On the Agenda: Mayors, commissioner to give speeches on 'State of the City' and county
Lane County Commission Chair Pat Farr, Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis and Cottage Grove Mayor Candace Solesbee will all deliver their 2024 State of the County and State of the City addresses on Monday.
Their elected bodies will also all hold their first meetings of the new year. Eugene city councilors will revisit its middle housing ordinance that was struck down in court. Lane County commissioners will vote on authorizing the hire of staff to provide mobile crisis services and on placing a proposed fire district to serve the Row River area on the ballot.
The Springfield Economic Development Agency will vote on whether to continue to offer system development charge waivers for developments in downtown Springfield and Glenwood. Cottage Grove city council will formally vote on hiring city manager finalist Michael Sauerwein. Eugene Water & Electric Board commissioners will vote on adopting an action plan for decommissioning the Leaburg dam.
State of Eugene
To watch: The address will be broadcast live in most of the same places as a typical city council meeting, including the city's website, YouTube channel, and Comcast Channel 21. Unlike most city council meetings there is no option to attend over Zoom.
To attend: Vinis will deliver the address in the Soreng Theater of the Hult Center for the Performing Arts, 1 Eugene Center.
When: 5:30 p.m., Monday, Jan. 8
What: Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis will summarize what she sees as the city's accomplishments in 2023 and her plans for 2024. The event will also include:
An official swearing-in for City Councilor Lyndsie Leech, who won election to the remainder of previous councilor Claire Syrett's term in November.
Remarks from city councilors.
Presentation of the 2024 Bold Steps Awards, which recognize environmentally sustainable Eugene businesses and the Eugene Community Service awards.
State of Lane County
To watch: The address will be broadcast to the same places as a typical Lane County Commissioner meeting, including www.LaneCountyOR.gov/webcasts and Comcast channel 21.
To attend: Farr will deliver the address in Harris Hall at the county Public Service Building, 125 E. 8th Ave. in Eugene, the same place as most Lane County Commissioner meetings.
When: 10 a.m., Monday, Jan. 8
What: Lane County Commission Chair Pat Farr will share what he sees as the county's accomplishments in 2023 and his plans for 2024. The speech will have "a focus on the ongoing efforts to reduce homelessness in our community", according to the county.
Eugene City Council
WORK SESSION
To watch: Meetings stream online at bit.ly/Eugene-meetings and the city's YouTube channel and are broadcast on Comcast channel 21.
To listen: Dial 833-548-0282 and use the meeting ID and passcode.
Link: https://eugene-or-gov.zoom.us/j/87302565788
Meeting ID; passcode: 873 0256 5788; council9
When: Noon, Wednesday, Jan. 10.
What: Eugene city councilors will vote on whether to add the proposed regional pickleball facility at Lane Community College to the list of projects that can be funded with city parks system development charges.
Next councilors will revisit the ordinance they passed in May 2022 allowing middle housing in Eugene now that the Oregon Court of Appeals struck down the law. Then they will formally respond to the petition for mayor and city council elections to use STAR voting.
Lane County Board of Commissioners
To attend: Board of Commissioner meetings begin at 9 a.m. in Harris Hall, 125 E. Eighth Ave., unless otherwise noted. Doors to Harris Hall open at 8:45 a.m.
To watch: County meetings stream at bit.ly/LaneCounty-meetings, Lane County's YouTube channel and Comcast channel 21.
To comment: In-person commenters can sign up at the door. Online commenters should register for the Zoom meeting. To submit written comments, email diana.jones@lanecountyor.gov by noon Monday with the subject line PUBLIC COMMENT FOR MEETING DATE 1/9/2024
MORNING SESSION
When: 9 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 9.
What: Lane County Commissioners will elect their board chair and vice chair for 2024. Next, they will hear public comment and then set a public hearing date for a proposal to legalize replacing a building with a moderately larger one when that home is in a flood zone.
Then commissioners will vote on giving the Health & Human Services department the authority to hire 15 more mental health specialists, 14 to provide mobile crisis services when it opens and one who would become a co-responder with Eugene police. Then commissioners will vote on a slate of Health & Human Services contracts, most of them extensions.
Next commissioners will vote on their 2024 appointments for Lane County's various committees and agencies.
AFTERNOON SESSION
When: 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 9.
What: Commissioners will hold public hearings and consider voting on four issues: transferring ownership of a portion of a county road in unincorporated Florence to the neighboring homeowner, holding an election in May to create a fire district for the Row River area, decoupling the Eugene and Springfield urban plans and endorsing an application from the regional Goodwill chapter for tax-exempt revenue bonds.
BUDGET KICKOFF
When: 8:30 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 11
What: Lane County commissioners will begin discussing the county's FY 24-25 budget.
State of Cottage Grove and Cottage Grove City Council
To watch: The meeting will stream live online over video conference platform GoTo https://meet.goto.com/CottageGrove/january82024citycouncilmeeting and afterward, it will be posted to the City of Cottage Grove YouTube Channel.
To attend: Cottage Grove City Council meetings are held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 400 East Main St., Cottage Grove, 97424.
To listen: Call +1 (877) 309-2073 or +1 (646) 749-3129 and use the access code 176-110-077
To comment: To speak online or over the phone fill out the request to comment form by 5 p.m. To speak in person, sign in at the meeting. Written comments can be submitted in person at City Hall or sent by email to cityrecorder@cottagegrove.org by 5 p.m.
REGULAR MEETING & STATE OF COTTAGE GROVE
When: 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 8
What: Cottage Grove Mayor Candace Solesbee will give her State of the City Address at the beginning of the regular meeting.
Following the address, city councilors will vote on approving a petition to send a proposed South Lane Parks & Recreation district to the November ballot.
Next councilors will vote on contracts for two high-level city employees, voting on whether to renew a contract with municipal judge Martin Fisher and to hire city manager finalist Michael Sauerwein.
Then councilors will elect their council president for 2024 and vote on council appointments to various committees. They will also vote on citizen appointments to the Planning Commission and Economic Opportunities Analysis Advisory Committee.
Lastly, councilors will respond to three new petitions from Michael Borke, a Cottage Grove resident who attempted to recall three city councilors. The petitions would say councilors representing wards can only be elected by voters in their ward instead of with city-wide elections, city council vacancies will remain vacant until the next election instead of being filled by a council-appointed councilor and the city's campsites for people experiencing homelessness should be open only at night.
Springfield Economic Development Agency
To watch: Springfield's system requires registration to watch and to participate in meetings. Use the links for meetings to register and get information to attend.
To listen: Dial 1-971-247-1195 or 1-877-853-5247 and use the meeting ID.
To attend: The meetings will be held in the Jesse Maine Room of Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth St., Springfield.
To comment: There will be instructions during the regular session to provide testimony.
Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8BrVwzVnQDK7SguX_le5Nw
Meeting ID: 891 4511 4379
WORK SESSION
When: 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 8
What: SEDA board members will discuss whether they want to create a more formal process for firms applying for SEDA funds to develop in Springfield. Then they will vote on whether to continue to offer System Development Charge waivers for development in downtown Springfield and Glenwood.
Eugene Water & Electric Board
To watch: Meetings stream online over Microsoft Teams at https://tinyurl.com/EWEB-Board-Meeting-01-09-24 and can be viewed afterward at https://www.eweb.org/about-us/board-of-commissioners/public-meetings
To attend: EWEB meetings are held in EWEB’s Roosevelt Operations Center at 4200 Roosevelt Blvd., Eugene.
To comment: Fill out the form to provide testimony over the phone or submit written testimony by 2. p.m. Tuesday, Jan 9., or complete a "request to speak" form in person.
REGULAR SESSION
When: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9
What: EWEB commissioners will hear public comment. Next, they will elect a president and vice president for 2024 and select which EWEB commissioners will serve in the various advisory and liaison positions. Then commissioners will vote on adopting an action plan for decommissioning the Leaburg dam. Next, they will vote on the board's goals for 2024.
EWEB commissioners will then give direction on the performance criteria for evaluating General Manager Frank Lawson in 2024 and they will go over eight other EWEB policies to discuss potential changes.
Alan Torres covers local government for the Register-Guard. He can be reached over email at atorres@registerguard.com or on X @alanfryetorres.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: What's the "State of" Eugene and Lane County heading into 2024?
