HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/31/08 City Council Newsletter
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
July 31, 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
KIDS LEARN LESSONS IN SUCCESS AT POLICE SUMMER CAMPS
NEIGHBORHOOD MATCHING GRANT APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE
NEW UNDERGROUND VAULT WILL IMPROVE STORMWATER QUALITY ON POLK STREET LINE
FRIENDLY AREA NEIGHBORS HOST A THREE DAY NEIGHBORHOOD EVENT
BELTLINE HIGHWAY OPEN HOUSES SCHEDULED
GEARs AND CITY CO-SPONSOR EVENTS TO BENEFIT LOCAL BICYCLE EDUCATION
GOLDEN GARDENS PARK/DELTA PONDS UPDATE
AROUND THE CITY
Kids Learn Lessons in Success at Police Summer Camps
The second of three incredible summer opportunities for Eugene's youth has wrapped up, with more than 100 kids
participating in the two camps. The Eugene Police Activities League Camp - a program designed to give kids an
opportunity to work with positive role models and learn about success and failure on a playing field without drugs
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or violence offered a week of action-packed fun for youth aged 8 to 13. The 95 participating youth formed teams
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led by police personnel and enjoyed a wide range of games and activities during the camp, which ran July 2125.
Highlights of the week included a visit from a former Portland Trail Blazers basketball player, a field trip to Autzen
Stadium, and taking on the City of Eugene's Spencer Butte Challenge Course. The Challenge Course - the only
full-service accessible course in the region, consists of ropes, cables, poles, tires, swinging bridges, bolts, ladders,
log pilings, and platforms, making up challenge course elements that group members help each other get over,
under, around, or across.
Earlier in July, Eugene Police offered a program for
older youth interested in law enforcement. The
department's annual Youth Academy, a citizens' police
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academy designed just for teens, ran July 1418.
Students in the Youth Academy learned about a
variety of assignments within the police department
such as the K-9 unit, SWAT, violent crimes,
motorcycle traffic enforcement, narcotics team, bomb
squad, forensics, and more. Participants also visited
the 9-1-1 Communications Center and local
corrections facilities, learned some defensive tactics,
watched a demonstration at the firearms range, and
got to drive police cars on the emergency vehicle
operations course for a full day.
In August, the police department will teach potentially
life-saving safety lessons to about 50 pre-
kindergarteners at Safety Town, a nationally
recognized, comprehensive program that introduces
young children to safety awareness and accident prevention through hands-on safety education over the course of
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two weeks. Teen volunteers are still needed to help with Safety Town, which will be held August 1122; contact
Sergeant Lisa Barrong at 541.682.8248 or Margaret Mazzotta at 541.682.5761 for more information. To learn
more about the PAL Camp and Youth Academy, please contact Sergeant Mike Galick at 541.682.8189. To find
out about other summer camps offered by the City of Eugene, visit http://www.eugene-or.gov/rec.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1
July 31, 2008
Neighborhood Matching Grant Applications Available
The City of Eugene 2009 Neighborhood Matching Grant cycle opens August 1st. The City Council allocated
$150,000 for fiscal years 2007-2009 to restart the community-building program. A total of $70,000 is available this
cycle for:
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Physical improvement projects that involve recreation or public safety facilities, natural resource features,
public art and spaces or community gardens.
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Public school partnership projects that benefit school children and the immediate neighborhood.
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Neighborhood-based events and celebrations.
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Capacity-building initiatives that serve to create, diversify or increase participation in a neighborhood-based
organization or promote an understanding of issues important to neighborhood residents.
Grant guidelines and application materials are available
on the City’s web site, www.eugene-
or.gov/matchinggrants, and at the Permit and
Information Center, the Downtown, Bethel and Sheldon
libraries, the Amazon, Hilyard, Sheldon, and Peterson
Barn Community Centers and the Campbell Senior
Center. The following information sessions will be held
in the Tykeson Room of the Downtown Library to
provide an overview of the grant guidelines and
application process:
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6:00, Thursday, August 7
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1:00, Saturday, August 9
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6:00, Tuesday, September 9
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1:00, Saturday, September 13
Proposals involving parks or public right-of-way are required to undergo a pre-review by November 14th. Final
applications are due on January 30, 2009. Awards will be announced in March 2009. For more information about
the Neighborhood Matching Grants Program, contact Michael Kinnison, Neighborhood Services at 682-5009, or
michael.j.kinnison@ci.eugene.or.us.
New Underground Vault Will Improve Stormwater Quality on Polk Street Line
On Monday, August 4, the City of Eugene Public Works Engineering Division will begin construction of a water
quality vault serving an area of approximately 80 acres of urban infrastructure in the greater metropolitan area of
Eugene. Located on the north end of North Polk Street in Maurie Jacobs Park, the project is designed to remove
sediment, floatable debris, oils and other materials able to be captured by mechanical means. The vault will be
built underground and be maintainable from the surface. Literally tons of sediment, including metals and plastics
will be captured and removed each year and kept from entering the Willamette River. Emery and Sons was the
successful bidder for the $775,000 project. The project is paid for using stormwater user fees. Construction is
scheduled for completion by October 31. Local pathway closures will be necessary for safety reasons; however,
the main pathway will be open for normal use. For more information, contact Project Manager Terry Colvin at 682-
5398, or terry.r.colvin@ci.eugene.or.us.
Friendly Area Neighbors Host a Three Day Neighborhood Event
Former Eugene Mayor Sam Friendly, namesake of Friendly Street, would have been downright amazed by what
was happening in his former neighborhood over the weekend! The Friendly Area Neighbors (FAN), in conjunction
with the City's Neighborhood Services, coordinated the
event from Friday, July 25th through Sunday, July 27th.
The event coordinated yard/garage sales between 47
households, recycling through St. Vincent DePaul and
NextStep Recycling, and bicycle registration with the
Eugene Police Department. The event culminated with
the Friendly Area Neighbors Annual picnic at
Washington Park with the India House serving food, two
local bands, a raffle, silent auction, information tables
for a variety of groups and Circus Arts offered by the
City’s Recreation Services. The real result was an
ambiance of community shared by the hundreds of
residents who got to feel good about cleaning out their
houses, meeting new people and seeing old friends. For more information contact Isaac Markehe at 682-6243 or
via e-mail at isaac.r.markehe@ci.eugene.or.us.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
July 31, 2008
Beltline Highway Open Houses Scheduled
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is holding two open houses next week to hear community
opinions about Beltline Highway between River Road and Coburg Road:
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Monday, August 4, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Irving Grange, 1011 Irvington Drive, Eugene
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Wednesday, August 6, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Eugene Christian Fellowship, Room 105, 89780 N. Game Farm Road,
Eugene
ODOT staff will be on hand to answer questions and take comments at the informal, drop-in sessions as they begin
a study of potential improvements. ODOT is developing a Facility Plan for this section of Beltline Highway over the
next several months. This phase of the Facility Plan will develop a problem statement along with a purpose and
need for the project. ODOT and their consultants will also be developing a project work plan, decision process, and
a stakeholder/public involvement plan for later phases of Facility Plan development. The Facility Plan work for
Beltline Highway is a necessary step that precedes future Environmental Assessment work and further project
development.
The Eugene City Council previously took action on October 9, 2006, to “Identify the Beltline Corridor from River
Road to Coburg Road as the City’s top priority for funding in the State Transportation Improvement Program...”
For more information about the project, please contact Savannah Crawford, ODOT project manager, (541) 747-
1354, or Savanah.Crawford@odot.state.or.us. The City of Eugene project liaison is Chris Henry, transportation
planning engineer at (541) 682-8472, or chris.c.henry@ci.eugene.or.us
GEARs and City Co-Sponsor Events to Benefit Local Bicycle Education
The Jamboree community fun ride will take place on Saturday,
August 2, starting at 9:00 a.m. at the EWEB Plaza on the River
Trail just below the DeFazio Bike Bridge. This 20-mile ride winds
through the neighborhoods of Eugene with stops planned at
community centers and parks along the route. Participants will
have the option of completing one or two 10-mile loops, each
rolling back to the starting point for a short break. Cost is $5 for
the whole family. Everyone gets lunch and blackberry cobbler and
ice cream after the ride. T-shirts will be available.
The Jamboree is a wonderful opportunity to get out and ride a bike around Eugene, through the neighborhoods,
and on the streets with lots of other people. Participants will be able to explore parts of Eugene they may not be
familiar with. This ride is family-friendly, with participants able to set their own pace and stop when needed. Come
and enjoy our community on bike, listen to music and help support local bicycle education all at the same time.
The ninth annual Blackberry bRamble will be held Sunday, August 3. This is a longer ride with three distance
options - a full century (100 miles), a metric century (62 miles) or the 43-mile route in the beautiful coastal range
southwest of Eugene. Rest stops will feature pasta salad, bagels, water, a support car, and more. A blackberry
cobbler and ice cream at the end of the ride awaits those who finish. Registration is $30. Please visit the
Blackberry Rides website for more information and registration at www.eugenegears.org/rides/bramble, or contact
Lindsay Selser, traffic planning technician at 682-5094.
Golden Gardens Park/Delta Ponds Update
The Golden Gardens Park project, which was designed for
safety, recreation and natural resource enhancements,
continues to progress to final form. With work about
halfway completed on the excavation of material at Golden
Gardens and placement of those recycled soils in Delta
Ponds, the contractor and City staff have achieved a
significant transformation of both sites, with the most
noticeable difference being the elimination of steep banks
and the gradual restoration of more natural pond
conditions.
The projects remain on schedule to be completed by the
end of October or sooner, and both areas will be planted
this winter. Look to next spring to see budding willows, nine
bark and spirea plants stretching their limbs with a variety
Delta Ponds
of other native fauna. For more information, contact Terry
Colvin at 682-5398, or terry.r.colvin@ci.eugene.or.us.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3
July 31, 2008