2006 City of Eugene Highlights - Laserfiche WebLink

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Eugene City Council PRIORITY ISSUES DEVELOP A STRATEGY TO HELP THE HOMELESS IN EUGENE The City has taken a very active approach to the struggles of its most vulnerable residents by examining its own policies and procedures and taking steps to make services more accessible, including easier access to library cards. The council also provided special funding for homeless prevention and related services, including increasing the hours of operation at First Place Family Center and the Eugene Service Station, providing transportation assistance and one-time prevention help through local service providers, and assisting homeless and at-risk youth through an array of targeted programs. In other parallel efforts, Eugene worked closely with Lane County as it adopted a 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness and the City Council authorized a committee that will examine financing options for longer term solutions. RE-STAFF FIRE STATION 9 In June 2002, the Fire & EMS Department was asked to extend fire suppression, rescue, and EMS first response to Eugene residents living in the Santa Clara area. With no new funding available for this expanded level of service, an existing engine crew was redeployed from the Valley River Fire Station to a new temporary facility in Santa Clara as an interim strategy. A permanent facility was subsequently constructed in 2005 to house the crew. Later in 2005, the City Council allocated funds to re-staff the Valley River engine company which reopened on January 5, 2006. This Council Priority Issue to re-staff the Valley River fire engine and resume neighborhood based fire suppression, rescue, and EMS first response in the Valley River area has been successfully completed. Gary Pape City Councilor, Ward 5 January 1999 -January 2007 Your City Council and Mayor have worked hard on eight priority issues in addition to handling regular Council business. We fully re-staffed the Valley River Station Fire Station. With the City's Human Rights Commission, we worked to better understand and communicate with our communities of color. We spent many meetings planning for a long overdue City Hall and Police headquarters. Though these projects won't happen soon, the planning is exciting and important. In the future, we will build a new City Hall either on the current site or between the Park Blocks and 7th Avenue. The significant improvements to our parks, sports fields, pools, and open space funded by the 1998 bond bring a smile to my face. Thanks to the voters who recently approved another Parks and Open Space bond, we will expand and enhance our wonderful recreational resources. Finally, I hope my efforts to improve City relations with residents of Santa Clara and River Road have made a difference. Have faith - we will get a community park in this North Eugene area. In my eight years on the City Council, I hope I have helped to improve the quality of life for all Eugeneans, now and to come. Thank you for the honor of serving you. ACCESSIBLE AND THRIVI CULTURE AND RECREATI A community that recognizes that the arts and outdoors are integral to the social and economic well-being of the community and should be available to all Voters Approve Funds to Help Implement Parks Vision On November 7, Eugene voters passed a $27.5 million dollar bond measure that will help implement a portion of the Parks, Recreation & Open Space (PROS) Comprehensive Plan through the purchase of land for parks and open space, and the construction and improvement of park related facilities. The result of three years of planning and the participation of more than 3,000 people, the PROS Plan reflects residents' vision for the enhancement and preservation of these community resources for the next 20 years. The City Council adopted the PROS Plan in February and placed the bond measure on the ballot. The companion PROS Project and Priority Plan provides information Cori specific projects, target time frames and cost estimates for ~~implementation. Community Helps Shape Arts Future The Cultural Policy Review is Eugene's first arts planning process in more than 20 years. A collaborative review of current conditions, services, and gaps in the cultural sector, it is designed to identify community- supported options and assist the council in defining the City's ongoing role in the arts and culture. Hundreds of constituents participated in interviews and six public sessions in 2006. Additional public input will 6e gathered after the first of the year with recommendations anticipated in mid-2007. David Kelly City Councilor, Ward 3 January 1999 -January 2007 This past year I was very pleased by the voter passage of a new parks, recreation and open space measure. I also appreciated our moving beyond the West Eugene Parkway impasse to start working on positive transportation solutions for west and north Eugene. I'm very excited by the start of implementation of the Mayor's Sustainable Business Initiative. All of these developments will have positive impact on Eugene's residents for decades to come. W r ~_ ~- I was disappointed by our continued inability to do meaningful, proactive planning to deal with Eugene's continued growth and development. Without strong leadership and cooperation in the near future, we're destined to look around in 30 years and wonder why we used our land so unwisely. Thank you to my elected colleagues, City staffers, and the people of Eugene for the privilege of serving my community for the past eight years, Page 12 City of Eugene • Highlights of 2006 ~ City of Eugene • Highlights of 2006 Page 13