HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/08/09 - City Council Newsletter
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
January 8, 2009
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
FIRE AND POLICE DEPARTMENTS PRODUCE PULL-OVER-AND-STOP PSA
EPD UNWRAPS NEW CRIME TOOL FOR PUBLIC AND NEIGHBORHOODS
OAK HABITAT RESTORATION PROJECT BEGINS IN HENDRICKS PARK
WORKSHOPS ON RAISING YOUNG READERS
CITY GETS $100,000 GRANT FOR COMPREHENSIVE LANDS ASSESSMENT
AROUND THE CITY
Fire and Police Departments Produce Pull-Over-and-Stop PSA
When an emergency vehicle is sounding its siren and flashing its lights because it needs the right-of-way, it's only
common sense to pull over to the right and stop. Ask any driver of an emergency vehicle, however, and you'll be
told that not all drivers demonstrate common sense. Instead, their behavior may range from the unpredictable to
the downright dangerous. That's why the Eugene Fire and
Police departments have joined together to produce a
special public service announcement reminding motorists
of their responsibility to yield and the need to do so safely.
Funded by a grant from the City's Telecommunication
Fund, the 30-second spot was filmed this week at and
around the Emergency Services Center, with the
cooperation of Cody the Official Fire Safety Dalmatian
(and Cody's owner, Deputy Fire Marshal Amy Linder), Fire
Captain Rod Cullen, Engineer Scott Hyder, Probationary
Firefighter Fernando Gumba and Police Officer Nick
Reich. It will be seen on local TV stations later this month
and in early to mid-March. For more information, please
contact Glen Potter, Fire & EMS Department, at 682-
7118.
EPD Unwraps New Crime Tool for Public and Neighborhoods
Eugene’s residents and visitors are now empowered with near real-time neighborhood crime information available
24-hours-a-day, every day of the year. EPD unveiled its new on-line calls for service, alerting and mapping
service, with CrimeReports.com. The new service is the most recent addition to updates to EPD’s public log and
further streamlines the community’s access to police dispatch information. CrimeReports.com will provide easy-to-
read incident calls for service maps and automated alerts to the residents of Eugene. The service, offered directly
from the EPD website www.eugene-or.gov/police (in the same place as the public dispatch log), provides
neighborhood call data in near real-time and is available now. CrimeReports allows citizens to receive automatic
daily, weekly or monthly email alerts if/when calls for service occur near their home, office, local school, etc.
Citizens can also view reported call activity on an easy-to-use map for any location within the city of Eugene’s
boundaries. Call incident data is updated hourly and includes:
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Incident and call type
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Date and time
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Location
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Distance from search address
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Event identification/case number
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1
January 8, 2009
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Call disposition
Call incident alerting and mapping is the first step in empowering citizens with critical neighborhood crime
information. Later in 2009, the CrimeReports program will introduce additional services to support community
policing and Neighborhood Watch® programs. Upcoming features include:
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SMS alerting
- allow EPD to send alerts to specific neighborhoods if specifically requested by the
department.
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Neighborhood Watch tools
– allows residents of specific neighborhoods to contribute information.
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Video integration
- allowing law enforcement to attach digital video to specific crimes when it is available.
The CrimeReports service is an ideal implementation of the Global Justice XML Data Model (GJXDM), the
authorized data-sharing protocol developed and supported by the United States Department of Justice. Using
GJXDM as the underlying technology gives the application much more versatility and flexibility. For example, if
adjacent law enforcement agencies choose to integrate with the service, side by side data will be readily available
for both alerting and analytics. It will also allow for additional integration at the regional, state and even national
level. For more information, contact Public Information Director Melinda Kletzok at 682-5124.
Oak Habitat Restoration Project Begins in Hendricks Park
This month, in partnership with the Friends of Hendricks Park, the City of Eugene Parks and Open Space Division
will begin restoring a historic grove of remnant Oregon white oak trees in Hendricks Park. Today, oak habitat is
among the most threatened in North America. Although the
Willamette Valley’s oak woodlands are only about 7 percent of
what they were 200 years ago, a grove of this unique habitat
has survived in Hendricks Park. Oregon white oaks provide
food and shelter for a variety of wildlife. Woodpeckers and
western gray squirrels feed on the acorns, birds forage for
insects among the mosses and lichens that grow on the large
limbs, and the trees provide a safe place for wildlife to nest
and raise young. Over time, the oak grove at Hendricks Park
has become greatly compromised by invasive species and
Douglas fir trees which have essentially blocked out the sun.
The restoration process will include removing under-story
invasive plants, cultivating and planting native vegetation,
some thinning of the oaks to improve the survivability of
1908 photograph of an oak that still exists in Hendricks Park
individual trees, and the removal of individual Douglas fir trees
that are encroaching on the oaks. The Douglas fir trees will be turned into logs or left standing as snags which will
provide further wildlife habitat. The nonprofit organization, Friends of Hendricks Park, is contributing half of the
funds to complete the project. Collectively, these efforts will help restore a valuable example of a threatened
ecosystem. For more information, please contact Hendricks Park Supervisor, Chris Girard, at (541)682-4824 or
chris.j.girard@ci.eugene.or.us.
Workshops on Raising Young Readers
Two free informational and inspirational workshops for parents, teachers, librarians, and childcare providers are
being offered at the Eugene Public Library. Learn about “Building Early Literacy Skills Through Music” on
Saturday, January 17, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., at the Downtown Library. Rosalie Karalekas, a music professor at
Willamette University and Western Oregon University, will explain how music helps young children’s minds
prepare to learn to read. Participants will learn simple and creative ways to include music in their lives every day,
integrating music into stories and reading, making instruments out of household objects, using rhythm activities to
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make transitions smoother, and more. On Sunday, February 1, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.the Downtown Library hosts “The
Art of Reading Aloud.” Jeff Defty will share tips to make reading aloud fun for both parents and children. Topics
include how to choose age-appropriate books, use emotion, voices, and props, and get the most out of library
resources. Discover the many benefits of reading aloud, including making positive family connections and
memories that last a lifetime. In addition to his nearly 20 years as a children’s librarian at the Eugene Public
Library, Defty is an acclaimed professional storyteller. Due to limited space, pre-registration is required by calling
682-8316. For more information, contact the Eugene Public Library at 682-8316.
City Gets $100,000 Grant for Comprehensive Lands Assessment
The City of Eugene Planning Division has been awarded a $100,000 Technical Assistance Grant by the Oregon
Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) to assist with completion of the Eugene
Comprehensive Lands Assessment (ECLA). These funds will be utilized for technical services provided by the
consultant team on the project that includes ECONorthwest, Lane Council of Governments and the Ulum Group.
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January 8, 2009
The goal of ECLA is to determine whether Eugene has sufficient land supply within the Urban Growth Boundary
(UGB) to meet the projected demand for residential, commercial and industrial land over the next 20 years. Key
components of ECLA include a Buildable Lands Inventory, Economic Opportunities Analysis, and Housing Needs
Analysis; the latter two will be funded by the DLCD grant. A Community Advisory Committee and Technical
Advisory Committee are meeting frequently to review products and provide critical input to the project. The
project will be completed in December 2009, with decisions about how the findings may impact Eugene’s UGB or
planning policies to follow in 2010. For additional information, contact Metro/Community Planner Jason Dedrick,
at 541-682-5451 or visit the project website at www.eugene-or.gov/ECLA.
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January 8, 2009