HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Newsletter - 01/26/06
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
January 26, 2006
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
CITY TO ISSUE REFUNDING BONDS
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PUBLIC WORKS ACTIVATES NEW TRAFFIC SIGNAL AT 11AVENUE AND MILL STREET
RIVERBANK TRAIL TO BE EXTENDED UNDER BELTLINE HIGHWAY
NEW EXHIBIT OPENING AT JACOBS GALLERY
GOOD EARTH HOME SHOW FEATURES THREE CITY INFORMATION BOOTHS
AROUND THE CITY
City to Issue Refunding Bonds
The City of Eugene is preparing to sell refunding bonds for the purpose of achieving interest rate
savings. The council authorized refunding of the 1996 General Obligation Public Safety Bonds and the
1999 General Obligation Parks and Open Spaces Bonds in 2003. The City attempted to sell refunding
bonds at that time, but the interest rate environment changed and the refunding was not completed as a
result. Since that time, staff has been monitoring interest rates in order to determine if another
opportunity to refund these bonds would arise.
The City is now prepared to make another attempt at refunding these two issues. The estimated amount
of the refunding bond issue is $23.7 million. As a result of the refunding, the City is currently estimating
that it could save more than $1.6 million of interest costs between now and the final bond maturity in
2019. These savings will reduce the amount that the City needs to levy in property taxes, thereby saving
taxpayers money each year starting with the FY07 property tax bill.
The competitive sale of the refunding bonds is scheduled for February 14. The City will be requiring that
all bids to purchase the bonds must be submitted electronically. This is the first time that the City will
have a requirement, rather than an option, to submit bids electronically. Results of the bond sale will be
provided in a future City Council newsletter. For more information about the refunding bonds, contact
Sue Cutsogeorge, financial analysis manager, at 682-5589.
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Public Works Activates New Traffic Signal at 11 Avenue and Mill Street
Eugene’s newest traffic signal was activated Wednesday, January 25, at the intersection of Mill Street
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and East 11 Avenue. The new signal is needed to operate Lane Transit District’s EmX service between
downtown Eugene and downtown Springfield. LTD and the City of Eugene have been working
cooperatively since last summer to ready streets and intersections for EmX service, scheduled to begin
in late 2006. LTD paid the full cost of installing the signal, which includes functions for pedestrian
crossings and vehicle-activated signal timing.
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The signal at 11 Avenue and Mill Street is Eugene’s 226 traffic signal. In late November 2005, a new
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signal was activated at 10 Avenue and High Street to allow the conversion of 10 Avenue to two-way
traffic and also to accommodate future EmX service. Work is currently under way on a private contract
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to install the city’s 227 signal on Coburg Road, midway between Oakway Road and Oakmont Way.
That signal is scheduled to be activated later this spring. For more information, contact City Traffic
Engineer Tom Larsen at 682-4959.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1
March 3, 2006
Riverbank Trail to be Extended Under Beltline Highway
The Oregon Department of Transportation recently announced that the City of Eugene will receive
$1,060,000 in federal Transportation Enhancement funds to extend the West Bank Riverfront Trail north
along the Willamette River, under Beltline Highway, and along Division Avenue to Beaver Street. The
path will also include a connection to the east end of River Avenue.
This project will greatly enhance the quality of recreation and transportation trips for bicycle and
pedestrian travelers north and south of Beltline Highway. The path will provide a missing bicycle and
pedestrian connection from the neighborhood north of Beltline Highway to the extensive riverbank trail
system. Residents north and south of the highway will have an alternative to the current, narrow, two-
lane road that travels under Beltline Highway. The new offstreet trail will be a 12-foot-wide, concrete,
multi-use path and will include lighting.
Federal funds will be available to construct the project on October 1, 2008. For more information,
contact Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator Lee Shoemaker, Public Works Engineering, at 682-5471, or
by e-mail at lee.shoemaker@ci.eugene.or.us
New Exhibit Opening at Jacobs Gallery
“Marquee Massacres: Native Americans In One Hundred Years of
Global Movie Graphics”
opens at the Jacobs Gallery on Friday, January
27 and will run through March 4. This exhibition uses film ephemera to
explore the falsification of Indian identity through mainstream film images.
“What would we think the Native American was like if we had only the
celluloid Indian from which to reconstruct history, if our exclusive available
data came from motion picture archives? For millions of people these are
the only images seen. On one side we see the noble redman, the faithful
Tonto-like companion. On the other side we see the Indian as a ruthless
pillager… we have the Puritan view of the Indian as savage sinner, the devil
incarnate, offset against the new age red-skinned redeemer of attuned spirit
and ecology. The duality dominates.” – from UO Knight Professor of Law
Rennard Strickland’s essay, Tonto’s Revenge, or, Who Is that Seminole in the Sioux Warbonnet? The
Cinematic Indian!
This exhibit is scheduled to coincide with a Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics symposium
exploring the rights of indigenous people worldwide. A reception and curator’s lecture will be held on
Friday, January 27, 3:30-4:30 p.m. and 5:30-8:30 p.m. respectively. “Marquee Massacres” is also
scheduled for the Friday, February 3, First Friday ArtWalk. This is an example of how Cultural Services
meets its mission of using its facilities to support the visual arts in the community. For more information,
contact the Jacobs Gallery at 684-5635.
Good Earth Home Show Features Three City Information Booths
The new Good Earth Home, Garden & Living Show on Saturday and Sunday, January 28-29, will feature
displays by several City of Eugene programs.
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Information on clean rivers, green building and city neighborhoods will be presented at booth
#400, with staffing help and information from the Public Works Stormwater Management
Program and the Planning and Development Department.
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The City's Solid Waste and Recycling program will team up with OSU Extension Service to
provide information on backyard composting, worm bin composting and compost tea in booth
#606.
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The Eugene Police Department's Volunteers in Policing program will feature community policing,
crime prevention and volunteer recruitment information at booth #227.
All booths will have free handouts unique to their programs and staff will be on hand to answer questions.
For more information about City participation at the event, contact Kathy Eva, Public Works public
information specialist, at 682-2739. For more information about the show, visit
www.eugenehomeshow.com/goodearthhomeandgardenshow.html.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
March 3, 2006