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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/25/10 - City Council Newsletter EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER March 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 KIDS RUN, JUMP, THROW AT TRACK CLINIC FIREMAN’S FUND PRESENTS GRANT TO FIRE & EMS DEPARTMENT EXPERT HELP FOR JOB HUNTERS AT EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY TH PAVEMENT BOND MEASURE FUNDS IMPROVEMENTS AT 29 AND WILLAMETTE JOINT COUNTY-CITY PROJECT IMPROVES TRAFFIC SAFETY AT BUSY INTERSECTION ON RIVER ROAD REMINDER: HUMAN RIGHTS SUMMIT ON APRIL 10 FIRST SNAP PILOT TAKES FLIGHT AROUND THE CITY Kids Run, Jump, Throw at Track Clinic More than 250 kids, ages 5 - 12, and 1,000 family members participated in the Run, Jump, Throw clinic on March 20, at Hayward Field. The event gave youth the opportunity to try the long jump, throw a turbo javelin, race over hurdles and end by running a 100, 200 or 400 meter race. Athletes from the University of Oregon and Oregon Track Club Elite worked directly with youth, providing coaching and encouragement to try each event. The clinic was one of a series of free track opportunities to be presented this spring by the Youth Track Network, comprised of City of Eugene Recreation Services and 19 local partners, including 4J, Bethel and Springfield School Districts, University of Oregon Track and Field, River Road Park and Recreation, Willamalane Recreation District, Kidsports, Lane Coalition for Healthy Active Youth (LCHAY), YMCA, and Boys and Girls Club Big Brothers/Big Sisters. For more information on Track Town USA Youth Network, contact Kim McManus at 541-682-6343. Fireman’s Fund Presents Grant to Fire & EMS Department The City’s fire safety education efforts got a boost this year from Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company and regional affiliate Propel Insurance, as they awarded the Fire & EMS Department a $7,500 grant to promote the department’s classroom teaching programs. The grant enabled Fire & EMS to repair and refurbish Freddie the Fire Truck, a remote-controlled, talking, singing, miniature fire truck that the department uses to convey basic safety messages in a child-friendly way. The grant also funded the purchase of 10 fire safety curriculum traveling trunks with teaching materials that can be used in local classrooms throughout the school year. Presenting the ceremonial check to Deputy Fire & EMS Chief Joe Zaludek at a special gathering this week at the Whiteaker Fire Station were Julie Schoenert of Fireman’s Fund and Hal Lemke of Propel Insurance. For more information, please contact Deputy Fire Marshal Amy EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 March 25, 2010 Linder at 541-687-8428. Expert Help for Job Hunters at Eugene Public Library Two free workshops at the Downtown Eugene Public Library will offer expert information and support for job hunters. At the Job & Career Options Workshopon Saturday, April 3, at 3 p.m., Ann Guthrie of Goodwill Industries and business librarian Scott Herron will provide tips on evaluating career options, plus networking and job search strategies to help find employment in any field. Drop in and bring questions. AttheJob Search & Resumes Computer Class onSunday, April 11, at 4 p.m., participants will learn how to research job opportunities and create an effective resume. The class includes a tour of free tools available on library computers such as Microsoft Word’s Resume 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. Due to limited space, pre-registration is required. To register, call 541-682-5450 (press 2). All Library programs are free of charge. For more information, call the Eugene Public Library at 541-682-5450 or visit www.eugene-or.gov/library. th Pavement Bond Measure Funds Improvements at 29 and Willamette th Bids are in on a project to repair the badly deteriorated intersection of 29 Avenue and Willamette Street. The bids were very competitive, with the low bidder, Brown Contracting of Eugene, submitting a bid of $553,000, well below the engineer’s estimate. The primary source of funding is the 2008 voter-approved bond measure to fix streets. A formal schedule has yet to be received, but construction may begin as early as the week of April 19 and be completed by July 31. The intersection will be rebuilt with concrete in phases, and each phase will have a curing period for the concrete. The most challenging part of this project will be traffic control. This is a very busy intersection, and some public inconvenience is inevitable during construction. The intersection will remain open during construction, but it will be limited to a single lane in each direction. The traffic signal will be turned off and replaced with stop signs to create a four-way stop. Public Works Engineering is in the process of preparing media messages th The intersection of Willamette and 29 will be fixed and postcards to be mailed to local residents and business owners to get the this summer, and Public Works is gearing up to word out about this project. The message to the public will be to mark the help relieve traffic congestion during construction. dates for this construction and use alternate routes whenever possible. Even with the announcements to the public, a few days of congestion before the public adjusts to the temporary reduced capacity of the intersection, is anticipated. For more information about the project, contact project manager John Bonham at 541-682-5300. Joint County-City Project Improves Traffic Safety at Busy Intersection on River Road A joint traffic signal project between Lane County and the City of Eugene is improving safety at one of the busiest intersections in the region. The two agencies are working cooperatively to upgrade the signals at River Road and River Avenue/Silver Lane to install new flashing yellow arrows. With an average of more than 42,000 vehicles a day going through it, the intersection of is one of the busiest in the area. The flashing yellow arrows update the old-style, five-section “doghouse” signal configuration and replaces the signs reading “left turns yield to on-coming traffic” with simpler green and yellow arrows. Left-turning drivers easily understand that a flashing yellow indicator means they must yield to oncoming traffic. By contrast, the old-style five-section heads confuse some left-turn drivers who aren’t sure of the difference between a green arrow (which means they have a protected left turn) and a green ball (which means they are permitted to turn left but must yield right-of-way to oncoming traffic). Eugene Public Works Maintenance crews last weekend completed half the installation of flashing yellow arrows for left turns at River Road/Silver Lane/River Avenue. They are scheduled to replace EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 March 25, 2010 the north-south signal heads on River Road early Sunday morning, March 28. Work is intentionally scheduled during early morning hours to minimize traffic impacts at this very busy intersection. The flashing yellow arrow is becoming the standard for protected/permissive signal operation. Other city signals with protected/permissive left turns using the old five-section heads will be upgraded to flashing yellow as funding allows. For more information, contact City Traffic Engineer Tom Larsen at 541-682-4959. Reminder: Human Rights Summit on April 10 Save Saturday, April 10, to participate in a community-wide Human Rights Summit. This event is co-sponsored by the City of Eugene and the Community Coalition for Advancement of Human Rights. The summit will address human rights principles as expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and their relevance to local human rights issues. Participants will have the opportunity to explore ways in which individuals, groups, and institutions can work together to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights at the local community level. The event features keynote speakers and facilitated discussion, followed by a wide variety of workshop choices in the afternoon. The workshops include Indigenous Rights, Immigrant Rights, Health Care, Anti-Violence, Food Security, Mental Health Care, Trauma Survivors, Sexual Violence, LGBTQ Rights, Right to Shelter, Know Your Rights, Water and Human Rights, Costs of War, Environmental Rights, Neighborhood Rights Issues and Disability Rights. The April 10 all- day summit will be preceded by an evening kickoff event at Studio One in the Hult Center in Downtown Eugene from 6:30 -9:00 p.m., Thursday, April 8. A $10 fee will be charged for registration which includes lunch. For more information, contact Holly LeMasurier at 541-682-5619 or holly.k.lemasurier@ci.eugene.or.us. First SNAP Pilot Takes Flight Trainsong Neighborhood was recently selected as a pilot project for the Strategic Neighborhood Assessment and Planning (SNAP) process. SNAP is an organizing tool for neighborhoods and includes a needs assessment that builds on the results of the recent Eugene Neighborhood Survey, opportunities to engage a broad community of neighborhood stakeholders, and approaches to strengthening the neighborhood association’s capacity to effectively address residents’ needs. The Trainsong Neighborhood’s proposal is one of four received, and outlined many benefits the neighborhood board sees for the SNAP project including “neighborhood outreach in order to build a better sense of community,” and “a productive relationship with the city that allows us to highlight the issues that matter most to neighborhood residents.” In the application, association representatives also highlighted neighborhood improvements such as roads and sidewalks, youth development, planning and zoning, the Highway 99 corridor, and existing neighborhood assets, as issues to explore. The SNAP review committee commented that the strength of Trainsong’s application is in recognizing existing needs of neighborhood residents and capitalizing on collaboration between the neighborhood and other local organizations such as Lane Coalition for Active and Healthy Youth, Lane County Red Cross, Health Policy Research Northwest, Eugene Tree Foundation, Bethel Community Church and the City’s Volunteers in Parks program. Applications were also submitted by Active Bethel Citizens, Harlow Neighbors and Churchill Area Neighbors. City staff will offer these representatives support and resources to further develop their concepts, with the potential for SNAP projects or other initiatives later this year. The SNAP process for Trainsong kicks off soon, with an initial meeting of the neighborhood’s Leadership Team and City staff to plan the next steps of the 4-5 month process. For more information, contact Rene Kane, Neighborhood Services, at rene.c.kane@ci.eugene.or.us or call 541-682-6243. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 March 25, 2010