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Home My WebLink AboutCity Council Newsletter - 09/21/06 EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER September 21, 2006 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 NEW NEIGHBORHOOD POLICE STATION HOLDS GRAND OPENING GENEALOGY @ YOUR FINGERTIPS: COMPUTER WORKSHOP AT EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY ROSETTA PARK NEIGHBORS INVITED TO SECOND PUBLIC WORKSHOP LAST COLUMN IS JUST THE BEGINNING FOR 40 DEVELOPMENTAL ASSETS ‘FUN FOR ALL’ AS POPULAR AS EVER AROUND THE CITY New Neighborhood Police Station Holds Grand Opening City officials, staff, and members of the public are invited to attend the Grand Opening of the Eugene Police Department’s new Monroe Street Station this Saturday, September 23, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The event offers an opportunity to meet station staff and tour the new facility. Food and drink will be provided. After existing for nearly 14 years as the Whiteaker Public Safety Station, the neighborhood police station serving the Jefferson/Westside, Whiteaker, and Friendly neighborhoods and part of downtown has relocated. The station is now located at 788 th West 6th Avenue (6 and Monroe), and has been named the Monroe Street Station to reflect the move. The new building is in a location with more drive-by traffic, and provides a larger and more accommodating space for the public and for use by officers. The additional space has allowed two district lieutenants and the Crime Prevention, Safer Schools, and Bike Patrol teams to move to the station, providing more routine police presence in that area. Two Parole and Probation officers also will have office space in the station. The Monroe Street Station will be open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and will continue offering all the services that were provided at the previous location. The station offers a public restroom, public phone, public internet access, mail drop services, and free notary public services, in addition to bilingual (English/Spanish) police-specific services. Members of the public can come to the station to file a police desk report, get help filling out DMV accident reports, register bicycles, get neighborhood crime and crime prevention information, obtain referrals to public and private assistance programs, and more. For more information about the new station and the grand opening event, please call the Monroe Street Station at 682-5149. Genealogy @ Your Fingertips: Computer Workshop at Eugene Public Library Lots of people think about researching their family trees someday, but aren't sure where to start. In recent years, however, the Internet and electronic databases have made do-it-yourself genealogy easier and more rewarding than ever before. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 September 29, 2006 On Saturday, September 30, 10 a.m. to noon at the Downtown Eugene Public Library, Margaret Harmon- Myers introduces user-friendly resources such as HeritageQuest, Ancestry, FamilySearch, RootsWeb, USGenWeb Project, and Cyndi’s List. Topics include which steps to take first, where to order vital records, how to search the U.S. Census, and more. Many resources are available free of charge through Eugene Public Library or on the Web. Internet skills are required for this free hands-on class. For more information and to pre-register call at 682-5450 (press 2). Rosetta Park Neighbors Invited to Second Public Workshop On Thursday, September 28, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Rosetta Park neighbors are invited to preview the draft design for their 1.2-acre neighborhood park. The park is located in Eugene’s River Road/Santa Clara neighborhood, one block east of River Road, at the end of Rosetta Avenue. The workshop will be held in the library of River Road Elementary School, located at 120 West Hilliard Lane. Parks and Open Space staff based the draft concept plan on input from the first workshop, which was held on May 16. The proposed improvements include a children’s play area, park furniture such as benches and picnic tables, paths, access improvements, trees and shrubs. Community members of all ages are encouraged to participate in evaluating the draft concept plan and identifying funding priorities. To view the report from the first workshop, visit the Parks and Open Space website at www.eugene-or.gov/parks and select Rosetta Place from the drop down list on the “Select a Park” feature. The City of Eugene Parks and Open Space Division purchased the property in 2000 using funds from the 1998 Parks and Open Space bond measure. Parks SDC (systems development charge) funding is now available for improvements to Rosetta Park. Neighborhood parks, which serve residents within a half- mile radius, include a children’s play area, accessible pathways, open space, and park furniture such as benches, picnic tables, and trash receptacles. They typically do not include restrooms, off-street parking, programmed athletics, skateparks, off-leash dog areas, and other facilities that attract visitors from greater distances. For more information, please contact Philip Richardson, parks planner, at 682-4906. Last Column Is Just the Beginning For 40 Developmental Assets With an article that appeared in The Register-Guard on September14, Recreation Program Manager Craig Smith capped off a year-long series of articles written by representatives of many Lane County organizations about the 40 Developmental Assets. Smith also wrote the first in the series of articles. The concept behind youth assets articulated by the Search Institute of Minneapolis is that young people grow to become competent, confident, compassionate and healthy adults if they possess assets in their lives. The articles identified how each person is a champion of building assets in each other and in our youth. In the final article, Smith recounted what he called “the most exciting race” of the Road to ‘08 track and field meet in which two racers “strained down the home stretch, arms pumping, necks stretching forward and eyes glued to the finish line…as the crowd, roaring its approval, began standing, stomping and screaming.” Smith called the race – between two-five-year olds rather than two adult athletes – “another day when Lane County created an asset-rich environment for youth.” In closing, Smith wrote, “this yearlong series of articles is ending, but our asset-building is just beginning. Asset development is not just a phase in a master plan. Let's link our strengths together - speak the asset language, and walk our talk. We should aspire to be an awesome place to raise our children.” For more information, contact Craig Smith at 682-6340. To read the entire article, go to: http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/09/14/ed.col.assets26.0914.p1.php. ‘Fun For All’ As Popular As Ever Attendance at ‘Fun For All’ (FFA) surpassed 18,400 children and youth at 11 playground sites this summer. FOOD for Lane County served more than 16,888 lunches at seven FFA locations and more than 900 snacks were served at sites that did not qualify for the lunch program. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 September 29, 2006 FFA is an important part of Eugene Recreation’s commitment to provide activities and services for everyone in the community. The program is offered in neighborhood parks throughout Eugene which removes transportation barriers for attendance. With funding from Local Option Levy 20-67, program activities are provided at no- or low-cost, removing or reducing financial barriers. More than 3,300 individuals attended other related FFA events this summer, including family-friendly movie nights and weekend wading pool parties. FFA special programs, provided in partnership with the Eugene Public Library Summer Reading Program and the University of Oregon, served more than 3,500 individuals. They included Team Adventure, U of O Roving Artist, Games Crew, and Story Telling Programs. FFA staff also helped to enhance other events and offerings this summer, serving more than 340 youth at the grand opening of RiverPlay Discovery Village playground and 200 youth at the Multicultural Festival. In addition to its programs and activities, FFA also provides employment, and job skill and leadership development for teens. This year, more than one-third of the FFA staff was under the age of 19. Overall demographics of participants: 79% white, 10% multi-racial, 5% Hispanic, 2% Native American, 2% African American, 1% Asian, and 1% unspecified. For more information, contact Recreation Programmer Raquel Wells at 682-6380. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 September 29, 2006