Lane Council of Governments (LCOG)

Budget Committee Volunteer Opening
Lane Council of Governments is seeking one volunteer to serve on the LCOG Budget Committee. The representative selected will serve for a three-year appointment. It is anticipated that two meetings will be held annually. Applications may be obtained from Lane Council of Governments, 895 Willamette Street, Suite 500, Eugene, OR 97401, from our website at lcog.org or by calling 541 682-4283. Completed applications must be received by 5:00 pm, Thursday, March 1, 2012.

November 9 – This is a TEST!
On Wednesday, November 9 at 11:00 a.m. Oregonians will hear on their radios and see on their televisions a test of the emergency alert system (EAS). The test will last approximately three (3) minutes. Normal programming will return following the test. This is a nationwide test organized by the FCC and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
This test will be different than those we have had in the past. The November 9 test will utilize a "live" national alert code, i.e., a coded message that will present itself as an actual emergency announcement, not a test. This is necessary in order to allow FCC and FEMA to test the actual working order reliability of legacy EAS equipment and the state of readiness of EAS operators and participants. Television stations are being encouraged to run a scroll at the bottom of the screen throughout the test stating that it is just a test.
More information can be found at: www.fema.gov/emergency/ipaws/eas_info.shtm
For the full press release click here. (PDF)

S&DS Earns Service Recognition

Senior and Disabled Services has received the 2011 Oregon Community Service Champion award from Experience Works, a nationwide organization serving older workers through the Senior Community Service Employment Program.

S&DS plans and administers programs and services for older adults and people with disabilities. In the past year, the division provided on-the-job training to 19 people, six of whom were hired permanently, Experience Works said.

What if you could learn about an emergency occurring near your home no matter where you are? If you carry a cell phone, now you can.

Public safety agencies in Lane County are expanding their Community Emergency Notification System, known as CENS, with the "Alert Me" registration for cell phone voice and texting. By registering on the CENS Alert Me website, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) or cellular phone owners may receive the same emergency message and critical information about emergency situations as those with land-line phones – but only if you register.CENS allows public safety agencies in Lane County to identify an affected area and, if necessary, send a message and/or text that describes the situation and recommends protective actions residents should take. The CENS system will automatically call out to all land-line and opt-in telephone numbers within that geographic area and deliver the recorded message once a voice is heard. Some of the many uses of the system include: Tsunami Warnings, Emergency Evacuations, Natural Disaster Alerts, Missing Child Alerts, Hazardous Material Incidents and Neighborhood Emergencies.

LCOG presented Coburg Mayor Judy Volta with its Outstanding Elected Official award at LCOG's 2010 Appreciation Dinner on January 27, 2011. The awards program was held at LCC's Center for Meeting and Learning, with more than 100 elected and appointed officials and active citizens from across Lane County attending.

Also honored were Bob Keefer (Superintendent of Willamalane Park & Recreation District) for 2010 Outstanding Public Employee, Judy Hampton (Oakridge) for Outstanding Citizen, Hummingbird Wholesale receiving the Regional Award of Merit for Economic Enhancement, and the Forum for an Area Commission on Transportation for Lane County as the Outstanding Intergovernmental Team.

The Appreciation Dinner, presided over by Chris Pryor, Eugene Councilor and LCOG Chair, also included the presentation of the agency's 2010 Annual Report and marked LCOG's 65^th year of service. For more information on the 2010 Appreciation Dinner, see the Winter 2011 Regional Focus newsletter.

Lane Area Commission on Transportation (Lane ACT) will hold its first meeting on February 9, 2011. Lane ACT is an advisory body established to provide a forum for stakeholders to collaborate on transportation issues affecting Lane County and to strengthen state/local partnerships in transportation. For more information, visit the State of Oregon's ACT page.

The Census Bureau has released its final figures for return mail response rate from the 2010 Census. (These statistics include only those households to which a questionnaire was mailed out and mailed back, and do not include follow-up visits or forms which were dropped off in person, all of which will go into the final headcounts.)

The good news is that both Oregon and Lane County beat the national average by a few percentage points, and in general, most of the cities in Lane County met or exceeded that national average, as well. The bad news is that Oregon's and Lane County's rates both dropped slightly from their 2000 rates. Lane County remained in about the top one-third of the 36 counties in Oregon, most of which experienced a similar small drop in mail response rate.

Here in Lane County, seven of the 12 cities also saw a decline in their return rates, while the rates in the other five increased. Dunes City saw the largest decrease in mail participation, while Oakridge achieved the largest increase.

The mail response rates for 2000 and 2010 are listed to the left. A complete list of all Oregon counties and cities can be found at the State's census website: http://oregon.gov/DAS/OEA/census2010.shtml

HUD Awards $1.45 Million to LCOG to Promote Smarter, More Sustainable Planning for Jobs and Economic Growth in Lane County

On Friday, October 15, 2010, U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development staff Shelley Poticha and Mary E. McBride, with U.S. Senator Ron Wyden and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, announced the award of $1,450,000 to the Lane Council of Governments in Eugene to support regional planning for more livable, prosperous and sustainable communities in Lane County.

The award was made under HUD’s new Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant program that was funded for the first time this year. Some 45 organizations received awards today, competitively selected from a pool of more than 1,000 applicants from across the country.

The LCOG sustainability initiative will receive $1,450,000 and will be used to implement and refine its Metro Plan which, explains the Council, is the “basic guiding land use policy document” and already includes a sustainability plan. Partners in the undertaking include Lane County, the cities of Eugene and Springfield, Housing and Community Services Agency of Lane County, the Lane Transit District, the University of Oregon, the Central Lane Metropolitan Planning Organization, St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County and Oregon Housing and Community Services. Read more.

Earlier this year, a federal stimulus grant was awarded to the three-county region of Lane, Douglas and Klamath to provide improved internet service. Visit ConnectingOregon.org for more detailed information and updates.

The Willamette Valley Bioenergy Production Facility Business Plan examines a business model scenario for the development of energy production facilities using grass straw, other agricultural wastes, forest waste and several types of municipal solid waste. The plan discusses potential production of biogas (methane), electricity, compressed wood products (biobricks) and cellulosic ethanol.

The Willamette Valley Bioenergy Production Facility Business Plan Appendix provides more detailed descriptions of the several energy production methods discussed in the Business Plan Final Report. Download the Report and the Appendices.

Eugene City Council Endorses Open Space Vision
On July 12, the Eugene City Council added their name to the growing list of endorsements of the Willamette River Open Space Vision and Action Plan with a unanimous vote. Over the past year, LCOG has been coordinating the development of this multi-objective open space vision for the Willamette River corridor in and around Eugene and Springfield, working with a partnership of 15 other organizations. The vision details key concepts for expanding and improving the open space system along the river over the next 30 years and will be implemented by the partnership and land owners on a voluntary basis. The unified vision should greatly enhance our region’s ability to compete for funding and will improve coordination of on-the-ground efforts between the partners.

For more information on this project, go to www.lcog.org/willamette or contact project manager Jeff Krueger.

LCOG Receives $8.3 Million Grant
Read more in the editorial printed in the Register Guard on March 17, 2010.

Update on Preparations for the 2010 Census
Local Update of Census Address (LUCA): During the recently-completed "LUCA Feedback" phase, LCOG reviewed the Bureau's decisions regarding the complete list of residential addresses we submitted back in 2008. The Census Bureau rejected about 8,000 of our submitted addresses, but further research revealed that many of those were either valid rejections or were duplicates of addresses already in their final address list. In mid-December, LCOG filed an appeal on about 4,600 rejected addresses which appear to be valid, and which do not appear to be duplicates of addresses in the final list. Response to our appeal is still pending.

New Construction Program: In mid-January, LCOG submitted a list of about 900 newly constructed residential addresses to the Census Bureau so that they can be included in the Master Address File (MAF) prior to the 2010 Census. These addresses were those created after submission of our LUCA address list in 2008, which did not appear to already be included in the Bureau's final address list.

Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS): As the Consolidated Digital BAS Respondent for all jurisdictions within Lane County, LCOG is currently compiling boundary-change information for 2009 for all incorporated cities in Lane County. This will be the last round of BAS prior to the 2010 Census, but we will continue to participate annually, as these boundaries are used in both the American Community Survey and the Population Estimates Program.

Complete Count Program: LCOG staff have continued to participate in meetings of the Complete Count Committee for Lane County. The Committee is working with Census Bureau outreach specialists between now and Census Day (April 1, 2010) to ensure an accurate census of traditionally "hard-to-count" segments of the community, including transient and homeless communities and non-English speakers, as well as rural and small-city residents who use post office boxes and do not receive street-address mail delivery. To assist in this goal, a number of Census Questionnaire Assistance Centers and self-serve "Be-Counted" boxes are expected to be located at sites throughout Lane County.

For more information, please contact Bill Clingman at (541) 682-4548 or bclingman@lcog.org or Ann Mortenson at (541) 682-4373 or amortenson@lcog.org

A Path System for Coburg
The City of Coburg recently completed and adopted an important refinement to their Parks and Open Space Master Plan called the Coburg Loop Implementation Strategy (Coburg Loop). The Coburg Loop—the first of its kind in Coburg —provides a vision, design, and funding opportunities for a 10-foot-wide path system in and around the City. The Coburg Loop also provides a system of “bike boulevards” through the city that connect different sections of the path system. The project was funded through the Transportation Growth Management Program (TGM), a joint program of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD). This TGM grant was financed, in part, by federal Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), local government, and State of Oregon funds. The City of Coburg hired Lane Council of Governments as their consultant for the project.

The creation of the Coburg Loop development process was guided by wide-ranging public process with direction from the Citizen Advisory Committee, Technical Advisory Committee, the TGM Program, and the public. It is most closely aligned with the Coburg Transportation System Plan and the Coburg Parks and Open Space Master Plan. The Coburg Loop plan aimed to accomplish the following:
•     Path connectivity and functionality
•     Path safety
•     Consistency between path use, land use, and future development
•     Promotion of intergovernmental coordination, integrity, and interest
•     Promotion of public health by merging recreation and transportation
During the development of the Coburg Loop significant effort was devoted to the creation of a vision that is unique to Coburg. Key to this vision is the retention and celebration of the rural character of the community and the scenic quality of the agricultural and natural lands that surround it. The path will provide an exceptional user experience with amenities along the way including informational signage on the history of Coburg and surrounding area; maps and directional signage; benches; mile markers; and views of the surrounding natural areas, agricultural lands, and the Coburg Hills.

The path system will also accommodate a diversity of users including walkers, runners, bicyclists, tourists, school groups, kids, adults, and commuters and would be used to host events such as runs, night walks, and fitness events. Special attention was given to the path system alignment which was designed to connect key locations in and around Coburg including the Coburg Elementary School, local and regional park facilities, Downtown Coburg, employment areas, and residential neighborhoods in order to provide both a recreational amenity and a viable transportation option to residents and visitors.

The next steps for the Coburg Loop include pursuing funding to built portions of the path inside the urban growth boundary. For more information, please contact Petra Schuetz at (541) 682-3639 or pschuetz@lcog.org.

At the invitation of local Census Bureau officials, LCOG staff participated in the Open House celebration held on August 20 at the local Census Bureau office on West Seventh Avenue in Eugene.

The event was designed to raise community awareness of the upcoming 2010 Census, and to focus community attention on the importance of participation. Census figures are used for resource allocation through a large number of government programs, and an incomplete count will result in those resources being allocated elsewhere for the next ten years. Brief speeches were made by a number of local elected officials, including Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken, Lane County Commissioner Pete Sorenson, Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown, and 4th District Representative Peter Defazio, as well as by local and regional Census Bureau officials. LCOG staff provided an informational display outlining the many programs through which LCOG partners with the Census Bureau to ensure that the data collected throughout Lane County are as complete and as accurate as possible, as well as the many ways the resulting census data are used at LCOG. Other community groups represented at the Open House included Lane Sheltercare and Centro Latino Americano. The Eugene office is currently responsible for pre-census field operations throughout Oregon outside the Portland metropolitan area and the northern Willamette Valley, but with the planned opening of an office in the Bend-Redmond area later this year, the entire area east of the Cascade Range will be removed from the territory covered by the Eugene office.

RLID Awarded URISA 2009 ESIG Distinguished System Award
The RLID (Regional Land Information Database) system was recently nationally recognized with an Exemplary Systems in Government (ESIG) award by URISA (Urban & Regional Information Systems Association). On behalf of the regional partners, Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) will receive the Distinguished System Award for RLID. Partners include City of Eugene, City of Springfield, Lane County, Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) and LCOG. The award will be presented at URISA’s 47th Annual Conference in September in Anaheim, CA.

In May of this year, the RLID team applied for the award. RLID was selected by the ESIG Review Committee to receive recognition as a 2009 Distinguished System in the Enterprise Systems category. This honor was given to only two enterprise systems from across the country.

The award speaks to the collective and collaborative efforts of multiple local government agency staff – it shows what can be done by working together toward the common good.

LCOG Delivers Final Report on “Everybody Wins” Diesel Emissions Reduction Project

Since 2004, the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA) has been working with the U.S. EPA on a project designed to reduce diesel emissions from heavy-duty trucks that idle in our communities. The project helps fund the addition of auxiliary power units (APUs) on trucks in order to provide a source of power for driver comfort systems while allowing the main engine to be turned off instead of idling. These APUs save 90% of the fuel that idling consumes and produce significantly less emissions than the main engine would.

LRAPA partnered with LCOG’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) group to provide analysis of how, when, and where these APUs were being used. Our goal on the project was to collect and analyze data to determine how many hours the APUs were in use, where these units were turned on, and calculate fuel and emissions reductions arising from the use of APUs. To accomplish this we employed a custom GPS tracking device linked to the APUs installed on a subset of trucks in the study to track the time and place that the APUs were in use. The tracking device included cellular phone based data uploading capability which allowed us to view the tracked trucks’ status in real time and download data for analysis remotely. Analysis of the tracking and APU usage data can be found in the final report, available in PDF format.

The LCOG website now has a total of 50 maps available for download or purchase in the maps/products section. In addition to various maps of the entire county, the metro area, and a few of the larger school districts, LCOG will soon make available a "trio" of wall maps for each of the 10 small cities - Base, Zoning, and Comp Plan. If you haven't visited the section in awhile, take a look to see what's been added, and keep coming back, as additional products will be added as they are developed.

Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) will receive nearly half a million dollars for a Southern Willamette Wetland and Riparian Area Inventory, Assessment, and Planning project. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is awarding LCOG a $472,000 grant to assist 10 cities in wetland and riparian inventories and assessments to help guide growth. The Southern Willamette River Valley is characterized by rich and diverse water resources and a swelling population. Ten rural cities in three counties (Creswell, Cottage Grove, Lowell, Harrisburg, Adair Village, Lebanon, Monroe, Scio, Mill City, and Brownsville) will address the potential impacts of future development on natural resources by guiding growth. Working within the State’s Land Use Goal framework, this project inventories and prioritizes natural resources on detailed, local levels while working and communicating collaboratively.

LCOG’s expertise as a regional planning and coordination entity, combined with project partner proficiencies, will guide this project to effectively meeting targeted outcomes. Rather than ten cities working individually through essentially the same process, a team approach will be used to protect significant natural resources while promoting economic development.

For more information, please contact Denise Kalakay at 541.682.7415.

Preparing for the 2010 Census
In preparation for the decennial Census in April of 2010, LCOG has been participating in a number of Census Bureau programs over the past few years. These programs and activities are described below.

MAF/TIGER Accuracy Improvement Project (MTAIP):
LCOG worked with the Census Bureau to certify the accuracy of the shared, regional GIS road centerline information. As a result, the Census Bureau has aligned block boundaries to local road centerline information, thereby improving the spatial accuracy of the blocks, and, over time, bringing them into much better alignment with other regional GIS data.

Local Update of Census Address (LUCA):
LCOG also participates in the LUCA program. Currently, the Census Bureau is digesting the results of field verification of all residential addresses. The Bureau will integrate those results with the review of LCOG's LUCA submission from last year. LCOG will then have an opportunity to review and respond to the Bureau's conclusions regarding the Master Address File (MAF).

Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS):
LCOG is the officially-designated Consolidated Digital BAS Respondent for Lane County. Change information was recently submitted for all incorporated city limits in Lane County as part of the annual BAS program. There will be one more BAS prior to the 2010 Census.

Participant Statistical Area Program (PSAP):
As the officially-designated Primary PSAP Participant for Lane County, LCOG recently submitted a plan for splitting a number of tracts and reconfiguring the block groups.

Complete Count Program:
Staff has also met with a Census Bureau outreach specialist regarding ongoing community outreach efforts between now and Census Day (April 1, 2010). LCOG will be collaborating with the Bureau to assist several smaller communities which face an additional challenge in achieving a complete count. This challenge comes from the number of residents who use post office boxes and who do not receive street-address mail delivery.

Post-Census Assistance:
LCOG will be available, as in the past, to assist several member agencies with redistricting tasks. Staff will also support County Elections in crafting new election precincts as a result of state and local redistricting.

McKenzie River MIKE BASIN Hydrological Model
LCOG, in partnership with DHI Water & Environment, has recently completed the first phase of development of a hydrological model of the McKenzie River watershed for the Eugene Water and Electric Board. This document summarizes the results of those efforts. The model will be used by EWEB's drinking water source protection program to help direct water quality monitoring efforts and analyze threats to Eugene's drinking water supply. For more information on this project, contact David Richey at 541.682.6664.

Spring 2009 Regional Focus Available
The Spring 2009 edition of the Regional Focus, LCOG's newsletter, is now available to download in PDF format.

LCOG Launches New-Look Website
On December 15, 2008 the new-look LCOG website was launched to the public featuring streamlined searches, map and document download and purchase, and a number of other enhancements. Some links from our old site may have been moved or renamed, so if you have problems finding your content please perform a search (top of every page), see the site map, or contact us.

LCOG Main Offices Move to Park Place Building
After 62 years of leasing space, LCOG has a permanent home. LCOG recently purchased the Park Place Building at 859 Willamette, between 8th Avenue and Broadway, and moved into the new office on November 10. The building has five floors, with the LCOG offices on the fourth and fifth floors and the lower three floors leased or available to lease for retail or office space. The new building is a good fit for LCOG's long term space requirements and financial goals.

Coordinated Regional Planning Processes
The cities of Eugene and Springfield, Lane County, and Lane Council of Governments are partnering on a number of different regional planning processes. Each will answer critical questions about this region's future growth. These plans include Transportation Planning, Land Supply and Demand Assessment, and Population Projections.

Regional Trends 2008 - A Statistical Profile of Lane County Available
LCOG is pleased to announce a revised and updated version of Regional Trends: A Statistical Profile of Lane County (PDF) for 2008. This report summarizes some of the most frequently requested data sets compiled by LCOG on the subjects of population, demographic trends, employment, air quality, education, and public health. This information is intended to assist staff and public officials in report writing, research, presentations, grant applications, and planning projects. For more information, contact contact Bob DenOuden at 541.682.6516.

Ridgeline Open Space Vision
The Draft Ridgeline Open Space Vision and Action Plan and related resources are available for review. The ridgeline area is a unique and valuable community asset spanning the twenty mile corridor between Fern Ridge Reservoir and Mount Pisgah. This special area contains high value habitats, outstanding scenery, and working farms and forestland.