HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/03/11 - City Council Newsletter
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
November 3, 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 EDITION
LEAF PROGRAM INCLUDES COLLECTION AND DELIVERY SERVICES
(SUB)URBAN PROJECTIONS LAUNCHES FIRST DIGITAL ARTS PROJECTION FESTIVAL
GRANTWRITING AND HOMESCHOOLING WORKSHOPS AT EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY
HOLIDAY BAZAAR AT CAMPBELL CENTER ON NOVEMBER 5
LCOG LAUNCHES UNIVERSITY OF OREGON CAMPUS TRAVEL SURVEY
ENVISION EUGENE LAUNCHES ON-LINE OPEN HOUSE
RIBBON-CUTTING CELEBRATES INNOVATIVE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR RETURNING VETERANS
AROUND THE CITY
Leaf Program Includes Collection and Delivery Services
The City of Eugene’s annual leaf program is gearing up for another busy fall season. For both operations and
outreach, the goals are to maintain the levels of street sweeping and collection services while increasing awareness of
leaf delivery services.
On the collection side, the program includes enhanced service on approximately 25 miles of
designated priority bike lanes, focused messaging to the community to emphasize the
importance of keeping leaves out of bike lanes, and a suite of online services that allow
residents to report leaves and other debris in bike lanes and get the most current information
on leaf collection operations. This year’s collection schedule is:
West and central Eugene -- Nov. 7 to Nov. 16, and again from Dec. 19 to Dec. 28
North Eugene -- Nov. 15 to Nov. 30, and again from Dec. 27 to Jan. 6
Southeast Eugene -- Nov. 29 to Dec. 9, and again from Jan. 5 to Jan. 10
Southwest Eugene -- Dec. 8 to Dec. 20, and again from Jan. 10 to Jan. 16
Leaves are picked up on unimproved streets only during the second round of collections. Residents and yard services
are asked to not place leaves in the streets until the weekend before collection is scheduled in the neighborhood. This
is a particularly important message early in the season when rain, wind and sudden drops in temperatures can
accelerate the fall of leaves well before the start of scheduled collections. Keeping leaves out of catch-basins prevents
flooding and protects the water quality in local streams – two of the main objectives of the stormwater-funded leaf
program.
As in 2010, when the City collected nearly 16,000 cubic yards of leaves, a key message is that leaves are a
sustainable natural resource that can be used as mulch or compost material. In keeping with this value, none of the
leaves collected by the City wind up in the landfill. Instead, 65 percent of the leaves collected in 2010 were delivered to
local residents – an all-time high. The rest were used in community gardens and parks. A handy online form makes it
easy to request leaf deliveries, and a short online video helps people understand how many leaves are in a dump truck
load.
Leaf program postcards have been mailed to approximately 1,700 property owners along priority bike routes, and
Eugene and Lane County have partnered with Rexius and Lane Forest Products to distribute information to
landscaping companies, reminding them, “It’s your business to dispose of leaves responsibly.” Public Works
Maintenance staff will be meeting with the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, information to neighborhoods
will be going out this week, and Eugene, Springfield and Lane County are working together to provide weekly updates
to local media.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1
November 3, 2011
For more information about the leaf program, including detailed collection schedules and links to online services, go to
www.eugene-or.gov/leaf or call Surface Maintenance Supervisor Damon Joyner at 541-682-4835.
(sub)Urban Projections Launches First Digital Arts Projection Festival
(sub)Urban Projections, the City of Eugene Public Art Program and the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture
and Allied Arts come together on three consecutive Wednesday evenings in November to illuminate the streets of
downtown Eugene with a first digital art and media projection festival.
This free, public event is held in partnership with downtown
businesses.
(sub)Urban Projections is a concept developed by graduate students
in the University of Oregon’s Cultural Administration course. The City
of Eugene’s Public Art Program invited the students into a partnership
to help breathe life into the festival. Together, these organizations are
championing emerging artists, cultivating community, and celebrating
the spirit of Eugene through a digital art and media festival that is
accessible and affordable to everyone. The festival aims to transform
downtown Eugene by expanding the possibilities for public art.
The festival will include projections from 6 - 9 p.m. at the top of the Hult Center Parking Garage on Nov. 9; in an alley
at Willamette and 5th Avenue, next to the south wall of Red Agave Restaurant, on Nov. 16; and in Oak Alley, adjacent
th
to the Overpark Parking Garage, between Broadway and 10 Avenue, on Nov. 23.
In addition, winning selections from an open call to artists will be projected all three nights of the festival. Entries
include videos from Eugene, Portland, and Seattle, as well as from Arizona, Connecticut, New York, Canada,
Germany, and the United Kingdom.
A free, public artist talk and reception with all featured artists and the festival’s Eugene video submission artists will be
held Thursday, Nov.17, 6 - 8 p.m., at the Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts (DIVA), 280 West Broadway in
Eugene.
For more information about (sub)Urban Projections, go to http://suburbanprojections.wordpress.com.
Grantwriting and Homeschooling Workshops at Eugene Public Library
The Downtown Eugene Public Library will host a free workshop on Finding Grants for Non-Profits on Saturday, Nov. 5,
at 3 p.m. Lori Bumgardner, a professional grantwriter and consultant to non-profits, and librarian Scott Herron will
share ways to find funding sources to fit specific projects. Participants will learn how to use
valuable resources, including the Foundation Center’s online database of thousands of funders,
available free through the Eugene Public Library. This workshop is co-sponsored by the Library
and Women’s Opportunity Worldwide.
Parents who are thinking about homeschooling, and parents who are already involved in
homeschooling, will find ideas and support at a free workshop on Homeschooling in Oregon on
Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 6 p.m., at the Downtown Library. The experts of Oregon Home Education
Network (OHEN) will share information on local resources, legal requirements, learning styles,
homeschooling methods, and more.
For more information, contact the Eugene Public Library at 541-682-5450 or www.eugene-or.gov/library.
Holiday Bazaar at Campbell Center on November 5
A great kickoff to the holiday season, the annual Holiday Bazaar at Campbell
Community Center features many items made by patrons, including crafts, quilts,
wooden items, preserves, pies, and baked goods. This fund-raising event for the Adult
Services Program also includes a book sale, raffle, silent auction, breakfast snacks, and
lunch, and, no one will want to leave without purchasing a jar of Campbell’s famous
sweet hot mustard.
The bazaar will be held atCampbell Center on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. The event is open to the public and
admission is free. It’s a wonderful holiday shopping location with great gifts for all. For more information, call Mel Mann at
541-682-5318.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
November 3, 2011
LCOG Launches University of Oregon Campus Travel Survey
The Lane Council of Governments (LCOG), in conjunction with the University of Oregon (UO), City of Eugene and
Lane Transit District, has launched a survey of the travel habits of the UO population. For the month of November
2011, all 28,000 students, faculty and staff at the university will be asked to report the when, where, how and why of all
trips they made on a randomly selected day. A broader understanding of UO community travel patterns will help local
government transportation staff better plan roadway, bicycle and transit projects near the campus. It will also help staff
plan for connections from the campus to places where members of the UO community live, work and shop.
The University of Oregon Campus Travel Survey will collect information on all travel modes, and is focused on the
travel behavior of the UO population. For more information about the project, go to www.lcog.org/uotravelsurvey or
contact Transportation Planning Manager Rob Inerfeld at 541-682-5343 (rob.inerfeld@ci.eugene.or.us) or LCOG
Senior Transportation Planner Michael Greenwald at 541-682-6595 (mgreenwald@lcog.org).
Envision Eugene Launches On-Line Open House
To reach more people about the Envision Eugene project, planners recently launched an on-line open house at
www.envisioneugene.org. The first featured topic is single-family housing. Public land information will be uploaded
next, followed by industrial, commercial, and multi-family information later
in November.
The on-line open house features videos, posters, maps, and comment
forms intended to simulate the experience of coming to an in-person
event. By posting all of the information on-line, it can be accessed from
the comfort of the home, office or public library.
It is anticipated that this new method of public involvement will reach a
wider audience, including those who are not typically able to attend a
regular open house. The on-line format is likely to appeal to those who
prefer on-line information gathering to physically attending events, and
enables the City to receive their input.
Be sure to check out the videos and leave comments for City staff using
this innovative public engagement tool. For more information, contact
Envision Eugene Public Involvement Manager Terri Harding at
terri.l.harding@ci.eugene.or.us or 541-682-5635.
Ribbon-Cutting Celebrates Innovative, Affordable Housing for Returning Veterans
On Veterans Day, local private, public and non-profit partners will celebrate the completion of the first home remodeled
for military veterans and their families through the “Vets' Housing Project: Serving Those Who Have Served Our
Country.” The ribbon-cutting will take place on Veteran’s Day, Friday, Nov. 11, at 9 a.m., at the home located at 2895
Garfield Street. Lane County Commission Chair Faye Stewart, John Brown, Eugene
Water & Electric Board (EWEB) Board, National Guard representatives and other
public officials will speak, and the public is invited to attend.
The Vets’ Housing Project (VHP) is an innovative new partnership that is piloting a
Habitat for Humanity-type project to provide affordable rental housing for veterans
returning from overseas deployments from all branches of the service.
The original partnership included Eugene City Manager Jon Ruiz, St. Vincent
DePaul Executive Director Terry McDonald, EWEB Director Roger Gray, June
Chaida of Senator Ron Wyden’s office, Vice-President of the Home Builders
Association Ed McMahon, President and Chief Executive Officer of VOX
Communications Pat Walsh, Chief Financial Officer of Ehlers Construction Randy
Lodge, and City of Eugene Intergovernmental Relations Manager Brenda Wilson.
Instead of building new homes, St. Vincent DePaul acquired two houses through foreclosure that needed rehabilitation
- the Garfield house, plus another house on East 39th Avenue in southeast Eugene. The veteran’s family that is
selected will pay $500 monthly for two years, before moving to more permanent housing and giving another veteran’s
family an affordable place to live. It is hoped the second house to be remodeled will be ready for occupancy before the
winter holidays. The partnership is working on bringing several more homes into the inventory to be rehabilitated for
additional families.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3
November 3, 2011
An estimated 900 local National Guard members have returned home from deployment overseas in the past several
years. Many returning veterans and their families need help with safe, secure and affordable housing so they can start
or resume college, find a job, or take other steps to build a career.
The project has received the support of many local businesses, service agencies, youth and sports groups and
hundreds of volunteers. Several companies have donated materials, paint, and labor, including Forrest Paint, Bonn
Roof Care, Builders Electric and Ehlers Construction.
For more information, contact Brenda Wilson at 541-682-8441.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 4
November 3, 2011