HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/24/11 - City Council Newsletter
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
March 24, 2011
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
PROJECT HOMELESS CONNECT 2011 HUGE SUCCESS
“NEW YORKER” CARTOONIST ROZ CHAST AT EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY
EVENT AND CONTEST TO RAISE BARRIER AWARENESS
DOWNTOWN LOAN SMOOTHS WAY FOR JAZZ STATION’S NEW DIGS
COMMENTS SOUGHT ON EUGENE’S STORMWATER MONITORING PLAN
DISC GOLF COURSE CONSIDERED IN ALTON BAKER PARK
AROUND THE CITY
Project Homeless Connect 2011 Huge Success
The fifth annual Project Homeless Connect was a huge success. The 1,595 community members who gathered on
March 17 at the Lane County Fairgrounds generated the highest attendance yet for this event. Community members
were welcomed with a hot breakfast and were provided music throughout the day as they accessed a wide variety of
free services and supplies. Local businesses and agencies partnered to provide haircuts, legal assistance, medical,
dental, veterinary and family care, bicycle repair, pet supplies, veterans’ services, clothing, coats, boots, sleeping
bags, blankets and hygiene kits.
Major sponsors included the United Way of Lane County, Lane
County and the cities of Eugene and Springfield. In addition, more
than 700 local volunteers helped with setup, intake, and security,
and served as floor hosts, guest guides, and language interpreters.
In addition to donating supplies and services, event sponsors
generously allowed their employees to participate directly to make
this one-day event possible.
This was truly an impressive community effort that provided much-needed services to at-risk and homeless people in
the Eugene/Springfield area. For more information, please contact Michelle Mortensen, City Manager’s Office, at
michelle.e.mortensen@ci.eugene.or.us or at 541-682-6378.
“New Yorker” Cartoonist Roz Chast at Eugene Public Library
On Saturday, Apr. 2, at 2 p.m., the Eugene Public Library will host an illustrated talk by New Yorker cartoonist Roz
Chast. Her topic will be Theories of Everything, which is also the title of her most recent book, a 25-year
retrospective. Books will be available for purchase and signing, courtesy of the University of Oregon Bookstore/Duck
Store. Admission is free.
Chast’s cartoons are instantly recognizable and beloved for their insightful and hilarious
depiction of modern anxieties, angst, and absurdity. More than 1,000 of her cartoons have
been printed in The New Yorker since 1978. According to New Yorker editor David
Remnick, Chast is “the magazine's only certifiable genius.”
Roz Chast has loved cartooning since she was a child growing up in Brooklyn. She
attended Rhode Island School of Design, majoring in painting “because it seemed more
artistic.” However, soon after graduating, she began drawing cartoons again. Less than
two years out of college, she achieved one of the most prized aims in her field: working
under contract for The New Yorker, which has now published her work for more than 30 years, including black and
white cartoons, color spreads, back pages, and covers. Chast has also provided cartoons and editorial illustrations
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March 24, 2011
for an amazingly wide variety of publications from Mother Jones to The Harvard Business Review, Scientific
American and Redbook.
An illustrator as well, Chast collaborated with Steve Martin on the best-selling children's book The Alphabet from A to
Y with Bonus Letter Z! Her latest children’s book is Too Busy Marco.
For more information, contact the Eugene Public Library at 541-682-5450 or www.eugene-or.gov/library.
Event and Contest to Raise Barrier Awareness
The City of Eugene Human Rights Commission Accessibility Committee
invites individuals to create an image and/or logo that reflects the idea of
Barrier Awareness Day and to participate in the event on May 14.
The event and contest are meant to build a sense of community and
connection by raising awareness of the barriers persons with disabilities
experience and overcome, such as physical access, inclusion, access to
decision-making, employment, income, safety, etc. It is also intended to help
people realize that disability affects everyone at some point in life and that
disability rights are human rights. Selected logos and images will be used for
outreach on buttons and flyers about Barrier Awareness Day.
Barrier Awareness Day will be held Saturday, May 14, from 12 - 2 p.m. at the
th
Eugene Saturday Market at 8 and Oak. At the event, members of the public
will be invited to be guided through various activities, simulating life as
persons with hearing, vision and mobility disabilities may experience it in
Eugene. In sponsoring Barrier Awareness day, the Accessibility Committee
hopes to replace sympathy with empathy and advocacy through activities
that encourage one to "walk in my shoes."
The deadline for submitting art, images and/or logo designs is Friday, Apr. 8,
2011. Bring, mail or send submissions to: City of Eugene Equity and Human Rights Center, The Atrium Building
th
(across from the Downtown Library and bus station), 99 West 10 Avenue, Suite 116, Eugene, OR 97401; or email
ehrcenter@ci.eugene.or.us. For information, contact Holly Lemasurier at 541-682-5619.
Downtown Loan Smooths Way for Jazz Station’s New Digs
The Jazz Station, a performance space and art gallery, re-opens in its new location at 124 West Broadway on April 1
for downtown’s First Friday Art Walk. A Downtown Revitalization loan of $15,000 helped improve the new space and
make the move possible. The City loan was matched by $5,000 raised by the Willamette Jazz Society (WJS), a non-
profit 501c3 organization that operates The Jazz Station, and $5,000 in member loans.
Since The Jazz Station opened in 2005, (one
block east of the new location), the venue has
presented hundreds of intimate concerts, jazz
jams, and art openings. The Jazz Station also
provides rehearsal and workshop space for
members, incubating new bands that perform
around town.
The new, larger space will allow jazz lovers and
musicians of all ages to enjoy a more comfortable
venue, learn about and listen to live jazz, view works by local artists, and enjoy fine beers and regional wines. The
lively space will create a more vibrant community center for jazz, education, and the visual arts. It will also contribute
to the City’s goal of a lively arts and entertainment district on West Broadway.
“We thank the City of Eugene, our donors and scores of musicians and jazz lovers who volunteered hundreds of
hours of sweat equity to create this more comfortable, supportive and functional home for jazz in downtown Eugene,”
said bassist and WJS Board President Chris Orsinger.
The new Jazz Station will celebrate the launch of its grand opening season with a ribbon-cutting ceremony with
Mayor Kitty Piercy at 5:15 p.m. on April 1, just prior to the First Friday Art Walk. Immediately following the ceremony,
The Jazz Station will host a free opening reception for internationally acclaimed painter Jerry Ross.
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March 24, 2011
More information is available at The Jazz Station’s new website www.thejazzstation.org or contact Amanda Nobel
Flannery at 541-682-5535.
Comments Sought on Eugene’s Stormwater Monitoring Plan
The City of Eugene is seeking public comments on its revised Stormwater Monitoring Plan. The City has held a
federal National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit since 1994 for discharges from the
municipal stormwater system to receiving waterways, including Amazon Creek and the Willamette River. In
December 2010, the City received its third NPDES permit from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality,
and has revised its Stormwater Monitoring Plan to incorporate some additional requirements and clarify the City’s
monitoring program so that it is informative to the general public.
The City’s NPDES permit includes monitoring and reporting requirements and a set of best management practices
that, collectively, reduce the discharge of pollutants from the municipal stormwater system to the maximum extent
practicable. From a national perspective, the NPDES permitting program has been a major force in the country’s
efforts to protect and restore the quality of the rivers, lakes and coastal waters. While water quality gains have been
made since the program was initiated, increases in population and development activities stress infrastructure and
threaten the water quality improvements made nationally. At the same time, water quality protection has become
increasingly complex – scientifically and socially. Modifications to Eugene’s Stormwater Monitoring Plan reflect this
national perspective, and include additional monitoring sites, a longer list of water quality parameters, and greater
clarity in the plan itself.
The revised Stormwater Monitoring Plan is available on the internet at www.eugene-or.gov/stormwater (see “Permits
& Regulations” and select “National Pollutant Discharge Eliminations System”) or by calling Water Resources
Manager Therese Walch at 541-682-5549.
Comments received by 5 p.m. Friday, Apr. 22, will be summarized in the City’s Stormwater Monitoring Plan submittal
to DEQ. Comments received after Apr. 22 will be taken into consideration for possible future modifications to the
City’s monitoring program. Written comments may be sent to NPDES Permit, Eugene Public Works, 99 East
Broadway, Suite 400, Eugene, OR 97401. Email comments may be sent to therese.walch@ci.eugene.or.us.
Disc Golf Course Considered in Alton Baker Park
Over the past year, Parks and Open Space (POS) and Recreation staff have been working together to consider the
addition of an 18-hole disc golf course in West Alton Baker Park. The second public meeting was held on Feb. 23at
the Hilyard Community Center, where over 50 citizens came to hear a presentation on the current proposal. The
presentation was followed by a lively question-and-answer period, after which attendees were requested to provide
feedback via a web-based survey on the POS disc golf webpage: www.eugene-or.gov/discgolf.
In order for the City to incur no additional maintenance
costs, the course would be built, maintained and
managed by a vendor under contract with the City. The
proposed plan is for an 18-hole ‘pay-to-play’ course that
would be carefully designed to avoid conflicts with
existing uses. The course would be temporarily permitted
for a period of up to five years, with annual permit review,
and renewal based on specific conditions being met. A
temporary permit is proposed due to the number and
extent of existing and approved future facilities in the
park’s master plan. Although not all the master plan
facilities are constructed yet, if or when they are, the
park’s capacity to accommodate all the people and cars
drawn into the park due to the facilities would be at its
upper limit.
The web survey for public feedback on the proposal was open through Sunday, Mar. 13, and received over 230
responses, the highest response POS has had for a web survey. Staff is reviewing the survey response, and
continuing discussions with key stakeholders. A decision about the proposal is expected this spring. For more
information, contact Neil Bjorklund at 541-682-4909.
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