as a team and the project flowed like we had all been working together for 10 years," says Olkowski. "It's amazing what these diverse volunteers accomplished in just four hours and how they did it--with enthusiasm, care and leaving the area cleaner than when we arrived." EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 February 3, 2005 The NeighborWoods program works with local businesses, school groups, community groups, and neighbors to build Eugene's urban forest and improve water quality by planting street trees. For more information about this or other upcoming tree planting projects, call Rick Olkowski, program coordinator in Parks and Open Space, at 682-4831. Recreation Services Summer Swim and Water Polo Leaque Recreation Services is offering an exciting new program this summer to introduce local youth to competitive aquatics. The aptly named "Summer Swim and Water Polo League" will give youngsters 8 to 14 years old an opportunity to learn the fundamentals of competitive swimming and water polo during a 10-week session, culminating in a championship meet/game and barbeque at Amazon Pool on August 27. The program is geared towards novice level swimmers, with no previous competitive swimming experience, and will expose them to structured workouts, coaching and fun. Workouts will occur twice a week at each pool, with a swim meet or water polo game every Friday, rotating between Amazon, Echo Hollow and Sheldon pools. In an attempt to serve all interested children, the league fee will be Iow-cost; discounts will also be given to youngsters who qualify for free/reduced school lunch. The Aquatics staff is seeking a corporate sponsor to help offset program costs. Local swim teams are partnering with Aquatics staff to assist in staff training. Representatives from Eugene City Swim Club, Emerald Aquatics, Precision Swimming and the high school teams are excited about the opportunity to increase community interest in competitive aquatics. This Iow-cost summer league is a part of Recreation Service's effort to improve physical activity and fitness for our City's youth. For more information, contact Sheldon Pool Aquatics Manager Doug Smith at 682-6336 or Echo Hollow Pool Aquatics Manager Rich Fay at 687-5331. Annual Leaf Collection Proqram Ends for the Year The City's annual leaf collection program, which began November 1, ended January 21, with the last round of collection in southwest Eugene. This Public Works program, which has been available to Eugene citizens since the late 1960s, offers residents a variety of options for dealing with fall leaf accumulations. This year, just over 15,000 cubic yards of leaves were collected, with approximately 30 percent (just over 5,000 cubic yards) coming from the north Eugene area. VVhile the program continues to offer traditional leaf pickup service, it also encourages residents to consider reusing and recycling their leaves. The leaves collected by the City are reused by delivering them upon request to residents and to the City's community gardens and community groups. Just over 4,000 cubic yards of leaves were delivered to community gardens, including almost Crew delivers leaves to a community garden. 1,900 cubic yards to the Grass Roots Garden on Coburg Road. This year, the leaf program was able to meet all 400 requests by private property owners for leaf delivery, totaling over 4,300 cubic yards (an average of 10 cubic yards per property). Commercial recyclers received just over 4,300 cubic yards. None of the leaves collected by the City are taken to public landfills. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 February 3, 2005 The leaf collection schedule was modified this year to include additional collection days near the holidays and to provide a buffer to keep collection on schedule. The department also moved collection in the north Eugene area, which traditionally has a later and heavier leaf fall, to start midway through the collection schedule, instead of the start. These changes proved to be successful. "Our crews did a tremendous job of keeping the program on schedule this year," says Tony Jobanek, who coordinates the leaf program. "It is a testament to their dedication and commitment that the program was able to meet the majority of the published time schedule and to do so safely and effectively." For more information about the leaf program, call Tony Jobanek, surface maintenance supervisor, at Public Works Maintenance at 682-4800. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 4 February 3, 2005