HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/14/06 City Council Newsletter
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
December 14, 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
DESIGN BEGINS ON AIR CARGO IMPROVEMENTS AT AIRPORT
FIRE PREVENTION STAFF TRAINING
AIRPORT MASTER PLAN UPDATE
CITY OF EUGENE RECOGNIZED AT ANNUAL CONGRESS OF CITIES EVENT
CITY DESIGN VIDEO PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE ON METRO TV
WINTER BREAK FUN FOR KIDS AND TEENS AT EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY
IS IT STANDARDISE OR STANDARDIZE?
AROUND THE CITY
Design Begins on Air Cargo Improvements at Airport
On November 20, the Oregon Department of Transportation signed an agreement with the City of
Eugene providing $4.1 million to design and construct new air cargo facilities at the Eugene Airport. To
begin construction next summer, the project is being fast-tracked. Airport staff and aviation consulting
firm Mead & Hunt initiated work on the project with a design kick-off meeting on December 6. Air Cargo
operators and freight handlers were consulted and other stakeholders attended meetings to provide input
as concepts and plans are developed. Project construction is expected to begin in June 2007. For
further information, contact Brad Black, Airport facilities and development manager, at 682-5883.
Fire Prevention Staff Training
Eugene Fire & EMS Fire Prevention staff has been busy this fall with staff development and mandatory
training, as three individuals are currently filling Acting in Capacity (AIC) roles within the Fire Prevention
section. In addition to attending training offered through the City’s Coordinated Training Program, Fire
Prevention Staff have been working through a matrix of State-mandated training.
On November 30, Eugene Fire & EMS hosted Deputy State Fire Marshal Kristina Deschaine and State
Deputy Keith Brown (Coos Bay), who presented Fire and Life Safety Awareness courses 1 and 2 to staff
from both the Eugene Fire & EMS Department and Springfield Fire & Life Safety. Mandated training will
continue to be a primary focus for Eugene’s Fire Prevention staff in moving towards accomplishing the
statewide goal of certification for fire prevention professionals. For more information, please contact
A/Fire Marshal Doug Perry at 682-7100.
Airport Master Plan Update
The Eugene Airport kicked off the forthcoming Master Plan Update with the assembly of the Master Plan
Advisory Committee on December 6. The objectives of the update are to prepare a 20-year
improvement plan that is technically correct (including FAA acceptance/approval at key milestones),
environmentally sound, financially viable and implementable. Other objectives include creating a plan
that identifies overall land requirements and land uses to ensure the Airport’s long-term operational
viability, and conducting a process that allows ample opportunity for public participation.
The Eugene Airport Master Plan Update is a refinement to the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area
General plan (MetroPlan). The Master Plan Update will include the development of a business plan that
examines level of service, revenue enhancement options, airport governance options, capital
improvement plans and an analysis of the feasibility under various financial scenarios.
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December 14, 2006
The study is being conducted by the Airport’s aviation consultant, Mead & Hunt, at a cost of $577,000.
Mead & Hunt has a local office and one in Portland. Three local firms -- Evans Elder and Brown,
3DiWest, and Ford Surveying -- will act as subconsultants on the project. The Federal Aviation
Administration is providing 95% of the funding for this project through the Airport Improvement Program.
For further information, contact Bob Noble, Airport Manager, at 682-8352.
City of Eugene Recognized at Annual Congress of Cities Event
Councilor Betty Taylor accepted a special recognition award presented to the City of Eugene by the
National League of Cities at the Congress of Cities and Exposition in Reno, Nevada, December 5 – 9.
The award recognizes the City of Eugene for 50 years of service to the National League of Cities. The
National League of Cities (NCL) is the voice of America's cities and towns, and it’s over 1,600 members
represent cities and towns of all sizes. The NLC seeks to strengthen local government, encourage
economic competitiveness, and promote corporate civic engagement.
The City of Eugene became a member city in the 1950s and has been an active in supporting the goals
and mission of the organization. For more information on the NLC, visit the website at: www.nlc.org.
For more information on the award, contact Mary Walston at 682-5406.
City Design Video Presentations Available on Metro TV
The City of Eugene Planning and Development and Public Works departments recently co-sponsored a
series of public lectures focusing on various aspects of compact urban development and community
design. Over the past six months, the City Design lecture series brought five prominent speakers to
Eugene to speak on subjects related to implementation of the mixed-use development concept. Several
of the presentations applied specifically to issues related to the Walnut Station Development Plan. City
staff has also acquired a videotape entitled “Boulevards” that explores how multi-way boulevards
function in various cities; the Boulevards video is included in this presentation series. For those who
were not able to attend the presentations, the entire lineup will be presented again on Metro TV
(Comcast Cable 21) beginning December 20. Each presentation is about an hour long. The Boulevards
video is about 20 minutes long.
The presentations will be featured every day from December 20, 2006, through January 1, 2007,
according to the following schedule: Wednesday December 20, Thursday, December 21, Saturday
December 23, Monday December 25, Tuesday December 26, Wednesday December 27, Thursday
December 28, Saturday December 30 and Monday January 1.
Paul Crawford Shaping the Public Realm: The Role of Form-Based Codes 10:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
Elizabeth MacDonald Building Multiway Boulevards, 12:00 noon and 8:30 p.m.
Shelley Poticha Building the Livable Region: Transit Oriented Development
and Development Oriented Transit 1:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Claire C. Marcus Clustered Housing, A Sense of Community and the
Needs of Children 2:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.
Dan Solomon Rich Admire, Richard Meier: Whatever Happened to
Modernity 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Boulevards 4:00 pm.
On December 22 and December 29 the following schedule will apply:
Paul Crawford 10:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
Elizabeth MacDonald 12:00 noon and 8:30 p.m.
Shelley Poticha 1:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.
Claire Cooper Marcus 2:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.
Dan Solomon 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Boulevards 4:00 p.m.
For more information please contact Allen Lowe, Planning and Development Department at 682-5113.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
December 14, 2006
Winter Break Fun for Kids and Teens at Eugene Public Library
It’s cold and wet outside, but warm and friendly inside the Library. While school's out, free events for
kids and teens include:
--
Games Around the Worldwherever they live, kids invent and play games. New ones recommended
for ages 5-12 are: Chinese Yo Yo, African Flower Sticks, Mexican Lariat, Brazilian Peteca, and Spanish
Pelele with games expert Scott "Mag" Hughes. Free tickets are available 30 minutes in advance.
Sheldon Branch Tuesday, December 19 11:00 a.m. – noon
Downtown Library Tuesday, December 19 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Bethel Branch Wednesday, December 20 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
--
Hora de Diversión: A Latin Christmas kids in grades 1 - 6 may drop in for bilingual fun with Ximena
Torres and Andres Montenegro of Chile, learn about different Christmas celebrations in Latin America,
and join in a colorful Mexican-style Posada party.
Downtown Library Tuesday, December 26 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Little One Inch: A Story from Japan -- a play performed with bunraku-style puppets by the talented Tears
of Joy Theatre. The show is based on a folktale about a tiny child who proves his strength by defeating a
rat, and then sets off to save Japan from a terrible ogre.
Recommended for ages 5 - 12. Free tickets will be available
30 minutes before each show.
Downtown Library Friday, December 29
1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.
--
Altered Books Workshop teens try their hands at altered
books—a mixed-media method that transforms a discarded
book into a unique work of art using collage, paint, and more.
The free two-day workshop is presented by local artist Marie
Livie. Finished works by teen participants will be exhibited at
the Library in January, along with altered books by adults in
the ArtChics and Artful Book Artists groups. To pre-register,
please call 682-8316.
Downtown Library Wednesday, December 27
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Thursday, December 28
2:00 p m. - 4:00 p.m.
For more information about programs for youth, call the Eugene Public Library at 682-8316.
Is It Standardise or Standardize?
The word “standardize” may look like it is misspelled, but in fact it is the correct spelling in Great Britain
and most of Europe. The question of what is correct English was frequently asked at the ISO Technical
Committee 224 meeting in which Wastewater Division Director Peter Ruffier recently participated. The
meeting, held in Uruguay, was a final step in the process of establishing international water and
wastewater management guidelines, which will be published as ISO 24500.
The American National Standards Institute (www.ansi.org) is the official national liaison to the
International Standardization Organization. For this particular project, ANSI charged the American
Water Works Association (AWWA) and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies with picking
the U.S. representatives to the Technical Committee. These organizations also facilitate the review and
development of U.S. positions on the ISO proposals, and provide funding for U.S. involvement in the
process (the AWWA covered all expenses necessary for Ruffier’s meeting).
Ruffier has been participating in these meetings over the past two years as one of four delegates
representing the United States. There are 20 countries participating—Argentina, Austria, Britain,
Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Malaysia, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria,
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December 14, 2006
Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Uruguay, United States, and Zimbabwe. Three technical work groups are
working on different sections of the 24500 standards. In Uruguay, Ruffier’s workgroup went line-by-line
through a 50-page draft, compared 163 pages of submitted comments to determine if the comments
were persuasive, and documented the rationale for the decision on the comment.
As for the spelling question, while English is the official language of ISO, there are many variations of
accents, vocabulary, and cultural influences among the 20 nations at the meetings. Overlaid on this is a
tremendous variety of water and wastewater infrastructures, management practices, and legal and
regulatory bureaucracies. Writing guidelines for management of water and wastewater services that are
relevant and have value across this wide range of situations has been very challenging. According to the
ISO secretariat, the English Oxford dictionary determines “correct” English; therefore “standardise” is the
correct spelling. For more information, contact Peter Ruffier at 682-8606.
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December 14, 2006