HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/25/10 - City Council Newsletter
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
February 25, 2010
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
HIKING THE OREGON COAST TRAIL AT EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY
LIBRARY OFFERS JOB SEARCH AND RESUME WRITING COMPUTER CLASSES
FIRE & EMS PERSONNEL COMPLETE CPR RECERTIFICATION
OUTSIDE REVIEWERS GIVE HIGH MARKS TO STREET REPAIR BOND MEASURE PROJECTS
EPA GRANT ALLOWS SMARTTRIPS EUGENE PROGRAM TO EXPAND INTO MORE NEIGHBORHOODS
MUSIC PROVIDES UPLIFTING ENVIRONMENT OUTSIDE OF LIBRARY
thth
PAVEMENT PRESERVATION PROJECT ON 6 AND 7 AVENUES EARNS AWARD FOR QUALITY
AROUND THE CITY
Hiking the Oregon Coast Trail at Eugene Public Library
Imagine a national coast trail that would make it possible to walk, pedal, or boat around the entire United States
border. Learn more about this idea at “Hiking the Oregon Coast Trail,” an illustrated talk by Al LePage, Director of
the National Coast Trail Association, at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 4,
at the Eugene Downtown Public Library. Admission is free.
LePage will share stories and images of his Oregon Coast Trail hike:
400 miles in 30 days. He has hiked, kayaked, and biked more than
2,500 miles of the envisioned 10,000-mile National Coast Trail. In
addition to Oregon, he has hiked the coasts of Washington and
California, making him the first person ever to hike both the 1,800-
mile West Coast Trail and the 750-mile Great Northeast Trail.
For more information, contact the Eugene Public Library at 541-682-5450 or www.eugene-or.gov/library.
Library Offers Job Search and Résumé Writing Computer Classes
On Sunday, February 28, 4 - 6 p.m., the Eugene Downtown Public Library will hold a free, hands-on computer class
to offer assistance with job searches and résumé writing.
Participants will get information and support to help with job hunting, including how to research opportunities and
create an effective résumé. Also provided will be information about free library tools such as Microsoft Word’s
Résumé Wizard, the Oregon Career Information System, and LearningExpress (practice exams), as well as Internet
resources including Craigslist, Monster.com, and the Oregon Employment Department website. Internet experience
is required. For information, call the Eugene Public Library at 541-682-5450 (press 2).
Fire & EMS Personnel Complete CPR Recertification
Response personnel in the City’s Fire & EMS Department recently completed recertification in American Heart
Association (AHA) Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). All emergency medical services responders – including
members of engine and truck companies – are required to meet current CPR standards, which change about every
five years.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1
February 25, 2010
The current AHA CPR standards stress the importance of chest compressions, instructing responders to “Push
Hard and Push Fast” and to not stop for longer than 10 seconds. This can be equated to priming a pump. In order
to get the oxygenated blood to circulate, the pump (heart) has to be primed. In order to keep the oxygenated blood
circulating, the pump has to keep pumping. This is why the recommended ratio of compressions to ventilations is
now 30-to-two for a single rescuer; compressions should continue at a rate of about 100 compressions per minute
until an Automated External Defibrillator can be activated or until emergency medical technicians arrive.
Even compression-only CPR has been proven effective. The Fire & EMS Department is just one link in the chain of
survival. One of the other important links is the layperson becoming involved in another person’s emergency and
performing CPR. The Fire & EMS Department encourages everyone to become trained in CPR according to the
latest AHA standards. For more information, please contact EMS Chief JoAnna Kamppi at 541-682-7104.
Outside Reviewers Give High Marks to Street Repair Bond Measure Projects
With one year of projects in the rearview mirror and another busy season coming up, a bond measure to fix city
streets has received high marks from a citizen review panel and an independent auditing firm. Eugene voters in
November 2008, approved a $35.9 million bond
measure to repair 32 streets and fix local bikes paths.
To promote accountability, City Manager Jon Ruiz
pledged to the council and the voters that he would
create a citizen street repair review panel and have
an outside auditor issue reports on the use of the
bond proceeds. Copies of those first-year reports are included in the February 25 council packet.
The 12-member Street Repair Review Panel reviewed the four bond measure projects completed in 2009 – Bailey
Hill Road, Goodpasture Island Road, Railroad Boulevard, and Amazon Path – and concluded that “the bond
proceeds were used for the authorized purposes and in compliance with the limitations and restrictions” outlined in
the bond measure. The panel also found that the City was able to complete its 2009 bond measure projects with
significant cost savings due to favorable bids from contractors and, as a result, encouraged the City and the Public
Works Department to accelerate the street repair schedule as much as is reasonable to take advantage of
anticipated continued favorable bidding conditions in the future. The panel also agreed that giving the public
accurate information about why some streets get repaired while roads in worse shape do not get repaired is an
ongoing educational issue.
Meanwhile, the accounting firm of Isler CPA studied the 2009 bond expenditures and found them in full compliance
with the provisions of the bond measure.
The Public Works Department’s busy road repair schedule for 2010 includes seven bond measure projects: the
th
intersection of 29 Avenue and Willamette Street, and portions of Goodpasture Island Road, South Willamette
th
Street, East 18 Avenue, Harlow Road, Patterson Street, and the Fern Ridge Path.
For more information about the reports related to the bond measure to fix streets, contact Eric Jones, Public Works
public affairs manager at 541-682-5523, eric.r.jones@ci.eugene.or.us or visit the bond measure web site at
www.eugene-or.gov/gobonds.
EPA Grant Allows SmartTrips Eugene Program to Expand Into More
Neighborhoods
A new project that will promote environmentally friendly commutes in Eugene will
receive financial support from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
SmartTrips Eugene is designed to reduce drive-alone trips and increase biking,
walking, and public transit in targeted geographic areas of the city. A pilot project
will start in the Harlow neighborhood this summer. The EPA Climate Showcase
Communities Grant will provide the City of Eugene $104,126 to continue this
program into 2011, making it possible to offer it to the Trainsong,
Jefferson/Westside and Whiteaker neighborhoods. The 2011 SmartTrips program will provide customized outreach
to approximately 12,000 residents.
The Climate Showcase Communities Grant Program is administered by the EPA’s State and Local Climate and
Energy Program, which provides technical assistance, tools, and guidance to help state, local, and tribal
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
February 25, 2010
governments implement policies and programs to mitigate climate change. The carbon dioxide emissions savings
from the program equals 19,797 gallons of gasoline.
SmartTrips Eugene incorporates an innovative and individualized marketing program that hand-delivers packets of
information to residents who wish to learn more about all of their transportation options including transit, walking,
bicycling, carpooling, and combining trips. Key components feature biking and walking maps and organized
activities that get people out in their neighborhoods or places of employment to shop, work, and discover how many
trips they can easily, conveniently, and safely make without using a car. SmartTrips programs in other areas have
achieved a reduction in vehicle miles traveled up to 13 percent in each neighborhood it has targeted.
“It’s great to see a city make it easy for citizens to use environmentally-friendly ways of getting around,” said
Michelle Pirzadeh, deputy regional administrator for the EPA. “We’re excited to support this initiative - it’s a big step
in the right direction to energy efficiency.”
Most of the Harlow neighborhood and a portion of the Cal Young neighborhood will be included in the 2010 pilot
program. The SmartTrips Eugene pilot program is funded by a separate federal grant from the Department of
Energy – Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant program. Close proximity to the downtown area and the
University of Oregon, and a good pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure make this an ideal neighborhood to start the
SmartTrips Eugene project.
For more information about the Climate Showcase Communities program, visit http://epa.gov/statelocalclimate. For
more information, please contact SmartTrips Eugene Program Manager Lindsay Selser, at 541-682-5094 or
Lindsay.r.selser@ci.eugene.or.us.
Music Provides Uplifting Environment Outside of Library
Patrons and passers-by are now being treated to music near the entrance of the Eugene Downtown Public Library.
The music is another step the library has taken in the past several months to ensure safe and welcoming access to
the library for the entire community.
The music is intended to create a pleasant, uplifting environment as patrons enter
the library. Music selections will range from classical to light jazz. At other times,
poetry readings may be played over the recently installed speakers. All audio
selections will be played softly, to change the sound dynamics of the library’s
exterior without overwhelming conversations or encouraging an audience. The
music and readings have been selected from the library’s vast collection of audio
files. If library patrons wish to put an item they hear on hold for future checkout,
library staff can provide information about the selection playing at any particular
time.
Other steps taken toward improving the library’s exterior environment include a City Council-adopted ban on
smoking on the sidewalk that will take effect March 12, more frequent power-washing of the sidewalks to improve
cleanliness, “Walk bikes, Carry skateboards” signs to increase pedestrian safety, and increased police bicycle
patrols. For more information, contact Library Services Director Connie Bennett at 541-682-5363 or
connie.j.bennett@ci.eugene.or.us.
thth
Pavement Preservation Project on 6 and 7 Avenues Earns Award for Quality
The pavement preservation project on Sixth and Seventh avenues completed in October 2009, has been awarded a
first-place paving award by the Asphalt Pavement Association of Oregon (APAO) in the Urban Arterial category.
The project encompassed milling of the top layers of deteriorated
thth
pavement and repaving with warm-mix asphalt on 6 and 7 avenues
between High and Washington streets. The project also included
reconstructing localized areas of failed pavement and upgrading selected
ADA ramps. The project was constructed at night to reduce impact to the
traveling public and downtown businesses.
Award-winning paving projects are selected by APAO based on
smoothness, quality of the paving, and complexity of the project. The
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3
February 25, 2010
project was constructed by Wildish Construction with project management and inspection performed by City of
Eugene Public Works Engineering staff. For more information, contact Pavement Preservation Program Manager
Matt Rodrigues at 541-682-6036.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 4
February 25, 2010