The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About03/11/10 - City Council Newsletter EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER March 11, 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 PARKS AND OPEN SPACE RECEIVES OREGON YOUTH EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVE FUNDING CITY LAUNCHES NEW LEARNING TOOL SMALL BUSINESS WORKSHOPS AT EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY EPD VOLUNTEER FIRST TO GIVE MORE THAN 5,000 HOURS OF SERVICE MUSIC TO “FEEL/HEAR” POLICE AND WASTEWATER STAFF HELP HOST MEDICINE TAKE-BACK EVENT SPRING HOME SHOW TOUTS “IT ALL COMES BACK TO YOU” MESSAGE AROUND THE CITY Parks and Open Space Receives Oregon Youth Employment Initiative Funding The Parks and Open Space Division (POS) was recently awarded two grants totaling $62,000 from the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps’ Oregon Youth Employment Initiative. This granting opportunity was 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. These grants allowed POS to hire two crews of six youth to conduct natural resource maintenance in the city’s natural areas for a 10-week period this winter. One of the crews focused on Ridgeline Trail maintenance and restoration. The second crew focused on fuels reduction work within the Ridgeline Park system. The Ridgeline Trail crew improved drainage on the Ribbon Trail, built retaining walls on the Fox Hollow/Dillard multi-use trail segment, and re-surfaced approximately 1.8 miles of trail on both the Ribbon Trail and the Fox Hollow/Dillard multi-use trail segment. The fuels reduction crew reduced hazardous fuels on 27 acres at Wild Iris Ridge, 20 acres at the East Ridgeline Extension, 2.5 acres on Blanton Ridge, in addition to doing a small amount of work at Wayne Morse Family Farm and Mount Baldy. For more information about these grants, please contact Natural Resource Maintenance Supervisor John Clark at 541-682-4826. City Launches New Learning Tool On February 22, the City launched the Employee Learning Development (ELD) system. The new software will place training and learning opportunities at the fingertips of the employee. Training will be more accessible to all employees as classes are offered online. With a few simple clicks of the keyboard, employees will be able to self- enroll for training, access training records, and complete training from the convenience of their own workstation. The online system will dramatically change the way employees and supervisors track training and development activities. The use of employee self-enrollment, with supervisor approvals, and a more efficient approach to class EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 March 11, 2010 scheduling, saves time and resources. Additionally, the system allows employees and supervisors to instantly view currently scheduled training, review required training assignments, enter and track certifications and run reports. This system also delivers automated notices about training assignments and activities, creating additional efficiencies. ELD will give City departments the ability to expand development activities. It provides efficient online classes, bringing the learning experience to an employee’s computer. ELD also creates the opportunity for all employees, regardless of their work shift, to learn and review important job-related content on their own schedule. Training content, such as “How to Be an Effective Public Employee,” as well as customer service classes, will yield service gains to the public. The system will also use interactive testing combined with easier methods to access review material. This web-based system was implemented by a City team led by Central Services. For more information, contact Denise Smith of Human Resources at 541-682-5731,or Sharon Amasha of Information Services at 541-682-5833. Small Business Workshops at Eugene Public Library Lots of people dream of going into business for themselves - but they aren’t sure how to turn those ideas into reality. The first step could be the free workshop, Starting a Small Business,on Saturday, March 13, at 3 p.m., at the Downtown Eugene Public Library. Expert advisors from Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and the Library's Business and Career Center will share practical information and answer questions. Topics include writing a business plan, funding a small business, starting a home-based or online business, and connecting with helpful local resources and organizations. A free talk, Franchising 101, will take place on Wednesday, March 24, at 5:30 p.m., at the Downtown Eugene Public Library, discussing the bottom line on one way to go into business. Terry Rost will teach attendees the terminology, how to evaluate franchise companies, and how to measure risk. He will also share tips on financing and avoiding pitfalls. Rost has decades of professional experience with the Fortune 500, academia, small business, and franchising, in addition to his work as a consultant and mentor. For more information, contact the Eugene Public Library at 541-682-5450 or www.eugene-or.gov/library. EPD Volunteer First to Give More than 5,000 Hours of Service Tony LaMarche, a retired area manager for Inter-Continental Cigar, joined the Volunteers in Policing (VIP) Program in April 2004. In less than six years, he has donated more than 5,000 hours of service, and is the first EPD volunteer to reach this milestone. A Citizens’ Police Academy graduate, Tony has become an invaluable EPD partner. His primary assignment is with the Seniors on Patrol Team, which involves patrolling the streets of Eugene in a marked volunteer vehicle, providing home vacation checks, issuing warnings and tickets to violators of signed disabled-parking spaces, providing a serialized and valuable property identification service, performing radar patrol, and providing a theft-from- vehicle prevention service. Since 2006, he has been assisting the Public Information Office by digitally dubbing police-related news stories for an historical archive. In 2009, he joined the Image Retrieval Team. In this assignment, he and his teammate pick up surveillance videos from businesses that are victims of financial and property crimes, and lodge the videos into evidence. On top of those three ongoing positions, Tony also regularly signs up for episodic volunteer assignments including the Prevention Convention, the National Night Out Caravan, the Police Activities League, role-playing for team training scenarios and emergency preparedness exercises, Polar Plunge support, and assisting with department ceremonies. Each year since 2005, Tony has earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award, gold level, for contributing more than 500 hours in a year. This award, based on hours of service, is the most prestigious volunteer award currently connected to the White House to which all Americans can aspire. Last year during National Volunteer Week, Tony was honored with the President’s Call to Service Award for serving 4,000+ hours. When asked why he volunteers for EPD, Tony had this to say, “I volunteer because I enjoy making contact and helping the citizens of our community and doing my small part to help keep everyone safe. Beyond that, I enjoy EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 March 11, 2010 being part of a team and consider EPD personnel as part of my family.” EPD relies on a dedicated cadre of citizen volunteers to supplement and complement services provided to the community. Tony LaMarche is a shining example of the caliber of volunteer with whom EPD is fortunate to partner. For more information, contact Volunteers in Policing Program Manager Carrie Chouinard at 541-682-5355 or carrie.f.chouinard@ci.eugene.or.us. Comprehensive information about the Volunteers in Policing Program can be found at www.eugene-or.gov/policevolunteers. Music to “Feel/Hear” Children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing had an opportunity to “feel/hear” music recently through a hands-on music performance. After a parent noted that children with hearing impairments seldom get the opportunity to participate in music events, Adaptive Recreation Programmer Patty Prather contacted David Helfand, a musician who teaches the program’s Joy of Music class. David, in turn, contacted several musician friends and brought them together to give the children an opportunity to play several instruments, including bass guitar, piano, harp and hand drums. One of the highlights of the evening came when the children played in a drum circle with two Native Americans and participated in a Round Dance. For more information, contact Patty Prather at 541-682-5311. Police and Wastewater Staff Help Host Medicine Take-Back Event Police and Wastewater staff are partnering with other local agencies to host a one-day medicine take-back event on March 13, 2010, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. The goal of the event is to collect unwanted drugs for proper disposal and, at the same time, educate the public about the proper disposal of medicines to prevent accidental poisonings, drug abuse and contamination of the rivers. The public is encouraged to bring unwanted and expired medicines from households to the event. Only prescription and over-the-counter medicines, preferably in their original containers, can be brought in by citizens. This event is part of a statewide event initiated by the Oregon Medical Association, the Oregon Medical Association Alliance and the Oregon Partnership. Locally, this event is made possible by the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB), Lane County and the cities of Eugene and Springfield. Medicines can be turned in at the following th locations: EWEB, 500 East 4 Avenue, and Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth Street. For additional information, contact Sharon Olson at 541-682-8625. Spring Home Show Touts “It All Comes Back to You” Message Visitors stepping into the Expo Hall at the Lane County Home Show this week will notice the colorful, showcase display titled “It All Comes Back To You.” The purpose of the display is to provide information to area residents about steps they can take to save money, reduce pollution and protect the local environment. The booth focuses on the yard, the home and the street. An information station has take-away handouts on a range of topics such as healthy lawn care tips, safe use and disposal of hazardous household products, water efficient plants and more. Sustainable living messages are posted throughout the display and staff will be available to answer questions. Participating visitors who pledge to make a few earth-friendly choices will receive a raffle ticket for a drawing with multiple prizes donated by local businesses and several agencies. On Saturday from 4:30 – 7:00 p.m., there will be a guest appearance by children working on a light-it-forward project. This interactive booth is created and staffed by the Pollution Prevention Coalition - a group that works together to share information and inform and educate residents about pollution prevention tips. These agencies include the City of Eugene Stormwater Program and Wastewater Management Program, City of Springfield Environmental Services, Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Lane County Public Works - Recycling and Household Hazardous Waste Programs, Springfield Utility Board (SUB), Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA), Department of Human Services - Drinking Water Program and Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB). For more information, please contact Public Information Specialist for the Stormwater Management Program Kathy Eva at 541-682-2739 or on the web at www.eugene-or.gov/happyrivers. The City’s Stormwater Management program focuses on a commitment to protect local waterways while promoting environmental stewardship. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 March 11, 2010 EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 4 March 11, 2010