HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Newsletter - 10/19/06
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
October 18, 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
LANE CLOSURES SCHEDULED FOR REPAIRS TO COBURG ROAD SLUMP
EUGENE RENTAL HOUSING CODE
COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TRAINING CONTINUES WITH BUSINESS SUPPORT
EUGENE FIREMED MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM
EUGENE FIRE & EMS STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES COLLABORATION
“WHAT’S MY ZONING?”- ONLINE INTERACTIVE ZONING MAP NOW AVAILABLE
COMMUTE CHALLENGE ENCOURAGES ALMOST 60 BUSINESSES TO USE ALTERNATIVE MODES
ALL ABOARD ARTRAIN USA!
AROUND THE CITY
Lane Closures Scheduled For Repairs to Coburg Road Slump
Construction is scheduled to begin Sunday night, October 22, on repairs to a slump in Coburg Road
between the I-105 overpass and Oakway Road. Wildish Construction is the general contractor on the
project, which will require excavating a three-foot-deep trench across the full width of Coburg Road. A
broken pipe that was the major cause of the slumping will be replaced, and two layers of a geotechnical
material called "geogrid" will placed to help secure the silty material in a former stream channel under
the road bed. The remnants of an old bridge at that location are generally below the planned excavation
depth and are expected to be left in place. Total cost of the project is estimated at approximately
$167,000, with about 40% coming from local stormwater funds and the rest from the City’s Road Fund.
On Sunday and Monday nights, the two right-hand northbound lanes will be closed from approximately
7:30 p.m. until around 6 a.m. Tuesday night, the left-hand northbound turn lanes will be closed. On
Wednesday night, both southbound lanes will be closed, and southbound traffic will be detoured onto
Southwood Lane at the Oakway intersection to bypass the construction. All lanes will be open during the
daytime. Weather permitting, the entire project is anticipated to take about a week to complete. For
more information, contact Project Manager John Bonham at 682-5300.
Eugene Rental Housing Code Program
Staff in the Rental Housing Program has been responding to inquiries and complaints since the program
went live on July 1, 2005. During the first 12 months, staff logged 3,241 telephone calls. Of those, 345
callers were identified as tenants.
The Rental Housing Code (RHC) prescribes a process requiring renters to notify the owner of their
concerns before they may file a complaint with the City. A number of tenant issues were resolved
through this notification process with no resulting complaint filed.
When an issue is not resolved by the owner after a notice is received from a renter, a complaint may be
made to the City. In the first 12 months, there were 25 legitimate complaints filed with the City. Four of
the properties were posted as a dangerous building due to unsafe conditions. Civil penalties were
assessed to encourage compliance on two of the complaints, due to lack of owner response.
The program is funded with an annual $10 fee for each rental unit. There are 5,188 parties responsible
for 27,602 units identified in Eugene. Payments for the first year have been made by all except
approximately 80 accounts that went unpaid and will be forwarded to an outside collection agency.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1
October 19, 2006
Bills for the second year of the program were recently mailed. If payment is not made within 30 days, a
$20 late penalty is applied to the account. A second bill is then sent within 30 days and an additional $20
penalty is incurred for nonpayment. This process continues generally on a 30-day cycle until the account
with the cumulative late penalties is forwarded for collection by an outside agency to close out the fiscal
year. The late penalty has generated a considerable number of phone calls and drop-in contacts. The
program supervisor does exercise discretion in applying the penalty when circumstances outside of the
owner’s control are involved.
Staff continually updates the database as they track a significant number of changes in ownership and
management of properties. The equivalent of approximately two full-time staff is budgeted to the
program. Actual staffing of the program is distributed between several employees who also deal with
unsafe structures and other building code-related enforcement.
For more information on the Rental Housing Program, contact staff at 682-8282 or Rachelle Nicholas,
Planning and Development Department, at 682-5495, or rachelle.d.nicholas@ci.eugene.or.us.
Community Emergency Response Training Continues with Business Support
Another group of community volunteers
graduated in October from Community
Emergency Response Team (CERT)
classes, making a total of more than 155
people who have now have completed this
City training. In the program, community
members receive 21 hours of classes on
subjects such as disaster preparedness, fire
safety, emergency medical care, light
search and rescue, and disaster
psychology. The class series, taught by
volunteer instructors and City of Eugene
nd
Fire/EMS staff at the 2 and Chambers
training facility, concludes with a four-hour
mock disaster exercise.
Dr. Geoff Simmons is the volunteer lead
CERT instructor and has been instrumental in
the program's success. Though the program was initially funded by grants from the Department of
Homeland Security, those grant dollars have become harder to obtain. The current class was funded by
local businesses that recognize the value of having citizens trained to assist in the event of a disaster. The
Chambers Foundation, SELCO Community Credit Union, Harry Ritchie Jewelers, Norwest Safety, and
PacificSource Health Plans have all given generous donations to make this program possible. For more
information on the CERT program contact Chuck Solin, Emergency Program manager, at 682-5664.
Eugene FireMed Membership Program
In conjunction with Fire Prevention Week, the Eugene Fire & EMS
Department’s FireMed Program sponsored a display table on Saturday,
October 7, 2006, at Home Depot’s Fire Prevention Day community event.
Approximately 50 people visited the FireMed table. Over half of those people
had never heard of the FireMed program, and were interested enough to take
a program brochure with them. “How does FireMed work if I do or do not have
insurance?" was the most frequently asked question. The answer is that
FireMed covers any out-of-pocket expenses not covered by insurance, and if
someone does not have insurance, then FireMed covers the entire cost of a
medically necessary ambulance transport. Glow in the dark bracelets that
said, "When fire strikes get out and stay out!” were distributed and were very popular with the children.
For more information, please contact Eugene FireMed Membership Program staff at 682-7199.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
October 19, 2006
Eugene Fire & EMS Standard Operating Procedures Collaboration
For over a year, the Fire & EMS Department has been sharing key Standard Operating Procedures
(SOP) with its partners to the east, the Springfield Fire & Life Safety Department. Because of the
Automatic Aid response agreements between the two cities the decision was made to utilize the same
written procedures, now referred to as "Metro SOPs," when working together at emergencies. Because
of the two organizations’ success in literally working "on the same page," a sub-committee group from
the Lane Fire Defense Board was created to establish "County SOPs". Key written emergency
procedures and SOPs were developed that will now be used by all of the Lane County Fire Departments.
This incident cohesiveness will enable all fire departments to better support each other when working
together during mutual aid responses at major emergencies. For more information, please contact
A/Deputy Chief Operations Randy DeWitt at 682-7130.
“What’s My Zoning?”- Online Interactive Zoning Map Now Available
An interactive zoning map is now available on the City’s Web site. This dynamic new portal application
provides quick and easy determination of the base and overlay zoning for a single site. It also reduces
the burden of downloading and printing the popular but large PDF-formatted zoning maps.
Located in a link on the Planning Division Home Page, features include:
Two maps displayed one above the other. Scroll down to see the overlay zoning;
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Short description of the site’s zoning type listed under “Site Information” tab;
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Convenient link to City Land Use code for more information on the specific zoning type;
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Print option (report with map and text); and
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User “Help,” both simple and detailed (step-by-step instructions, example screen displays).
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For more information about the regulations related to each zoning district, view Chapter 9 of the City of
Eugene Code, call the Planning Division at (541) 682-5377, or visit the Planner-on-Duty between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m. at the Permit and Information Center at 99 West 10th Avenue in Eugene. For further
information on the Interactive Zoning Map, please contact Doug Terra at 682-6035 or via email
doug.m.terra@ci.eugene.or.us
Business Commute Challenge Encourages Almost 60 Businesses to Use Alternative Modes
Nearly 60 businesses accepted this year’s Eugene Business Commute Challenge, a promotion that
encourages commuters to use a transportation option other than driving alone. The challenge was held
during the week of October 9. Participating businesses – representing more than 8,800 employees –
successfully reduced traffic congestion by approximately 1,700 autos per day by promoting biking,
walking, carpooling, and taking the bus, according to counts taken at participating businesses on
Wednesday, October 11.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3
October 19, 2006
Two of Eugene’s larger employers, Venture Data and Semperian, had significant turnouts for this year’s
Business Commute Challenge. Venture Data, located in downtown Eugene, had 221 of its 225
employees choosing to bike, walk, carpool or take the bus to work. Semperian, located on Country Club
Road, had 200 out of 315 employees actively participate in the Challenge. Both businesses won the
Commuter Champions awards for their business size.
The Eugene Business Commute Challenge is one of the
City of Eugene’s Transportation Options programs
designed to help reduce the impact automobiles have in
the community by encouraging changes in travel patterns
away from single occupancy driving. Now in its seventh
year, the Challenge is an internationally recognized and
award-winning program. Sponsors include the City of
Eugene, LTD, Commuter Solutions, and Sacred Heart
Medical Center, with support from the Eugene Area
Chamber of Commerce.
This year’s awards for “Commute Champions” for the
highest percentage of participation at larger
Cindy Clarke at Commute Challenge award lunch
businesses went to Northwest Youth Corps, Oregon
DEQ, Venture Data, and Semperian. “Commute Star”
awards for the second-highest percentage of participation went to Lane Council of Governments and the
City of Eugene. Awards for “Commuter Excellence – 100% Participation” went to Fitness Express, MCS
Financial Advisors, Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, Systems West, Center for
Appropriate Transportation, Elizabeth Lewis Publishing, Rowell Brokaw Architects PC, and Rolf Prima.
For more information on the Eugene Business Commute Challenge contact Cindy Clarke, (541) 682-
5285 or cindy.j.clarke@ci.eugene.or.us.
All Aboard Artrain USA!
Oregon Crafted™ and the City of Eugene are presenting Artrain USA, the nation’s only traveling art
museum on a train, and its nationally-touring art exhibition, Native Views: Influences of Modern Culture.
The museum will be located at a convenient, private railroad siding at A & M Reload, 410 Garfield Street
th
in Eugene just off Garfield and 6 Avenue at the following times:
Wednesday, November 8 and Thursday, November 9, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Open for school and group tours. For reservations, call Noemi Pena at Lane Arts Council, 485-2278.
Saturday, November 11 and Sunday, November 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 a.m.
Open to the public.
Artrain USA offers an entertaining, educational and informative experience for visitors of all ages. While
onboard vintage rail cars, visitors can tour the three art galleries, watch artists at work, and purchase
original works of art or souvenirs from the museum gift shop.
Native Views, a contemporary Native American art exhibition touring coast to coast aboard Artrain USA,
explores the many commonalities shared by Native and non-Native people. Visitors discover the
richness, complexity and breadth of contemporary Native American art while examining varying
perspectives on society. Guest curator Joanna Bigfeather (Western Cherokee and Mescalero Apache)
redefines Native art by broadening the limits, and confronting the stereotypes that currently define it.
Featured among the 70 artworks by 53 renowned Native American artists are paintings by Kay
Walkingstick (Cherokee) and Steven Yazzie (Navaho), beadwork by Marcus Amerman (Choctaw),
sculptures by Roxanne Swentzell (Santa Clara Pueblo) and Anita Fields (Osage), and technology-based
art by Melanie Printup Hope (Tuscorora). Oregon is represented by Pat Courtney Gold, of the
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.
Traveling to communities across the country via railroads, Artrain USA brings world class art exhibitions
and art education programs to communities and delivers exceptional opportunities for learning, growth
and art appreciation while encouraging the development of local cultural programs and organizations.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 4
October 19, 2006
Artrain USA has been visited by more than 3 million people in 800 communities ranging in size from 300
to 3 million residents.
Artrain USA, a nonprofit organization founded in 1971, is headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI. Local
financial support is being generously provided by A & M Reload Company (Brad and Ruth Asbury), Lane
Arts Council, Oregon Country Fair, Spirit Mountain Community Fund, Dr. Tamara Stenshoel, and, at the
University of Oregon, the Wayne More Center for Law and Politics, Many Nations Longhouse, and
Museum of Natural and Cultural History.
For more information, call Interim Cultural Services Director Laura Niles at 682-2697. To see images
from Native Views, please visit www.ArtrainUSA.org.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 5
October 19, 2006