HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Newsletter - 11/22/06
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
November 22, 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 SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT TO IMPROVE WEB SITE
PUBLIC WORKSHOP KICKS OFF RIDGELINE AREA OPEN SPACE VISION AND ACTION PLAN
COMPANY OFFICER PROMOTIONAL PROCESS COMPLETED
NETWORK OF OREGON WATERSHED COUNCILS PRESENTS LEADERSHIP AWARD TO CITY
MORE SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS ACHIEVED
CITY SINGERS AT FIRST FRIDAY@ THE DOWNTOWN LIBRARY
EUGENE FIRE & EMS MAINTAINS ACCREDITATION STATUS
CITY POOLS HOLD “TURKEY BURN”
AROUND THE CITY
City Seeks Public Input to Improve Web Site
Information Services Division of the City of
Eugene is working with the University of
Oregon Community Planning Workshop to
gather public input about the use of the City
web site. This input will help direct improvements and enhance web offerings, content and applications.
Initial Survey Results
This public engagement project kicked-off with a survey at the 2006 Eugene Celebration. Two hundred
surveys were collected from Celebration participants. Key findings from this initial survey were:
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Of the respondents who used the internet, 47% have used the City of Eugene’s web site during
the past year;
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Over half of the respondents (56%) indicated that the City’s web site was either “somewhat easy”
or “very easy” to use. Twenty eight percent, however, indicated that the web site was either
“somewhat difficult” or “very difficult” to use.
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Of the respondents who indicated that they used the City’s web site in the past year, most (54%)
indicated they used it to find information about City services (City Code, council meetings, fees).
Many respondents (43%) also used the site to learn about City events (workshops, board
meetings, park concerts). Only 10% of respondents used it to communicate with City staff or
elected officials.
January-June 2007 Outreach Activities
Outreach efforts to gather a broad spectrum of public input from our community will be conducted from
January-June, 2007. Future outreach efforts will include:
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Interviews with stakeholders to assess key issues, needs and priorities;
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Focus groups and web surveys;
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Community workshop to review and comment on the web site.
A final report summarizing the results of all outreach activities is scheduled to be released in July 2007.
For more information about the initial survey or the public input process, contact Kimberly McCrea at
682-5234, or kim.k.mccrea@ci.eugene.or.us
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1
November 22, 2006
Public Workshop Kicks Off Ridgeline Area Open Space Vision and Action Plan
An exciting effort to develop a long-term ridgeline
area open space vision will kick off with a public
workshop on Tuesday, December 5. Located in
the southern Willamette Valley, the ridgeline area
is a 20-mile corridor that follows the major ridgeline
spanning the area between Fern Ridge Reservoir
and Mount Pisgah. The area marks the transition
from the urbanized Eugene-Springfield
metropolitan area to the north and the rural
landscape to the south and forms a scenic
backdrop that is visible from much of Eugene and
the Spencer Creek Valley. The area contains
recreational trails, prominent area landmarks such
as Spencer Butte, unique oak savanna and prairie
habitats, headwater streams, and picturesque farm
and forest lands.
The workshop will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Bascom/Tykeson Room at the Eugene Public Library,
th
100 West 10 Avenue. The workshop agenda includes a presentation from 6 to 6:30 p.m. followed by an
opportunity to ask questions and provide input from 6:30 to 8 p.m. At the workshop, participants will be
asked to provide input on topics such as recreational use, habitat management, visual quality, farm and
forest uses, and other issues related to the ridgeline area. The input will be used as a basis for
developing an open space vision and action plan for the ridgeline area. The Eugene City Council
ultimately will be asked to endorse the open space vision and action plan along with other local elected
officials in fall 2007.
The workshop is sponsored by Long Tom Watershed Council, The Nature Conservancy, Bureau of Land
Management, McKenzie River Trust, Lane County Parks, City of Eugene, and Willamalane Park &
Recreation District. For more information, contact Jeff Krueger, senior landscape architect, Lane Council
of Governments, at 682-4122 or by e-mail at jkrueger@lcog.org.
Company Officer Promotional Process Completed
The Eugene Fire & EMS Department recently completed a promotional process for Company Officers.
In order to be eligible for the exam, a firefighter candidate must first successfully complete the
department’s Officer Development Program (ODP). The ODP is a year-long, four-
module course, which requires personnel to successfully complete four written
exams, ten drill field practical scenarios and three personnel management
evaluations. A total of five personnel took part in the process this year. The
promotional board consisted of personnel from the Eugene Fire & EMS Department,
the City’s Human Resource and Risk Services Department, Springfield Fire & Life
Safety and the Salem Fire Department. As a result, one person will be promoted this
week to Fire Lieutenant, and it is anticipated that there will be two more promotions due to retirements at
the end of the year. For more information, please contact A/Deputy Chief Operations Randy DeWitt at
682-7130.
Network of Oregon Watershed Councils Presents Leadership Award to City of Eugene
The City of Eugene was recognized in October 2006 at the annual meeting of the Network of Oregon
Watershed Councils with the organization’s first Statewide Leadership Award.
In presenting the award, John Moriarty, statewide coordinator of the Network of Oregon Watershed
Councils, credited the City with providing a home to the network for more than two years. “Despite two
moves and extensive office remodeling projects, the City has always found office space to meet the
needs of Network staff, and has done so in the most hospitable way,” Moriarty said. “That in-kind support
has been extremely valuable in terms of cost saving for the Network, and it continues to be crucial to the
Network operating successfully in support of watershed councils throughout the state. The contribution is
also symbolic of the leadership the City of Eugene takes in working toward watershed health throughout
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
November 22, 2006
Oregon. Eugene is leading the way and setting an example for municipalities and utilities throughout the
state to look beyond the borders of their own watersheds and recognize that when their contributions help
make watersheds healthier statewide, their local watershed benefits too.”
“The City’s support for this important citizen-based effort to maintain watershed health is another
indication of Eugene’s commitment to sustainability,” Moriarty said. “On behalf of Oregon’s watershed
councils, thank you.”
The Network of Oregon Watershed Councils provides training, communication and resource support to
watershed councils in communities throughout the state, including several surrounding Eugene. For
more information contact Moriarty at 682-8323.
More Successful Community Partnerships Achieved
Working collectively with PeaceHealth, Sacred Heart Hospital, Lane County’s Regional Information
System (RIS) staff, and the City’s Information Services Division (ISD) for more than a year, the Eugene
Fire & EMS Department’s Ambulance Billing Section now has the ability to access PeaceHealth's
Lastword Patient Information System. Lastword has been worth the wait. Since the majority of the
patients transported by the Fire & EMS Department are to Sacred Heart Hospital, it is much more time
efficient now that billing staff has direct access to patient demographics and insurance information.
Additionally, the information found in Lastword is up-to-date, something that has created billing issues in
the past.
Sacred Heart’s business office will also benefit from Eugene Fire & EMS’ billing staff being able to
directly access patient information, instead of contacting them for the information. For more information,
please contact Billing Supervisor Gail Draper at 682-7130.
City Singers at First Friday @ the Downtown Library
On First Friday @ the Downtown Library,
December 1 at 6 p.m., it's the City Singers—a
choir made up entirely of City staffers. Enjoy
their versatile, vibrant mix of doo-wop, pop,
folk, ethnic, and classical music. Discover the
hidden talents behind those employee
nametags!
The City Singers began in 1999 as part of
Eugene’s City-Wide Diversity Celebration when
Diversity Committee members were charged
with the task of figuring out creative ways to
involve City employees in the celebration.
Maureen Robeson, now Executive Assistant to
Angel Jones, proposed organizing a choir
which would perform music representing varied
cultures. Every City employee was invited to
participate. The only requirements were, and
still are, a desire to sing with a bunch of one’s co-workers, and a willingness to give up a lunch hour two
to four times a month for rehearsals. Many participants hadn’t performed since their high school choir
days, and some had never performed outside of their own shower stalls!
The group ranges in size from 20 to 40 City employees, depending on work schedules. Administrative
aides, architects, computer techs, court administrators, engineers, human resource specialists, librarians,
management analysts, 911 specialists, police officers, property managers, tree specialists, etc., step out
of their respective work roles to come together and create something truly wonderful and fulfilling.
The City Singers have performed for various City of Eugene events including the Mayor’s State of the
City address, employee recognition events, diversity celebrations and First Fridays @ the Downtown
Library, and for community events including Human Rights celebrations, Hult Center SHO Case,
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3
November 22, 2006
Sheldon Oaks Retirement Residence, and the NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner. Also, look for the City
Singers at the Mayor’s State of the City Address on January 4 in the Hult Center Lobby.
The Downtown Library stays open until 8 p.m. the First Friday of each month. In addition to the free
entertainment and education event, all library services are available. For more information, contact
Eugene Public Library: 682-5450. For specific information about the City Singers, contact Maureen
Robeson, 682-6065.
Eugene Fire & EMS Maintains Accreditation Status
Eugene Fire & EMS submitted its annual "One Year Compliance Report" required by the Center for
Public Safety Excellence (CPSE, formerly the Commission on Fire Accreditation International, CFAI).
The report was submitted in late June, and the commission reviewed it on November 14, 2006. The
report was approved, which allows the Eugene Fire & EMS Department to maintain accreditation status.
For more information, please contact A/Deputy Chief Admin Services Mike Thrapp at 682-7130.
City Pools Hold “Turkey Burn”
For everyone who might partake in a little too much Thanksgiving
dinner with all the trimmings and the next day’s leftovers, Sheldon
Pool and Echo Hollow Pool are offering the “Turkey Burn” on
Saturday, November 25.
This deep-water fitness class is sure to help burn off lots of those
extra calories. The class is from 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. and costs $4. For
more information, call Recreation Aquatics Manager Rich Fay at 682-
5525.
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November 22, 2006