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Help your neighborhood.  
Be a part of

THE BIG PICKUP: 

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Removing invasive plants during The Big Pickup each spring encourages natives to thrive. These, along Cox Creek, are Oregon grape, Indian plum and flowering curran

The Big Pickup, Albany's annual spring neighborhood cleanup, will focus this year on the area east of Century Drive NE between Earl and Dian Avenues.  Area residents can get rid of unwanted junk, trash, yard debris, and tires between 9 and 11:30 a.m. that day.  Community volunteers will be working in the area as well, picking up roadside litter and doing other work at a school and in city parks.

The Albany City Council invites service, church, and civic groups to participate and they welcome suggestions for other projects that day to improve Albany's appearance - landscaping a curbside planter strip, planting trees, or helping a neighbor with yard work are some examples.

Volunteers will gather and register for their assignments at the Linn County Expo Center, south end of the parking lot on Dogwood Avenue, starting at 8:30 a.m.  All who help out can come back to the registration area for an appreciation lunch at noon.

The Big Pickup is part of a communitywide volunteer effort that includes the spring stream cleanup and Republic Service's annual Recycle Roundup.  It is sponsored by the City of Albany and Republic Services.

For more information, contact Heather Slocum at 541-791-0058 or heather.slocum@cityofalbany.net.  Let her know by Friday, May 10, 2013, what you'd like to do and how many people will participate.

Thanks for helping to pick up Albany!

Celebrate Earth Day at Farmers' Market April 20

Albany Farmers' Market opens on Saturday, April 20, in the City Hall parking lot at Fourth Avenue and Ellsworth Street SW.  Celebrate Earth Day there from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. with information activities for all ages, provided by the City of Albany, Republic Services, OSU Extension Service Linn County, and other environmental organizations.

Visitors can crawl inside 29-foot-long Claudia Chinook to view the complete life cycle of a Chinook salmon.  Other displays and information include water conservation; reducing waste, reusing goods, and recycling; composting; and dog-friendly giveaways.

• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
• Composting
• Dog-friendly giveaways

For more information, contact Heather Slocum at 541-791-0058 or heather.slocum@cityofalbany.net

Let's G.O. (Get Outside)

Albany Parks & Recreation is hosting three activities to get you, your family, and friends outside in April.

• Talking Water Gardens tour:  Saturday, April 13, 10:30 a.m.-noon.  See how the gardens have grown in the past year.  This engineered wetlands facility is designed to reduce water temperature, restore riparian forest and wetlands, promote wildlife habitat, and create a living laboratory that brings wetland science to life.  Board the bus at 10:00 a.m. at Carino's Italian Restaurant for a free trip and tour.
• Procession of the Species:  Saturday, April 20.  Join this community celebration of the environment through art, music, and dance in a parade that weaves its way through downtown and back.  The Procession begins on Fourth Avenue in front of the Linn County Courthouse at 10 a.m.  Call 541-791-0058 for details.
• Geocache demonstration:  Saturday, April 27.  Geocaching is a real-world outdoor treasure hunt where groups work together to locate hidden containers using GPS-enabled devices.  Meet at the Albany Senior Center, 489 Water Avenue NW, at 10:30 a.m. for an introduction before heading out in search of caches at 12:30 p.m.  Bring your GPS-enabled device.  Call 541-917-7777 to register.

Touch-read water meters replacing older residential models

The City of Albany is replacing residential water meters that are more than 20 years old with a new model that allows meter readers to take readings electronically.

On older model meters, readers must open the  lid to record water use numbers each month. The new Sensus iPerl meters have an electronic touch pad that gives a reading without needing to open the lid. The new meters are further distinguished from the older models with a white cover plate.

The iPerl is lead-free, has no moving parts, and is warranted to be accurate for at least 20 years.

For more information, email jeff.kinney@cityofalbany.net or call 541-917-7600. 

Rules for accessible parking in lots, on streets

What is accessible or "handicapped" parking?  Why aren't there more spaces for people with disabilities?  Why is accessible parking required in that parking lot?

The state of Oregon sets the laws and standards regarding accessible parking in parking lots and includes specifications for the number of accessible spaces and how they are designed.  Almost every parking lot is required to have accessible parking of some kind.  Businesses, places of employment, medical offices, and City Hall are all examples.  The City of Albany enforces the state requirements and investigates complaints when they arise.

Businesses and facilities with only on-street parking may not have a designated accessible space.  Often, businesses share spaces on the streets.  Albany has a few spaces like this in the downtown area.  They include areas near the Linn County Courthouse, Linn County Armory Building, and the state employment office.  The federal government has studied accessible parking significantly, and the City strives to meet those guidelines in order to provide the best level of access possible for citizens with disabilities.

Accessible parking benefits a large portion of the community and has a direct effect on people's daily lives.  Helping property owners to develop good parking is a goal of the City's Accessibility Program.  If you have questions or concerns about accessible parking anywhere in Albany, call Lisa Bennett, Disability Access Coordinator, at 541-497-6225.

Watercolor Society of Oregon in Albany April 5-7

The Watercolor Society of Oregon will hold its spring 2013 conference April 5-7 at the Holiday Inn Express, Albany; and three events associated with the show are open to the public.

• Mary Ann Beckwith, juror for the convention, will attend a public reception at the host hotel from 4-6 p.m. Friday, April 5.  Beckwith is a professor of art at Michigan Technological University and a prominent and titled member of the watercolor community throughout the United States.
• An artists' reception will be held at Albany City Hall, 333 Broadalbin Street SW, 4:30-6 p.m. Saturday, April 6.
• City Hall will also be open on Sunday, April 7, from 1-4 p.m. where more than six dozen watercolor paintings will be displayed through the month of April.

While in Albany, artists will be found painting at Albany Regional Museum, the Historic Carousel and Museum, at the Wheelhouse overlooking the Willamette River, and on porches in the historic districts.

The Watercolor Society of Oregon has about 900 members; 200-300 are expected at the Albany convention.  For more information about the society and the convention, visit http://www.watercolorsocietyoforegon.com/.