HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/21/09 - City Council Newsletter
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
May 21, 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
WEST UNIVERSITY PARK GRAND RE-OPENING CELEBRATION
LEARN TO BLOG AT EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY
PARKS AND OPEN SPACE RECEIVES OREGON YOUTH EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE FUNDING
AREA AGENCIES TEAM UP TO HOST SERIES OF TRACK MEETS
NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS GEAR UP FOR SUMMER EVENTS
CITY SEEKS INPUT ON PLAN FOR FEDERAL HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT FUNDS
85 AREA BUSINESSES REDUCED 33,000 POUNDS OF CARBON DIOXIDE LAST WEEK
SIX BUSINESSES RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE FRIENDLY PRACTICES
AROUND THE CITY
West University Park Grand Re-Opening Celebration
Over 100 people gathered on Saturday, May 16, to celebrate the grand re-opening of West University Park.
Families, local neighbors and University of Oregon students spent the afternoon exploring the native plantings
around the park, greeting friends and neighbors, dancing to music, and enjoying Subway sandwiches and Pegasus
pizza. A lively marimba band, the Youth Ensemble from the Kitsinhira Cultural Center, delighted those present
with music of Zimbabwe. Mayor Kitty Piercy and West University Neighbors’ member Deborah Healy were
featured speakers during the park dedication. Councilor Alan Zelenka and former Eugene City Manager Charles
Henry also attended the celebration to show their appreciation for the park and those who helped in its renovation
and re-opening.
The park features two rain gardens that filter
stormwater runoff, a large plaza, beautiful
landscaping using southern Willamette Valley native
plants, a meandering walking path that borders the
grassy central area, and boulders, benches and
shade trees. The West University Neighbors secured
funding for limited improvements to West University
Park through the City of Eugene’s Neighborhood
Matching Grant program. Numerous volunteer hours
helped in the creation of this unique urban park.
The grand re-opening celebration was a collaborative
effort between the City of Eugene and the West
University Neighbors. Members of the University
Small Business Association provided the food and
door prizes. For more information, contact Volunteers
in Parks Coordinator Lorna Baldwin at
lorna.j.baldwin@ci.eugene.or.us or 682-4845.
Learn to Blog at Eugene Public Library
On Saturday, May 30, from 10:00 a.m. to noon, the Downtown Library will offer a free hands-on-keyboard
workshop for community members interested in learning about the wide world of blogs. Participants will learn to
use the free website Blogger to share news, views, and more, over the Internet. The class will also cover how to
use RSS, Bloglines, or Google Reader to get automatic updates from the participant’s choice of online news,
opinion, and entertainment.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1
May 21, 2009
Internet experience and a free Google “gmail” account are required. Participants may sign up for gmail in advance,
and bring their username and password to class. For more information, or to pre-register for limited spaces, call
the Eugene Public Library at 682-5450 (press 2).
Parks and Open Space Receives Oregon Youth Employment Initiative Funding
The Parks and Open Space Division (POS) has been awarded $63,450 from the Oregon Youth Conservation
Corps’ Oregon Youth Employment Initiative. This granting opportunity is made available through the Federal
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The initiative was designed to provide employment
opportunities for youth between the ages of 18
and 24 in the fields of natural resources and
conservation education. As with other stimulus
funding, there is no requirement for matching
funds.
The Oregon Youth Employment Initiative grant
will allow POS to hire two crews of six youth to
conduct natural resource maintenance in the
City’s natural areas for an eight-week period this
summer. The crews will focus on three main
projects: trimming vegetation and removing
debris in the City’s waterways to ensure proper
conveyance while preserving habitat value,
constructing and maintaining trails in the
Ridgeline Park system, and removing invasive
species from natural areas.
This grant will not only help POS staff accomplish a tremendous amount of maintenance and enhancement work
this summer, but the funds received will also offset operating funds, resulting in valuable savings to the City. For
more information about the grant, please contact Natural Resources Coordinator Lauri Holts at 682-4925.
Area Agencies Team Up to Host a Series of Track Meets
Eugene Recreation Services and River Road Park & Recreation District partnered with Eugene School District 4J
last week to host eight track and field meets at area high schools. District 4J physical education teachers have
been running regional meets for several years, but through the collaboration, the local meets were added to the
Hershey’s Track & Field Games events sponsored by Hershey’s Foods (yes, delicious chocolate is one of their
many products) and USA Track & Field. This collaborative
effort enabled all three agencies to serve more youth,
increase the fun, and increase the “wow” factor.
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More than 2,400 4 and 5 graders participated in the
Hershey’s events and more than 100 athletes will qualify for
the state competition at Hayward Field on July 11. The meet
events included the 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 4 x 100
meter races, the standing long jump, running long jump, high jump, shot put and softball throw. Some first place
finishers at the state meet will be given an all-expense paid trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania to compete at nationals
in August.
Another free, community-wide, all comers Hershey’s Track & Field Games meet was also held on Thursday, May
hersheystrackandfield
21. For more information, call Kim McManus at 682-6343 or check online at www..com.
Neighborhood Associations Gear Up for Summer Events
Throughout Eugene, neighborhood associations are hosting clean-ups, community-wide yard sales, picnics,
potlucks and parties this summer. Mild weather and long summer days lend themselves well to community
gatherings of all kinds and neighborhood groups find many opportunities to gather in Eugene’s parks and open
spaces to enjoy live music, good food and family fun. Sustainability is important to these events and neighborhood
associations make good use of the recycling stations and reusable dishware available through Neighborhood
Services. This year, several neighborhood clean-up events include electronic recycling of items like cell phones
and computers in cooperation with NextStep, as well as waste diversion stations staffed by Bring Recycling. A
complete guide to planning a neighborhood clean-up will be available next month. Neighborhood-sponsored
events span the range from summer picnics in Laurel Hill Valley and River Road, to clean-ups in Trainsong and
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
May 21, 2009
Jefferson Westside, and community garage sales in South University and Friendly neighborhoods. A monthly
calendar of these events is available at http://www.eugene-or.gov/neighborhoods. The calendar is produced by
Cindy Clarke in Neighborhood Services and makes it easier for residents to learn about events close to home.
Cindy may be reached at 682-5272 or cindy.j.clarke@ci.eugene.or.us .
City Seeks Input on Plan for Federal Housing and Development Funds
The City of Eugene, in collaboration with the City of Springfield, Lane
County Human Services Commission (HSC) and the Housing and
Community Services Agency of Lane County (HACSA), has started the
process to create a new plan for funds from the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The purpose of the plan,
also known as the Consolidated Plan, is to identify housing,
homelessness, community and economic development needs and
resources and create set of goals for the use of federal funds over the
next five years (July 2010 – June 2015). The plan requires input from a
number of public and private agencies as well as community residents.
The Eugene-Springfield plan will collect this information in a variety of
ways, including:
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Surveys of local non-profit agencies and community residents;
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Public meetings held in June and December;
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Stakeholder interviews with groups like the Accessibility Committee
of the Eugene Human Rights Commission, school districts and
residents of low-income housing;
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Consulting City advisory groups, and
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Public hearings.
A brief online survey is posted on the Eugene and Springfield Library websites to collect public input on local
housing and community needs. The survey is available on the Library’s website or at http://www.eugene-
or.gov/hudconplan.
An Open House will be held on Wednesday, June 3, in the Bascom-Tykeson Room of the Downtown Library from
4:30 to 7:00 p.m. Participants will have an opportunity to provide input that will guide future use of federal funds
from HUD. The meeting is open to everyone and community leaders, elected officials, agency directors, key
business leaders, advisory committee members, policy makers, and other residents are encouraged to attend.
For more information, contact Stephanie Jennings, Planning and Development Department, at 682-5529 or
stephanie.a.jennings@ci.eugene.or.us.
85 Area Businesses Reduced 33,000 Pounds of Carbon Dioxide Last Week
The Business Commute Challenge is a fun and friendly, annual, week-long program through which employees of
area businesses are encouraged to reduce their single-occupancy vehicle trips and transportation-related carbon
emissions. Newly expanded for 2009, this program
encouraged employees of participating businesses
to commute to work using an alternative to driving
alone. A record number of 85 businesses, with
th
16,500 total employees, participated in the 9
Annual Commute Challenge, May 11 through 15.
Participants’ efforts commuting by foot, bicycle, bus,
car/vanpool or any combination of these methods
yielded a reduction of more than 33,000 pounds of
carbon dioxide for the week-long challenge!
To date, the Business Commute Challenge has
been primarily a Eugene event, but through a
partnership with Commuter Solutions at Lane
Transit District, this year the challenge was
expanded to include the entire region. The
expanded regional program was so successful that
the Commute Challenge will now be managed by
the regional Commuter Solutions staff. An awards
Matt McRae and Sarah Medary of the City Manager’s Office rode to work on
ceremony was held on Tuesday, May 19, for the
a tandem bicycle.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3
May 21, 2009
participants of the Commute Challenge. County Commissioner Pete Sorenson addressed the group and spoke of
the importance of alternative transportation for the region. The City of Eugene had the highest participation in the
“Extra Large Business category.” Other businesses and organizations with the highest participation included:
Commuter Champions with 100% Participation
Rolf Prima, Slocum Orthopedic Center, Northwest Community CU-Eugene Branch, Co-Motion Cycles, Pivot
Architecture
Small Businesses (1-24 Employees)
Co-Motion Cycles - 100%, Northwest Community CU-Eugene Branch - 100%
Medium Businesses (25-99 Employees)
Pivot Architecture - 100%, Pacific Cascade Federal Credit Union - 83%
Large Businesses (100-299 Employees)
Lane Council of Governments - 42%, Oregon Research Institute - 26%
Extra Large Businesses (300 + Employees)
City of Eugene - 11%, Life Technologies - 10%
For more information, contact Transportation Planning Technician Lindsey Selser at 682-5094.
Six Businesses Recognized for their Pedestrian and Bicycle Friendly Practices
The Eugene Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee presented the first annual Pedestrian and Bicycle
Friendly Business Awards at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, May 19. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Friendly
Business Awards are presented annually to businesses and organizations across Eugene that are making efforts to
encourage clients and employees to bicycle or walk. The purpose of the awards program is to recognize and
emphasize the positive benefits that more bicyclists and pedestrians bring to our community. These benefits
include reduced traffic congestion on local roads, improved air quality and increased opportunities for choosing
active transportation modes that improve individual health and well-being. This program is just one of the many
actions included in Eugene’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Strategic Plan – a plan that lays the groundwork to make
Eugene a more walkable and bikeable community.
Congratulations to the 2009 Pedestrian and Bicycle Friendly Businesses Award Winners:
Bike Friday
Life Technologies
Paul’s Bicycle Way of Life
REI – Eugene
SOLARC Architecture and Engineering Inc.
Western Environmental Law Center
For more information, contact Transportation Planning Technician Lindsey Selser at 682-5094.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 4
May 21, 2009