[NLC] Resent: Council Memo re Neighborhood Services

[Jan Wostmann]

Several of you were unable to open to memo from Susan Muir forwarded to
neighborhood leaders earlier this week.  I also had some difficulty
sending it, it bounced back numerous times.  So, for those you who didn't
get the memo or were unable to open it, the text is below.   -Jan
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(picture: City Logo)

Planning & Development Administration
City of Eugene
99 W. 10 th Avenue
Eugene, Oregon 97401
(541) 682-8817
(541) 682-8335 FAX
www.eugene-or.gov

MEMORANDUM

Date: August 29, 2007
To: Mayor Piercy and City Council
From: Susan Muir, 682-6077, Executive Director
Subject: COUNCIL ASSIGNMENT RESPONSE: NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES STAFFING – UPDATE

On August the 15th, I sent you a memo addressing some temporary situations
within the Neighborhood Services Program. Since then, the staffing
situation has become permanent, and I would like to communicate the
current state of the program. I have broken the issue areas into the
topics of staffing, organizational structure, consultant work, and
communication.

Staffing

As I mentioned in the earlier memo, the resources available for the
Neighborhood Program have not changed. In order to fill the current 2.15
FTE, we have reassigned the following city staff to work in the
neighborhood program during the interim:
• Isaac Markehe
• Michelle Mortensen

Both employees formerly worked within the program and are hitting the
ground running to keep neighborhood services flowing directly and
promptly. The PSO duties Michelle currently performs will be transferred
with this appointment to provide a consistent and efficient level of
services, and an opportunity to build on the success Michelle has brought
to the position while providing key organizational linkages.

We will also continue with the existing following support structure:
• Public Works staff providing newsletter support.

In addition to the two interim assignments and ongoing newsletter support,
we plan to post an external announcement for a full-time Neighborhood
Service position on September 17, 2007.

Organizational Structure

I have moved the Neighborhood Services Program, formerly housed within the
Community Development Division of the Planning and Development Department
(PDD), to the Planning Division within PDD. Moving the program to the most
closely-related City division, will allow more attention to be focused on
the ‘Downtown Initiative’ and ‘Neighborhood Empowerment’ Council Goals,
and will facilitate continued progress. With these appointments in place,
the City will review the classifications and requirements of the current
positions and ensure that the Neighborhood Empowerment Goal and emerging
issues can be addressed within that framework.

Consultant Task

We are preparing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to accelerate the
continued implementation of the Neighborhood Empowerment Goal. The RFQ,
which we anticipate will be issued in about four weeks, will specify that
the consultant address the following key items:
• An analysis of the City’s current support structure to the Neighborhood
Associations
• A comparison to other exemplary neighborhood programs across the country
• Recommendations for the future organizational structure of Neighborhood
Services to increase support to Neighborhood Associations
• Recommendations to improve participation and effectiveness of the
Neighborhood Associations
• Recommendations to improve two-way communication between all City
departments and the Neighborhood Associations

Communication

Planning & Development Department staff met with the co-chairs of the
Neighbors Leaders Council (NLC) on August 28, 2007 to discuss the
Neighborhood Program. That same evening, Angel Jones, Lisa Gardner and I
attended the NLC meeting and heard valuable feedback that included
creative ideas for making improvements. That feedback was considered in
making the decisions and announcements in this memo. At the NLC meeting,
we delivered the following message:
• Neighborhoods are a critical and important issue to our organization and
to our community.
• The Neighborhood Program is supported by the City organization.
• Our goal is to keep communication open through continued dialogue
including:
  - Continued regular monthly meetings between Planning staff, the
Neighborhood Empowerment Team and the NLC co-chairs
  - Continued City leadership presence at the monthly NLC meetings
  - An open line of communication directly with the leaders in the
organization, including Angel, Lisa and me.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact me at
682-6077 or via e-mail <susan.l.muir at ci.eugene.or.us>.