Active Bethel Community Board Meeting Minutes
In person Meeting at Asbury Methodist Church
December 18th, 2024 7:00–8:30pm (PST)
Members in attendance: Lin Woodrich, Tai Pruce-Zimmerman, Jim Koch, Janet Brougher
(appointed to take minutes), Eric Dziura, Ed Farren, Diane Behling, Brian Hynd, Robin
Bloomgarden, Lee Leonard, Jose Cuauxinque.
Absent: Mark Bond, Kevinia Frazer
Guests: Robert Sprowl and Dawn Scott
7:02: Meeting called to order – Tai
Brian added “Clear Lake Community Center” to the agenda
Board approved meeting agenda
7:05: Meeting minutes for November put forth for board approval by Lin
Board approved November meeting minutes with correction by Jim Koch
7:08: Special Presentation about Bethel EMCOMM: Robert Sprowl said he knows of the roll call for all Ham operators, but the Bethel neighborhood has NOT been organized under the Eugene EMCOMM, which has six districts. Bethel should be in the NW district and using channel 6. Each neighborhood needs to be in a “zone” and Bethel would optimally have 2 RTL’s and about 12 zones. Some DATs (field teams, traveling in pairs) need to be set up. Tai said that Bethel neighborhood already has five zones designated by the Fire Department where each zone has an emergency center or evacuation place for residents during a crisis. CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Team. Bethel has numerous Ham operators, but they need to be organized to participate in emergency services. Powerful radios (such as FRS, GMRS or UHF) with repeater capabilities should be tested for signal radius and mobility. These radio operators can apply and pay a fee for a license (on-line with no test). Beware that the FCC puts people on hold for a long time if one applies through them. It is best to train radio operators about how to interact using formal communications protocol on the radios and fill out RTL forms. Mr. Sprowl wants to recruit Bethel residents to learn to use the radios, become licensed, and be trained through emergency preparedness classes. Routine group practice exercises are necessary to handle the radios properly. (FRS radios are often on sale at Bi-Mart for reasonable cost.) Mr. Sprowl will write an article for the ABC Newsletter to inform Bethel residents who might participate as Ham or radio operators for emergencies. Robert provided an eight-page hand-out about emergency radio communications with maps.
7:35: Brian Hynd, a new ABC member, has been researching the Clear Lake Elementary
School facility transition into the Clear Lake Community Center. The Bethel School District wants to see the Clear Lake buildings used as a community center with various agency offices and social outreach. Community input is welcomed. The buildings will be renovated to accommodate and form a working community center. Perhaps the next ABC General Meeting will include a discussion about the formation of the Clear Lake Community Center. Tai and Lin suggested the ABC Newsletter may ask folks to attend the general meeting to bring their ideas for using the Clear Lake facility as a community center. Selected non-profits may be invited to house an office or room for their outreach. Perhaps ABC may change to a 501(c) 3 and help guide the transition of Clear Lake Elementary into a community center. The ABC Newsletter comes out in January to announce the meetings for Bethel neighborhood planning. Brian provided an AI-generated survey (four-page hand-out with15 questions with rationales) to seekinput from community members. Brian agreed to be a new committee chair in charge of
updating the Website and FaceBook page for ABC.
7:52: Eric Dziura is the representative for ABC on Multi-Unit Property Tax Exemption (MUPTE), an advisory committee and review panel for city housing applications. The Eugene City Council puts its emphasis on the Riverfront.
7:55: Eric Dziura moves (and Diane seconds) that the ABC Council offer its support of the
next Lane County Healthcare Forum on Saturday, March 1. Building on the success of the previous healthcare forum, there is a need to discuss healthcare grants for Lane County and look ahead to future healthcare changes and improvements. Fundraisers and volunteer “worker bees” are needed as soon as possible to help set up the logistics of the March forum.
8:08: Committee Reports:
8:09: Finance/Blue bags - Eric/Jim - Eric emailed ABC board with financial report. The
subscription for the ABC Website went up 7.4% and the City of Eugene agreed to pay for the increase in the subscription. Jim provided updates regarding Broadway & Garfield bottle drop. There is a new machine that takes whole bags of bottles dumped into the system—it pays out in cash.
8:12: Public Safety - Ed - gave updates – Volunteer hours are reported.
8:13: Beautification: Small murals will be painted by hired artists to paint them in certain
locations around businesses and neighborhoods. The clean-up of Porky’s Palace parking lot is much appreciated.
8:15: Recycling—We had a three-hour recycling event last November 16. Do we schedule
them more often? Organizers and volunteers are needed.
8:16: Planning Commission: The Eugene Planning Commission has vacancies for Board
members. The application for being a member of this advisory Board is due in January. One can apply to the Eugene Boards and Commissions. Housing issues will be addressed. The State of Oregon Planning recommends that Lane County and the City of Eugene add 27,000 homes or apartments over the coming two decades with an emphasis on building the first ten years. “Envision Eugene” has a comprehensive plan with input for revisions to manage transition from low density housing to high density housing.
8:22: Eugene Airport Advisory Board met this afternoon and Eric reported that 1.7 million passengers came through the airport for the last year. A capitol building project is underway to expand and make another terminal using bonds, grants, and federal monies via FAA. About $15million is needed for the expansion.
8:29: The Eugene City Council needs to raise money using a Fire & Emergency Services Fee. Municipalities must assign fees for public safety, with an increase of about $10-15 per month on property taxes.
Meeting adjourned at 8:31pm.
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