DEVELOPMENT & PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTER - SUMMER 2022
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Welcome to the Summer Edition of the City of Springfield’s Development and Public Works (DPW) newsletter. It’s a beautiful time of year in Oregon and I hope you’re getting out with your friends and families to take a break and recharge. It has been an exciting summer for our City, we’ve seen the return of many community events and gatherings, and we hosted a world-class track and field marathon. Our DPW staff was happy to lend support to some of these events including traffic control setup, right of way and City property cleanup, outreach regarding detours, and being prepared for any emergencies.
Along with these special events we’ve also been working on our seasonal maintenance projects including street repairs, stormwater facility upkeep, and landscaping. The summer season also means more construction and with new homes being built in several neighborhoods throughout Springfield our building inspectors have been busy. They make sure construction is done according to building codes and that the proper infrastructure is built to support these new neighborhoods. In this issue, you’ll read about some of the projects being done by Operations and the Community Development Division, and the exciting things our Environmental Services Division has been working on.
-Brian Conlon, DPW Operations Division Director
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H2Oh! Now on Display at Springfield History Museum
Springfield's Development and Public Works along with the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission have partnered to present Springfield's H2Oh! exhibit, currently on display at the Springfield History Museum.
The H2Oh! exhibit shares information and artifacts related to Springfield's water history, the City's stormwater system, the Springfield Utility Board's drinking water system, the water workforce, pollution prevention tips and resources, and more. The exhibit offers a fun water quality laboratory for kids complete with play microscopes and lab coats, as well as interactive elements for all ages.
Head to Downtown Springfield to check out the fun and learn more about the one water we all share! The Springfield History Museum is open Thursday – Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the H2Oh! exhibit will run through December 31, 2022.
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Showcasing the Benefits of Recycled Water |
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Approximately 50 professionals and community leaders attended the summit to engage and discuss the positive impacts recycled water can make on the water we all share. The summit offered an on-site approach to learning about recycled water and its many benefits and opportunities. It also provided a rare chance for water industry professionals to network alongside public and governmental officials.
Over two days, MWMC showcased its current recycled water uses at its treatment facilities and shared the next steps in advancing recycled water for community use including a tour of Delta Sand & Gravel. The summit shined a light on the immense opportunities for recycled water’s future role as an integrated environmental and water management asset for Oregon.
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Check Out Five New UpStream Art Murals!
Drop by the sidewalks on A Street, between at 4th & 5th Streets, to view the five newest additions to our UpStream Art mural collection, completed in July 2022!
UpStream Art supports local artists while promoting healthy local rivers and streams. We do this by hiring local artists to paint water-themed murals around storm drains across the City. The murals are a reminder of the connection between humans and nature that happens through a storm drain.
UpStream Art only goes on a handful of storm drains, yet its message applies to every storm drain in Springfield because, with our stormwater system, they all empty directly into our rivers and streams. There are currently 33 murals able to be viewed in the UpStream Art collection, located in 4 parts of town. Check out them all! For specific locations, see the UpStream Art Virtual Tour.
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Held every summer since 2016, the UpStream Art project is hosted by the City of Springfield’s Stormwater Team and reminds us of the connection between city streets and local waterways. When it rains, water washes over our city, sending everyday pollutants into storm drains and out to streams. Common pollutants include oil from leaking vehicles, overapplied moss and weed killers, bacteria from dog poop, litter such as cigarette butts, and debris including fallen leaves and sediment. This harms the rivers we rely on for recreation and resources. UpStream Art promotes healthy humans and healthy rivers by offering inspiration for keeping pollution out of storm drains.
The project starts with a Call To Artists in the spring and then around five designs are selected by a panel of judges. In the summer, the artists paint their murals over a span of two days using special traffic paints provided by the City. They are paid for their work. Since the murals are on pavement, the designs wear away over time and some have been replaced, but Springfield’s Stormwater Team slows the process by applying a sealant every year.
We hope you enjoy UpStream Art!
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Follow the Water Reconnects Oregonians
We want to introduce you to a project we’ve been working on for some time that’s finally making a splash – Follow the Water!
The City of Springfield is voluntarily collaborating with the City of Eugene and over 60 pacific northwest organizations, watershed councils, soil and water conservation districts, government agencies, and nonprofits – working together to remind us of the connection between water and our lives.
Follow the Water is a campaign built on the notion that clean water is not merely a local need, but a region-wide need that requires regional solutions with statewide support. It is also larger than any government agency, non-profit, etc. Through collaboration and sharing, our efforts are more effective. The campaign currently includes a website, two video series, and social media pages.
The campaign engages folks with water in Oregon, along the Columbia River, and Southwest Washington. It builds a bridge between clean water and healthy communities. It connects our actions at home and around the state to our rivers and streams. It displays the broader ecosystem of how water cycles through our watersheds, neighborhoods, and our lives.
Water can remind us of who we are as we visit our waterways, or when we take a drink of water.
As Judy Bluehorse Skelton, Assistant Professor of Indigenous Nations Studies at Portland State University says, “Water is our first medicine. When you have nothing else – water.”
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Maintaining Springfield's Streets
Our Operations Division has been taking advantage of all this dry weather getting as many projects done as they can. Technicians have been crack sealing streets in several neighborhoods in preparation for slurry seal work scheduled to begin September 6. Cracks are filled to prevent water intrusion before a slurry seal mixture of asphalt, sand, and rock is applied to streets to help preserve them. This work extends the life of City streets and reduces future repair costs. This maintenance has fewer traffic impacts compared to rebuilding the pavement and keeps the surface sound, usable, and safe.
It was all hands on deck as our technicians just wrapped up a paving project on 52nd Street and 52nd Place. Maintenance crews applied a thin lift overlay to both streets between B St. and D St. This type of maintenance also extends the life of the current street without having to perform a much larger and more costly restoration project. 54th St. will receive the same type of maintenance with work scheduled for this week, August 29-September 1.
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What Grows Below Stops the Flow
Our subsurface crew keeps wastewater flowing smoothly with their usual maintenance, but this summer they also worked with a company to help remove roots that had been growing into some of the City’s wastewater pipes. This crew sprayed an EPA-certified diquat-based herbicide foam into the wastewater pipes to kill the roots. Removing roots helps to prevent blockages caused by materials like fat, oil, and grease clinging to the roots and other objects that aren’t supposed to go down the drain.
This type of pipe maintenance keeps wastewater flowing to the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission's regional treatment plant. Most of the time our DPW technicians can use high-pressured water or even saws to remove roots, but several locations were identified within the system that needed this root foam treatment. Our techs will head back to these locations in a few months to spray the dead roots loose and we’ll share an update of the results in a future newsletter.
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Smaller Summer Crew Gives it Their All
Every summer we increase our Operations staff by adding seasonal workers to help with all the landscaping and stormwater bioswale maintenance we do this time of year. Post-Covid it has been difficult to find seasonal help.
We typically hire 10-12 workers for our landscaping and stormwater facility maintenance crews but even after posting the positions three times we were only able to hire six employees this summer. A couple of them have been with us for several years with one doing summer crew for more than 10 summers, so we’re glad to have them back.
We’re working on strategies for adding to next year’s seasonal workforce, but we appreciate the dedication and hard work given by the small group of staff we were able to hire this year. They accomplished a significant number of projects and even had our City's landscaping in tip-top shape for the Oregon22 marathon. If you're interested in joining next year's summer crew sign up to be notified of future maintenance job openings.
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Let's Trash Little Litter |
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"Clean streets, Clean river. Let's trash little litter!" Check out Springfield’s newest street sweeper! Springfield’s Stormwater Team joined forces with Springfield’s Operations Division to wrap this shiny new street-sweeping vehicle with a useful reminder for us all.
A major reason for street sweeping is to get litter and debris out of street gutters before it washes into storm drains. Water entering Springfield’s storm drains empties directly into our rivers and streams. The water is not cleaned like wastewater is. That’s why trashing little litter – such as receipts, food wrappers, cigarette butts, and used fireworks – keeps them out of gutters, storm drains, and the rivers we use for recreation and resources.
Thanks for putting trash in the garbage, where it belongs. Find out about Springfield’s support of clean water, including little litter prevention, at springfieldstreams.org. And keep an eye out for this sweeper in your neighborhood!
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The final project funded by general obligation bond 20-296 is well on its way to completion. Centennial Blvd. between Aspen and Prescott is freshly paved and ready for striping and other finishing work. Our contractor wrapped up night paving just a few weeks ago. Sidewalk ramps were upgraded with a full redesign and reconstruction earlier this summer to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards. GO bond 20-296 was approved by Springfield voters in 2018, click the button below to see the projects that were included in this bond.
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Call 811 Dig!- Spread the Word For Your Chance to Win!
If you’re planning to do any sort of digging in your yard, it’s best to know what’s below and call 811 before you dig. When you call 811, the Oregon Utility Notification Center will coordinate with local utilities, including the City of Springfield, to have underground utilities marked before you dig. It’s a free service and can help you avoid any accidents or injuries.
We want to let everybody know about this service and we’d like your help spreading the word. All you have to do is display a “Call 811 Before You Dig” sign in your yard and we’ll show our appreciation by entering you into a drawing for a chance to win a $100 gift card to a local home improvement store. Stop by the Community Development counter in the southeast wing of Springfield’s City Hall at 225 Fifth Street to pick up a sign. Fill out the pledge form while you’re there and we’ll draw one winner later this year.
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Mill Street Reconstruction - In Case You Missed It |
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Planning work continues on the reconstruction of Mill Street, City staff gathered feedback from Mill Street property owners and residents regarding which side of the street they would prefer vehicle parking. The response was overwhelming for parking to remain on the west side of the street. After receiving this feedback, analyzing the utility impacts, assessing tree health, traffic calming options, and pedestrian crossing needs, cross-sections were developed for the corridor. For full details of the latest project update, see our July 2022 Mill Street E-Update and sign up for the Email list below.
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Path Etiquette - Campaign Kicks-Off
The shared use paths throughout Springfield are popular and well-loved. From the Middle Fork Path to the Millrace Path, to the Riverbank Path, there are options for everyone! However, there has been an increase in the number of people, and the range of bikes and wheeled devices, on paths in the last few years.
To ensure that all shared use path users treat each other in a courteous and safe manner on paths, the City of Springfield has launched a path etiquette campaign. The campaign aims to promote courtesy and safety among all path users and includes community outreach, education, media, and temporary signage.
The key messages of the path etiquette campaign are:
1. Paths are for everyone — all non-motorized modes
2. Travel a safe speed — 20 MPH maximum speed on paths, slower as needed
3. Stay in your lane — stay right, pass left, don’t take more than your half
4. Give warning when passing — call "passing on your left” or ring bell
5. Dogs on a short leash
Between 4:30 – 6:30 pm on Wednesday, September 7, head over to the Riverbank Path (near D Street entrance) for path etiquette trivia and prizes, free bike repairs, and free maps and resources. Stop by to ask questions, have your bike repaired, or grab free safety lights! For more information, contact Transportation Options Specialist Kelsey Moore at kcmoore@lcog.org.
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Learn to Ride a Bike - A Free, All Ages, Drop-In Event!
Do you or your child want to learn how to ride a bike? Get the instruction and practice needed to balance and glide before trying pedaling in order to take that next step with skills and confidence. Some will learn to pedal in one session, while others may need to participate in future events or practice on their own to reach that final goal. Regardless, we’ll send you away with new skills and with activities to work on to continue to make progress.
Join Safe Routes to School, Cascadia Mobility, the City of Eugene, the City of Springfield, and Shift Community Cycles for this fun event with pedal-powered smoothies, bike checks, information about bike share, and possibly a chance to head to the streets for some traffic safety instruction and experience in a group setting.
You don’t need your own bike to participate, but please bring a helmet and bike if you have one.
Wednesday, August 31st, stop by any time between 4:30-7:00 pm
4J District Office parking lot, 200 North Monroe Street in Eugene
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Stay Connected with Springfield |
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Want to learn more about all that the City of Springfield is doing throughout our community and how you can get involved? Sign up on our website to receive timely information directly in your inbox, specific to the topics that interest you!
From updates on affordable housing to news on the City’s Main Street improvement efforts to volunteer opportunities to help keep our waterways clean, we offer a variety of ways to stay connected with Springfield. Subscribe to any of these email lists using the button below.
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