Key Events the next two weeks. Take a look.

Posted on April 16, 2018 by Gary Haliski

While we wait for the clouds to clear and the rain go away we have several opportunities to make an impact on Santa Clara.  Better now than in the sunny days of July and August.

Tuesday, April 17th.  You choose:

  • Drop by to see how the River Road- Santa Clara Plan is progressing.  This is the fifth meeting of the Community Advisory Committee. Members will review the second draft of vision statements and prepare for the April 23rd working group meeting. North Eugene High School, Library . You are invited to attend.
  • Eugene Parks District Feasibility Meeting.
    Can our parks be as good as Springfield’s?  Community supporters would like to invite you to attend an organizational meeting to explore the feasibility of creating a Metropolitan Park District to serve the recreational needs of the Eugene area.  Now is time to take the next step!  We would like to put together a committee of Metropolitan Park District supporters that can organize a process to achieve the goal of completing a feasibility study.This organizational meeting will be held Tuesday, April 17th at 7:00 pm at River Road Park and Recreation District, located at 1400 Lake Drive.  And will be facilitated by Joel Robe

Tuesday, April 24th.  Beltline Highway Improvement Open House

North Eugene High School, 200 Silver Ln, Eugene, OR 97404, USA Cafeteria (map)
This will have a huge impact on Santa Clara.

Saturday, April 28th Awbrey Park Wildflower Celebration

The 7th Annual Wildflower Celebration at Awbrey Park.   Come see the incredible transformation of Awbrey Park.  Ten years ago the park was mostly blackberry vines and ivy.  The Friends of Awbrey Park have removed most of the invasive plants and planted native plants.  Come learn what plants are easy to grow in our area without much watering and no fertilizer.   Free hot dogs, yoga, games, tours.

May 3rd Candidates Forum.  SCCO Meeting,

A Lane County Commissioner and City Ward spot are up for grabs.  Come and ask questions so you can make an informed decision.  Click here for candidates list.

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Candidates Forum – May 3 SCCO Meeting

Posted on April 12, 2018 by Gary Haliski

Candidate Forum:
West Lane County and Ward 5 Eugene City Councilor

MEET THE CANDIDATES  –  ASK THE TOUGH QUESTIONS
BE DEMOCRACY IN ACTION

The SCCO will host a candidate’s forum for West Lane County Commissioner and Ward 5 City Councilor on May 3rd.

Both of these seats are up for election mid May. SCCO will host the candidates at our monthly meeting so they can give you a brief introduction to themselves and then you can ask questions to help guide your decisions on election day.

  • 7:00-8:00 pm West Lane candidates
    • Jay Bozievich
    • Beverly Hills
    • Nora Kent
  • 8:15-9:15 pm Ward 5 candidates
    • Mike Clark
    • Christopher Dean

Ward 5 includes Santa Clara city properties east of River Road and north of Beltline.

7:00 PM
Thursday, May 3rd
3280 River Road
(Messiah Lutheran Church)

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Don’t Miss the 2018 Aubrey Park Wildflower Celebration, April 28.

Posted on April 11, 2018 by Tim Foelker

Join the Friends of Awbrey Park for the 7th Annual Wildflower Celebration. Flowers, music, yoga, horseshoes, snacks and more! Learn which native plants are best for the Eugene-Springfield area. Visit our butterfly garden and see what is growing that attracts pollinators.

Our local Santa Clara yoga studio Gather Together Yoga will be putting on free demonstrations and Santa Clara’s own Tim Foelker [‘Just Call Me T’] will be providing music. We also have produce from local farmers.

Posted in Parks - Dog Parks | Leave a comment

Park District Feasibility Study Meeting – April 17

Posted on April 8, 2018 by Gary Haliski

In 2006 the citizens of Eugene passed a bond that included purchasing 100 acres in the south Eugene hills.  $1.1 million was spent on 26 acres of the Amazon headwaters, and millions more on the Suzanne Arlie 515 acre park in the hills.  They city also spent $400,000 of bond money  to subsidize the proposed Kidsports complex in south Eugene, an area flooded with athletic facilities and centered on the edge of College Hill, the University and Amazon Park.

Santa Clarians had to wait eleven years for the recent 7 acre waterfront purchase for $450,000 that occurred after the Santa Clara Community Organization pointed out that the property was for sale.  There were also some small parcels purchased for neighborhood parks.  Six of the nine Santa Clara neighborhood parks are undeveloped and we have no dog park.  The city did purchase 35 acres for a community park is in a ‘Butterfly’ configuration.  There are no plans to develop the park in the near future.

In 2014, Eugene’s parks and open space director Craig Carnage said the 2006 bond goals are guidelines, not mandates.  Once again in 2018, Eugene citizens are being asked for bond money for goals, not mandates.

How have Seattle, Bend, Springfield, Tualatin Hills, Redmond and over a dozen more Oregon cities dealt with the financing and politics involved in city run park systems?  By switching to separately funded park and recreation districts.  Interested?

Volunteers at work. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a developed park at Ferndale? Where the city takes care of it and not us?

PARK DISTRICT FEASIBILITY STUDY COMMITTEE
Tuesday, April 17th
7:00 pm

Community supporters would like to invite you to attend an organizational meeting to explore the feasibility of creating a Metropolitan Park District to serve the recreational needs of the Eugene area. When speaking to neighborhood groups throughout the greater Eugene area for the past 5 months, we have noted great interest in this type of district and received very favorable results.

Now it’s time to take the next step! We would like to put together a committee of Metropolitan Park District supporters that can organize a process to achieve the goal of completing a feasibility study.

Skinner Butte park. One of many highly developed parks in the city and south Eugene area. Wouldn’t it be nice to ride a bike to something similar in the River Road area that the city maintains?

This is needed to determine if a Metropolitan Park District would be in the best interest of Eugene residents. This organizational meeting will be held Tuesday, April 17th at 7:00 pm at River Road Park and Recreation District, located at 1400 Lake Drive. And will be facilitated by Joel Robe.

Posted in General Interest, Parks - Dog Parks | 2 Comments

Beltline Highway Open House – Tuesday, April 24

Posted on April 6, 2018 by Gary Haliski

Building on the 2014 Beltline Highway Facility Plan, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is continuing planning to improve safety and mobility on the Randy Papé Beltline Highway between Delta Highway and River Road. We have some ideas and want to know what you think.

Join us at a public open house on April 24, 2018 to talk about improvement ideas. Work on the Beltline Highway/Delta Highway interchange is scheduled to begin early next year. It’s the first step in improving your trip. Come take a look at the design and see how it fits with the overall concept for the corridor.

Can’t come in person? Visit the online open house from April 23 until May 25. Visit http://www.beltlinehighwayprojects.org to review information and share your thoughts. Questions and comments can also be submitted via the ‘Contact Us’ tab on the project website Oregondot.org/beltline/.

The Beltline Highway/Delta Highway Project will reconstruct the interchange as a partial cloverleaf to improve safety by eliminating merging and weaving issues on the two intersecting highways. Construction is currently scheduled to begin in early 2019.

The Beltline Highway Facility Plan recommends several projects to improve safety and mobility in the area, including widening Beltline Highway to three lanes in each direction from River Road to Delta Highway, replacing the River Avenue/Division Avenue interchange, and adding a new local bridge over the Willamette north of the highway. Work is ongoing to lay the groundwork for these construction improvements to be ready when funding is available.

Eddie Montejo
Transportation Planner

Posted in Beaver-Hunsaker & Multi Use Path, Land Use Planning, Transportation | Leave a comment