HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Newsletter - 10/12/06
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
October 12, 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
CITY OF EUGENE’S PERMIT AND INFORMATION CENTER RESUMES MORNING HOURS
RECREATION SERVICES EMPLOYEE AND PROGRAM RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE
CITY RECORDER ELECTED TO LEADERSHIP OF STATE-WIDE ORGANIZATION
AIRPORT MANAGER EARNS AWARD ON EVE OF RETIREMENT
EUGENE FIRE & EMS EMERGENCY RESPONSE PREPARATION
ASPHALT PRICE INCREASES REDUCE SCOPE OF PAVEMENT PRSERVATION WORK
FIRE PREVENTION WEEK
WOOL RUG HOOKING: DISPLAY AND DEMONSTRATION AT EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY
AROUND THE CITY
City of Eugene’s Permit and Information Center Resumes Morning Hours
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The Permit and information Center, located at 99 West 10 Avenue in the Atrium building, is now open
during morning hours. Services that were previously only available from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. are now
available 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, including building permit intake and issuance,
business license applications, parking, rental housing code services and access to information and staff
from Public Works Engineering, Land Use and Planning, Building, Fire and Erosion. The new hours
began October 5.
In July 2006, the City Budget Committee gave budget approval to facilitate the newly expanded hours.
Feedback in the City’s biennial survey of building permit holders has highlighted availability of counter
service as an area for improvement. In addition, City staff has wanted to be a part of a vital downtown,
be open for business, and be responsive to all customers.
In addition to serving building and land use permit applicants and the general public, the Permit and
Information Center (PIC) reception counter also serves the Planning and Development Department. The
City will continue to offer the other services provided in the morning: limited consultations,
predevelopment conferences, and telephone and fax permits. For more information, please contact the
Building and Permit Services Manager, Marsha Miller at 682-5224 or marsha.a.miller@ci.eugene,or.us.
Recreation Services Employee and Program Recognized for Excellence
A Recreation Services employee and the program in which she works have been recognized for
excellence by the National Therapeutic Recreation Society (NTRS). At the annual NTRS meeting in
Seattle on October 13, the Meritorious Service Award was presented to Molly Elliott, recreation
programmer for the City’s Adaptive Recreation Program. The award recognized Elliott for “exemplary
behavior displayed through creativity and originality in programs, leadership and contributions” in the
field of therapeutic recreation. Elliot has worked for the City’s Adaptive Recreation Program (formerly
Specialized Recreation) for 25 years.
The NTRS also presented the “Organizational Citation” to the City of Eugene’s Adaptive Recreation
Program for “developing, supporting, and/or maintaining outstanding therapeutic recreation programs
and services…and for making unique contributions to the therapeutic recreation profession.”
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October 16, 2006
The former manager of the Adaptive Recreation, Sue Harnly, nominated the program for the citation,
writing, “Since 1969, the City of Eugene Adaptive Recreation Services has been the primary public
provider of community recreation services for people with disabilities in the Eugene area…providing
activities and classes for people with and without disabilities, special events, co-operative programs with
partner agencies, leisure counseling, advocacy, resource and referral information, rentals of adaptive
equipment, and comprehensive inclusion services for persons with disabilities participating in general
recreation classes.”
The National Therapeutic Recreation Society is a branch of the National Recreation and Park
Association. NTRS specializes in the provision of therapeutic recreation services for persons with
disabilities in clinical facilities and in the community. NTRS members include practitioners,
administrators, educators, volunteers, students, and consumers. For more information, contact
Recreation Manager Andy Fernandez at 682-6306.
City Recorder Elected to Leadership of State-Wide Organization
Mary Feldman, who has served as Eugene’s City Recorder since 2003, has been elected to serve as the
First Vice President of the Oregon Association of Municipal Recorders (OAMR).
OAMR’s mission is to promote professional and educational standards of municipal recorders in local
governments of the State of Oregon through leadership, communication, and training. The organization
offers a mentor program to provide professional resources, provides a quarterly newsletter containing
information and updates regarding the role of municipal recorders, and offers an e-mail list to help
members receive quick and accurate information regarding any number of municipal topics.
As First Vice President, Ms. Feldman will be called upon to assist the organization’s President and will
assume the duties of President should the current incumbent be unable to perform these duties.
In the letter to City Manager Dennis Taylor announcing Ms. Feldman’s election, the OAMR President
Barbara Christensen said, “Mary has devoted many hours to the organization and is highly regarded by
her peers; the City of Eugene should be very proud to have such a dedicated professional on its staff.”
For more information, please contact Mary Walston at 682-5406.
Airport Manager Earns Award on Eve of Retirement
In recognition of his accomplishments and exemplary leadership, the
manager of the Eugene Airport, Bob Noble, has been named Airport
Executive of the Year by the Northwest Chapter of the American Association
of Airport Executives (NWAAAE). The group, a professional organization
with more than 200 members from seven Northwest states, presented the
award to Noble last week in Colorado. The award recognizes Noble’s
oversight of extensive airfield improvements including the construction of a
new runway, improvements to air service, strong fiscal management, and
maintenance of one of the best airports of its size. Also mentioned was
Noble’s long tenure with the City of Eugene and his energetic, positive and
optimistic management style. The award is the highest form of recognition
issued by the organization each year.
Noble has announced his plans to retire from the City of Eugene in January 2007, after serving more
than 30 years with the organization. Noble held a variety of positions with the Public Works Department
during that period, but has been with the Airport Division since 1994 and served as airport manager since
May 2000. The City of Eugene currently is conducting a nationwide search to find a new airport
manager.
Eugene Public Works Director Kurt Corey credited Noble for a number of important changes and
improvements at the airport under Noble’s watch, including the installation of sophisticated navigational
aids for use during inclement weather, safety improvements for pilots and improved reliability for
passengers, the adoption of a Master Plan for the Airport, the development of general aviation facilities
with minimum standards for hangars, the expansion of air cargo facilities and the introduction of
refrigeration for shippers, the construction of a new maintenance facility with new tools and equipment,
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efficiency and safety improvements for employees, renovation of the restaurants and gift shops at the
airport, and improvements to customer service and ground transportation services including standards
for taxis and the introduction of the airport door-to-door shuttle service. For more information, contact
Bob Noble at 682-8352.
Eugene Fire & EMS Emergency Response Preparation
Eugene Fire & Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Department personnel attended the National
Association for Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) Conference in Las Vegas. Several tracks of
classes were attended by Fire and EMS personnel, ranging from Disaster Medicine, EMS Training for
Trainers, Advanced Life Support (ALS) and Fire Response classes. Valuable ideas and information were
shared at the conference that will provide essential EMS training.
With the 2008 Olympic Trials for Track and Field on the horizon, a primary focus for training EMS
personnel is preparing for EMS response if there is an incident of national significance during the trails.
For the next year, the goal is to focus on providing a solid foundation regarding triage, mass casualty
care and decontamination to prepare personnel how to respond if there is an incident during the trials.
Through early preparation and training, and learning from others who have responded to incidents of
national significance, department personnel will be ready not only for this one big event, but will enhance
the skills used in daily responses to multiple patient scenes and events. For more information, please
contact EMS Chief JoAnna Kamppi at 682-7130.
Asphalt Price Increases Reduce Scope of Pavement Preservation Work
The escalating cost of crude oil over the past two years has impacted the City’s ability to preserve
Eugene’s street system. Liquid asphalt, which is a residual of the crude oil distillation process, comprises
5% to 6% by weight of the asphalt concrete used to repave city streets, but constitutes more than one
third of the ton price of asphalt concrete paving. Extreme variability in supply and demand of crude oil
based products has led to a cost increase to liquid asphalt of over 75% since the beginning of 2006. The
result of these costs has been an overall price spike in the costs of asphalt concrete in pavement
preservation projects of approximately 54% in the last year.
Other factors contributing to the overall rise in construction costs are increases in the operating cost of
equipment due to high fuel prices and increased demand in materials both in the United States and
overseas. The effect of these market forces has been a total project cost increase in the last year of
approximately 39% to rehabilitate a street. For more information, please contact Matt Rodrigues at 682-
6036 or matt.j.rodrigues@ci.eugene.or.us.
Fire Prevention Week
This week begins the Eugene Fire & EMS Department’s annual participation in Fire Prevention Week.
Fire departments across the country use this time to teach fire safety awareness to elementary students.
The department will use this opportunity to send an engine or truck company to visit every public and
private elementary school in our city.
The target audience this year is the second grade level. In addition to the interaction and education that
takes place with the students and teachers, the visits give firefighters a chance to familiarize themselves
with each school from a fire suppression stand point. This building familiarization perspective proved
valuable last week when fire companies fought a two-alarm fire at Meadow View Elementary School.
For more information, please contact Acting Deputy Chief Operations Randy DeWitt at 682-7130.
Wool Rug Hooking: Display and Demonstration at Eugene Public Library
Eugene's own Dyed in the Wool Rug Hooking Guild shares a panorama of designs, colors, and textures
on the walls of the Downtown Library's Magazines and Newspapers Room through the month of October.
More than 100 hooked rugs and fabric art pieces made by local artisans are on exhibit. In addition,
inside the Library’s display cases, the tools and materials used in this time-honored folk art are shown.
Dyed in the Wool members will offer a free hands-on demonstration of traditional rug hooking on
Saturday, October 21, 2 – 5 p.m., at the Downtown Library. Learn how homemade rugs are created, and
hear the history of this early American craft that's described as “like painting with wool.” For more
information, call the Eugene Public Library, 682-5450.
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October 16, 2006