This October, Springfield and Eugene City Clubs are teaming up to present a two-part program series exploring the future of riverfront development in our region. The first program of the series was held on October 2. The second program in this series will be hosted by City Club of Eugene on October 17 at Noon at the WoW Hall (291 W 8th Ave, Eugene). That program will feature Will Dowdy, Community Development Director for the City of Eugene, who will discuss the past, present, and future of the project providing additional insights into ongoing riverfront development efforts on the west side of I-5

Will Dowdy is the Community Development Director for the City of Eugene.  He started working for the City in 2014 and his work includes supporting the City’s efforts in economic development, Affordable Housing, downtown placemaking, the Downtown Riverfront redevelopment, and the City’s Mapping Value project.  Will received Master of Architecture and Master of Architectural Design & Urbanism degrees at the University of Notre Dame.  Prior to his time at the City, he worked in the private sector, consulting on projects in urban design and development around the country.

Mr. Dowdy will be joined by James L. Atkins, who will focus his remarks on the development of residential real estate along the waterfront, including some of the significant challenges that have emerged amidst the extraordinary opportunity of building a new neighborhood. Mr. Atkins is a real-estate development executive whose 30+ year career has been focused on neighborhood scale mixed-use redevelopment projects, many of which have involved remediation of brownfield environmental issues. His leadership and technical expertise have helped create over 10,000 new housing units of all types in markets from Downtown Los Angeles to South Waterfront Portland to Seattle’s new waterfront to now Eugene’s River District.

Both programs are open to the public. The October 17 program will be live streamed on the City Club of Eugene You Tube site (October 17 program).

The featured speaker on the 2^nd was Allie Camp, who leads the City of Springfield’s Economic Development team with more than a decade of public and private sector experience across land use, planning, transit, construction, and new development. In this program, Allie walked us through the many puzzle pieces that make up Glenwood’s future — from infrastructure and redevelopment opportunities to partnerships and

community engagement with a deep dive into the Glenwood Master Plan Area — one of Springfield’s highest priority economic development projects — and shared how this area’s transformation could reshape Springfield’s riverfront. That program may be viewed on the City Club of Eugene YouTube site. (October 2 program).

This October, Springfield and Eugene City Clubs are teaming up to present a two-part program series exploring the future of riverfront development in our region. Both programs are open to the public. Springfield City Club will kick off the series on October 2 at Roaring Rapids Pizza, (4006 Franklin Boulevard in Glenwood), with a deep dive into the Glenwood Master Plan Area — one of Springfield’s highest priority economic development projects.

The featured speaker on the 2nd, Allie Camp, leads the City of Springfield’s Economic Development team with more than a decade of public and private sector experience across land use, planning, transit, construction, and new development. Prior to joining Springfield, Allie worked in economic development for the City of Eugene and in marketing and facilities management at Lane Transit District. She is passionate about the challenge of land development and bringing complex projects to life.

In this program, Allie will walk us through the many puzzle pieces that make up Glenwood’s future — from infrastructure and redevelopment opportunities to partnerships and community engagement — and share how this area’s transformation could reshape Springfield’s riverfront.

The community will also be invited to the second program in this series, hosted by City Club of Eugene on October 17 at Noon at the WoW Hall (291 W 8th Ave, Eugene), which will provide additional insights into riverfront development efforts on the other side of I-5. That program will feature Will Dowdy, Community Development Director for the City of Eugene, who will discuss the past, present, and future of the project.

Will Dowdy is the Community Development Director for the City of Eugene.  He started working for the City in 2014 and his work includes supporting the City’s efforts in economic development, Affordable Housing, downtown placemaking, the Downtown Riverfront redevelopment, and the City’s Mapping Value project.  Will received Master of Architecture and Master of Architectural Design & Urbanism degrees at the University of Notre Dame.  Prior to his time at the City, he worked in the private sector, consulting on projects in urban design and development around the country. 

October 9, 2025 — Noon to 1:00 p.m. (doors open at 11:30).

Roaring Rapids Pizza, 4006 Franklin Boulevard in Glenwood

This specially scheduled program is being held outside our typical meeting dates

The Fire Service Levy imposed by the City of Springfield is up for renewal and will be voted on at the November 4 election. Eugene Springfield Fire Chief Mike Caven will review the history of the Eugene Springfield Fire Department, including its origin, and discuss considerations for the future governance of the organization. He will cover the suite of services provided by the department, as well as the challenges that exist due to service demand, emerging threats from wildfires, and public funding. Additionally, discuss the upcoming levy renewal on the November 4^th election ballot to fund the 5^th fire company in Springfield.

Chief Caven has led Eugene Springfield Fire since 2022 and has been a member of the department since 2007. With 23 years of experience in the fire service, Chief Caven has advanced through the ranks, starting his career with the City of Cottage Grove in 2002. The Chief spent two terms on the board of directors at South Lane County Fire & Rescue and nearly a decade leading the Lane Professional Firefighters Association. Chief Caven was born in Eugene and grew up in Central Oregon, so outdoor activities are what make him smile the most, just ahead of a good firehouse prank. Fun fact: Before moving to Eugene after accepting his current role, Chief Caven owned and operated a craft chocolate factory, where he crafted chocolate using beans from all over the world.

KLCC is the most listened-to news and information source in western Oregon, reaching over 90,000 weekly radio listeners and more than 1 million digital readers each year at KLCC.org. Through its broadcast and digital channels, KLCC is the region’s leading provider of non-commercial public service journalism and cultural programming, including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Oregon On The Record and the email news digest, KLCC Extra! KLCC is a self-funding service of Lane Community College and is financially supported by the generosity of contributing members.

Jim Rondeau has been the General Manager of KLCC since 2019. He’s a graduate of the University of Washington and previously held journalism and management positions at commercial and noncommercial stations in Los Angeles, San

Diego and Santa Barbara. Since his arrival, he has led the effort to expand local news and programming to address the decline of regional journalism. The effort has raised more than $3 million through KLCC’s Amplifying Oregon Voices campaign, significantly expanding its newsgathering resources and extending its reach across both broadcast and digital platforms.

Award-winning reporter Rebecca Hansen-White joined the KLCC News Department in November 2023, where she covers local government, healthcare, education and housing. She started her journalism career in print, at her hometown paper, The Dayton Chronicle in Southeast Washington. She previously covered Washington state politics, education and local government for The Columbia Basin Herald newspaper, The Spokesman-Review newspaper in Spokane, and Spokane Public Radio.

The meeting will be at Roaring Rapids Pizza, 4006 Franklin Boulevard in Glenwood. It will start at Noon on September 18 and last for one hour. You may come early for networking and lunch or attend the meeting on Zoom with this link: KLCC

On September 4 we will have representatives of The Chronicle which describes itself as providing Hyper Local News in Springfield, Cottage Grove, Creswell, & Pleasant Hill with both print and online services and the Lookout Eugene Springfield, which is an online only news service. Join us then for a facilitated discussion about digital and print media in our area, the challenges they face, and their role in an ever shifting information landscape. Join us at Roaring Rapids Pizza, 4006 Franklin Boulevard in Glenwood. The program beings at noon, but you can come at 11:30 for lunch and networking. Or join us on Zoom

 The Chronicle

Noel Nash, owner and publisher

After 25 years in the newspaper business as a reporter, page designer and senior editor, Noel joined ESPN to help create the Stats & Information Group in 2006. In 2015 he was named Vice President of the 230-person team that generated unique-and-differentiating content across all media platforms, including live studio and event TV, digital and streaming products, audio and print. His oversight included the BottomLine and Content Research. His team supplied all real-time clock, scores, and statistical content to every ESPN platform globally), and industry-changing sports analytics and metrics. Noel left ESPN in 2017, and purchased The Creswell Chronicle in February 2019 – renaming it The Chronicle and expanding coverage to include Springfield, Cottage Grove, and Pleasant Hill. He and his wife Denise have a son, Benjamin, and a daughter, Melissa.

Erin Tierney-Heggenstaller, co-owner and executive editor

Erin Tierney-Heggenstaller began her career in journalism in 2012 as a reporter and associate editor for The (Lock Haven) Express in Pennsylvania. In 2016, she relocated to Oregon, where she joined The Creswell Chronicle as a reporter and later became the editor. In 2019, Erin and her publisher led the effort in expanding the newspaper’s coverage to include nearby communities that were lacking local news, which led to the rebranding of the publication as The Chronicle and the expansion of its digital footprint. Deeply committed to delivering credible and unique content to her rural and underserved communities, Erin became a co-owner in 2025, making The Chronicle a majority-women-led business. She and her husband, Lance, live in Springfield with their parrotlet, Murphy, and a small flock of chickens and ducks.

Lookout Eugene-Springfield

Dann Miller

Dann Miller is the executive editor of Lookout Eugene-Springfield, bringing decades of leadership experience in both traditional and digital newsrooms.

A native of Elmira, New York, Dann began his journalism career at his hometown newspaper while still in high school. His path has taken him across the country, leading newsrooms at the Army Times Publishing Company outside Washington, D.C., the Tallahassee Democrat in Florida, and the Erie Times-News in Pennsylvania before moving west to the Yakima Herald-Republic in Washington and the Statesman Journal in Salem, Oregon.

After leaving Oregon in 2018, Dann served as news director for the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tennessee, overseeing coverage in Arkansas and Mississippi, before taking on the same role at the Courier Journal in Louisville, Kentucky.

Now, he returns to Oregon, a place he has long considered home. “The Willamette Valley holds a special place in my heart. I miss the mountains, coast, climate, produce, and people that helped shape me as a person and a journalist.”

Throughout his career, Dann has been committed to fair, aggressive, and nonpartisan local journalism. He has a proven ability to build strong teams and foster deep community connections to ensure vital stories are told with accuracy and impact. As executive editor, he leads Lookout Eugene-Springfield’s mission to provide high-quality journalism that reflects and serves the people of Lane County.

Lillian Schrock-Clevenger

Lillian Schrock-Clevenger is the Springfield correspondent for Lookout Eugene-Springfield. Since moving to Oregon in 2016, Lillian Schrock-Clevenger has reported for The Register-Guard and the Corvallis Gazette-Times.

She has also covered stories of entrepreneurs who launched their businesses with the help of the Oregon Small Business Development Centers and the Eugene Regional Accelerator & Innovation Network.

Lillian received her journalism degree from Drake University and cut her teeth at the Des Moines Register as an intern for two years. After graduating, she served as the statewide crime and courts reporter at the Casper Star-Tribune, covering criminal justice issues affecting Wyoming.

She believes in keeping readers informed and giving them hope about tough issues impacting our community.

Formerly a small business manager at Run Hub Northwest in Eugene, Lillian is also passionate about how individuals and their interests shape their communities. She looks forward to serving Springfield with critical information they need and the vibrant stories they want.

Earlier this year, Mayor Sean VanGordon convened the Fiscal Stability Task Force, bringing together 12 local community and business leaders to take a hard look at Springfield’s long-term budget challenges. Over nine weeks, the group reviewed 56 potential solutions and reached consensus on nine key recommendations aimed at protecting core services, promoting fairness, and ensuring long-term fiscal health.

At this City Club program, Mayor VanGordon will provide an overview of the Task Force process, its recommendations, and the principles guiding their work. The focus will be on open dialogue, with ample time for audience questions. Attendees will receive a summary handout and information on how to share feedback through the City’s public survey. A copy of the report may be viewed or downloaded here: Fiscal Stability Report.

Sean VanGordon is the Mayor of Springfield, Oregon, and a champion for housing, economic development, and transportation policy. Since joining the City Council in 2011, Sean has led efforts to revitalize downtown Springfield, expand infrastructure funding, and champion businesses. A Springfield resident since 2007, Sean lives with his wife, twin daughters, and their Labrador, Marcus. He is an avid reader and a proud fan of the University of Oregon Ducks.

Join us to learn about how the Housing + Design Initiative is continuing the work of Springfield’s Housing Strategy, while helping the City also come into compliance with the State’s housing-related statutes and rules. The City will focus particular attention on amending the Springfield Development Code to include clear and objective standards for mixed-use areas. This approach reduces regulatory barriers by allowing more types of housing in commercial and mixed-use areas, and continues the larger, ongoing Development Code Update Project to simplify code language and streamline the development review process.

Haley Campbell, a Senior Planner for the City of Springfield and the project manager for the Housing + Design Initiative project will provide a project update. Her work focuses on the connection between long-range land use planning efforts and how the Development Code makes the long-term direction and goals a reality, which so far have resulted in amendments for stormwater management, income-qualified housing, and annexation requirements. 

A Bit About the Housing + Design Initiative

In 2024, the City secured funding from the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development for Cascadia Partners to work with City staff on the Housing + Design Initiative. This multi-year project will produce three key deliverables, each tied to proposed updates to the Springfield Development Code and Springfield’s long-range land use plans, corresponding to each phase: (1) a code and plan audit, (2) code and plan concepts, and (3) code and plan amendments.

Cascadia Partners’ audit was designed to update the City’s Development Code and planning documents in areas outside Springfield’s proposed Climate Friendly Areas (CFAs). These areas, which are outside CFAs, but near to them are currently Gateway/RiverBend, Main Street, and portions of Glenwood and Downtown. The audit provided two lenses:

• A review for statutory compliance (how well Springfield’s Development Code meets State requirements and where it needs to change to do so)
• A strategic approach for a set of recommendations to support the City’s broader goals for increasing housing production and choice.

Looking more broadly, foundational work already completed includes:

• A Community Engagement Plan, which guides the City to meaningfully seek input from the community, build awareness of the project, and solicit early feedback on the code and plan concepts being considered.
• Consideration of market economics to better understand what types of development could realistically occur within mixed-use areas.

This summer, the project team has moved into the concepts phase to determine how the mixed-use sections of the development code could change. At this event, the project team will present some initial concepts for discussion. This fall, the Springfield Planning Commission and City Council will receive an update on the project, which will share highlights from the discussion at City Club and will provide direction on which concepts to incorporate into the proposed plan and code amendments.

More information is available on the project webpage at bit.ly/HousingDesignInitiative. You may view or download the project fact sheet HERE

Before joining the City of Springfield, Haley spent four years with the Satre Group, a local landscape architecture and planning firm, to deliver on land use planning and housing priorities. She also interned for the City of Springfield for two years while in college. She earned a bachelor’s degree in planning, Public Policy, and Nonprofit Management from the University of Oregon in 2016 (Go Ducks!) and participated in several Sustainable City Year projects.

What excites her the most about her work, and the Housing + Design Initiative, is the opportunity to work on projects that directly impact the lives of individuals and the broader community. One of Haley’s proudest accomplishments in affordable housing development came when she worked to establish a partnership between the Satre Group and SquareOne Villages. The Peace Village project created 70 units of permanent affordable housing with residents at 60% of the area median income. This has translated into her passion for creating homeownership opportunities and needed housing.

For 75 years, SUB has been Springfield, Oregon’s customer-owned utility, created by the people of Springfield to bring safe, reliable, and cost-effective utility services to the community. Jeff Nelson, SUB’s General Manager, will take us through the utility’s remarkable history, including how residents wrested control away from an unpopular for-profit utility and instead created SUB to ensure Springfielders had a voice in how they were served. He’ll also share how that spirit of ownership continues to guide the utility today.

Looking ahead, Jeff will discuss the complex challenges facing SUB, including a changing climate, new regulations, and rapid advances in technology. Those challenges are addressed in SUB’s newly released strategic plan, which focuses on five key goals over the next five years. The document is a commitment to customers, one aimed at keeping the utility resilient, reliable, and responsive to serve Springfield’s needs in a fast-changing world. Learn about how SUB is securing the community’s drinking water and power future with large-scale infrastructure projects, plus about our new customer-focused service and technology initiatives. Jeff will share how SUB is preparing for the future while staying true to its mission—and how customer voices continue to shape our direction.

A native Oregonian, Jeff Nelson began his career with the Springfield Utility Board in 1996. He has served as the utility’s General Manager since 2012, making him only the fifth person to hold the position in the utility’s 75-year history. Under his leadership, SUB has emphasized energy and water efficiency, infrastructure investment, and a commitment to serving the Springfield community. Jeff has been instrumental in guiding the utility through various challenges, including the West Coast power crisis in the early 2000s and the COVID-19 pandemic. Most recently, he led the utility through a comprehensive review following the 2024 ice storm, resulting in a rigorous after-action process that has positioned SUB to better meet customer needs during future large-scale events. In March, Jeff announced he would retire in 2026, after nearly 30 years of service. He is working now to ensure a strong finish and a smooth transition to a new general manager.

You may have met Jeff in the wild without knowing it: from donning a beard and belly to play Santa in the Springfield Christmas Parade, to pulling on his formal stars-and-stripes attire to greet Light of Liberty Celebration festivalgoers as Uncle Sam, to jumping in a dunk tank dressed as a pirate, he’s known foe injecting fun and humor into even the most buttoned-up occasions.

Boating is one of the most popular recreation activities in Oregon. That’s why there are so many boat types and activities for any adventure imaginable. Whether you’re spending time fishing for salmon, steelhead, or the many other varieties of fish in Oregon, relaxing on a serene lake or running through whitewater rapids, Oregon has it all.

But to have a fun, relaxing, and thrilling time, being prepared, having the right equipment, and knowing what to do in different situations can make a difference.

Springfield City Club will welcome Captain Eddie Persichetti, The Oregon State Marine Board Law Enforcement Training Coordinator and Priscilla Mary-Cruser, the agency’s Boating Safety Advocate Program Coordinator 

In this presentation, Oregon State Marine Board (OSMB) staff will cover:

• Best practices for water safety on the Willamette and McKenzie rivers in boating, tubing, swimming, fishing, and more.
• Stories of water safety relevant to our local area.
• Educational classes available.
• Happenings at OSMB that community members should know about.
• And more!

Priscilla Macy-Cruser grew up near the Rogue River in Southern Oregon. At an early age, she was introduced to outdoor recreation and various water sports. Her first job was working for a jetboat company in Grants Pass, and shortly after high school, she became a professional whitewater river guide, leading trips in Oregon, Idaho, and California, both commercially and for a wilderness therapy program based in Oregon and Idaho.

Priscilla attended Oregon State University, earning an undergraduate degree in Recreation Resource Management and a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA). During this time, she also worked as a student instructor at the University Adventure Leadership Institute, teaching climbing, rafting, adventure education, and rescue classes, and she also competed as a professional whitewater kayaker.

As the Coordinator for the Boating Safety Advocate Program at the Oregon State Marine Board, Priscilla works with Oregon’s boating communities and the public to raise awareness and educate about responsible boating practices. Her goal is to make more people feel welcome, prepared, knowledgeable, and confident to enjoy our state’s waterways safely.

Priscilla Macy-Cruser, Boating Safety Advocate Program Coordinator 

Boating Safety Program
Oregon State Marine Board
Cell: (971) 382-2540

Boat.Oregon.gov

Holding his 1600-ton Open Oceans USCG license, since 2002, Eddie has worked his way up the commercial side and transitioned to the private sector of the maritime industry. He has accumulated over 60,000 nautical miles of sea service during this time. Working with local authorities and adhering to customs, clearances, maritime laws, and specific country or state regulations was the norm. High profile, high stress, and high expectations were the day-to-day grind in that arena. Still, he maintains his license and remains ingrained in the maritime community professionally and personally.

Transitioning to “family life” in 2017, Eddie stepped down from full-time yachting, and he and his wife started a successful day charter business based out of Warren, Rhode Island. He also became involved in USCG hybrid captains’ license curricula and assisted several maritime institutions in implementing and teaching these curricula.

He has held the position of Marine Law Enforcement Training Coordinator with the Oregon State Marine Board for more than seven years, with honor. He is grateful for the opportunity to work with a dynamic boating safety team in which he challenges himself daily to make boating safer. Working with over 30 sheriff’s offices statewide and over 150 law enforcement professionals throughout the year, he is engulfed with challenges, comments, and complaints. He has found that gaining trust, maintaining transparency, and not losing sight of his boating passion allows him to excel and has become the foundation for his professional success.

Eddie Persichetti

Law Enforcement Training Coordinator
Mobile 503-877-8304
Web Boat.Oregon.gov
E-mail [email protected]
435 Commercial St NE Suite 400 Salem, OR 97309

 

Seven candidates have filed for election to the Lane Community College Board of Education. The candidates have filed for several different zones, but all Lane County voters may vote for all candidates. The candidates that have filed, and the positions they are seeking include:

Candidate	Zone
Jeffrey Cooper	1
Jerry Rust	1
Devon Lawson	3
Julie Weismann	3
Austin Folägny	4
Richard Vasquez	4
Jesse Maldanado	7

 

All candidates have accepted an invitation to appear at a candidate forum sponsored by the Springfield City Club in collaboration with the League of Women Voters of Lane County. Each candidate has been invited to submit a statement concerning their candidacy. The statements received so far may be found here: Candidate Statements.

The forum will be held on May 1 at Roaring Rapids Pizza, 4006 Franklin Boulevard in Glenwood. It will be an in-person only event. The forum will begin at noon and is scheduled to run for 90 minutes. Attendees who wish to purchase lunch should arrive by 11:30 a.m.