The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About08/02/12 - City Council Newsletter EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER August 2, 2012 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 LOTS OF SUMMER CAMP FUN STILL ON TAP EXPLORE FAMILY TREE AT EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY DRYWELL ELIMINATION PROJECT STARTS IN SHIRLEY STREET AREA PARKING CONFERENCE COMING TO EUGENE IN 2013 RISK SERVICES HAS ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YEAR REDUCING COSTS FOR CITY BUILDING INSPECTIONS JUST A CLICK AWAY PARCADE PARKING GARAGE FEATURES FIBER ARTIST FOR FIRST FRIDAY AROUND THE CITY Lots of Summer Camp Fun Still on Tap It may be August, but there’s still plenty of summer fun to be had. Recreation Services offers more than 50 weekly summer camps in August, including camps focused on themes of sports, arts or outdoors at Sheldon, Amazon and Petersen Barn Community Centers and the Morse Family Farm. Camp activities range from arts and handcrafts to white water kayaking, and include archery, skateboarding, surfing, science, tree climbing, soccer, outdoor adventure, and more. To see the entire list of summer camps, go to http://bit.ly/NlWN4h. Watch a short video highlighting the variety of camps offered at Amazon Community Center at http://bit.ly/T3idIG. For more information, contact Sandy Shaffer at 541-682-5373. Explore Family Tree at Eugene Public Library In recent years the Internet has made genealogical resources available to everyone, not just those who can travel to search through physical archives in various locations. Lately, interest has grown even more due to the public television shows hosted by Professor Henry Louis Gates and the television show on NBC, “Who Do You Think You Are?” TheEugene Public Library offers valuable tools to help explore a family tree, including free access to the genealogy research websites Ancestry.com and HeritageQuest. Visit the Info Hub at the Eugene Public Library website to learn more. The Library also holds free, user-friendly, hands-on computer classes about how to use those sites and other resources. Coming up is a new advanced class, “Genealogy: Next Steps” on Thursday, Aug. 16, at 1:30 p.m., at the Downtown Eugene Public Library. Topics include in-depth Internet searching, how to organize data and keep track of sources, and the benefits of connecting with the genealogy community online. On Sunday, Aug. 26, at 2 p.m., the Downtown Library will host a “Family and Personal History Writing Workshop,” led by Charley Kempthorne, author of “For All Time: A Complete Guide to Writing Your Family History” and “Narrative Journaling: 28 Days to Writing Your Life Story.” The workshop is free, with pre- registration required for limited spaces: call 541-682-5450 (press 2). For more information, contact the Eugene Public Library at 541-682-5450 or visit www.eugene-or.gov/library. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 August 2, 2012 Drywell Elimination Project Starts in Shirley Street Area The first in a series of projects to eliminate drywells in parts of River Road and Santa Clara begins Aug. 6. Sixteen drywells in the Shirley Street area in Santa Clara will be removed and the stormwater from that neighborhood will be redirected to flow into a specially designed swale in nearby Ferndale Park, under a $570,000 contract awarded by the Eugene Public Works Department to Eugene Sand Construction Inc. The goals of the drywell elimination program are to improve drainage and to protect local groundwater quality. Drywells collect stormwater runoff and direct it into the ground, as opposed to directing it to a piped system or waterway. The two most common types of drywell configurations in Eugene are a horizontal perforated pipe embedded in a rock-filled trench and a vertical manhole structure with perforated sides. There is not a piped stormwater system on Shirley Street; however, there is a unique solution that includes creating a large infiltration swale in an undeveloped area in nearby Ferndale Park. The storm runoff will be piped to the swale where it will filter through vegetation, infiltrate into the ground and, as needed, flow to the existing drainage way in the park, which is part of Spring Creek. Because the solution involves the use of a park, the City worked closely with neighbors and the Friends of Ferndale Park on design options for the swale and on how the project could improve the park. Many of their suggestions were incorporated into the project including enhancement of the existing segment of Spring Creek, replacing invasive non-native plants with substantial native plantings, and construction of a gravel path alongside the new swale. Construction is scheduled to take 10 weeks to complete. No costs will be charged directly to local property owners. Funding for the project comes from stormwater user fees paid by City of Eugene residents and businesses. Over the next several years, the City plans to remove City drywells throughout the River Road-Santa Clara area and is working closely with Lane County to remove drywells in unincorporated areas of River Road-Santa Clara. For more information about Eugene’s drywell elimination program, visit www.eugene-or.gov/drywell, or contact Project Manager Doug Singer at 541-682-8460. Parking Conference Coming to Eugene in 2013 The City of Eugene was selected to host the 2013 Pacific Intermountain Parking and Transportation Association’s (PIPTA) Conference & Tradeshow, which will bring over 150 new visitors to downtown Eugene next summer. PIPTA is a regional organization that represents parking and transportation professional in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Jeff Petry, the City of Eugene’s parking services manager, was recently elected as vice president of the PIPTA Board of Directors. For more information, contact Jeff Petry at 541-682-5079. Risk Services Has Another Successful Year Reducing Costs for City In FY12, the Risk Services Division was able to save a total of $1,035,751 for the organization in the following program areas: Damage to City Property - $223,370 Recovery for City property damaged mainly due to third-party vehicle accidents, including City vehicles, fire hydrants, trees, street lights, traffic signals, traffic signs, etc. The funds collected are returned directly to the affected City work units to offset expenses for the damage. Approximately $700,000 has been recovered over the past five years. For more information, contact Claims Coordinator Jan Bergquist at 541-682-5662. Workers’ Compensation Program - $559,138  Medical Bill Audit – $475,562 The City audits medical billings received for workers’ compensation claims to assure that payment for medical services does not exceed the state’s approved fee schedule. A total of $1.4 million has been saved over the past five years. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 August 2, 2012  Workers’ Compensation Employer at Injury Program (EAIP) - $83,576 The City provides temporary modified work assignments to its injured workers and, therefore, is eligible for reimbursement of one-half of the injured worker’s wages by the State of Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division. All reimbursements are returned to the department employing the injured worker. A total of $377,475 has been recovered over the past five years. For more information, contact Workers’ Compensation Program Manager Jamie Iboa at 541-682-5791. Health Insurance - Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP) - $73,018 The City participated in the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP), enacted by the federal government, which reimbursed the City’s health plans for some of the costs of health care benefits paid on behalf of early retirees and their dependents. The City was reimbursed a total of $248,677 through this program before the federal funds were exhausted. For more information, contact AIC Benefits Supervisor Tina Dixon at 541-682-8868. Emergency Management Program Grant (EMPG) - $180,225 Emergency Management Program Grant (EMPG) funding was obtained through the Department of Homeland Security. The grant reimburses up to 50 percent of Emergency Management Program expenses. For more information, contact Emergency Management Program Manager Joe Rizzi at 541-682-5664. Building Inspections Just a Click Away Homeowners and contractors can now schedule inspections for construction projects online. In order to make City building services easier to access and use, the new online systems allows customers to manage building permits and schedule inspections with a click of the mouse. Once users create an account, they can keep track of, and share information with, the building inspector as the permit and construction process moves forward. Other features include:  Being able to easily schedule multiple inspections for a project at one time;  A confirmation email so that customers know the inspector received their request; and  An easy-to-read list of which inspections will be needed. To schedule an inspection, go to PDDonline or the Building Inspections page at http://www.eugene-or.gov/inspections. For more information, contact Debbie Wells at 541-682-6828 or email debbie.l.wells@ci.eugene.or.us. Parcade Parking Garage Features Fiber Artist for First Friday Parking Services has teamed up again with the City’s Public Art Program to support local art downtown. A unique th piece of fiber artwork by Sarah Nance will be installed on the top level of the Parcade parking garage (8 and Willamette) and will be part of the First Friday Artwalk on Aug. 3. Sarah Nance is currently an MFA candidate at the University of Oregon. Her site-specific installations of taut strings and crystallized salt respond to the subtle and dramatic shifts of light throughout the day. Located in empty and often forgotten spaces, the delicate forms appear to have emerged from their surroundings. The piece highlighted on the ArtWalk will be the first of a series of installations in industrial urban structures. Sarah’s work will also be featured in The Wave Gallery, opening Aug. 18. The temporary art project helps support goals to incorporate art into parking, reinvest parking funds where they are collected, and foster arts and the development of artists. Similar to the recent artistic bike corrals and stairwell poetry, the artwork is also a creative way to promote downtown vitality by incorporating art into everyday objects and places. For more information, contact Jeff Petry at 541-682-5079. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 August 2, 2012