The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutCC Newsletter - 08/19/04EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER August 19, 2004 City of Eugene 777 Pearl Street, Room 105 Eugene, Oregon 97401-2793 (541) 682-5010 (541) 682-5414 (FAX) www. ci.eugene.or, us EUGENE/SPRINGFIELD MULTI-HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN READY FOR PUBLIC REVIEW TEAM ADVENTURE AND REC & ROLL HELP SERVE SUMMER FUN FOR ALL SITES NEW MARQUEES COMING TO HULT CENTER CARTOON CONVEYS IMPORTANT STORMWATER MESSAGE WETLANDS RESEARCH STUDIES IMPACT OF RESTORATION TECHNIQUES ON SOIL, VEGETATION FRIENDS 2004 GIFT TO EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY- $70,000 Eu,qene/Sprin,qfield Multi-Hazard Mitiqation Plan Ready For Public Review The cities of Eugene/Springfield have been involved in a planning effort to develop a Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan in an effort to maintain eligibility for pre- and post- disaster mitigation funding available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The mitigation planning effort began as a four-county effort involving Lane, Lincoln, Linn and Benton counties after the floods in 1996. Although the floods in 1996 did not result in major damage to the Eugene/Springfield area, they did result in $280 million in damages and five deaths statewide. The President signed the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-390) on October 30, 2000, which encourages and rewards local governments that are involved in mitigation planning. FEMA is requiring all U.S. communities, regions and states to produce mitigation plans for all naturally occurring hazards that may take place in their area in order to qualify for pre- and post- disaster mitigation project funding. Local communities are required to have their plans drafted and approved by their governing bodies, the State and FEMA by November 2004. The City of Eugene received a grant in FY02 from Oregon Emergency Management from funding made available through FEMA to build upon earlier work done in Lane County in developing a Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan. Recognizing that a major natural disaster would not likely be limited to the Eugene area, the City of Springfield was invited to participate in the planning effort. Building upon the earlier mitigation planning efforts conducted in the four-county area, the City of Eugene contracted with Goettel & Associates Inc. to develop a plan specific to the Eugene/Springfield metro area. Goettel & Associates has been involved in a number of mitigation planning projects on the West Coast, including the plan for Clackamas County, which was the first approved plan in the nation. The City of Eugene's Emergency Management Program has taken the lead on the project under the direction of Chuck Solin, emergency manager. A technical advisory committee was established that included members from various City of Eugene and Springfield departments, local utilities, Army Corps of Engineers, etc. FEMA regulations require broad community participation in the planning process. This includes the involvement of community stakeholders in planning meetings, confirming community data about previous losses, and evaluating exposure to future events. The draft plan must first be presented to the public for feedback. Two public meetings are scheduled in September: · September 13, 6-8 p.m., Campbell Senior Center, 155 High Street, Eugene · September 16, 6-8 p.m., Springfield Public Library, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield Once public input has been integrated into the plan, it will be submitted to the respective city councils for formal adoption and submission to Oregon Emergency Management and FEMA. A work session on the plan is scheduled with the Eugene City Council on October 13. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 August 23, 2004 The draft plan may be found in the following locations: · City of Eugene and City of Springfield public libraries (review only copies); · City of Eugene Risk Services, 777 Pearl Street, Room 101 (limited number of copies); and · City of Springfield Development Services (limited number of copies). A copy of the plan is also available on the City of Eugene web site, http://www.ci.eugene.or, us For more information, please contact Chuck Solin, Emergency Program manager at 682-5664. Team Adventure and Rec & Roll Help Serve Summer Fun For All Sites This year's two new components of the Summer Fun For All (FFA) program have been very successful: The River House Outdoor Program's "Team Adventure," which traditionally operates throughout the school year as part of after-school programming, received a summer extension through the new 20-67 levy funding. This summer, Team Adventure provided week-long outdoor games and activities for the kids and families at four FFA park sites: Monroe, Sladden, Trainsong, and State Street. Each park site ended its Adventure Week with a raft trip down the Willamette River. This was the very first rafting trip for nearly 100 participants! Isaac Markehe of Team Adventure said, "The rafting trips have been a great way for youth and their families to experience Eugene's backyard river, learn about river safety, our environment, history and have tons of fun in a positive atmosphere." Junior River Guide Trevor Kemp, age 11, demonstrates exceptional river running skills. Fun for All also started the new "Rec n' Roll" program this year. "Rec n' Roll" was created to stretch out the FFA program to neighborhood sites not receiving regular summer programming. A team of recreation staff traveled to the following four different sites to provide a variety of fun activities each week: Cai Young Youth Sports Park, Irving Elementary Playground, Mangan Park and Tugman Park. For more information, contact Recreation Manager Craig Smith at 682-6340. New Marquees Cominq to Hult Center As the Hult Center turns 23, many things are wearing out and having to be replaced. One of the most exciting ways the facility is getting spiffed up to prepare for its 25th birthday celebration is the replacement of the Hult Center's 20-year-old marquee. The three current (and distinctively noisy) marquees were built with ancient "flipper dot" technology where one-inch squares physically flip over to display either a white or black side with an audible clicking sound. Parts for this type of display have been unavailable for years, forcing Hult Center maintenance to cannibalize one of the three marquees to keep the other two running. The new marquees are based on modern LED (light emitting diode) technology ~ ~. and will be controlled by a computer software program operated out of the ticket office. Mark Loigman, Hult Center Operations director, says that the new marquees will "be many times more visible, reliable, energy efficient and flexible." In fact, the marquees will not only be brighter and visible from further way, they will actually adjust to the brightness or dimness of the day or night! The displays will be made entirely of small amber-colored diodes. The marquee will show all kinds of textures, four lines of type in many fonts and sizes will have the capacity of showing graphics and moving pictures. The new marquees will be manufactured by the Daktronics Company, the same company that produced the Autzen Stadium scoreboard. Eugene Sign and Awning is overseeing this $65,000 project. The equipment will only require a couple of days of installation, and will be up and running by the end of September. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 August 23, 2004 The new display will not just be for the Hult Center and Cultural Services. The entire Library, Recreation and Cultural Services Department will share the use of this fantastic new information tool. For more information, call Mark Loigman at 682-5307. Cartoon Conveys Important Stormwater Messaqe Local cartoonist Jan Eliot, creator of the nationally known Stone Soup cartoon strip, has helped create stormwater messages through a creative venue with the use of humor. Several newspaper ads that will appear in the Eugene Weekly and The Register-Guard over the next week display one of her creations along with information about an upcoming healthy lawn care clinic offered through Eugene's Stormwater Management Program. New approaches in delivering important messages are imperative in this age of information overload. In a continuing effort to reach local residents about the importance of reducing stormwater pollution that ends up in our local waterways, the Stormwater Management Program will display more of Eliot's cartoons in upcoming issues of Stormwater Connections, a biannual newsletter, and through other educational materials. For more information about this educational strategy or stormwater pollution, contact Kathy Eva, public information specialist at 682-2739 or via e-mail at kathy.a.eva@ci.eugene.or, us .................................................................. Wetlands Research Studies Impact of Restoration Techniques on Soil, Ve.qetation Parks and Open Space Natural Resources staff applied infrared weed burning and solarization on experimental plots of land in the West Eugene Wetlands in the last two weeks, as part of a research project staff is participating in with the University of Oregon (UO), Lane Council of Governments and other West Eugene Wetlands partners. Funded by a $200,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the project involves studying the impact of various site preparation techniques for wetlands restoration efforts over a five- to seven-year period. Specifically, four techniques--tilling, solarizing, Sunburst infrared weed burning, and herbicide--will be applied in various combinations to 50 experimental plots of land, and data will be collected to document the effects of these techniques on plant productivity, the number and relative abundance of each species, and many functional aspects of the soil, such as carbon and nutrient cycling. "The results of this research will provide important information about how the West Eugene Wetlands Program can improve its restoration efforts," says Wetlands Program Supervisor Eric Wold. "We look forward to the results of these studies and are pleased that the UO team is collaborating on this project and lending its expertise to the collection and analysis of the data." The treated plots will be planted in the fall. For more information about the project, call Eric Wold in the Parks and Open Space Division at 682-4888. Friends' 2004 Gift to EPL: $70,000 The Friends of Eugene Public Library received a standing ovation at EPL's August staff meeting upon delivering a check for $70,000 to support Library programs and purchases. Surrounded by members of the Friends Board, President Edith White praised "old friends and new" on the EPL staff. EPL Director Connie Bennett accepted the gift, offering much appreciation to the Friends for their dedication and longstanding partnership with the Library. The Friends is a non-profit membership organization that fundraises to support Library materials, performances, workshops, speakers, special events, and the "Library Matters!" newsletter. In addition, the Friends provided significant start-up gifts for the Bethel and Sheldon Branches and the new Downtown Library. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 August 23, 2004 The Friends raise funds through membership dues and the sale of used books and magazines donated by the public. Venues include an annual spring Book Sale, the Second Hand Prose Book Store in the Entry Garden of the Downtown Library, and Magazine Sales (the next one's coming up Sun., Sept. 12 at the Downtown Library). All Friends events are staffed completely by volunteers with profits going to support EPL. Those who would like to support the Library through the Friends can become members (dues are tax-deductible), give memberships as presents, donate gently-used books and recent magazines at any Library location (for large collections, call the Friends to arrange pick up), volunteer at the Book Store or Sales, or shop at Friends venues. For more information, contact Library Services Director Connie Bennett at 682-5363. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 4 August 23, 2004