The Delta Ponds Trail in north Eugene is going through the final piece of construction on the loop trail around the pond after years of delays and setbacks. The construction contract to build a bridge, trail extension and boardwalk was signed in June 2023. 

This trail is part of a larger redevelopment project that the City of Eugene has planned for over two decades. One of the goals of the redevelopment was to re-establish the Delta Ponds’ connection to the Willamette River. The concept of having such a trail was first outlined in a 2004 planning document.

Now in the final stages of construction, City of Eugene Landscape Architect Philip Richardson said he hopes the trail will fully open up to the public in a grand opening event sometime around October. 

“What’s really exciting about the project is that you go from just a one-way out-and-back kind of trail to a loop with a bridge that provides really nice viewing opportunities,” Richardson said. “This is kind of the first time we’ve had an accessible loop in a natural area right in the heart of town, so it’s pretty unique for that.”

In terms of funding, the city received a $350,000 Oregon Parks and Recreation Department Local Government Grant, which was used to leverage the 2018 Parks and Recreation Bond to fund project developments in Eugene. The $39.5 million bond included a $3.15 million levy, all to maintain and expand Eugene parks and recreation operations that included the trail’s redevelopment project.

In 2023, the Eugene Parks and Rec Operations and Maintenance Levy 20-343 was passed by voters, which maintains the core services established in the 2018 bond and levy while building on its benefits. Additionally, the average Eugene taxpayer will see a property tax increase of about $67 per year over the 5-year period, which began since the bond’s renewal in May 2023.

Lauri Holts, an ecologist with the City of Eugene, provides advice to the city on any impact on the natural area and gives input to the revegetation plan associated with the project. Her role is to be the voice for natural resources, making sure vegetation and wildlife aren’t being negatively impacted throughout construction.   

Holts works closely with a natural maintenance team to protect natural resources on the site while ensuring they produce the best project that they can. She said she’s looking forward to the construction’s completion and appreciates everybody’s patience around it. 

“There are a lot of people that live in that area and we’ve talked about and wanted to complete this loop project for at least 20 years,” Holts said. “I think it’s going to be wonderful to finally complete it and I think there’ll be a lot of happy walkers and runners that’ll use the loop to see more of the natural area.”

The project faced delays early on due to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused material cost increases and needed permit extensions from multiple agencies. Richardson said another large delay arose when they needed to negotiate property easement and get permission from a neighboring landowner who owned a portion of the necessary property. 

“It’s taken a lot of people to get to this point, a lot of teamwork to negotiate easements and to work through all these permit details,” Richardson said. “As a designer, oftentimes you don’t get exactly what you want, but I think the concept is great [and the end project] is going to be really nice and very popular.”

The final piece of construction is the ongoing work on the boardwalk that connects to the 100-foot-long pedestrian bridge. A delay on the boardwalk segment occurred due to geotechnical issues, but those complications have since been resolved and are now going through the final reviews on the structure. 

“I’ve been, like many people, frustrated that it’s taken this long, but a lot of these things were just really out of our hands,” Richardson said. “Considering the obstacles, the pandemic, working with a concerned landowner, all of those things, I’m just really happy that we’re close to being done. I think it’s going to be a beautiful trail.”

Richardson said that it is one of the few wheelchair-accessible trails in that part of town in a natural area. He said that the project has been designed with that in mind as the trail is sufficiently wide and the slopes aren’t too great.  

The trail will also increase accessibility for local residents to visit. Richardson said the project makes a connection to Goodpasture Island Road that connects to the neighborhood and provides an adequate walking distance for those people. 

“I think as a destination and as a local resident of that area, it’s going to provide a better experience, which was already a good experience, but now it’ll make a loop so much more satisfying to walk on,” Richardson said. “It’s one of these things that kind of hits all of the habitat and recreation, aesthetics, it’s accessible, so we’re very excited about it.”

As students begin crafting their resumes, building their portfolios and searching for jobs or internships to apply to, they may look to volunteering opportunities available in Eugene. These volunteer opportunities can provide students with numerous options to choose from in accordance with their interests. 

Joe Waksmundski, natural areas and trees volunteer coordinator for the City of Eugene, said that students can learn many skills through these opportunities while benefiting the local community. The Eugene Parks and Open Space Division offers several career-building opportunities for students with volunteer programs in the developed parks and natural areas.

These include trail maintenance, environment protection programs, native plant care or gardening projects, seasonal or one-off events and weekly opportunities that students can participate in.

Waksmundski said he believes the parks’ volunteer programs are learning opportunities for students looking to expand their knowledge and interest in learning more about native vegetation, maintenance or habitat restoration.

“I think [participating in these opportunities] offers students the ability to become a part of the greater community of Eugene,” Waksmundski said. “They’ll be giving back with their time and energy to Eugene, getting off campus and experiencing new areas that they may not have seen.”

Waksmundski said the best place to look for more programs and their details is through the Eugene Parks and Open Space website and by contacting representatives. He emphasized that there is a very low chance of getting rejected from a volunteering opportunity and that there can be flexibility with students’ schedules.

“We have a long and rich history with the university working with different groups and we would like to continue that for the new and returning students,” Waksmundski said. “We’re pretty welcoming and we try to cater the experience if somebody has a special need or a special request.”

There are additional volunteer opportunities with the Eugene Public Library, Adaptive Recreation Services and other community-service oriented groups in Eugene.

Waksmundski said these programs can give students the chance to meet new people, improve the environment in Eugene and build their resumes with useful skills they will learn throughout each experience.

“It shows that they volunteered and gave back to their community, so I think it’s a really good opportunity to build a skillset, to meet new people and to diversify whatever they may be doing at the university,” Waksmundski said.

Another opportunity concerning natural areas is with the Rotary Club of Eugene which involves its members with community service projects to support local areas in need.

The Northwest Youth Corps is a local youth conservation organization that offers different programs for young adults, including projects that complete conservation work in the community such as wildfire protection or leadership development.

“I think [these opportunities] strengthen the community because it brings us all together under a common goal of preservation and enhancement of our natural resources,” Waksmundski said.

Volunteer opportunities with Food For Lane County are also available and accessible for students to work with, providing opportunities to participate through sorting, re-packing and distributing food at the facilities and garden. 

Further information on the organization’s volunteer opportunities is listed on their website at foodforlanecounty.org. 

The City of Eugene is in the midst of its redevelopment project for the Downtown Riverfront Park. Now in the project’s second phase, the Riverfront Plaza is undergoing construction that expects to provide housing in a new neighborhood and a connection between downtown Eugene and the Willamette River. 

Eugene Principal Landscape Architect Emily Proudfoot said the plaza’s construction will cost a little over $5 million, with the cost of the overall park development sitting at around $9 million. Most of the funding for construction is drawn from a $5 million grant from the Oregon State Legislature in July 2021, which was passed to close the funding gap for the plaza construction. 

“We’re extraordinarily grateful to the state of Oregon, our legislators and senators who helped pass legislation to fund this project,” Proudfoot said. “It’s a huge benefit to our community and the entire riverfront project is really a civic elevation for our community.”

Brown Contracting, the company that completed the first phase of the Riverfront Park redevelopment plan, was selected again as the general contractor for the Downtown Riverfront Plaza project. 

So far, the construction has largely been underground work, installing pipes and connecting electrical utilities among other fixtures. Proudfoot said there will be ongoing construction on the redevelopment site and buildings will likely continue to go up for the next five to seven years.

Developers from the Atkins Dame group are concurrently working on the vertical development of neighborhoods, multi-family housing and restaurants next to the plaza. They plan to guide the development of six residential buildings for the new River District neighborhood in the Downtown Riverfront. 

Irene Alltucker is the vice president of real estate at Obie Companies, which owns the Fifth Street Public Market that is located half a mile from Riverfront Park. Alltucker said that downtown Eugene’s reconnection with the Willamette River makes it more pedestrian and bike friendly to walk along the path, and will be a wonderful addition to the city. 

“I think the proximity to the plaza makes it a great place for people to come to the Fifth Street Market and enjoy the many businesses that are here, and be able to walk and explore the many boutiques that we have,” Alltucker said. 

Throughout the park’s design process, the city has been working with the Walker Macy landscape architecture firm to help design and plan details to the Riverfront Park since 2017. Proudfoot said that the firm created a variety of experiences of feelings along the river through their designs.

She said that the plaza’s design is a great addition to welcome more people and families to the Riverfront. Proudfoot added that Walker Macy’s designs for the plaza have provided “this really beautiful setting” and more access to the river. 

“They’re so great to work with and their design vision is exceptional,” Proudfoot said. “I think they’ve done a fantastic job of really listening to the community about what they want along the river, and how it should feel and look.”

The one-acre plaza is planned to consist of a children’s playground area, an open space for events or activities, a tree grove, a “spray play” area, a grassy mountain for movie nights or events and more. 

Proudfoot said the city has had a long-time vision of reconnecting downtown to the river “because it’s such a beautiful resource in our community,” and that vision is slowly coming to fruition through this project.

“We love the connection and we look forward to having that connection to the riverfront, and we’re just very pleased with that,” Alltucker said. “I know already that our businesses are doing wonderful here [at the Fifth Street Public Market] as a result of it.”

Proudfoot said the Downtown Riverfront Plaza is expected to complete construction by June 2025 and become fully open to the public. She expects more vertical elements of the project to come up during the winter and to stay tuned with updates on the construction.

“[The river] is much more apparent these days and it’s much easier to get to the river from downtown Eugene,” Proudfoot said. “We’re really excited about how that connection has been made, and we look forward to a lot more people visiting the Riverfront.”

The CleanLane Resource Recovery Facility will move forward with its construction after a motion to sign the contracts with Bulk Handling Systems passed at the Lane County Board of Commissioners meeting on Aug. 20. 

The Board of Commissioners discussed and voted on signing the necessary agreements with BHS to authorize the construction and operation of the facility. The board also voted on authorizing the project’s financing in a principal amount to not exceed $35 million for Lane County, an amount lowered from $50 million through a federal tax credit.

Both motions were passed by a 3-2 majority vote from the commissioners.

“I don’t think any of us expected today’s items before us were going to move anybody from their position,” District 3 South Eugene Commissioner Laurie Trieger said. “These really are sort of cleanup and further clarification, and getting us closer to actually being able to execute on a project that has been well underway for many years.”

Why some individuals opposed the CleanLane project’s approval

Some community members during the public comments period at the board meeting voiced their objections against the project, calling to bring its approval to a public vote in the upcoming elections. 

“Maintaining public trust is a very fragile thing,” Sanipac General Manager Chris Kjar said during public comment. “If this facility fails, it’s a disaster not only financially for the county, but more importantly it would destroy the foundation of public trust for the recycling programs for years to come if not decades.” 

A few individuals pointed out that people they have talked to about this project were largely unaware of details surrounding the CleanLane facility or its general effects on the community.  

“This is a massive project. We really need to stop rushing through this,” Lane County resident Travis St. Clair said. “Get the facts out, let the facts talk to the people and let the people decide whether or not this is something that we need.” 

David Loveall, District 2 Springfield Commissioner, called to forward the project’s approval to Lane County voters for the May 2025 election. District 1 West Lane Commissioner Ryan Ceniga seconded the motion but ultimately failed in a 2-3 vote. 

“I think putting this up for a vote for the May 2025 election is just enough pause for us to be responsible, integrous and recapture some of the trust that we’ve lost amongst our constituents,” Loveall said before the motion failed to pass. 

Logistics and functions of the CleanLane Resource Recovery Facility

Lane County Public Works Director Dan Hurley said that the largest items that go to the landfill are food waste, which decomposes and produces methane. The CleanLane facility will haul in mixed garbage to the site where recyclable materials and food waste will be processed and sorted.

CleanLane is expected to divert over 80,000 tons of waste from the landfill each year and prolong the landfill’s lifespan by an additional 20 years. Hurley added that he doesn’t anticipate any issues with odors coming from the enclosed facility.

“We did put language into the contract that would put it into liquidated damages of starting at $1,000 a day and escalating to $5,000 a day for not addressing odor issues,” Hurley said. 

District 5 East Lane Commissioner Heather Buch said that some of the top issues for voters are mitigating climate chaos and bringing more living wage jobs and good economic development opportunities to Lane County.

In his presentation, Hurley said the facility’s waste management process should reduce emissions by diverting methane-producing waste, creating sustainable RNG fuel, improving recycling systems to recover more materials and creating local, sustainable economic development and jobs.

Hurley stated that this project will generate $272 million in Lane County regional economic activity to provide over 190 high-paying manufacturing and construction jobs and over 65 jobs at the facility. 

However, residents are estimated to see a 50% to 60% rate increase per month each year for four years, eventually facing a $2–$2.50 rate increase per month in year four. These disposal rates or fees in residents’ garbage bills will then remain to finance the ongoing operation of the facility. 

Hurley said that commercial rates depend on the size of the businesses, but they will face approximately a 3% increase per year. 

“We had one of the lowest rates in the state coming into this project,” Hurley said. “After we go through the four years of increase, it puts us at about average if you look at the other areas around the state.”

Buch, who supports the CleanLane project, raised a hypothetical that if the landfill eventually becomes full and likely has to ship it to Eastern Oregon, the likely cost implications that Lane County could face are outrageous and that this contract can save millions of dollars in the future. 

“We think 50 or 60 cents today is a big deal. That [implied] cost increase is really going to break the bank,” Buch said. “We must think about futures from now, what they’re going to pay in the future and what we can do now to save people money.”

As Oregon enters another wildfire season, the importance of local organizations throughout the state focusing on wildfire prevention is amplified.

Northwest Youth Corps is a youth organization based in Eugene that performs conservation projects and partners with organizations across the Pacific Northwest, including those focused on wildfire prevention. 

NYC is the parent organization of Twin Rivers Charter School, which has been involved with vegetation management projects in Eugene, most recently on June 24 at Skinner’s Butte. As part of the project, a crew of two leaders and five students performed invasive species removal and removed dry vegetation to decrease the severity of possible wildfires.

One week later, a half-acre brush fire broke out at the top of Skinner Butte on July 2 and was quickly contained by Eugene-Springfield Fire. Sarah Worthington, Community Wildfire Protection Corps director, said she believes the school’s efforts helped contain the fire and ensure that it didn’t spread quickly.  

“Wildfire vegetation management is extremely important,” Twin Rivers Charter School Principal Kristin Humphrey said. “Our students are very dedicated, they work very hard, they are invested, they understand how important fire mitigation is and how important invasive species removal is for our native plants.”

Humphrey said a lot of work on wildfire prevention efforts was done on Skinner Butte in preparation for the 4th of July holiday. The school worked on these projects alongside some members of the Eugene Rotary Club and in partnership with the Eugene Parks and Open Space Division.

The Community Wildfire Protection Corps is a program that is part of NYC and works to reduce wildfire risk through meaningful land management  in Oregon. CWPC members work to create a buffer of defensible space around surrounding properties and infrastructure to slow the spread of wildfires.

CWPC’s fire containment strategies focus on creating an immediate fire perimeter around residential homes, structures, communities and critical infrastructures such as community gathering spaces for people to go to in the event of a wildfire. 

Worthington said that it is important to ensure wildfires do not break out of control if they occur, making sure that there’s a high chance of things being saved and that individuals have places to stay in an emergency.

“I think the work that they do is really essential,” Worthington said. “It’s been researched that work in the Home Ignition Zone definitely works to prevent these fires and the loss of structures and homes in our communities.”

The CWPC receives its funding from Oregon Senate Bill 762, a $220 million bill passed to help Oregon modernize and improve wildfire preparedness. The bill launched initiatives to develop strategies that include a safe and effective response, creating greater resiliency of landscapes and fire-adapted communities. 

NYC received a $12 million grant from the USDA Forest Service to engage young adults in urban forestry stewardship programs such as tree inventory and removal during the summer, along with a $4 million investment to fund these programs and activities. 

“We work to provide conservation efforts,” Humphrey said. “Educating the public, educating other students and working with other students at other schools potentially, it could be able to spread that knowledge to decrease the chances of wildfires and increase environmental awareness.”

The city of Eugene has opened its new City Hall site to the public after a year of construction and held its grand opening ceremony on July 18. While many public meetings have already taken place in the City Hall Council Chamber, several offices and services will now become accessible to visitors throughout the building.

The site, which was purchased last year, was formerly the headquarters of the Eugene Water and Electric Board. The city finalized the guaranteed maximum price at the end of December 2023 and broke ground in January 2024, conducting a remodeling of the building.

“Everything aligned and the price was right,” City of Eugene Facilities Director Jeff Perry said. “It made great sense to move to the location, but it’s been a long process to get there and this finally all made sense to everyone, so we’re very excited about that.”

Perry said the 103,000-square-foot facility will contain a lobby space and a council chamber that are open during public council meetings, as well as many offices. About 1,000 square feet of the building will be leased to EWEB which will provide in-person services for customers. 

City Council meetings were previously held at Lane Community College’s downtown location. Many office spaces throughout the new building will be dedicated to city services, which allow visitors to meet with professionals to discuss information on subjects such as job applications, financial business and more. 

Eugene City Councilor Alan Zelenka said the building is still unfinished despite the scheduled grand opening date. Due to ongoing construction, only the first floor and council chamber will be accessible to visitors, and the second and third floors will be off-limits to the public until further notice. 

“[The council chamber is] very airy and light, [it] looks out at our river and I think people really appreciate it,” Zelenka said. “The staff did such an excellent job of building it out and taking into consideration everybody’s concerns and needs, making it a very appealing place for a city council chamber.”

The city had an $8 million budget for planning and remodeling the new City Hall. According to Perry, around $5 million was intended for improvements to the building and about $3 million was dedicated to maintenance improvements such as preservation, ADA and seismic upgrades.

Renovations made to enhance the functionality of the building involved remodeling the council chamber, upgrading the HVAC digital controls system and repairing the roof and cooling systems. 

Other changes in the remodeling process included replacing and repurposing the carpets, reconstructing the walls and making many aesthetic improvements. Perry said that these renovations were made to bring City Hall more up-to-date and to make the building warm and welcoming. 

“We have modern access to our computers, touch screens to vote and a request to speak [in the council chamber],” Zelenka said. “Before, we would do it all on paper. Now, it’s all modernized with great equipment that’ll make the experience of being at a city council [meeting] a lot better, visually and audibly.”

City Hall is located along the Willamette River and the Ruth Bascom Bike Path, which leads to the Eugene Downtown Riverfront Park. Perry said there will be a lot of amenities nearby due to its location close to Downtown Eugene, Fifth Street Public Market and the park.

“I think it’s going to be convenient access for folks and you’re right on the bike path there,” Perry said. “Overall, it’s just a nice space and I think it’ll be a good experience for folks coming to visit City Hall.”