The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About03/29/09 City Council Newsletter EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER March26, 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 “JOY OF CENSORSHIP” BRINGS MAD MAGAZINE EDITOR TO LIBRARY TEENS LEARN EMPLOYABLE SKILL OVER SPRING BREAK LOOKING GLASS PROVIDES TRAINING VENUE FOR FIREFIGHTERS EIGHT NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECTS RECOMMENDED FOR GRANT FUNDING STREET IMPROVEMENT BIDS COME IN LOW FOR MAPLE-ELMIRA PROJECT CITY HOSTS INTERSECTION DESIGN COURSE FOR TRANSPORTATION PROFESSIONALS AROUND THE CITY “Joy of Censorship” Brings MAD Magazine Editor to Library Eugene Public Library will bring some serious laughter to town for an April Fools First Friday. MAD Magazine’s senior editor (a title he insists “means nothing since I work at the only place in America where if you mature, you get fired”), Joe Raiola, will perform his nationally acclaimed talk, “The Joy of Censorship,” at the Downtown Library on Friday, April 3 at 6:00 p.m. Admission is free. An engaging speaker who is also a stand-up comedian, Raiola offers an illuminating, satiric, and sometimes disturbing look at the most fiercely debated First Amendment issues of our times, including the dramatic effect of 9/11 on free speech. With both humor and fire, he takes on banned books, movie ratings, the FCC, the Patriot Act, Internet filters, flag burning, the true meaning of obscenity, and more. A favorite at colleges, libraries, and conferences nationwide for nearly two decades, his constantly updated talk has also been aired on C-SPAN's American Perspectives. Woven through the talk is the colorful story of MAD, from renegade publisher William Gaines' historic showdown with the U.S. Senate over comic book censorship, to MAD's surprising emergence as a revolutionary social force. Projected images highlight many of MAD's most controversial, thought- provoking, and outrageous pieces and covers. For more information, contact the Library at (541) 682-5450, www.eugene- or.gov/library, or Connie Bennett at 682-5363. Teens Learn Employable Skill Over Spring Break During spring break, Recreation Services not only offered teens lots of fun camps and activities, but also provided them with training for a summer job. The American Red Cross Lifeguarding Certification class, held at Echo Hollow Pool and Fitness Center, prepares teens to work as a lifeguard. Twenty-three teens enrolled in the spring break class to learn how to recognize and rescue a person in distress or drowning, and understand professional lifeguard responsibilities. Similar classes will be offered in April and May and are already nearly full. The classes provide a field of candidates for employment as lifeguards at City pools. For more information, contact Rich Fay at 682-5331. Looking Glass Provides Training Venue for Firefighters The City's firefighters have a new and convenient place to practice safe fire suppression and rescue techniques, thanks to the generosity of Looking Glass Youth and Family Services. The local social service agency has granted EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 March 30, 2009 the Eugene Fire & EMS department the right to conduct non-destructive drills at its abandoned facility at 550 River Road, not far from the department's central training facility at 2nd and Chambers. Aside from its convenient location, the large two-story structure offers variety from the department's rescue house, drill tower, and burn building at the 2nd and Chambers campus. Although interior reconfiguration of those buildings provides some new challenges, an entirely new building will allow firefighters to test their resourcefulness even more. For the time being, firefighters (as well as members of the recruit academy now in progress) will use the Looking Glass building for laddering, search, hose management, and other types of drills that will not compromise the integrity of the structure. Final disposition of the facility remains to be determined, with the property continuing under Looking Glass ownership. For more information, please contact Training Captain Matt Ennis at 682-7133. Eight Neighborhood Projects Recommended for Grant Funding On February 26, the Neighborhood Matching Grants Department Advisory Committee reviewed nine proposals and recommended eight for the 2009 Neighborhood Matching Grant cycle. The proposals will appear on the City Council consent calendar on April 13. Successful applicants will have access to funding once they have entered into a use agreement with the City. The eight applications recommended for funding include: ? Adams Elementary School Garden/ Outdoor Classroom (Adams Elementary School, Friendly Area Neighbors, $10,670): This project at Adams Elementary School includes building five wheelchair- accessible garden boxes with automated irrigation, a storage shed, and a retaining wall which will double as student seating to create an outdoor classroom. The garden reinforces Adams Elementary School’s commitment to learning about and respecting a diverse, interconnected and sustainable world. ? College Hill Reservoir Access Ramp (Friendly Area Neighbors, $9,318): This grant will help fund the construction of a universally accessible ramp from Lawrence Street onto the EWEB-owned reservoir. It will include a signed handicap parking space, curb cuts, a sidewalk, and a culvert at the reservoir wall for water drainage. ? Crest Drive Oral History Project (Crest Drive Citizens Association, $2,665): This oral history project will preserve the history of the Crest neighborhood by recording the memories of long-time residents. It will also include impressions from recent arrivals and their vision of the present and future of the neighborhood. The final product will be available at the Eugene Public Library, Neighborhood Services, and through the neighborhood association. ? Fairmount Park Benches (Fairmount Neighbors Association, $3,199): This project will expand the renovation of Fairmount Park by creating four new park benches, maintaining existing structures, adding new landscaping, and supporting an opening event for the new splash park. ? Spring Creek Natural Gardens (Santa Clara Community Organization, $3,960): Building on a grant awarded in 2008, the goal of this project is to help residents improve publicly-owned property along Spring Creek. Grant funds will support the purchase of native trees, shrubs, grasses, and ground covers, and help organize work parties to plant them along the creek. ? Spring Creek Elementary School Natural Gardens Curriculum (Spring Creek PTO, Santa Clara Community Organization, $5,590): To increase student participation in the ongoing Spring Creek Natural Gardens project (see above), this project will create and incorporate elements of the creek improvement project into classroom curriculum at Spring Creek Elementary. ? Tree by Tree (ECOS – Environmental Center of Sustainability, Active Bethel Citizens, $12,835): Tree by Tree is a neighborhood tree planting, tree care, and food harvesting program for lower income areas of Eugene. Participants will receive education and training related to tree care, gardening, food processing and nutrition. Harvested produce will be distributed among participants, and any surplus will be donated to Food for Lane County, Bethel schools and area food pantries. ? Volunteer Stewardship Plan (Edgewood Neighbors, Southeast Neighbors, $1,320): In an effort to maintain a safe, eco-friendly wooded area, this project will fund the removal of non-native plants and garbage as well as the maintenance of existing trails near Edgewood Elementary and Spencer Butte Middle schools. For additional information about these projects or the Neighborhood Matching Grant Program, contact Cindy Clarke, Neighborhood Services, at 682-5272. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 March 30, 2009 Street Improvement Bids Come in Low for Maple-Elmira Project The City opened bids on March 24 for the Maple Street and Elmira Road street improvement project. The City received 12 bids ranging in price from $2.034 million to $2.460 million. The low bid of $2,034,034 was submitted by Knife River. The low bid was almost 30 percent below the engineer’s estimate of $2.814 million. The large number of construction contractors bidding the project and the competitive bids received are reflective of the current bidding climate and the local and state economy. Knife River’s Western Oregon Division (formerly Morse Bros., Inc.) is located in Tangent, Oregon. Using ODOT’s estimate of 14 jobs created or preserved for each $1 million in construction, the project will directly create or preserve 28 family-wage jobs. An open house to present updated information about the project to area residents is scheduled on Tuesday, March 31, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Fairfield Baptist Church, 3991 Elmira Road. At the open house, local property owners will be provided with calculations of estimated assessments based on the apparent low bid, and actual and projected costs. For more information, contact City Engineer Mark Schoening at 682-5243. City Hosts Intersection Design Course for Transportation Professionals Designing intersections to safely accommodate bicyclists, pedestrians and motorists requires thoughtful planning and engineering work. On March 19, eight engineers and planners from City of Eugene Public Works, and staff from other regional agencies, participated in a day-long training on intersection design presented by the Institute for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation (IBPI) and Kittleson & Associates, Inc. The course provided participants with classroom and hands-on experience utilizing local intersections and street crossings. Participants were exposed to new, innovative tools for accommodating pedestrians and bicyclists at intersections and at street crossings. Many of the tools featured in this design course could feasibly be implemented in Eugene. Holding this important training in Eugene eliminated travel costs for City staff and made for a very relevant conversation on local pedestrian and bicycle issues. For more information, contact Transportation Planner David Roth at 682-5827. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 March 30, 2009