Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Newsletter - 04/22/04EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER April 22, 2004 City of Eugene 777 Pearl Street, Room 105 Eugene, Oregon 97401-2793 (541) 682-5010 (541) 682-5414 (FAX) www. ci.euqene.or, us MEETINGS OFFER INFORMATION ON PROPOSED SALMON HABITAT CONSERVATION STRATEGIES AURORA BUILDING WINS STATEWIDE AWARD PROJECT WILL UPGRADE ACCESS RAMPS, REPAIR BRICKWORK ON DOWNTOWN BROADWAY 'MISS SAIGON' GETS WHIRLWIND OF SUPPORT YARD DEBRIS PROGRAM LOGS 69% INCREASE IN DIVERSION 2004 OREGON LIBRARY ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE REPAIRING RIDGELINE TRAIL REQUIRES INGENUITY AND PERSEVERANCE FIRST SEATING NODE AT HAYS MEMORIAL TREE GARDEN COMPLETED 'SALMON AND THE ECOSYSTEM' MAKES A SPLASH! IN LOCAL CLASSROOMS Meetinqs Offer Information on Proposed Salmon Habitat Conservation Strateqies The first of three public meetings on proposed salmon habitat conservation regulations will be held Tuesday, April 27, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Campbell Senior Center, 155 High Street. The City is hosting the meetings to provide information on Eugene's efforts to protect habitat for wild salmon and to gather feedback from property owners and interested citizens. Meetings have also been scheduled from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on May 12 at Madison Middle School and on May 20 at Cai Young Middle School. The agenda for all three meetings is the same. Brief presentations will be made at 5 and 6 p.m., and staff will be available to receive comments and answer questions. The meetings are an outcome of the City Council's 2000 direction to staff to "work proactively to support the recovery of spring Chinook salmon populations." Since then, the City has evaluated its own programs and practices and has implemented a number of strategies to support recovery of wild salmon. In addition, the City is considering a land-use regulatory strategy, which could affect property next to salmon-bearing streams and rivers. A key question for the public to consider, and ultimately for the council to decide, is whether the City should apply the same general Goal 5 natural resource protections to salmon habitat areas or whether there should be additional protection measures for salmon habitat. Information about salmon habitat conservation strategies and an online comment form are available on the intemet at www.ci.eugene.or, us/salmon. For more information about the workshops or the proposed strategies, contact Senior Planner Neil Bjorklund at 682-5507. Aurora Buildinq Wins Statewide Award On Friday April 23, St. Vincent dePaul will be honored at a Salem awards ceremony recognizing the Aurora Building. Aurora is the recipient of a special joint award from the State of Oregon Department of Housing and Community Services and the Oregon Downtown Development Association. The state described participation in this year's annual awards program as "phenomenal, with 37 nominations received in five award categories. The Aurora Building's recognition is unique because it is a joint award from both sponsoring EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 April 22, 2004 organizations. Aurora, which opened last December, is located downtown at 11th and Oak. Since its completion, it has enjoyed full occupancy and unusually small turnover. Only five of the fifty-four tenants own cars. It is the latest in a string of successful housing developments which demonstrate that downtown housing is both viable and in demand. For more information please contact Richie Weinman, Planning and Development Department at 682-5533 or richie.d.weinman~ci.eu.qene.or, us. Project Will Upgrade Access Ramps, Repair Brickwork on Downtown Broadway A three-phase project to upgrade sidewalk access ramps and repair brickwork in the vicinity of Broadway in downtown Eugene begins Monday and is anticipated to be completed by the end of May. The first phase of the project will be to replace the raised mid-block crosswalks on Willamette Street north and south of Broadway. The brickwork in the crosswalks, which was installed when Willamette Street was opened in 1996, has cracked and deteriorated from heavy traffic loads. A much stronger structure of brick-red colored concrete, similar to the th th material used for the crosswalks on 6 and 7 avenues, will be poured in place of the brickwork. To give the concrete time to cure, Willamette Street between 8th and 10th avenues is scheduled to be closed to through traffic from 6 a.m. Monday, April 26, to 6 p.m. Thursday, April 29. Broadway at Willamette Street will remain open. Another phase of repairs involves the realignment of the brickwork on Broadway just east of Willamette Street. By rearranging the surface brick pattern to line up with the joints in the underlying concrete slab, the road will be structurally stronger and require less maintenance. Broadway will be closed between Oak and Willamette streets while the brick realignment work is being done. The dates for this project have not yet been set but will be scheduled to cause minimal disruptions to local businesses. Finally, ADA-compliant sidewalk access ramps will be installed on the east side of Oak Street at Broadway. The existing brickwork will be removed and replaced with concrete. That work will require the closing of some traffic lanes, but both Oak and Broadway will remain open. Eugene Sand & Gravel is the general contractor on the repair project. Funds remaining from the 2002 Broadway opening project will be used for this work. For more information, contact Principal Civil Engineer Michelle Cahill at 682-5560. "Miss Saiqon" Gets Whirlwind of Support On Monday morning, KEZI, KMTR and KVAL reporters were on site to report an historic occasion - the first helicopter landing on top of the Hult Center parking structure. The passengers, which included Mayor Torrey and members of the Weiler Family, appeared exhilarated, but collected, as they exited the "whirlybird" to a gathering of enthusiastic supporters awaiting them on the windy roof. The Mayor spoke eloquently to the media about the benefits of Hult Center programming, stating that since most don't have an opportunity to get to Broadway, the Hult Center brings a piece of New York to Eugene for us. This event, which celebrated "Miss Saigon," was started to heighten public awareness of this award-winning musical, the sixth longest running Broadway show in history, and winner of three Tony Awards. Phil Weiler, former City employee, his wife and three children were the happy recipients of the first Cultural Services Division weekend entertainment package, "Broadway Weekends in Eugene." Cultural Services Director, Robb Hankins, and his marketing staff are collaborating with various partners to create this delightful way to introduce more folks to the wonders of the region. The Weiler family package includes dinner, a night at the Hilton, tickets to "Miss Saigon" courtesy of Clear Channel, and a backstage tour of the Hult with a chance to meet the cast. To top off the morning's activities, Karm Hagedorn, Hult events manager, and Noelle Dass, Hult Ticket Office supervisor, participated in the return helicopter ride, their reward for winning a CSD creative idea contest. "Miss Saigon" will play at the Hult Center from April 28 through May 2. For ticket information, contact the Hult Center ticket office at 682-5000. Yard Debris Proqram Logs 69% Increase in Diversion During September 2001, City-licensed garbage and recycling haulers began collecting yard debris from residents in an effort to boost the amount of organic material diverted from Lane County's Short Mountain Landfill. Since that time, almost 25,000 tons of grass clippings, tree trimmings, leaves, and garden debris has been collected and delivered to local facilities that manufacture soil amendments with compost as an important ingredient. In reviewing the volumes diverted on a quarterly basis by this program, the City of Eugene's Solid Waste and Recycling Program notes that during the first quarter of 2004, licensed haulers collected 2,444 tons of yard debris, marking a 69% increase over the 1,438 tons EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 April 22, 2004 collected a year prior during the same quarter. The yard debris collection program was initiated in an attempt to bolster statewide recycling rates and to extend the life of the Short Mountain Landfill. Yard debris represents a large portion of what is deposited into the landfill and decomposes anaerobically in the landfill environment, which creates greenhouse gases and contributes to leachate generation. When diverted from the landfill, yard debris is ground up and mixed with manure and other organic materials to produce soil amendments marketed by local firms like Rexius Forest By-Products and Lane Forest Products. The increase from last year shows that Eugene residents are beginning to take full advantage of the recycling services provided to them at their curbsides. A recent garbage can weight study by the City confirms that Eugene customers are indeed reducing the amount of trash they generate. The weight of garbage contained in the most popular-sized roll cart of 35 gallons decreased from 29.7 lbs in 2000 to 25.4 lbs in 2003. For more information, contact Alex Cuyler, recycling analyst, Planning and Development Department, 682-6830 or via email at alex.d.cuyler@ci.eugene.or, us 2004 Oreqon Library Association Conference There was a flurry of activity around the Hilton Eugene and Convention Center last week as Eugene hosted the 2004 Oregon Library Association Conference, attracting quite a few more people than anticipated. Over 600 attendees from all over Oregon, including 34 Eugene Public Library employees and nearly 200 exhibitors, had the opportunity to benefit from informative sessions on library topics ranging from Dewey Decimal Classification, to How to Support Your New Technology, to Cross-Cultural Awareness. Angel Jones, one of the three featured speakers, spoke eloquently on the conference theme, "Diversity, Not Window Dressing". The other speakers were Diana Abu-Jaber, author of Crescent and Arabian Jazz, an Oregon Book Award winner, and Ray Hanania, award-winning syndicated columnist, humorist and author. The theme was very well-received and generated much interest, many questions, and in Angel's case, offers to speak for other organizations. The Downtown Library was the location for the ©LA President's Reception on Thursday evening from 9 - 11 p.m. Colleagues from around the state enjoyed and raved about the new building. For more information about the conference, contact Library Public Services Manager Rob Everett at 682-8314. Repairing Ridgeline Trail Requires Ingenuity and Perseverance Every winter, Natural Resources Maintenance (NRM) staff clears downed trees off trails in Ridgeline Park. This year, however, the New Year's Day storm presented staff with greater challenges than normal. In addition to more than 20 small trees and limbs blocking the trail, five Douglas firs, averaging over two feet in diameter, uprooted the trail's surface. "The trees' root wads had ripped up the trail, rendering the path impassable," says NRM lead worker Jesse Cary-Hobbs. NRM staff logged 180 person hours clearing, repairing and rerouting the trails. Also this year, staff used a "highline" rigging system, a National Parks Service trail-building technique, for the first time to move gravel down a hillside to repair the Blanton Ridge section of the Ridgeline trail, from 52nd and Willamette to Blanton Road. The system works like an aerial tram: gravel is loaded into buckets at the top of the hill and ferried down the hill on a cable strung in the air between two trees. This method of hauling material is more common in wilderness areas than in an urban forest, but it enabled the crew to move the gravel and repair trails without damaging the soft trails leading to the affected areas. Cary-Hobbs credits NRM team member Matt McRae with sharing his National Parks Service trail expertise and introducing the crew to this new technique. The program hopes to use the highline rigging system in future trail repairs. In addition to maintaining over 12 miles of Ridgeline trail, the NRM program is also responsible for maintaining Eugene's undeveloped parks, open waterways and wetlands, totaling over 5,000 acres in total. For more information, contact Natural Resources Maintenance Supervisor John Clark at 682-4826. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 April 22, 2004 First Seatinq Node at Hays Memorial Tree Garden Completed On April 9, the first donor seating "node" was completed at the Hays Memorial Tree Garden in Alton Baker Park. The nodes are custom- designed seating areas for people making donations of $4,200 or more. This inaugural seating node is dedicated in memory of Duncan Kirkpatrick. It features a natural rock seating wall enclave surrounded by Iow, landscaped mounds planted with river birch, paperbark birch and Jacquemonti birch. Dwarf evergreen shrubs around the seating area help create an intimate, contemplative setting in Kirkpatrick's memory. Construction of a second seating node is anticipated to begin this fall for donor Betsy Ford in memory of her late husband. Both seating nodes are located immediately north of the tree garden entry plaza. The garden has a limited number of these opportunities available. Since its beginning in 1999, the Hays Memorial Tree Garden in Alton Baker Park has been growing into a striking botanical garden. Five years after the groundbreaking for the first phase of the garden, donors have filled 50 of the 60 tree locations with trees. The lighted and landscaped entry plaza to the garden has a directory showing the tree locations, and each tree is marked with its scientific and common name. Trees are selected for distinctive characteristics such as fall leaf color or notable flower bloom. Planning staff expects the vacant tree spaces to be adopted within the next two years, and, to keep pace with donor demand, are beginning to plan for the second phase of the garden. Besides purchasing seating nodes and trees, there are several other ways community members can help the garden continue to grow. Slate tiles, etched with a leaf design, are available for $145. These tiles, personalized with the donor's name or a tribute to a loved one, are placed in the entry plaza. Benches in the entry plaza or along the pathways are also available for a donation of $1,200 to $1,700 and include a plaque with a custom inscription. Thirty percent of all donations are placed in a trust fund to be used exclusively for ongoing maintenance of the tree garden. For more information about donating to the tree garden, call Park Development Coordinator Carrie Peterson at 682-4907. For more information about the design of the tree garden, call Park Planner John Weber at 682-4908. 'Salmon and the Ecosystem' Makes a SPI_ASH! in Local Classrooms Salmon and the Ecosystem, a new unit of the SPLASH! curriculum developed by the City of Eugene Stormwater Management Program, explores the .~-~'~ ~9J~011 9.t'l~J relationship between salmon, streams, forests and other species. The salmon curriculum was developed for fifth through eighth grade students. It received ' /~"---'-' ~,~,,~,,~,,~¢,~- '~'- positive reviews and has been requested by administrators and teachers in Eugene's 4J and Bethel School districts. Through Salmon and the Ecosystem, students learn about the factors that have contributed to the decline of salmon populations and the impact of losing a species that is key to the health of an entire ecosystem. The unit also focuses on how stormwater pollution affects salmon habitat and how specific pollutants carried into waterways can be harmful to salmon. For more information, please call Kathy Eva, stormwater public information specialist, 682-2739. ~'~ __,=... EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 4 April 22, 2004