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About The Chronicle : Creswell & Cottage Grove. (Creswell, Ore.) 2019-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 2020)
16 16 — — THE THE CHRONICLE CHRONICLE community THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020 SPRINGFIELD EYSTER continued from 13 “I’ve attended most City Council meetings and hear, ‘Glenwood is a diamond in the rough.’ It’s been a diamond in the rough for decades. Where is the urgency to polish the diamond?” It’s clear that “urgency” is one of the foundational elements for Eyster’s platform, which is prior- itizing economic vitality, safe neighborhoods and transparency in leadership. Eyster said each area of focus is intertwined to some degree, but the improvement in quality of life for residents is directly tied to Springfi eld’s economic success. He cited the development downtown, but doesn’t want the energy to stop there. “What we need to do is fi nd a way to use that as a spark to expand to the entire community,” he said. He said that kind of revitaliza- tion will create more jobs, which in turn will raise the median annual salary of residents in multiple industries. When it comes to safety in neigh- borhoods, Eyster said affordable and accessible housing is crucial for the entire community. “I think in some ways Springfi eld has had a sense that homeless- ness is a big problem in Eugene but not in Springfield,” he said. “Homelessness doesn’t have a boundary. We’re increasingly seeing homeless camps right off Main Street. I don’t think it’s because people have decided to move to Springfi eld. They’re people who genuinely don’t have a choice or option.” He added that the city needs to be more creative and urgent than they have been up to this point. The legislature has approved $3 million for a pilot project for a manufac- tured home community; however, a site hasn’t been located. “We have $3 million to help a problem and we don’t have a site identifi ed, so that’s what I mean about a sense of urgency,” Eyster said. “People in businesses who have someone sleeping in their doorway feel a sense of urgency to get that problem solved, but the person sleeping in that doorway is also feeling a sense of urgency because they want to be somewhere warm and dry.” Eyster said that a transparent leadership style is also important to him, and he described his best leadership qualities as being collab- orative and inclusive. He noted that there are people in Springfield who don’t feel they are part of the community, and it’s important to show them how important they are to the city. “If it wasn’t for the Latinx busi- nesses in our community, we’d be a much poorer place, both culturally and economically,” he said. L eadership, activism and achievement are not new to Eyster. He is the Springfield Utility Board vice chair, Statewide Transpor tation Improvement Fund chai r, Better Eugene Springfi eld Transportation pres- ident, Springfi eld Area Chamber of Com merce E conom ic D evelopment Com m it t e e chair, Springfield Renaissance Development Corporation pres- ident, and Lane Community College Board of Education Board chair. He is also a former City Club of Springfi eld Board chair, Lane Transit District Board chair, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce Board chair, Greater Eugene, Inc. Board president, and Travel Lane County board member. He was employed at the University of Oregon as senior asso- ciate vice president for Student Life, director of University Housing and executive director of the University Health Center. He was also named the 2014 “First Citizen” by the Springfi eld- Area Chamber of Commerce. “In many ways, (mayoral leader- ship) is not different from the work I’ve done for a very long time,” he said. “It all has to do with public policy and weighing needs.” If elected, Eyster said that he’s not going to take a year to ponder. During his campaign he will be listening to groups as a starting point, but then wants to take action. “Clearly I need input, but then we need to act,” he said. “I heard a lot of ‘can do’; we need to focus on ‘will do,’” he said, referring to Mayor Christine Lundberg’s 2020 State of the City address. Waiting has been one of Eyster’s biggest concerns for the city. He has testifi ed about the Patrician Mobile Home Park development before and elaborated that the person who bought the property years ago had announced his intent to sell and develop it, but there was no Plan B in the works for when the park would be developed. “It’s the responsibility of the city to say, ‘What can we do so it’s not a cliff for the people who are living here?’” he said. “I’m not sure of the answer to that, but I am sure I can pull the right people together and we’re going to work on that and fi nd an answer to it.” Eyster said he is committed and energized about the opportunities, and isn’t willing to wait on pushing Springfi eld forward. “I’m very excited for this oppor- tunity to bring my leadership style and commitment to the commu- nity,” he said. LUNDBERG continued from 13 ects, and some of them are in infancy enough that having that continuum of experience and knowledge – and, I want to say, the trust of the people I’ve been working with – to continue those” is important, she said. “I also love Springfi eld,” she added. Or iginally appointed mayor by the City Council in December 2010, when former mayor Sid Leiken became a Lane County commissioner, Lundberg said that she was also encouraged to run again. She stressed that she wants to complete one more term to help navigate Springfi eld through the new growth initiatives and the transition to a new city manager. With two of the top city positions changing simul- taneously, she said it was important for the city to have a sense of continuity. If re-elected, Lundberg said one of her areas of focus will include the indoor track-and-fi eld facil- ity being constructed in Glenwood. She added that although historic Downtown Spr i ngf ield has come together, the downtown extends to Glenwood. “It’s not two different places, it’s just that a river runs through it,” she said. With the economy chang- ing, there also are a variety of open jobs in the city, and Lundberg wants to help area businesses grow, maintain and expand. Economic vitality and affordable housing are two major planks of her platform because she said they go “hand-in-hand.” Lundberg also has plans in the works with the state agencies and St. Vincent de Paul to help facilitate afford- able housing through mobile home parks. “It’s evident that we have mobile home parks in Springfield and not all of them are going to remain mobile homes,” she said. “The developer gets to do what they want to do. Developers buy mobile home parks as investment properties and then sell them when the value is good enough.” She said that makes the people in those homes vulnerable, and city lead- ers are seeking ways to help those affected by applying for an Oregon Solutions proj- ect. The project got multi- ple organizations involved to create a toolkit if a park closes, and Terry McDonald, executive director of St. Vincent, will be part of the solution to build a new mobile home park that can stay that way. The project was passed by the governor with House Bill 2896, giving St. Vincent $3 million for a pilot program. Affordable housing is a key concern for Lundberg, who said the city is working on changing the development code to be more accessi- ble for a variety of housing development projects. The growth boundary expansion in Gateway, north before the freeway corridor, also has been approved. Lundberg is working with Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis on a U.S. Department of Transportation BUILD (Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development) grant that will extend from Downtown Eugene to Downtown Springfield through Franklin Boulevard, as well as focusing on bike connections from Eugene to Springfi eld. She also wants to cele- brate the diverse commu- nity within Springfi eld that has changed in recent years, which is why they’re reboot- ing Springfield Tomorrow efforts to lead to a better defi - nition of what the community is. “We’re raising another generation that has a lot of diversity,” she said. “We want to continue to create a warm and welcoming community.” Although Springfield is still facing its chal- lenges, Lundberg prefers to look at them as opportu- nities. Keeping the budget balanced is always a strug- gle, but Lundberg said they manage to do it every year even though it’s tight. “I see those as opportu- nities to do things better, but there are challenges of how to address those th ings,” she sa id. “To figure out for a community that likes independence how to embrace climate change and principles of ‘What can we do?’ that work for everyone.” Having grown up in Springfi eld, Lundberg said that she understands the community and through her tenure has worked hard on behalf of Springfield. Lundberg said she realizes she has had a tendency of not acknowledging her own contributions to city achieve- ments. It’s a mindset, she said, of always putting the city fi rst. “I have been working very hard on taking Springfi eld from where we are right now to the next level in terms of growth and development,” she said. For her 30 years of service to the community, Lundberg said that her experience and N E OP understanding of where the city is now and its next steps are important to consider for the upcoming election. “Keeping me as mayor is important to help push us forward,” she said. “A change at this point is probably not in the best interests of trying to move us ahead, because we’re moving really fast.” NOW IN CRESWELL! Tues thru Sat 11 am till 7pm Sunday 11 am till 2pm OYSTERS ARE IN! Get yourself some fresh oysters $13 a dozen! FRESH Pre-cooked CRAB $8.99 lb (around 2lbs each) Ready-to-go crab cracked in containers with a side of melted butter $10 each! Follow us on facebook 541-410-7398 FIND US ON THE MAIN DRAG BY THE MEADOWLARK RV PARK
