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Home My WebLink About06/16/11 - City Council Newsletter EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER June 16, 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 ENVISION EUGENE WINS STATE CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT AWARD SEVEN RECRUITS GRADUATE FROM METRO FIRE RECRUIT ACADEMY “SUMMER” BEGINS WITH OPENING OF AMAZON POOL JUNE 20 “TALK THAI” AUTHOR AT EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY EUGENE AIRPORT RECEIVES KUDOS FROM THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION AROUND THE CITY Envision Eugene Wins State Citizen Involvement Award Envision Eugene set out to use a more collaborative public involvement approach than typical land use projects. The Citizen Involvement Advisory Committee (CIAC) of the state Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) thinks that is a good thing. The committee recently awarded Envision Eugene its annual STAR Award for citizen involvement in land use. CIAC members noted that Envision Eugene is innovative, represents substantial effort and commitment, and has demonstrated successful results. The Envision Eugene Public Involvement Team used the following public engagement methods:  Community Resource Group of over 60 active community members with various points of view Community Resource Group  Listening Interviews with individuals and interested groups, boards and commissions  Monthly E-Newsletter to over 400 people  Kid-friendly public workshops and open houses  Redevelopment Tour for the Community Resource Group, with self-guided option for anyone using Google Maps  Art class projects on Envision Eugene with 100 sixth graders, and High School Art Contest  Facebook page with over 250 fans  Comprehensive website at www.envisioneugene.org  On-line surveys and comment forms  Videos of project events and neighborhood outreach,posted on the website, YouTube and Facebook  Co-sponsor of guest speakers with Transportation Planning and Lane Transit District  Presentations to neighborhood groups, University of Oregon classes, and other groups  City Club programs,rebroadcast on community radio station KLCC The award will be presented to CRG participants and City staff in Salem on June 22. For more information, contact Terri Harding, Envision Eugene public involvement manager, at terri.l.harding@ci.eugene.or.us or 541-682-5635. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 June 16, 2011 Seven Recruits Graduate from Metro Fire Recruit Academy As part of the Metro Fire Merger Initiative between the Eugene Fire & EMS and Springfield Fire & Life Safety Departments, the first Eugene/Springfield Metro Fire Recruit Academy class (Class #14) graduated on June 10, 2011. Seven firefighters – five for Eugene and two for Springfield – reported to their first 24-hour shift assignment on Monday, June 13, 2011. In order to graduate from the academy, recruit class 14 completed 13 weeks of intensive training covering numerous areas of fire and emergency medical service including basic firefighting, paramedic-level EMS, auto extrication, water rescue, special rescue, and diversity, hazardous materials, physical fitness, city orientation, airport operations and live fire training. Over the course of the next year, the firefighter recruits will be evaluated on their fire and paramedic skills to ensure competence in their job functions. Each Metro Fire Recruit Class 14 and Training Section Staff firefighter recruit has been assigned a station captain for fire training and mentorship. Additionally, each will be assigned a field training officer who will focus on emergency medical services knowledge and skills. Throughout their first year of employment, the firefighter recruits will continue to train and meet mandatory firefighter and medical skill requirements in order to pass their probation period. For more information, and for those interested in becoming a firefighter, please contact Training Chief Lance Lighty at 541-682-7131. “Summer” Begins with Opening of Amazon Pool June 20 Summer unofficially begins at 2 p.m. on Monday, June 20, when Amazon Pool opens for the first recreational swim of the season. This favorite summer site annually draws more than 100,000 visits from June through September. The facility includes a 50-meter, eight-lane pool with an accessibility ramp, two one- meter diving boards, a three-meter diving board, a five-meter diving platform, a shallow, multi-purpose pool, a 112-foot water slide, water play features, a 15-person spa, and a bath house with three family changing rooms. From June 20 through September 5, recreation swims at Amazon Pool will be held Monday through Sunday from 2 - 5 p.m. and Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Family Swim times (one adult must be in the water with children) will be held Monday - Friday, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., and Monday – Thursday, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. Lap swimming and swim lessons are also offered at Amazon Pool during the summer months. For more information, call Rich Fay at 541-682-5331. “Talk Thai” Author at Eugene Public Library The Downtown Eugene Public Library will host a free talk by Ira Sukrungruang, author of “Talk Thai:The Adventures of Buddhist Boy, Monday, June 20, at 6 p.m. His talk is part of Summer Reading 2011 at the Eugene Public Library, a series of events for all ages united by the theme, “One World, Many Stories.” In this richly-told memoir, by turns hilarious and deeply touching, Sukrungruang relates his childhood attempts to reconcile his immigrant family’s expectations with the reality of 1980s America. Born to Thai parents newly arrived in the U.S., Sukrungruang shifted constantly between cultural institutions from X-Men comics to the Buddhist temple. Though he tried desperately to fit in, he struggled with feelings of not belonging to either of his two worlds. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 June 16, 2011 In addition to the author as a child, readers meet his mother, who started packing for her return to Thailand the moment she arrived in this country; her best friend, his “second mother,” who lived with and cooked for the family; and Sukrungruang’s wayward father whose dreams never quite came true. Ira Sukrungruang has published fiction, nonfiction, and poetry in numerous periodicals, and co-edited “What Are You Looking At? The First Fat Fiction Anthology” and “Scoot Over, Skinny: The Fat Nonfiction Anthology.” He is an Assistant Professor of English at the University of South Florida. For more information, visit www.eugene-or.gov/library or call the Eugene Public Library at 541-682-5450. Eugene Airport Receives Kudos from the Federal Aviation Administration Staff at the Eugene Airport and Public Works Engineering (PWE) have received kudos from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for construction safety management practices. An FAA Safety Management Specialist, Mark Taylor, and local stakeholders met this week to discuss upcoming airport construction projects. The purpose of the Safety Risk Management panel is to discuss safety management plans for the projects and the effects of operating aircraft in a changed environment due to construction. After a detailed review of projects, the panel discussed potential hazards and causes of those potential hazards during construction, possible effects, existing safety requirements, severity and probability of hazards, and completed a risk matrix to determine FAA acceptance of individual construction projects. At the conclusion of the meeting, Taylor complimented the organizational skills of Public Works Airport and Engineering staff stating that this was the best panel of which he had been a part. He also requested the generic use of a change proposal submitted by PWE to use as a blueprint for other airports nationally, a great tribute to the hard work and dedication of the two divisions. For more information, contact Eugene Airport Director of Communication and Development Cathryn Stephensat 541-682-5430. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 June 16, 2011