Nov. 24, 2020. Thanksgiving is this week, and what would normally be a bustling time of year looks like a slow-motion video.
One way you can help our community during this two-week freeze, if you are financially able, is to purchase pick-up orders from our local restaurants or gift certificates as holiday gifts. Our restaurants and bars are once again restricted to take out, which jeopardizes the future of many of these local businesses.
This update has information about ways you can support our local economy this holiday season to help small businesses survive the pandemic, as well as resources for keeping yourself healthy through these difficult times.
Eugene is once again in a make or break moment. Our COVID-19 cases have been rising steadily for weeks and our hospitals are sounding the alarm.
To prevent hospitals from being stretched to capacity, Governor Brown has announced a statewide two-week freeze in addition to a new travel advisory (more info on both below). These new measures put strict limitations on social gatherings, which continue to drive our COVID-19 case increases.
We can’t control the pandemic, but we can control the steps we take to protect ourselves and the community. If we do not act now to slow the spread of the virus, these restrictions will be extended.
Our world is ever changing and this year has demonstrated that change can occur rapidly and with devastating results. We became aware of the COVID-19 outbreak in China late last year and by February the World Health Organization had declared a pandemic. On February 25th, your neighborhood disaster preparedness team activated volunteers in response. They were initially tasked with looking in on high-risk and elderly neighbors they were aware of. By mid-March, each volunteer had surveyed a much larger area, collectively covering the entire neighborhood and looking for the OK/HELP signs included with the Spring 2020 Southeast Neighbor News. Many of you posted the OK sign in front windows to let your neighbors know that you and your family were not in need of help. We thank you for participating in this effort to communicate with and care for your nearby neighbors.
Even though the pandemic continues, we are asking that you take down your sign and keep it available for future use. We know that so many of us are not well-connected with our nearby neighbors. In the event of a disaster when communication systems fail, posting your HELP sign could very well save your life. If you no longer have your sign and would like to have one, please contact SENeighborsPrepared@gmail.com. We’ll get one to you!
As part of our neighborhood’s response to the pandemic, we created a page on the Recovers.org website to help connect those in need with those who can offer assistance. Some volunteers continue to assist elderly and high-risk neighbors who sought help through Recovers with activities like shopping. Due to the Holiday Farm Fire and the hundreds of displaced families in need, we have transitioned our page from the Recovers website to support all of Lane County. Several SEN volunteers are now working with Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) to assist fire evacuees.
Recognizing the danger a wildland fire like Holiday Farm can pose even to residents in the Eugene/Springfield metro area, SEN in partnership with several other neighborhood associations is asking the Fire Marshal’s office to assist us in developing neighborhood-specific evacuation plans. We are also advocating for state and local funding so that neighborhoods can successfully play the role our emergency management agencies are asking of us. Through the Neighborhood Leaders Council (NLC), a local civic organization, Eugene’s neighborhoods are exploring the creation of a Fire Council to maintain focus on the emerging fire danger, to assist volunteer organizations like SEN in developing concrete, data-driven fire prevention policies, and to advocate for the necessary funding.
To jumpstart this initiative the NLC hosted the first of many online forums to provide Eugene residents with expert advice on preparing for an responding to potential disaster scenarios. The forum series began on October 29 with presentations on wildfire prevention and response. Eugene/Springfield Fire Chief Chris Heppel, Deputy Fire Chief Amy Linder, and Tim Ingalsbee, Executive Director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology (FUSEE) identified lessons learned from the Holiday Farm Fire, and educated attendees on how to protect their homes from wildfire and develop community-based solutions.
Recordings of the Fire Prevention Program are now available:
Volunteers from Southeast Neighbors and the Eugene Neighborhood Preparedness Network hosted informative presentations on wildfire on Thursday, Oct. 29. The presentation slides are embedded below, and the Zoom webinar recordings are available here:
Eugene/Springfield Fire encourages neighborhoods to adopt the Firewise Communities program.
We are looking for volunteers to share Firewise Communities information with nearby neighbors. Southeast Neighbors Prepared (our SEN Disaster Preparedness Committee) can provide you with a brief training on how to do so. Please email David Monk at SENeighborsPrepared@gmail.com for details.
Over the summer of 2020, in response to greatly increased attention to human rights issues both nationally and locally in southeast Eugene, a group of neighbors and SEN board members began meeting to explore formation of a Human Rights Committee (HRC).
The vision of the HRC is that it will advise the SEN Board and promote initiatives that support principles of human rights and equity for residents living in southeast Eugene and throughout the community.
Activities being considered include organizing speakers on human rights topics for quarterly SEN community meetings, educational programs for community members, fostering communication and problem solving among community members, and other initiatives that promote human rights and equity.
The SEN HRC is in its formative stages and welcomes input and participation by all interested southeast Eugene residents.
Meetings are held monthly by Zoom. If you want to be involved or have questions about the activities of the SEN HRC, please send a quick email.
Speed limits will drop to 20 mph on non-arterial streets in residential districts in Eugene. The new 20 mph speed limit legally goes into effect on each street when the existing speed limit signs are replaced. That started for Southeast Eugene in October. Average speeding ticket is $115.
June 30 City of Eugene Community Update – COVID-19
We provided our last community update a few weeks ago, promising to email again when we had new information regarding the response to COVID-19. We feel that this week is an appropriate opportunity to touch base again following Governor Kate Brown’s recent decision to extend the face covering requirement statewide beginning July 1.
While we’ve been in Phase 2 for several weeks, the number of active cases in our community continues to grow. Our teams continue to work closely with health experts at Lane County Public health and the Oregon Health Authority.
Face coverings mandatory statewide
Starting tomorrow, Wednesday, July 1, face coverings are required statewide in indoor spaces that are open to the public, including businesses. Governor Brown shared that the decision came, in part, because of the significant jump in COVID-19 cases both in urban and rural counties.
“The upcoming July 4th holiday weekend is a critical point for Oregon in this pandemic, and we can all make a difference,” said Governor Brown.
The face covering requirement extends to businesses, including:
Grocery stores
Fitness-related organizations
Pharmacies
Public transit agencies and providers
Restaurants, bars, breweries, brewpubs, wineries, tasting room and distilleries
Retail stores, shopping centers and malls
Ride sharing services
“Face coverings that cover your nose and mouth play a critical role in reducing the spread of this disease,” said Brown. “If we all wear face coverings, practice six feet of physical distancing in public, wash our hands regularly, and stay home when we’re sick, then we can avoid the worst-case scenarios that are now playing out in other states.”
While the financial impacts of COVID-19 won’t be known for years, the City recently received funding to help offset some of the costs incurred since the start of the pandemic response.
The State of Oregon sent Eugene $2.83 million in CARES Act CRF funding. This payment was reimbursement for eligible costs related to medical expenses, public health costs, payroll for employees dedicated to COVID-19, and expenses to facilitate compliance with COVID-19 measures from March 1 to May 15th.
The state is expected to issue guidance later in July for a second round of reimbursements.
New Microsite Collaboration As Designated Temporary Shelter Sites Phase Out
The City is delighted to announce a second Microsite is expected to be active by the end of the week. Microsites support our community’s reopening by balancing the varying needs for safety and recovery for the unhoused community.
The newest Microsite will be on land provided by the Eugene Mission at no cost and managed by Community Supported Shelters. The first Microsite was established at Skinner City Farm.
City staff continue to seek additional sites, exploring both public and private property partnerships. We will provide updates about additional sites as information becomes available.
As part of the City’s emergency response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the City worked with non-profit social service providers to establish Designated Temporary Shelter Sites to provide emergency shelter options to unhoused community members in three community center parking lots. These shelter sites gave people experiencing homelessness a safe and sanitary place to live, while reducing the need for the residents to move around the community. Watch a video highlighting the positive impact of the Designated Temporary Shelter Sites.
New microsites will continue to provide needed shelter, stability and support for vulnerable members of our community and demonstrate the collaborative efforts underway to meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness.
Kesey Square “Food Hall” reopened
As part of the City’s reopening and recovery efforts, the Downtown Ambassadors have re-opened Kesey Square to offer space for the public to sit, eat lunch and order food from downtown restaurants and food carts. The program started June 15, and tables and chairs will be out from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and sanitized regularly, spaced 6-feet apart. We encourage people to wear masks when physical distancing is not possible. The City looks forward to welcoming the community back to downtown!
More resources
See a list of Community Resources for physical and mental health, food, housing, businesses, employees, schools and children, as well as information in Spanish. Also learn how you can help.
Our partners have a significant amount of information available online. Please visit these resources for the most up to date information:
There has been slow and steady progress to safely reopen in the last two weeks. Since we entered Phase 1 of Governor Kate Brown’s reopening plan, local businesses are starting to reopen under new circumstances and community members are able to gather in small groups with physical distancing.
Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis said last week in a speech that working together has helped us get this far, and it will help us continue down a path of progress.
“Please understand that this is a team effort,” Vinis said. “We are all in this together and have a responsibility to one another.”
We are encouraged to see businesses open their closed doors with provisions in place for physical distancing. The return of childcare to our Rec centers and the offering of summer camps is a positive sign, too.
As we return to public places we should be mindful of protocols in place to help limit the spread of COVID-19. We want to thank everyone for being safe over Memorial Day Weekend and also remind people that while businesses and restaurants are starting to open, we aren’t out of the woods yet and it’s only through constant vigilance that we can move toward Phase 2.
Local Businesses Update
An anecdote from a local business owner
Since the beginning of the pandemic the City and its partners have worked closely with local business owners. The following is just one example of what we’re hearing in the community about the challenges people and businesses are facing.
Falling Sky owner Rob Cohen reopened a part of his business in early May, but he and other Eugene brewpub and restaurant owners face a challenging future.
After being shut down for seven weeks, Cohen’s Falling Sky Delicatessen, 790 Blair Blvd., reopened on May 1 for takeout and delivery business only. Falling Sky Brewpub on Oak Alley remains closed, as does Falling Sky Pizzeria in the University of Oregon’s Erb Memorial Union.
Cohen says owning a business such as his during the COVID-19 pandemic is “perilous.”
“It’s like walking in slow motion, blindfolded, down a plank in a windstorm without knowing if there is anything on the other side,” he said. “Without a (COVID-19) vaccine very soon, the short-term outlook for brewpubs and restaurants like us seems very bleak.”
The March shutdown threw 49 Falling Sky employees out of work. Reopening the deli restored 17 jobs.
The state’s reopening guidelines for dine-in service require social distancing and other COVID-19 safety measures. But Cohen said he is not ready to offer that option for the following reasons: He worries about the risk of infection for staff and customers; his employees would have to enforce social distancing, which could be a problem with transients who often attempt to use the deli’s bathroom; and it’s unknown if there would be enough demand for dine-in service to cover the cost of added employees.
Cohen was able to reopen the deli with financial help from the U.S. Small Business Administration – a $10,000 grant and a Paycheck Protection Program loan – plus flexibility from vendors, landlords and the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.
Falling Sky received the Paycheck Protection Program loan with help from Summit Bank, which has been “amazing to work with throughout all of this,” Cohen said. “It has reaffirmed my belief in local banking.”
For businesses that may need additional space to meet physical distancing requirements, this could include access and use of outdoor space surrounding their premises. For example, a restaurant can offer seating on the adjacent sidewalk. The City is actively working to streamline that process, while exploring options to convert on-street parking spaces to seating, an idea called a ‘streatery’.
Each situation is unique and comes with opportunities and challenges, which the City will be working through as we reopen together. Local businesses can email the team directly at bizhelp@eugene-or.gov.
Eugene Rec announces registration date for youth summer camps
We are looking forward to helping make your summer the best it can be. We are excited to announce Eugene Rec will be offering summer camps starting June 22. Summer Camp registration will begin at 9 a.m. June 8 and you can go to Rec’s online registration portal to set up an account, and registration will also be available over the phone or in person Amazon, Sheldon or Petersen Barn community centers. Look for more information coming your way by the end of May. We are hard at work planning for camp modifications to keep your kids safe and healthy including physical distancing, mask wearing and diligent sanitizing. Because these safety measures will include having smaller groups of campers, we appreciate your understanding that we expect enrollment capacity to be limited.
Childcare programs are also now running at Sheldon, Amazon and Petersen Barn community centers. Call 541-682-5312 for information and registration for child care.
Pools currently remain closed during Phase 1 of Lane County’s reopening. We are working on how we might safely begin swimming lessons and lap swimming at Amazon Pool during Phase 2. Sheldon Pool will remain closed, as current guidelines do not allow indoor pools to operate during Phase 2. Echo Hollow Pool will remain closed until renovations are complete later this year.
Facility rentals, fitness classes and other Rec programming will gradually begin to restart; stay tuned for more information. We plan for the limited and gradual reopening of all our community centers after the start of Phase 2 except for Campbell, which is still undergoing renovations.
We have missed recreating with you and are excited to begin welcoming you back! We will keep you posted on our reopening news on our website and through future emails.
When do we move into Phase 2?
After 21 days in Phase 1, counties continuing to meet the prerequisites MAY be able to enter Phase 2. Lane County’s ability to progress to Phase 2 relies on all of us working together and following all safety guidelines outlined for our gradual reopening.
The County entered Phase 1 on May 15, so the earliest it could be allowed to move into Phase 2 would be June 5. Stay tuned for more information next week about the process.
