The Lane County Board of County Commissioners voted 3-2 to begin the process to build an Integrated Materials & Energy Recovery Facility (IMERF) in Goshen.
The IMERF will be the most technologically advanced waste processing facility in the country and will be designed and built by a local manufacturer, Bulk Handling Systems (BHS). The facility will process residential garbage, commingled recycling, and organic waste to produce marketable recycling commodities and biogas for transportation. The facility is expected to divert over 80,000 tons of material from the County’s landfill annually and expand the life of the landfill for at least 20 years past its current 70-year lifespan.
“This is an exciting opportunity for our community,” said Public Works Director Dan Hurley. “Not only will this project help us reduce the amount of material that ends up in the landfill, increase the amount we can recycle, and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the tune of taking 30,000 cars off the road, it will also create local jobs. We expect the two-year construction period to create 190 jobs and to have 65 ongoing family-wage positions to operate the IMERF after it opens.”
The IMERF will:
- significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the landfill.
- divert recyclable materials from waste that would otherwise be landfilled.
- create local, sustainable economic development and jobs.
- use proven recycling processing systems.
- leverage public-private partnerships.
- construct and operate at an affordable cost to the rate-payer.
“There are no other sorting facilities like this in Lane County,” said Hurley. “Currently, there is limited processing to extract cardboard and metals locally, but the majority of materials are transported all the way to the Portland area for processing.”
The total expected cost of the project is $150 million. Bulk Handling Systems will pay for $100 million (building and installing the sorting equipment). Lane County will be responsible for the remaining $50 million; however, a $15-million-tax credit will reduce the local cost to $35 million. Additional grants and outside funding may reduce the local cost further.
Lane County will increase solid waste disposal fees to help fund a portion of the project. For the average residential customer, the total increase in cost related to this facility would be approximately $2.30 per month phased in over a four-year period.
More information is available at www.LaneCountyOR.gov/IMERF.
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The Lane County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to include Measure 110 reform in its legislative priorities and principles ahead of the upcoming state legislative session.
There are eleven reform items included in the Board’s adopted position, including:
- Reform rather than repeal.
- Reclassify Possession of a Controlled Substance from a Class E violation to a Class A misdemeanor and a new Class A misdemeanor for public use of a controlled substance, as long as it is accompanied by improved investment in criminal justice and behavioral healthcare systems to better serve Oregonians. (Simply reintroducing sanctions without other changes and investment will only exacerbate the issues reform is intended to correct.)
- Support legislation that requires prioritizing funding for expansion of treatment capacity over other existing uses of the funding associated with the Behavioral Health Resource Networks (BHRN) created by Senate Bill 755.
- Ensure funding eligibility for organizations that solely focus on treatment for justice-involved individuals.
- Support diversion and sufficient investment and redesign to improve diversion programs.
- Support statutory requirement that funds continue to be allocated to specialty courts, including drug courts.
- Support for better defined peace office, director, and other hold authority needed in statute to limit liability for local government, non-profits, and other contracted service providers.
- Support legislation creating incentives for successful local implementation of programs such as the Community Corrections Act and others.
The full document is available online. It contains a more detailed analysis and the full text of the Board’s reform priorities.
The Board of County Commissioners regularly adopts and updates its legislative principles. Those principles help guide County efforts to inform state legislation, as well as help Lane County pursue funding for services provided on behalf of the state.
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The Community Health Center of Lane County (CHCLC), a division of Lane County Health & Human Services (LCH&HS), recently received national recognition in four areas from The Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA). These recognitions include Access Enhancer (AE), Advancing Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient-Centered Medical Home(PCMH), and Health Disparities Reducer (HDR). HRSA is a federal agency that provides healthcare access to the nation’s highest-need communities, such as those that have been economically and socially marginalized, including people with low income, children, parents, rural communities, and more.
“These recognitions show the dedication of the Community Health Centers and H&HS to expanding our capabilities to provide quality, and equitable access to healthcare to those in our community who are most in need,” said CHCLC Chief Operations Officer, Suzanne Roelof.
In 2022, the CHCLC served nearly 26,000 patients, a 12% percent increase from 2021, providing an umbrella of healthcare services to meet community needs, such as general medical care, chronic disease management, mental health services, and more. The CHCLC increased positive health outcomes for patients served through accessible services, including the adoption and expansion of the CHCLC’s capacity to provide telehealth services, streamlining patient-provider communication, and removing many barriers to healthcare access in our community. The culmination of this work earned both HRSA’s AE recognition and the Advancing HIT Quality.
“This recognition is an acknowledgment of the great work at our CHCLC, which continues to focus on providing high quality care to the most vulnerable residents of our community. It also represents Lane County H&HS' continued strategic focus on eliminating health disparities, especially for those who are economically and socially marginalized,” said LCH&HS Director, Eve Gray.
The Community Health Centers have prioritized reducing the health gap in Lane County by providing access to ambulatory healthcare and by meeting or exceeding the requirements for primary health centers against national standards. This approach involves patient-focused care to improve health equity, lower healthcare costs, and ensure that health outcomes are similar across different racial and ethnic backgrounds, especially in low infant birth rates and chronic disease management. These outcomes include keeping low birth weights at or below 7.7%, increasing patient hypertension control to 61% or more, and reducing the prevalence of patient uncontrolled diabetes at or below 11.6%. The Community Health Center’s commitment over the years to reducing health disparities and ensuring equitable access to positive health outcomes for all residents in Lane County has resulted in receiving the PCMH and HDR recognition from HRSA.
The Lane County Deeds & Records Office is relocating from the County’s Public Service Building at 8th and Oak in downtown Eugene to the Elections Office at 10th and Lincoln in Eugene.
The move will be effective starting on Tuesday, December 5, 2023. The last day for services at the current location will be Friday, December 1. The office will be closed for staff training on Monday, December 4, and the new location will open for service on Tuesday, December 5.
“Combining the services of the County Clerk’s Office under one roof will help accomplish a couple of things,” said Lane County Clerk Dena Dawson. “It will help us be more efficient in conducting elections since we will no longer need to staff two separate locations. It will also, we hope, make it easier for people to access our services with dedicated parking and an easy to find location.”
The services that will move to the Elections Office (275 W. 10th Avenue, Eugene) are:
- Real property recording (including deeds, titles or interest to real property located in Lane County)
- Marriage licenses and ceremonies
- Domestic partnership declarations
- Property value appeals
One service of the County Clerk will remain at the Public Service Building:
- Public research library for real property records
The research library and its self-serve computer terminals will remain at 125 E. 8th Avenue, Eugene due to the amount of space they require. One staff person will be available to assist with research.
About the County Clerk’s Office
The County Clerk and her staff are responsible for conducting elections, recording real property, issuing marriage licenses and domestic partnership registrations, and coordinating the Property Values Appeal Board. Services are now located at 275 W. 10th Avenue, Eugene) from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday–Friday. Property records research is available on the ground floor of the Public Service Building at 125 E. 8th Avenue, Eugene.
As the holiday season kicks off, Waste Wise Lane County—a part of the Lane County Waste Management Division—again encourages county residents to do the holidays differently this year with the launch of its second “Simplify the Holidays” campaign.
Last year marked the first iteration of the campaign, which is produced by the Center for Biological Diversity and has again been adopted by Waste Wise Lane County. “Simplify the Holidays” encourages residents and businesses to reimagine how they view and participate in the holiday season to inspire joy while curbing waste. The campaign includes earth-friendly gift ideas and will run through December 31.
However, this year’s campaign includes a twist: a holiday leftovers recipe contest.
“Maybe it’s Uncle John’s famous Christmas Ham Sliders or Aunt Lucia’s delectable Thanksgiving Turkey Tamales,” said Waste Wise Lane County Outreach Coordinator Daniel Hiestand. “How does your family use holiday leftovers? We want to collect your recipes and share them with our community to inspire folks to reduce food waste and save money.”
Recipes submitted during the campaign will be published on the Waste Wise Lane County food waste prevention website, eatsmartwasteless.tips. Those who share recipes will be automatically entered into a prize drawing, with contest winners announced on January 3.
Prizes include Lion & Owl and BRING gift certificates, free enrollment in Oregon State University Extension Master Food Preserver workshops, and a collection of sustainable products from Main Street Market.
“Waste Wise Lane County is laser-focused on helping empower residents and businesses with food waste reduction tools,” Hiestand said. “Between 30 to 40 percent of all food produced is never eaten, so preventing wasted food is one of the most powerful things we can do to address the climate crisis. Eating what you have is a critical part of that. We hope this contest shows leftovers can be quite delicious with a little creativity while saving money.”
Follow the campaign on Waste Wise Lane County’s social media pages @WasteWiseLaneCounty on Facebook and Instagram. To submit a recipe, use this online form (https://bit.ly/LeftoverForm).
About Waste Wise Lane County
Waste Wise Lane County— a part of the Lane County Waste Management Division—empowers residents, schools, and businesses with education, tools, and resources that can be used to reduce waste, conserve resources, and live more sustainably. For more information, visit lanecountyor.gov/wastewise.
About Simplify the Holidays
Simplify the Holidays is an award-winning program of the Center for Biological Diversity. Simplify the Holidays seeks to empower individuals and families to be more conscious of the impacts of holiday traditions and, in doing so, reconnect with meaningful and lasting celebrations. Learn more at simplifytheholidays.org.
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Lane County’s Equity Program has expanded its online business directory to highlight local businesses owned by people of diverse backgrounds. The Diverse Business Directory can be found online at www.LaneCountyOR.gov/DBD.
“We believe in supporting diverse businesses here in Lane County,” said Shayna Higashi, Lane County Equity Program analyst. “This directory can help connect businesses with customers who want to be allies and support diverse community members and local businesses, as well as help foster a sense of belonging and representation in the business community. An identity based directory will do that by enhancing businesses’ online visibility.”
The directory allows people to search for local businesses owned by people who identify with one or more of the following diverse identities: Asian, Black, Indigenous, Latino/a/e/x, LGBTQIA2S+, Pacific Islander, Person with a Disability, Veteran, and Women. It is organized by business type and location. There are currently 44 businesses in the directory.
Business owners interesting in being included in the directory can find an online submission form at www.LaneCountyOR.gov/DBD. The directory is updated at the beginning of each month.
The directory was originally published in 2020 as a list of Black-owned businesses in Lane County. Outreach to those businesses is underway to update their information and add them to the expanded directory.
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Lane County Parks is proud to partner with David’s Chair to provide beach access to people with mobility challenges at Heceta Beach in Florence!
David’s Chair provides FREE access to all-terrain track chairs that can help people who otherwise would not be able to enjoy the beach spend time on the sand.
“We are so excited to help bring this to Lane County,” said Lane County Parks Volunteer Coordinator Jodi Low. “We want as many people as possible to enjoy the beach. We’ve heard a lot of excitement from people who have mobility limitations of their own, as well as people who are excited to take their aging parents or grandparents back to a place they used to be able to enjoy together.”
The chair is available to reserve Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Reservations must be made through the David’s Chair website at www.davidschair.org. Once reserved, the chair can be picked up at Driftwood Shores Resort.*
“The response so far has been wonderful,” said Jeff Kallevig, operations manager at David’s Chair. “We now have six locations along the Oregon Coast where people can reserve these chairs and we hope to have many more. It’s a privilege to help people enjoy the outdoors by providing access to equipment that is often too costly for individuals and isn’t usually covered by insurance.”
The partnership was made possible, in large part, thanks to voter support of last year’s Lane County Parks levy. The $5,000 provided by Lane County Parks will help provide maintenance funding for the chair to ensure people can enjoy it for years to come.
About David’s Chair
David’s Chair was created in 2017 by friends David Hatrick and Steve Furst. Its mission is to give the gift of independence to people with ALS and other mobility challenges by providing them with access to track chairs capable of taking on the outdoors, including beaches. Learn more about David and the organization at www.davidschair.org.
*Driftwood Shores Resort does not manage reservations. Please do not contact Lane County Parks or Driftwood Shores with reservation requests or questions.
The Lane County Elections Office reopened today at 8:00 a.m. to resume normal operations. The Elections Office closed unexpectedly on Wednesday after staff received a suspicious piece of mail.
“We are appreciative of the quick response from Eugene police and other partners,” said Lane County Clerk Dena Dawson. “Situations like this are scary for everyone involved. We will, of course, cooperate with the investigation and hope the person or people who wanted to terrorize our staff and disrupt the elections process are held accountable.”
Although the Elections Office was closed for part of yesterday, ballot processing was not significantly affected as staff had stayed late on Election Day to process ballots. Clerk Dena Dawson believes they will be able to get caught up today and provide an update on election results at www.LaneCountyOR.gov/elections.
“I am disheartened by the continuing threat landscape for election officials. We are dedicated public servants and we take our role in defending democracy very seriously. We just want to do our jobs without having to fear for our lives,” said Dawson.
An investigation is underway and any questions regarding its status should be directed to law enforcement.
Media: In order to minimize disruptions and allow staff to regain some normalcy, we are limiting media interviews to 10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m. in front of the Elections Office today. Public Information Officer Devon Ashbridge will be available to address questions on behalf of the Elections Office.
To help kick off Operation Winter Survival Stockpile, the First Christian Church (located at 1166 Oak St. in downtown Eugene) and Cahoots are hosting a one day donation drive event where community members can drop-off donations and enjoy refreshments today, Wednesday, November 8th from 12 P.M. to 6 P.M.
Lane County Health & Human Services, in partnership with the First Christian Church of Eugene’s Helping Hearts program and White Bird, are launching Operation Winter Survival Stockpile today. The effort aims to create a stockpile through donations of clothing and other supplies that will help those in our community experiencing homelessness better brave the elements.
After the donation drive, items can continue to be dropped off on weekdays between 10 A.M. and 2 P.M. or by appointment. Items can also be purchased on Amazon and sent to First Christian Church at 166 Oak St. Eugene, OR, 97402.
The Operation’s Amazon Wish List can be found at: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2XR33GS1ULV8Z?ref_=wl_share
Distribution of items will be prioritized to homeless outreach providers such as CAHOOTS that come into direct contact with individuals who are unhoused and unsheltered.
Items needed for Operation Winter Survival Supply Stockpile include:
• Tents – preferably 2 person
• Blankets – preferably wool
• Rain ponchos
• Sleeping Bags
• Hand Warmers
• Socks – preferably wool
• Tarps
• Gift Cards
• Laundry Cards
• Footwear
• Thermal Underwear
• Flashlights/ Batteries
• Beanies/Warm Hats
• Gloves
• Other survival supplies
For more information on Operation Winter Survival Stockpile, please contact Maria Cortez at Maria.Cortez@lanecountyor.gov