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Home My WebLink About03/12/09 City Council Newsletter EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER March 12, 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 SHARING FOOD, AWAKENING GOODNESS NEW LIBRARY SERVICE: PAY FINES AND FEES ONLINE COMMUNITY PREPARED TO HELP ASSESS BUILDING SAFETY AFTER DISASTER ECONOMIC STIMULUS FUNDS FLOW TO EUGENE ADAPTIVE RECREATION PROGRAM RECEIVES AWARD FOR INCLUSION SERVICES AROUND THE CITY Sharing Food, Awakening Goodness “Sharing Food, Awakening Goodness” is a joint initiative of Golden Temple of Oregon and FOOD For Lane County to inspire and challenge local Eugene and Springfield businesses to provide food for those in need in the community. The Hult Center for the Performing Arts is proud to take part in this important program. Employees are encouraged to donate, and patrons to bring food, when attending performances in March. A food collection barrel is located in the lobby. “Sharing Food, Awakening Goodness” strives to raise 44,000 pounds of additional food for FOOD For Lane County - enough food to provide 33,850 meals. For more information, contact Billie Moser at 682-8380. New Library Service: Pay Fines and Fees Online Eugene Public Library borrowers can now go online anytime, from anywhere, to pay fines and fees with a VISA or MasterCard credit card. "Paying online is fast and easy,” Library Technology Manager Margaret Hazel explains. “Just log into your account at the Library website and check your account balance under 'Fines & Fees.' To pay off the total due, click 'Pay fines' in the left-hand menu." The new service allows cardholders to pay the total due; partial payments cannot be made online. The website address is www.eugene- or.gov/library. For assistance, visit or call the Library at (541) 682-5450, and press 1 for Cards and Accounts. Community Prepared to Help Assess Building Safety After Disaster When an earthquake or natural disaster strikes, there is an immediate need for damage inspection throughout the affected areas. Identifying unsafe buildings is critical to public safety. Building inspectors trained and certified to inspect damaged buildings will be working in teams to safely and efficiently inspect the 65,000 buildings in Eugene. To prepare for this need, Steve McGuire and Bill Lemons of Building & Permit Services trained over 50 community members in the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) to help inspectors and engineers evaluate building safety after a disaster. CERT members received six hours of training over two days that focused on evaluation procedures, building construction, and field safety. In the event of an emergency, trained CERT members will be able to join teams EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 March 12, 2009 of inspectors to help evaluate buildings in their own communities and communicate critical safety information to their neighbors. Participants appreciated the training and the CERT program looks forward to offering it each year. For more information, contact Steve McGuire at 682-6800 or steve.w.mcguire@ci.eugene.or.us. Economic Stimulus Funds Flow to Eugene Federal economic stimulus money related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has begun to flow to Eugene. The Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) on February 27, approved stimulus funding in the form of Federal Highway Administration transportation enhancement (TE) grants for two Eugene projects. The OTC allocated $2.25 million in TE grants to construct a 1,000-foot-long elevated pedestrian/bicycle path over the Delta Ponds and Delta Highway. This project will connect the well-used Ruth Bascom Riverbank Trail to the Cal Young neighborhood in north Eugene. The $6 million project is scheduled to be bid in May and be under construction this summer, providing an estimated 85 construction jobs. Additional funding for the Delta Ponds Bridge project includes $3.65 million in other federal transportation funds and a small amount of local transportation SDC funding. Rendition of what the Delta Ponds Bridge will look like when completed The OTC also approved an $180,000 TE grant to fund pedestrian facilities, traffic calming and bicycle-related components as part of a larger site improvement project at the Eugene Train Depot at the north end of Willamette Street, operated by Amtrak. The site work project will improve site features for ease of access, safety, and durability. The train depot building, renovated in 2004, was listed in 2007 in the National Register of Historic Places. With approximately 95% of design complete, the TE stimulus funding will allow the City to have a more successful transportation facility better supporting energy efficient and economical passenger rail travel. Approximately 17 jobs will be provided by this $1.25 million project, scheduled to be bid in June and under construction this summer. Additional funding for this project includes $874,000 from previous federal transportation funds, and $200,000 in City of Eugene funds. Both projects were awarded grants under a provision of the federal stimulus act that required a portion of the funds be set aside for the transportation enhancement program. This program is restricted to certain types of projects including historic transportation facilities, bicycle/pedestrian facilities and a few other unique types of transportation related projects. These two projects rose to the top because they were already federal aid projects with existing agreements with ODOT and are “shovel ready” in that both projects have completed their environmental documentation, have or soon will secure all necessary right-of-way, and are ready to be bid in the next two months. Additionally, both projects have completed public involvement processes and are consistent with adopted plans and policies including TransPlan and the City’s six-year CIP. On a broader level, the City is currently reviewing the stimulus legislation and the still emerging rules and requirements for each funding source, to identify good matches for projects that: ? Could move forward quickly enough to meet the legislation’s “shovel-ready” requirements. ? Align with the City’s existing plans and priorities. Significant time, planning and public input have gone into developing a number of projects that don’t yet have a funding source; the City hopes to find good funding matches for as many of those projects as possible. ? Simultaneously meet critical community needs and meet the specific rules and requirements of the funding source. Because a coordinated and mutually-supportive response might better position the community as a whole to receive the greatest benefit from the stimulus funding, the City and its regional partners have been looking for ways to support each other’s goals, and in some cases, join forces to build a stronger and broader case for funding. For more information about the Delta Ponds Bridge project, contact Project Manager Patrick Cox at 682-6854. For more information about the depot project, contact Project Manager Russ Mecredy at 682-6024. For more information about the broader opportunities provided by the stimulus act, contact Terrie Monroe at 682-5412. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 March 12, 2009 Adaptive Recreation Program Receives Award for Inclusion Services The City of Eugene Adaptive Recreation Program has won the 2009 Community Builder Award from the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR). The award recognizes organizations for seamlessly integrating people with disabilities into the fabric of everyday life. In naming Adaptive Recreation as this year’s recipient for the organization category, ANCOR called the program a “Model of Community Inclusion.” The Eugene program is a national leader in inclusion services that make it possible to offer all Recreation activities to virtually every resident, regardless of ability or disability. The City’s program will be showcased in a Monday session at ANCOR’s annual conference in San Francisco. The ANCOR Foundation has paid for Molly Elliott, a certified therapeutic recreation specialist who administers the City’s inclusion services, to attend the conference and accept the award on behalf of Eugene Adaptive Recreation on March 24. The ANCOR Foundation’s mission is to build the commitment and capacity of providers and communities to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. For more information, contact Isaac Markehe at 682-6306. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 March 12, 2009