City of Medford Working for You

Continuous Improvement ~ Customer Service

November 2014

Bridge Over Barnett: During theSeptember 18th Council meeting,the City Council approved arecommendation to name the BearCreekGreenway’spedestrianbridgeover Barnett Road in honor of AlDensmore. Mr. Densmore is aformer State Legislator, City ofMedford Mayor, and MedfordCouncilmember.

The Parks & Recreation Commission submitted therecommendation. AlDensmore has been instrumental inthe successof theBearCreekGreenway, especially inhiseffortstosecurethefundingforthepedestrianbridge.Thebridge allows Bear Creek Greenway users to safely crossthebusyintersectionatHighlandDriveandBarnettRoad.Mr. Densmore thanked the City Council and the Parks &Recreation Commission for the honor bestowed uponhim. He stated the Bear Creek Greenway, which nowincludes20milesofpath,hasbeenateameffortwithmanypeoplecontributingtimeandmoneytowarditssuccess.FormoreinformationabouttheBearCreekGreenway,visitwww.bearcreekgreenway.com.Neighborhood Street Tree Partnership: The City ofMedfordParks andRecreationDepartment partnerswithlocal neighborhoods to coordinate the NeighborhoodStreet Tree Program. The City budgets funds to improveMedford neighborhoods through the removal andreplacementofhazardoustrees,pruningexistingtreesandplantingnewtrees.InJanuaryof2014,112newtreeswereplantedthroughthepartnershiponportionsof11thStreet,PennsylvaniaAvenueandPeachStreet.ThematchinggrantprogramiscoordinatedbytheCityofMedford’s arborist, Adam Airoldi. To learn more aboutMedford’sStreetTreePartnership,pleasevisitourwebsiteat www.ci.medford.or.us or contact the City Parks &RecreationDepartmentat(541)774-2400.

Use of City Property for Food Distribution: OnSeptember 18th, the City Council held a public hearingregarding theuseofCityproperty for thedistributionoffoodandservices.ThesitesconsideredweretheSalvationArmy, the City’s Bear Creek South parking lot, RailroadPark,andotherdowntownparking lots.TheCityCouncilapproved the Parks & Recreation’s recommendation toutilize City property for the distribution of food andservices.Hawthorne Park: Improvements to Hawthorne ParkbeganinOctober,withagroundbreakingforthedogparkfacility. Additional upgrades to be completed include aplayground, water play, futsol courts, and a skate areadesigned for novice skaters. Hawthorne Park’s entirerenovationisexpectedtobe9inishedbyJuneof2015.

To view Hawthorne Park’s Master Plan, includingconceptualdrawingsanddesigndescriptions,pleasevisitthe Parks & Recreation page on the City’s website atwww.ci.medford.or.us.

Reduced Late Fees for Utility Bills: The City Councilasked thePublicWorksDepartment to researchchangesto the current late fee of $15 charged to customers forpast-dueutilityaccounts.

TheCityCouncilwaspresentedwithareducedlatefeeonutility billings of $5 or 1% of the outstanding balance,whicheverisgreater. Councilapprovedthereducedrate.Inaddition, the late feegraceperiodwas increased from25daysto28daysafterthebillingdate.Theserevisionsare consistentwith thecitiesofPortlandandSalem,andallows the late fee to be displayed on the next month’sbilling.

The City Council also amended the Municipal Coderegarding the collectionof unpaidutility feebillings andtheassociatedpenalties.

These revisions were made to Municipal Code sections4.1200,4.1202,and4.1203andmaybeviewedontheCitywebsite at www.ci.medford.or.us, under the MunicipalCodetab.

AlDensmore

Working for you: DuringtheSeptember27thOregon

EmergencyMedicalServices(EMS)ConferenceinSalem,

the City of Medford’s Fire Inspector Samantha Metheny

was recognized by the State ofOregonHealthAuthority

andtheAmericanHeartAssociation.

TheStateofOregonHealthAuthoritypresentedherwith

the Community Service Award in recognition of her

outstanding commitment to non-patient care aspects of

thecommunity’sEMSsystem.

The American Heart Association recognized her for

championing the CPR-Anytime program in Jackson

County. They are now using her program as a national

modeltoincreasethenumberandimprovethesuccessof

agenciesinstructingandimplementingaHands-OnlyCPR

programintheirareas.

Community CPR Training: MedfordFire-Rescueoffers

CPR classes for businesses and community groups. The

classesaretaughtbyourcerti9iedEMT’sandParamedics

andarecerti9iedby theAmericanHeartAssociation. All

equipmentisprovided.Wemaybeabletocometoyour

facilitytotrainyourstaff.

Classes are also offered by ProvidenceMedfordMedical

Center and the American Red Cross. For more

information on Medford Fire-Rescue’s program call

(541)774-2300.

Multicultural Fair: The 21stAnnualMulticultural Fair

was held September 27th in Medford’s Alba Park. The

MulticulturalFairisafreeeventandisopentotheentire

community. The Fair’s goal is to promote cultural

awarenessandcelebratediversity.

TheCityofMedfordisasponsoroftheMulticulturalFair,

supporting the event through in-kind funds. The Police

Departmenthasaboothandprovidesinformationtothe

communityonPoliceandCityservices.

For more information on the Multicultural Fair, visit

theirwebsiteatwww.rvmcf.com.

Community Emergency Response Team: The City of

Medford is pleased to announce that it is forming a

volunteer Community Emergency Response Team

(CERT). This team will work closely with local law

enforcement, 9ire rescue, emergencymedical, emergency

management, and other agencies, as well as CERTs

already established in Ashland, Central Point, and

Jacksonville.

CERTmembers are community volunteerswhoundergo

approximately 24 hours of basic training on assessing

hazards, 9ightingsmall 9ires, lightsearchandrescue,and

9irst aid. Members acquire skills that are bene9icial to

their families and neighbors, and prepare them to

respond to emergencies throughout their own and

neighboring communities. Activemembers of organized

localteamsareprovidedbasicequipmentfortheirsafety

andidenti9icationaspartoftheCERTteam.

AlthoughgraduatesofCERTtrainingarewelcometojoin

anorganizedteam,theyarenotobligatedtodoso.Many

community members complete the training to prepare

themselvesandtheirfamiliesforemergencysituations.

For more information, please contact Nicolas Petersen,

CERT Coordinator, at (541) 774-2090 or via email at

Nicolas.Petersen@cityofmedford.org.

Operation C.A.R.E.: Each fall and spring, the Police

Department conducts Operation C.A.R.E. (Community

Awareness Rejuvenation Effort). Medford Police and

approximately 50 community leaders and City

representatives conduct a walking canvas of a selected

neighborhood. ThegoalofOperationC.A.R.E. istospeak

with residents regarding the livability and other issues

affectingtheirneighborhood.

Residents are asked their opinion regarding the

neighborhood’s need for social services including

emergencyfood,andenergyneeds;publicsafetyandlaw

enforcement, which includes drug houses, wanted

persons,gangactivity,etc.;andcodeenforcementissues

such as blighted homes or properties, health and safety

issues, or nuisances. Residents are also provided with

information regarding Neighborhood Watch, the

anonymous Medford Police Tip Line and services

coveringemergencies,youthprogramssocialneeds.

To learn more about Operation C.A.R.E., please contact

Medford’sCodeEnforcementat(541)774-2016.

Medford Police during the Mul�cultural Fair