HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/13/08 - City Council Newsletter
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
November 13, 2008
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
MAYOR AND COUNCIL INVITED TO FIRE RECRUIT GRADUATION
MUNICIPAL COURT EXPANDS SERVICE DELIVERY TO CUSTOMERS
OSU EXTENSION SERVICE AND CITY OF EUGENE SPONSOR COMPOST DEMONSTRATIONS
FIRE & EMS HOSTS HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMY
RENTAL HOUSING ADVISORY COMMITTEE UPDATE ON MOLD
PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE MASTER PLAN UPDATE STARTS IN SOUTH HILLS
AMAZON POOL HOSTS 2008 HIGH SCHOOL WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIPS
CITY FACILITIES RATED AMONG THE “BEST OF EUGENE”
CITY TO RECEIVE $618K IN FORECLOSURE FUNDS
AROUND THE CITY
Mayor and Council Invited to Fire Recruit Graduation
The Eugene Fire & EMS Department's newest -- and
most diverse -- group of recruits will graduate from
this year's fire academy in special ceremonies on
Friday, November 21. The Mayor and members of
the City Council (and councilor-elect) are invited to
attend. Recruit graduation ceremonies never fail to
offer solemnity, humor, and warmth, and are always
well attended by friends, family members, and
firefighters. The 11 recruits in this class will have
completed 13 weeks of intensive full-time training
(classroom and hands-on), and after graduation will
be assigned to fire stations where they will complete
the remainder of their one-year probationary period
as members of regular line fire crews. The
department conducts recruit academies roughly
once per year to fill vacancies created by
retirements and normal attrition. This year's
ceremonies will be held at 1:00 p.m. on November 21 at the Emergency Services Center, 1705 W. 2nd Avenue
(2nd and Chambers). A reception will follow. Representatives of the media have also been invited. For more
information, please contact Fire & EMS Training Chief Lance Lighty at 682-7131.
Municipal Court Expands Service Delivery to Customers
It is now possible to pay fines and fees to the Eugene Municipal Court 24 hours a day using a web-based credit
card payment system. Payment may be made using either an interactive phone system or the internet.
Transactions on the new, easy-to-use online system can be completed within minutes. The user enters date of
birth, a summons number, docket number, and in some cases a driver’s license number, to retrieve account
information. Minor traffic violations, ordinance violations, and adjudicated misdemeanor charges are eligible for
online payment. The system will confirm a person’s charges and provide them with a list of those charges, and the
amount owed for each charge. After making a full or partial payment, the user will receive a payment confirmation
number. Online payments will not be accepted when the court has taken further action due to non-compliance. The
optional payment services have been well received by customers. Completion of this in-house application
development is the result of a combined effort on the part of staff in Municipal Court, Information Services, and
Finance. For further information, please contact Kristie Hammitt at 682-5019.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1
November 13, 2008
OSU Extension Service and City of Eugene Sponsor Compost Demonstrations
This year’s final, free compost workshop will be held Saturday, November 15, at the GrassRoots Garden, 1465
Coburg Road, from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Certified compost specialists provide this popular training, part of a
cooperative program of the City of Eugene and OSU Extension Service in Lane County. Compost specialists teach
the general public how to recycle organic debris at home by making compost for home gardens. In addition to
offering free demonstrations of compost-making to the general public, compost specialists support compost-
making in community gardens and teach school children about the benefits of compost. For more information on
composting, contact the OSU Extension Service office at 950 West 13th Avenue or by calling the Master Gardener
hotline at 682-4247. A schedule of compost demonstrations for 2009 will be posted online at
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/lane when available. Additional information is also available from Compost
Specialist Anne Donahue, Planning & Development Department, at 682-5542 or
anne.c.donahue@ci.eugene.or.us.
Fire & Ems Hosts High School Academy
Last Friday, the Fire & EMS Department had the opportunity to provide 14 area high school students with an
orientation to the department and to the fire service generally. The youth academy was an initial step toward what
the department hopes will someday be a full-fledged cadet
program. The students who visited last week had either signed
up at a recent career fair or had expressed interest on their own.
During the one-day orientation, they were given demonstrations
of fire suppression and emergency medical equipment,
information about the duties and responsibilities of firefighters
and paramedics, a tour of the department's training facilities and
props, and a chance to observe firefighters engaged in active
drills. The Fire & EMS Department's long-range plans call for a
more formal, long-term program for highschoolers that will
include in-depth instruction, supervised training, career
counseling, and opportunities to work alongside real firefighters
on the job (in safe circumstances). The goal would be to create a
local firefighter recruitment pipeline while helping young people
learn skills and values that will be of benefit to them individually
and to their community, wherever they may choose to serve. For more information, please contact Fire & EMS
Training Deputy Chief Joe Zaludek at 682-7103.
Rental Housing Advisory Committee Update on Mold
The rental housing code program in the Planning & Development Department has formed a six-member
department advisory committee to explore how the rental housing code may address mold in residential rental
properties. Meetings have included guest speakers from the Oregon State University extension office, Magnum
Environmental and University of Oregon Department of Biology. The committee will look at rental housing codes
from other jurisdictions and then begin discussing potential recommendations. The committee is actively seeking
input from owners, property managers and tenants through public forums. The first public forum was held
downtown on October 23. The second public forum will be held at the University of Oregon on November 25,
starting at 6:00 p.m. in the Erb Memorial Union, Room 33. The committee is expected to meet through January
before providing recommendations for staff to take to the council. The next meeting is scheduled for November
20. Meeting minutes and agenda packets and materials are posted on the rental housing website. For more
information please contact Code Enforcement Supervisor Rachelle Nicholas at 682- 5495 or
rachelle.d.nicholas@ci.eugene.or.us.
Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan Update Starts in South Hills
The City of Eugene Public Works Department will conduct three open
houses to gather public input on needed improvements for the
pedestrian and bicycle system. The first phase of the pedestrian and
bicycle master plan will focus on five neighborhoods in the south hills
area of Eugene: Laurel Hill Valley Citizens Association, Fairmount
Neighbors, Southeast Neighbors, Crest Drive Citizens Association, and
the Churchill Area Neighbors.The schedule for the three meetings is as
follows:
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Tuesday, November 18, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at University of
Oregon Agate Hall, 1787 Agate Street
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November 13, 2008
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Wednesday, November 19, 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. at Arts and Technology Academy Cafeteria at Jefferson, 1650
nd
West 22 Avenue
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Thursday, November 20, 5:00 to 7:30 p.m., Churchill High School Library, 1850 Bailey Hill Road
All three open houses will have stations with information on the existing pedestrian and bicycle system, planned
improvements, and innovative walking and biking design treatments. Participants will be asked to identify existing
problems and needed improvements to make Eugene more walkable and bikeable. City staff and members of the
Master Plan Advisory Committee will be on hand to guide the public through the stations and collect public
comments. Interested members of the public can attend any one of the three scheduled meetings. If you have any
questions about the Pedestrian-Bicycle Master Plan meetings, please contact City of Eugene Bicycle and
Pedestrian Coordinator Lee Shoemaker at lee.shoemaker@ci.eugene.or.us or 541-682-5471, or visit the master
plan website at www.eugene-or.gov/pwprojects.
Amazon Pool Hosts 2008 High School Water Polo Championships
For the first time Amazon Pool was the site of the High School Southern Conference Water Polo Championships
on Saturday, October 25. Boys’ and girls’ teams from five schools from Eugene, Cottage Grove and Ashland
competed, and there were more than 500 people in attendance. The South
Eugene Boys and North Eugene Girls won championship titles. Amazon
Pool is one of only four facilities in the state that meet the standards for
water polo competition. The others are in Beaverton, Gresham and
Corvallis. Southern Conference teams rely on Amazon for the majority of
their water polo games, and the University of Oregon also holds practices
and collegiate tournaments at the site. Amazon Pool also hosts South
Eugene High, Sheldon High and Marist High and several club teams for
swimming and water polo practices, meets and games. For more
information, contact Aquatics Section Manager Rich Fay at 682-5314.
City Facilities Rated Among the “Best of Eugene”
In late October, Eugene Weekly’s annual reader poll named several City facilities as “Best of Eugene.” The
Eugene Downtown Public Library won first place in two categories: best public space and “best place to meet
someone you’d take home to mom.” The Weekly’s editors noted, “The gorgeously housed
Eugene Public Library contains more knowledge in book, CD, DVD, video, audio, Braille, and
other formats -- including those human search engines, reference librarians -- than anyone
could encompass.” Alton Baker and Hendricks Parks took second and third places in the public
space category. The Weekly’s readers also named Alton Baker Dog Park as the best, noting
that a “slew of dog-loving volunteers have worked hard to make this the Garden of Eden for our
four-legged friends.” In a new category, the newspaper’s readers named the City’s purchase of
the Amazon Headwaters and Saving the West Eugene Wetlands (along with BRING Recycling)
the winners in a three-way tie as the Best Eco-Improvement Project Award, noting that “The
city’s purchase of one of the Amazon Headwaters parcels preserves some of the last pristine
forest inside Eugene’s urban growth boundary.” The paper said the West Eugene Wetlands
conservation plan, adopted in 1992, set precedents across the country. For more information, contact Kathy
Madison at 682-6342 or Kelly Darnell at 682-8414.
City to Receive $618K in Foreclosure Funds
The City of Eugene was notified that it will be receiving $618,519 from the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development’s new Neighborhood
Stabilization Program. The program will provide assistance to local
governments to aid in the purchase of foreclosed properties at a discount and
to rehabilitate them when necessary. This major new program is part of the
2008 Housing and Economic Recovery Act. Funds were allocated to the State
of Oregon and are being provided to cities and counties based on a formula.
Households with up to 120% of area median income may qualify, although 25%
of the funds must be used to benefit families at or below 50% of area median
income. Properties must be located in eligible census tracts (see map). The
program guidelines are being developed and will be implemented in early 2009.
The Congressional timetable for using these funds is very ambitious. The State
is asking that properties be acquired by the fall of 2009. The Oregon Housing
and Community Services Department is seeking public comment on the
program at this time. Information will be posted to the City’s website as it
becomes available. For more information, contact Linda Dawson, Planning and
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November 13, 2008
Development Department, 682-5071 or linda.l.dawson@ci.eugene.or.us.
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November 13, 2008