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Home My WebLink About1/31/13 - City Council Newsletter City of Eugene 125 East 8 Avenue, 2 Floor thnd Eugene, Oregon 97401 (541) 682-5010 (541) 682-5414 (FAX) www.eugene-or.gov EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER January 31, 2013 IN THIS EDITION WILLAMETTE RIVER BANK RESTORATION UNDERWAY SUICIDE PREVENTION WORKSHOP AT EUGENE PUBLIC LIBRARY RECYCLE ELECTRONICS AT CAMPBELL CENTER CYCLING EXPERT MAKES BUSINESS CASE FOR BICYCLING BUDGET COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM EPD STAFF MOVES IN TO NEW DOWNTOWN PUBLIC SAFETY STATION AROUND THE CIT Willamette River Bank Restoration Underway In honor of the City’s 150 birthday, last November a hardy group of City of Eugene employees and their families planted th 150 native trees to help restore natural habitat along the Willamette River. Next week, contractor Anderson Erosion Control will continue their great work and begin planting several hundred more native, large-canopy trees on City-owned park property along the east and west banks of the river, north of the Greenway Pedestrian Bridge. A healthy riparian edge provides important habitat for wildlife (including salmon), improves water quality, helps stabilize banks and reduces erosion. The Ruth Bascom Riverbank Path is a beloved recreational amenity with unique access to the Willamette River and acts as a commuter “super highway” for alternate modes of transportation. A balanced approach to the pedestrian experience, retention of beautiful river views, public safety and limiting hiding places were all considerations factored in to the selection of planting sites and the density of the plantings. City employee Trevor Taylor and his son, Cole, planted trees This project satisfies regulatory requirements found within the along the river last November. stormwater permit that the City holds with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. It is being funded through the City of Eugene’s stormwater program as part of the larger effort to improve water quality, enhance natural resource values, and reduce pollutants entering waterways. For more information, contact Natural Resources Enhancement Coordinator Lauri Holts at 541-682-4925 or lauri.j.holts@ci.eugene.or.us. Suicide Prevention Workshop at Eugene Public Library The facts are in: Oregon’s suicide rate is 35 percent higher than the national average. Suicide is the leading cause of death among Oregon youth ages 10 - 24. Every 17 minutes, at least six Americans lose a loved one to suicide. Sixty-six percent of those who died by suicide showed warning signs. Fortunately, one person who notices that something is wrong can help save the life of a student, friend, relative, co-worker, or neighbor. Join Sandy Moses of the Lane County Suicide Prevention Program on Saturday, Feb. 9, at 1 p.m., at the Downtown Eugene Public Library, for an engaging community workshop about simple and practical method called QPR: Question, Persuade, Refer. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 January 31, 2013 Learn common myths and facts about suicide; warning signs and risk factors; how to bring up the topic; how to persuade suicidal individuals to get help; and ways to refer at-risk people to resources. The name QPR is a play on CPR, which also aims to prevent deaths by preparing as many people as possible to respond effectively to warning signs. Attendance is encouraged for anyone who is concerned about the issue; no professional connection to the issue is required. Admission is free. This workshop is co-sponsored by the Eugene/Springfield chapter of PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) in recognition of the heightened risk of suicide among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth, and among transgender community members of all ages. For more information, contact the Eugene Public Library at 541-682-5450 or www.eugene-or.gov/library. Recycle Electronics at Campbell Center Inspired by the City’s Zero Waste Program, staff at Campbell Community Center invites residents to bring their old, broken or worn out electronics to the center for recycling. Winefelly Recycling will collect the electronics and recycle base component materials, keeping them out of the landfill. There is no charge to recycle these electronics. The basic rule is, “If it fits in the in the E-Cycling Barrel by the front door and it uses electrons, Winefelly accepts it.” This includes appliances, old cell phones, monitors, wiring and cable, batteries, etc. The only exception is that if it still works and someone else would want it, Winefelly requests that it be donated to charity. The City’s Zero Waste Program seeks to reduce waste from internal operations and to divert more waste from the landfill. Purchasing strategies to reduce waste include promoting reduce and reuse, buying recycled content goods, requesting less packaging for new goods, and developing service contracts from a resource management perspective. The goal is to reuse, recycle, or compost 75 percent of City-generated waste through internal operations by 2014, and 90 percent by 2020. For more information about Campbell’s initiative, call Tom Powers at 541-682-5318. Cycling Expert Makes Business Case for Bicycling A nationally recognized expert on how bicycling can contribute to a thriving local economy and a safer and healthier community will be in Eugene next week. April Economides is the principal of Green Octopus Consulting and general manager of Bike Nation’s Long Beach bike-share program. She created the nation’s first bike-friendly business district for the city of Long Beach and helped launch similar efforts in San Diego and other cities. A bike-friendly business district integrates bicycling into its operations, events and promotions to encourage people to bike to an area to shop and dine. Merchants and employees also ride bicycles to run errands and make deliveries. Three activities are planned around Economides’ visit: A bicycle ride of Eugene’s bikeable and walkable business districts is scheduled on Thursday, Feb. 7, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Participants will meet at the Wells Fargo Building, 99 East Broadway. A public presentation on how “Bikes Mean Business” will be held Thursday, Feb. 7 at the Downtown Athletic Club, third floor, Ballroom A. Social hour starts at 4:30 p.m., with the presentation at 5:30 p.m. A workshop on the “Business Case for Bicycling” will be held Friday, Feb. 8, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. in downtown Eugene (exact meeting location to be announced). Please RSVP for the workshop by Friday, Feb. 1, by contacting Larisa Varela at larisa.m.varela@ci.eugene.or.us or 541-501-0390. For more information, contact Transportation Planning Technician Lindsay Selser at 541-682-5094 or Lindsay.R.Selser@ci.eugene.or.us. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 January 31, 2013 Budget Committee to Discuss Capital Improvement Program The Eugene Budget Committee will meet on Thursday, Feb. 7, at 5:30 p.m. in Harris Hall, Lane County Public Service Building, to discuss the draft Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for fiscal years 2014 through 2019 (FY14-19). The CIP provides a six-year funding plan for the City’s capital improvements, including transportation, airport, public buildings, parks and open space, stormwater and wastewater projects. The CIP also documents unfunded capital needs over the next six years. At its meeting on Feb. 7, the Budget Committee will hear public testimony on the draft CIP and formulate its recommendation to the City Council. Draft FY14-19 CIP is available for public review at www.eugene-or.gov/CIP. Hard copies of the draft CIP document are also available for public review at the Downtown Public Library reference desk (100 West 10 Avenue, 2 floor), Eugene Finance Division (100 West thnd 10 Avenue, 4 floor) and the City Manager’s Office (125 East 8 Avenue, 2 floor). thththnd Members of the public are encouraged to provide feedback on the capital projects proposed in the draft CIP by testifying at the Budget Committee meeting or via the comment form on the Budget Committee web site. The Budget Committee meeting on Feb. 7 will be broadcast live on Metro TV, and a webcast will be available at www.eugene-or.gov/webcasts. For more information, please contact the Finance Department at 541-682-5512. EPD Staff Moves in to New Downtown Public Safety Station When the City began planning to move the Eugene Police Department (EPD) from 777 Pearl Street to 300 Country Club Road, it made a commitment to enhance police presence in Eugene’s downtown core with a station for the EPD downtown bike team. Eugene Police Department staff has just moved into leased space at the new Lane Community College (LCC) building, at 960 Olive Street, first floor, northeast corner, across from the Eugene Library. EPD’s downtown team, a sergeant and a program manager will operate from the location. The station will give the downtown police team a place to work where they can respond quickly to downtown issues and provide a greater presence in the city's core. Officers will be able to remain downtown during their shifts, and beat officers can use the station to prepare reports and conduct some processing of arrested subjects. While the station will not have a full-time front counter presence, EPD will be able to take basic walk-in police reports and better serve the downtown area residents, businesses and visitors. The substation will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon, and 1 - 5 p.m. The station has a five-year, fixed lease at $32,000 per year, with an option for a five-year extension. LCC provided a $150,000 tenant improvement budget. Station staff would like to encourage everyone to stop in and say hello. For more information about the new Downtown station, please feel free to contact program manager Tonee Webber at Tonee.M.Webber@ci.eugene.or.us. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 January 31, 2013