HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Newsletter - 02/22/07EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
February 22, 2007
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
DISPLAY AND RECEPTION CALL ATTENTION TO HOUSING DISCRIMINATION
CITY RECEIVES FIVE RESPONSES TO WEST BROADWAY REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
FIRE & EMS AWARDED FEDERAL GRANT FOR EQUIPMENT
LASERFICHE SOFTWARE STREAMLINES POLICE RECORDS PROCESS
CREST DRIVE COMMUNITY TEAM HOSTS SECOND PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE
CITY WEBSITE PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PROJECT UNDERWAY
TOXICS PROGRAM MOVES INTO SECOND DECADE
FREE HULT CENTER CONCERTS FOR YOUTH
AROUND THE CITY
Display and Reception Call Attention to Housing Discrimination
Did you know that Oregon’s first constitution, passed in 1857, denied African-Americans the right to live in
the state? Did you know that before the Fair Housing Act was amended in 1988, more than 60% of the
state’s rental units were off-limits to families with children? Many more astonishing facts, perspectives,
and images on the history of housing discrimination in Oregon can be experienced by viewing the display
Anywhere But Here: A History of Housing Discrimination in Oregon, presented by the Fair Housing
Council of Oregon and sponsored by the Planning and Development Diversity Committee.
The display will be on exhibit from February
21 to March 21 in the lobby of the Atrium
building downtown. The goal of the display
and reception is to educate the community on
impediments to fair housing in the
Eugene/Springfield area and Oregon. The
display consists of six interconnected panels
that chronicle Oregon’s history using
photographs, text and personal quotes.
A reception for the display will be held on
Monday, February 26, at 11:00 a.m. at the
same location. City Councilor Andrea Ortiz
and Eugene Human Rights Commission
Chair, Carmen Urbina will speak about the
importance of fair housing in our local
community. Light refreshments will be
provided. The display and reception are a precursor to March, Fair Housing Month and are sponsored by
the Eugene Planning and Development Diversity Committee. For more information, contact Lorna
Flormoe, fair housing liaison, at 682-5293 or via e-mail (lorna.r.flormoe@ci.eugene.or.us).
City Receives Five Responses to West Broadway Request for Qualifications
In December 2006, the City’s Urban Renewal Agency (URA) issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ)
for development of the two-block area of West Broadway between Willamette and Charnelton streets.
The City seeks a developer(s) with a viable redevelopment concept for West Broadway and the capacity
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February 22, 2007
to implement a well-designed, urban, mixed-use development. The City received five responses to the
RFQ which demonstrate a broad range of redevelopment scenarios. The responses are currently being
reviewed by Planning and Development staff and an interdepartmental staff team. The Eugene
Redevelopment Advisory Committee (ERAC) is scheduled to review the RFQ responses on February 23.
On March 12, the City Council will review the responses. The West Broadway RFQ and an electronic
version of each response are available on the “Downtown” page of the City’s web site, www.eugene-
or.gov/downtown. For more information, contact Denny Braud, Community Development Division, at
682-5536.
Fire & EMS Awarded Federal Grant for Equipment
U.S. Senator Gordon Smith’s office announced that the Eugene Fire & EMS Department has been
awarded a grant of $770,376 from the Assistance to Firefighters Program, administered by the
Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Grants and Training. The funds will be used to purchase
fire suppression and emergency medical services equipment including:
structural and wildland firefighting ensembles (turn-out coats and pants);
new-generation wildland fire protective shelters to replace aging 1991 shelters;
new hose nozzles to replace aging and progressively unreliable equipment;
thermal imaging cameras used in search and rescue operations to locate fire victims as well as
locate fire hot spots in concealed spaces; and
12-lead cardiac monitors capable of transmitting cardiac rhythms by telemetry from the field to
physicians in the hospital emergency department.
The equipment acquisitions covered by this grant are needed items that would otherwise have required a
multi-year procurement plan funded from the existing budget, which in turn would have necessitated
under-funding other areas of the department’s programs and operation.
In the case of the cardiac monitors, the department had already been approved for this purchase out of
the Telecomm Fund, but the grant award now allows Fire & EMS to release a sizeable portion of the
previously allocated funding. For more information, please contact Fire Chief Randy Groves at 682-7130.
Laserfiche Software Streamlines Police Records Process
Something’s about to change. Each year approximately 35,000 police reports are copied onto paper,
manually sorted, and sent to a wide variety of law enforcement and criminal justice agencies by the
Eugene Police Records section. Reports average 10 pages in length and require two to eight paper
copies each. In addition, only the current year and a portion of the previous year’s reports are easily
accessible. The bulk of police reports are stored in City and Police archives requiring extra employee
time to locate and retrieve.
Beginning March 18, 2007, Records employees will scan one copy of a police report and then
electronically distribute it via email or electronic folder to any internal or external customer by using the
Laserfiche digital archival system. Using a tool called Weblink, officers in the field can use their mobile
data computers to securely view and search reports through the City intranet. Search tools give officers
the ability to check a wide variety of information using only limited criteria. During the testing phase, one
officer told of how he helped an elderly citizen find his way home. The citizen was disoriented – he could
not remember his entire home address. The officer ran a Weblink search of the partial address and was
able to locate related information that had the full address.
The Laserfiche system allows for secure electronic redaction of non-releasable report information, which
improves the timely processing of public records requests. Search tools give the section’s employees the
ability to retrieve electronic copies of reports from their workstations instead traveling to Police and City
archives. The section has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from other City departments, local
law enforcement, and criminal justice agencies that receive copies of reports electronically.
The year-long implementation project is near completion and Records section employees are looking for
other inventive ways to use the system, such as scanning driver’s licenses, creating electronic folders for
court orders, and developing an electronic briefing board to increase the information officers have in the
field. For further information, please contact Jean Stronach, Police Records manager, at 682-5492.
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February 22, 2007
Crest Drive Community Team Hosts Second Public Open House
Members of the Crest Drive Community Team (CDCT) and City staff involved in the context-sensitive
solutions (CSS) process met with approximately 40 neighbors and community residents at an open house
on Tuesday, February 13. Like the first CDCT open house held last fall, this event was designed to
provide the public with a detailed update of the work completed thus far and to offer additional
opportunities for direct feedback between the public and the CDCT.
Key elements of the February 13 open house included details of the recent decision to include the middle
section of Crest Drive to the project scope, a presentation of CDCT-developed transportation system
concepts, results of topographic survey work and right-of-way research, and additional information about
the City’s assessment policies and procedures. A common theme in participants’ inquiries during the
evening focused on project timeline and cost. According to the CDCT work plan, the goal is to present a
street design recommendation to the City Council by August 2007.
In addition to conversation between members of the CDCT and open house participants, a brief survey
designed to gather public opinion and provide further clarification about project concepts was distributed.
An electronic version of the survey is posted on the project website at www.eugene-or.gov/pwprojects
(click on Crest Drive) to provide broad opportunities for participation and comment. Survey results will be
incorporated into the CSS process.
For additional information, contact Transportation Planning Technician David Roth at Eugene Public
Works Engineering, 682-5727 or david.f.roth@ci.eugene.or.us.
City Website Public Involvement Project Underway
In conjunction with the University of Oregon’s Community Planning
Workshop, the City of Eugene is currently engaging the community
through a series of interviews, focus groups, surveys and workshops
about the City’s website. Staff is gathering information and opinions from
a diverse group of current and potential City website users, so that
everyone will have an opportunity to help guide and shape future updates
and additions to the City’s site.
Stakeholder interviews are complete and a report of key findings will be
available on the project web page at http://www.eugene-or.gov/input in
the near future. Stakeholder interviews served to assess key issues,
needs and priorities within the community to inform the focus group
process. Six focus groups are scheduled, beginning February 22, 2007, including representatives from
the following segments of the community:
Neighborhood leaders and representatives;
Land use interest groups (realtors, architects, planners, advocacy groups);
Educators;
Social service agencies;
Volunteers who work with the City; and
Public officials (City Council, elected officials, boards and commissions, on-going department
advisory committees).
Visit the project web page to stay informed about the progress of the project. An email sign-up form is
available to be notified of posted reports, upcoming web surveys and the community-wide workshop. For
more information about the website improvement project and public involvement, contact Kimberly
McCrea at 682-5234.
Toxics Program Moves Into Second Decade
Eugene's Toxics Right-to-Know Program, the only municipal program of its kind in the United States,
th
recently observed its 10 anniversary. Adopted by local voters in 1996, the program was administratively
structured during 1997, and 1998 was the first reporting year. When reports for 2006 are received this
spring, the program's website, www.eugene-or.gov/toxics, will provide nine years' worth of data on
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February 22, 2007
hazardous substances used by Eugene manufacturers, including their disposition (in product, air, water,
remaining inventory, etc.).
Meanwhile, the City Council will be asked (in accordance with state law) to adopt an ordinance
authorizing fees to support the program. The proposed ordinance provides a status quo budget for the
program for FY08. A public hearing on the ordinance is scheduled for February 26. Remedies to
perceived inequities in the program's fee structure (caused by state laws enacted subsequent to the
establishment of Eugene's program) remain on the City's state legislative agenda as they have in past
legislative sessions. For more information please contact Glen Potter in the Fire Marshal’s Office at 682-
7100.
Free Hult Center Concerts for Youth
The Hult Center series, Hult Presents, frequently offers admission-free
performances and workshops for students. The next free performance will take
place on the morning of Thursday, March 8, when Ailey II will perform a 60-minute
show for 750 area students in Silva Concert Hall. As the junior company to world-
renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey®II is one of the most
popular dance companies in the U.S. This will be the first time many of these
young people will experience a live performance in a concert hall.
This performance is supported in part by a grant from the Nils and Jewel Hult
Endowment, with hands-on assistance by SHO (Support HultCenter Operations)
volunteers. For more information, contact Cultural Services Division
Programming Manager Carol Philips at 682-2057.
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