HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/23/11 - City Council Newsletter (2)
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
November 23, 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
CODY, OFFICIAL FIRE SAFETY DALMATIAN GETS A PROBIE
RECIPE FOR NINKASI SUCCESS STARTS WITH SMALL BUSINESS LOANS
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OPEN HOUSE LOOKS AT DESIGN ALTERNATIVES FOR 24 AVENUE REHABILITATION PROJECT
“RELIGION & WAR: POST-9/11 MILITARY CHAPLAINS” AT EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY
SUCCESSFUL CITY BOND SALE
AROUND THE CITY
Cody, Official Fire Safety Dalmatian Gets a Probie
Cody, the official fire safety Dalmatian for the Eugene Fire & EMS Department,
is pleased to introduce probationary fire dog, Casey (merry-go-round arson case
investigator). Casey made his first public appearance last week at Fire Station
#1 located at 1320 Willamette Street, where he was well-received by all who
attended.
Casey, a 13-week-old Dalmatian puppy, joined the force at the end of October,
and is currently being house-broken, and getting basic training in socialization,
manners, basic obedience etc. Once he masters the basics, he will begin recruit
school, learning the program-specific tasks of testing a smoke alarm, crawling
low under smoke, going to a meeting place, dialing 9-1-1 and stop, drop and roll.
Cody will serve as an excellent field training officer (FTO) for young Casey, who
also aspires to follow his big brother’s paw prints into therapy and crisis
response work.
For more information on fire safety, Casey, or Cody, contact Deputy Fire Marshal Amy Linder at 541-682-8428.
Recipe for Ninkasi Success Starts with Small Business Loans
Brewing high-quality beer in Eugene since 2006, Ninkasi Brewing Company is one of the fastest growing
microbreweries in the country and the third largest brewery in Oregon. Ninkasi’s Total Domination IPA was the 2010
beer of the year. In addition to expanding the depth of sales in
the area, Ninkasi now sells in Idaho, Alaska, Washington, and
San Francisco. After receiving the 2010 Emerald Award for
Growth, sales doubled from 2008 to 2009, and are on track to do
the same in 2011. The business has also grown its workforce
and now has 56 employees. (Health care benefits are available
to all employees.) The coming year will hold additional growth for
Ninkasi in the production of sales to California, and the projected
hiring of 18 new employees.
The City made two Business Development Fund (BDF) loans to
Ninkasi for the purchase of equipment: the first to help get
established in the Whiteaker Neighborhood ($150,000) and the
second for the 2010 expansion ($200,000). The City loans were
matched with Century Bank funds and owner equity. To purchase the property in 2006, Ninkasi worked with Lane
Council of Governments to receive funding through the Small Business Administration.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1
November 23, 2011
In addition to making and selling local craft beer, Ninkasi also supports around 100 community organizations and
recreational groups throughout the local area each year with product and infrastructure assistance at events. In 2011,
Ninkasi partnered with the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) to brew a special release beer to raise awareness
of EWEB’s 100th anniversary. All profits from the beer went to support the local nonprofit McKenzie River Trust in its
efforts to maintain the water supply that feeds the brewery as one of the cleanest, purest sources in the world.
Oakshire and Hop Valley are two of several other breweries in the area. Please contact Amanda Nobel Flannery for
more information at 541-682-5535 or amanda.nobelflannery@ci.eugene.or.us.
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Open House Looks at Design Alternatives for 24 Avenue Rehabilitation Project
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A neighborhood open house has been scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 1, to discuss a 2012 project to rehabilitate 24
Avenue from Chambers to Jefferson streets. The open house runs from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. at the Adams Elementary
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School cafeteria, 950 West 22 Avenue.
The Eugene-Springfield Transportation System Plan (TransPlan) and the Eugene Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan
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have identified the need for bicycle improvements on 24 Avenue. The meeting will include a formal presentation
followed by a discussion on design alternatives for this street. Alternatives could include making no design changes,
removing parking on one side to install bike lanes, installing additional traffic calming measures, or a combination of
these alternatives.
For more information, contact Reed Dunbar, associate transportation planner, at reed.c.dunbar@ci.eugene.or.us or
541-682-5727.
“Religion & War: Post-9/11 Military Chaplains” at Eugene Public Library
On Thursday, Dec.1, at 6 p.m., the Downtown Eugene Public Library will host a free talk by Dr. Darold Bigger titled
“Religion and War: Post-9/11 Military Chaplains.”
As Deputy Chief of Navy Chaplains for Reserve Matters, Dr. Bigger was in Washington,
DC, on 9/11 and supervised chaplains for several years thereafter. He reports first hand
on the work of chaplains in Washington, New York, and the Gulf after 9/11, and shares
how chaplains are still working to assist returning veterans in the process of moral
healing. Dr. Bigger now serves as Professor of Religion and Social Work at Walla Walla
University.
“The 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center launched America into a
prolonged international conflict that included religious, national, racial and social issues
which persist to the present day,” writes Dr. Bigger. “Members of the military have thus
been brought to consider ethical conflicts between the violence of war and the morality of
their religious faith.”
This talk is presented in partnership with the Eugene Symphony’s “Counterpoint: War + Peace” initiative. Visit
counterpointeugene.com for more information about Counterpoint events. For more information about the talk at the
Eugene Public Library call 541-682-5450 or go to www.eugene-or.gov/library.
Successful City Bond Sale
In September, the City Council authorized the issuance of refunding bonds for the purpose of saving interest costs on
several General Obligation bond issues. On Nov. 22, the City accepted bids for the refunding bonds. The sale was a
great success.
The purpose of the $10,975,000 refunding bond issue was to refinance at lower interest rates the parks, athletic fields
and open space bonds approved by voters in 2006, and the fire station construction bonds approved in 2002. The City
received 13 bids for the bonds, which created a lot of competition. The winning bidder was Mitsubishi UFJ Securities
from San Francisco. They bid a true interest cost of 1.7 percent, which is substantially lower than expected based on
market trends and other recent Oregon sales. As a result of the winning bid, Eugene taxpayers will save more than
$1.1 million in interest payments on these bonds over the next 10-and-a-half years.
Other than the savings that was achieved from this sale, another notable fact is that this is the first competitively bid
bond issue that Eugene has sold through a completely paperless process. The bond-offering documents were posted
on a website for bidders to access, and the bids themselves were accepted through an on-line bidding service.
For information, contact Finance Director Sue Cutsogeorge at 541-682-5589 or Sue.L.Cutsogeorge@ci.eugene.or.us.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
November 23, 2011