Eighth Ave. makeover plan on tap for hearing.Byline: CITY BEAT/EUGENE By Edward Russo The Register-Guard If you want to have a say about what the city does with your downtown public buildings, set aside some time on the evening of July 12. That's when the Eugene City Council has scheduled a public hearing on an ambitious and costly plan to remake re·make tr.v. re·made , re·mak·ing, re·makes To make again or anew. n. 1. The act of remaking. 2. Something in remade form, especially a new version of an earlier movie or song. East Eighth Avenue over the next few decades. Councilors would like to hear what citizens think about conceptual plans for a new Eugene police station on what is now a parking lot across Eighth Avenue from City Hall, a new City Hall on its present spot, and other long-term building projects. The hearing will take place during the council session that starts at 7:30 p.m. in the council chambers in City Hall. The civic street vision comes from a council-approved committee that Mayor Jim Torrey appointed last year to look at long-term space needs for city government. City offices are scattered Scattered Used for listed equity securities. Unconcentrated buy or sell interest. downtown in city-owned and leased offices. Officials want to consolidate the offices as much as possible. They also want to replace the 40-year-old City Hall, which is not up to current earthquake-proofing standards, and find a new home for the police department, which is in City Hall. Councilors received the committee's report on June 16. They were asked to adopt its major principles, which include reinforcing Eighth Avenue as "the Great Civic Street" by putting significant government buildings along Eighth, between Willamette Street and the Willamette River Willamette River River, northwestern Oregon, U.S. It flows north for 300 mi (485 km) into the Columbia River near Portland. Oregon's most populous cities are in its valley. The Fremont Bridge, a steel arch with a main span of 1,225 ft (373 m), crosses the river at Portland. . Another principle calls for new city buildings to share space with other governments, perhaps Lane County, and nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. groups. Councilors liked the great street concept in general, but weren't quite ready to embrace it as a guide. Councilor coun·cil·or also coun·cil·lor n. A member of a council, as one convened to advise a governor. See Usage Note at council. coun Bonny Bonny (bŏn`ē), town, SE Nigeria, in the Niger River delta, on the Bight of Biafra. In the 18th and 19th cent., Bonny was the center of a powerful trading state, and in the 19th cent. it became the leading site for slave exportation in W Africa. Bettman prefers to have a new combined City Hall and police station. She led the push for the public hearing, saying that the committee was a hand-picked group, and it would be useful to hear what other residents have to say. How the city might pay for the projects is unclear. Much of the financing probably would take voter VOTER. One entitled to a vote; an elector. approval. If councilors want to put a measure on the November ballot, they will have to pass a resolution by the end of August. Three cents worth The renovation of two north Eugene streets has begun, the latest street repairs paid mainly by Eugene's local gas tax. New pavement pavement, the wearing surface of a road, street, or sidewalk. Parts of Babylon and Troy are believed to have been paved; Roman roads were noted for their durable stone paving. Cobblestones were common from late medieval times into the 19th cent. is to be laid on Cal Young Road, between Coburg and Willagillespie roads, and on Gilham Road, between Belt Line and Cal Young roads. The work is supposed to be finished by late August. Morse Brothers is the general contractor A general contractor is an organization or individual that contracts with another organization or individual (the owner) for the construction of a building, road or any other execution of work or facility. on both projects, which will cost $965,000. The main source of funding for the work is Eugene's 3-cent-per-gallon motor vehicle fuel tax, which went into effect last August. The tax is projected to raise about $2 million annually for pavement preservation work. South and west Eugene benefitted last year in the first projects. Work on parts of Bertelsen Road in west Eugene and Willamette Street south of downtown is to occur later in the summer. Edward Russo can be reached at 338-2359 or erusso@guardnet .com. |
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