r lEU Public Works <br /> Parks & Open Space <br /> City of Eugene <br /> October 23, 2001 1820 Roosevelt Blvd. <br /> Eugene, Oregon 97402 <br /> (541) 682 -4800 <br /> Yuri Samer (541) 682 -4882 FAX <br /> www.ci.eugene.or.us <br /> 1790 Brewer <br /> Eugene OR 97401 <br /> Dear Yuri, <br /> Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, Jim McLaughlin, Andrea Riner, and Philip Richardson on <br /> Friday, October 12, 2001 at the Spring Blvd. trail head. After reviewing, with you and city staid the <br /> events surrounding the unfortunate destruction of part of this trail head, I can understand your frustration <br /> and anger at what happened and how long it took the City to respond. <br /> I'd like to begin by expressing again, the City's appreciation for all the work that you personally did in <br /> getting this trail funded and built in 1995. Without your work on the grants and coordination of those 1400 <br /> hours of volunteer labor, as well as your own sweat equity, this trail might not even have been built yet. It <br /> is obvious that you are rightfully proud of the work done and have taken a lot of ownership over this trail. <br /> I also commend you on your determination to have the City restore the trail head to its original condition. <br /> The original trail alignment, as you now know, was built across private property, although we did not <br /> discover this until after the trail head damage was already done. I sincerely regret that you and others were <br /> instructed to build a trail that was destined to be relocated, especially since it was a portion covered with <br /> poison oak and had been so difficult to build in the first place. <br /> I would also like to apologize for the long delay between the time you first notified the City of the damage, <br /> and the time it took to restore the trail head. Although there were a number of complicating factors specific <br /> to this site, it should not have taken nearly as long as it did. Please accept my assurances that we will do <br /> our best to respond more swiftly in the future. <br /> Below I have listed and acknowledge the corrections you requested in an informational e-mail sent to City <br /> Manager Jim Johnson last August: <br /> • Correction that the trail work had been done in 1995, not in 1986. <br /> • Clarification that the sign with which you were concerned, which was noted as "soon replace ", <br /> was the large trail system sign, not the small `wand" sign with the hiker emblem on it. As we <br /> discussed in the field, we do not know who took down the trail system sign but agree with your <br /> comment that it should not have been "left in the bushes for months ". <br /> • Clarification that at the time the trail was built the City had agreed the trail was intended as a <br /> multi-use facility serving both hikers and mountain bike riders. <br /> • Concern about a statement which indicated you were difficult to contact and did not retum phone <br /> calls. You wished the record corrected that Park Planning staff and yourself had been in contact <br /> 1 <br />