September 2014
Hi everyone,
In case you haven’t heard, today, Friday the 29th of August is my last day. I will formally retire from my position of County Surveyor.
What a ride I have had, beginning my career with Bert W. Udell in Lebanon, Oregon in the summer of 69; then a decade plus with David Evans Inc., then onto the County for nearly 28 years total. The last 7 years I proudly served as your County Surveyor.
I feel very fortunate to have worked with many of you in some capacity. You all have been most supportive and encouraging as I found my legs as County Surveyor. Thank you.
David Brown will be our Interim County Surveyor, while our HR department gears up for a campaign to find the next person to hold this prestigious position. I suspect it will take several months to find the next individual whoever she or he will be.
Thank you all once again; it has been a privilege to hold this office. I wish you all good health and happiness.
Mike
Lane County Surveyor
March 2014
Happy end of winter everyone.
I’ve been hearing Spring Peepers for nearly two weeks now and just this morning I heard a robin singing the spring song. Winter is always looked forward to after a hot summer and warm fall, but springtime can’t come fast enough for me this year.
I felt it was time to connect again with you all, tell you what I’ve been thinking and remind you that we’re always here to help. I know, you’ve all heard the line, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help”; some of you may think that is funny or in some cases frightening, but we truly are here to help.
Did those of you who attended the 2014 PLSO Conference attend Mary Johnson’s “Right of Entry Defense” presentation? The elevation of this subject should catch all of our attention. Unfortunately, I hear the stories of those from our ranks who chose to “ignore, take a chance, or it just plain slipped their mind,” and subsequently received a notice from OSBEELS, then were fined. Gone are the days when I was asked to go out, set a pin at our client’s northwest corner and get out fast. We got out fast because the neighbor to our client was cranky. We thought at that time it was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Not any longer. We all need to be reminded, OSBEELS is not there for us as surveying professionals; they are there to protect the public. If that means taking your license, then that is what they will do. ORS 672.047 should not be taken lightly. Please do yourself a favor and read this statute. We should know it better than the public; they call me all the time and they know what it says.
The latest news on the Ford files is, they are stored in our overwhelmed storage room; there were many boxes, over a hundred. We filed many un-filed surveys, mostly from the 50’s and 60’s; they are on line for your research. Should you need to review any of the stored boxes, let us know and we’ll help you find the box. Harvey Christensen was the first to ask to look into one of these boxes. I don’t know if he found a treasure inside, however they are a good resource.
Speaking of un-filed surveys, lately I have been made aware of monuments being found in the field without a filed survey to reference them; I am not talking about one instance or one particular surveyor. It should be obvious to any of us how this could affect our own retracing surveys, not to mention the unlawfulness. I understand why this issue could happen, some are almost excusable. I need to make something clear on this subject. Policing our ranks for violations related to the practice of land surveying is not my job; it is all of our jobs. A noted writer and fellow land surveyor mentions in a recent book how the land surveying community has a “public relations disaster” on its hands. I believe he is right, based on the calls or face to face meetings I have with the public daily. Personally, I always call the surveyor who may have erred in not completing his/her duties, to give them a chance to make it right. Yes, I know ORS 209.250 says we “must forward to the State Board…” issues we find that are not in compliance, but I believe it is good policy to give anyone a chance to make it right first. I have no sympathy however for a second time offender.
It is no secret, I feel Jeff Lucas is one of the best contributors to our profession in the last 50 years. His constant drum beat on how the land surveying community can improve their image is welcome to me. His book, The Pincushion Effect, should be mandatory reading before you renew your license. Jeff also has a monthly letter called, The Lucas Letter (what did you expect), it is only $25 a year and is a great value. Check out his site, there are other options for CE credits at a reasonable price as well.
Now that I have that off my chest, let’s move on to more productive things, such as our Government Corners work.
Our Government Corners Crew has been busy restoring and maintaining government corners throughout Lane County. In one instance, one of you needed help with a government corner in McKenzie Bridge last year, and after restoring that corner we found others within that area that could use some touchup. From there we moved down the highway to Blue River, Vida, Marcola, and are currently near Coburg. We are hopeful you all will benefit from this work in the near future. Let us know if we can help you with restoration or maintenance on one of these corners, we’ll put our schedule on hold and help you out, of course, after we send our right of entry letters out.
Here is wishing you all a busy and productive spring and summer season.
Best Wishes,
Mike
April 2013:
Our office will no longer accept Mylar or Vellum type medium after July 1, 2013.
For those in the profession ready to begin utilizing the new medium, the Surveyor’s Office will accept filings on 36# Acid Free Bond Paper immediately as outlined in the email message from Mike Jackson, Lane County Surveyor.
The exact description is: RIJB24-36 (24”) and RIJB36-36 (36”), manufactured by Pixelle and distributed by Roll Bond and may be found at Central Print and Reprographic Services on 5th Street in Eugene, 541-342-3624. The cost for a 100 foot roll is: $22.00 for 24” and $31.50 for 36”. Bullfrog has also been notified of this change and should be able to provide this product as well. The main two concerns are the copies you deliver are acid free and legible.
In bad light, they double as dolphins.
June 2012:
NOTICE: SIDO will be offline for updates 6/15-6/18.
SIDO will be offline for updates starting on Friday morning, 6/15, and will be back online with new features on Monday, 6/18. New SIDO will present many more Survey images for your research, including Old Partitions (M-Partitions), Roll Files, Subdivision Vacations and many more. We are pleased to bring these additional images to you, and thank you for your patience during our conversion. – Lane County Surveyor's Office
June 2012:
CLOSED Friday June 1st and Monday June 4, 2012 ( Training )
CLOSED Friday June 15th and Monday June 18, 2012 ( Moving )
We will OPEN at 9:00 am on June 19, 2012 in our NEW LOCATION: Public Works Customer Service Center
3050 N. Delta Hwy, Eugene, OR 97408
Please note our new office hours will be 9:00 am - 4:00 pm Monday - Friday
March 2011:
Lane County Surveyor's Office is pleased to inform you that Kent Inman, PLS, has been selected as Deputy County Surveyor/ Office Supervisor.
February 2010:
With the assistance of Lane County Information Services Staff, we are pleased to announce documents accessed through the Surveyor's Images and Documents Online (SIDO) are now in PDF format. Due to this change, our office expects to see a decrease in the number of individuals having difficulties viewing and printing records from our website.
January 2010:
Beginning January 1, 2010 we will be implementing a new fee schedule. The updated fee schedule will be posted on our website.
Beginning on January 8, 2010 survey maps for property line adjustments administered under the jurisdiction of Lane County will need to be accompanied by documentation showing approval of Lane County Planning. This new requirement will not be applicable to property line adjustments located within the urban growth boundaries of Eugene and Springfield, or within the limits of any other incorporated city in Lane County.
There also is an UPDATED Survey Submittal Checklist, available on our website, with a section for Property Line Adjustments.
September 18, 2009
Adjustments were needed in some of our fees due to costs for services provided being greater than existing fees. Some adjustments were also made to fees for services that were previously subsidized at some level by Lane County. The new fees were approved by the Board of Commissioners on September 16th and will become effective January 1, 2010. The new fee schedule is available here.
July 2009:
A special benefit deposit for vacation of public property, or public interest in property under the jurisdiction of Lane County was implemented by the Board of Commissioners on July 24 th. Our existing vacation fees which recover our actual processing costs will remain unchanged; however, payment by the petitioners of a deposit equal to the estimated special benefit that results from the vacation and disposition of property to the benefited property owners may now also be required in some cases. If the vacation is approved, the special benefit deposit will be retained by Lane County. If the vacation is denied, the special benefit deposit will be returned to the landowners. Vacations that have special benefit value estimated at less than $2,500 will not be subject to the deposit.
The new procedures for special benefit deposits became effective on July 24th, 2009. They will be specified in Lane Manual 60.853(3) www.lanecounty.org/LaneManual
October 2008:
The Lane County Surveyor’s Office is pleased to announce it’s partnership with Oregon Department of Transportation (O.D.O.T.) Geometronics division and their Oregon Real Time GPS Network (ORGN). With the proper GPS receiver and a cell phone, users will be able to access this data (which is currently free), compliments of the Lane County Surveyors Office and O.D.O.T. Surveyors can access this signal through their GPS equipment to perform all types of surveys with centimeter accuracy and without the worry of clouds or fog obscuring their line of sight. Currently the Lane County Surveyor’s Office has two base stations for accessing this data, one at the County Courthouse and the other in Florence. Special recognition is given to the City of Eugene, City of Springfield, EWEB, and Lane County Public Works for helping to bear the cost of the software and hardware which makes this system possible.
Here is the web address for those of you that wish to check out the O.R.G.N further. www.theorgn.net
May 10th, 2007:
It has been several years since our fees were last adjusted and our costs of doing business have steadily increased since that time. That inflation factor, coupled with a decline in revenue, has caused us to take a close look at the services we provide, and adjust some of our fees to more closely match actual costs. New fees were approved by the Board of Commissioners on April 18 th and will become effective July 1, 2007. The new fee schedule is available here.
May 20, 2005:
Effective June 15, 2005, paper copies of survey maps will no longer be accepted as check prints for preliminary review. It is requested that all survey maps submitted for filing per ORS 209.250, be in final form. We ask that a “Survey Submittal Checklist” be completed, signed by the surveyor and turned in with each survey at the time of submittal. Paper copies of Subdivisions, Partitions and Condominiums will continue to be accepted for preliminary review.
January 4, 2005:
The Surveyor's Office, working with our Information Services department, has redesigned our survey and document applications. The new system, SIDO (Survey Index & Documents Online) is now up and available here. The new site should provide the same, or more, functionality with the added benefit of "one stop shopping." Give it a try!
November 24, 2004:
New copy charges have been implemented to better reflect the cost to the Surveyor's Office. New fees are available here.
August 10, 2004:
As of August 1st the hard copy survey visual index, located in the Research Room, will no longer be kept current. The hard copy will still be available however, the online index must be used for surveys indexed after August 1st.
November 17, 2003:
Bill Robinson, PLS has been selected as the next County Surveyor. Bill was selected from five candidates interviewed by two panels. Panel members included representatives from various divisions within Public Works, local governments, and private business members.
June 2nd, 2003:
Bill Robinson, PLS has been appointed Interim County Surveyor until a new County Surveyor is selected.
May 30th, 2003:
After 32 years with Lane County and 24 years as Lane County Surveyor, Bob Ezell has retired. The Lane County Surveyor's Office staff would like to thank Bob for his many years of service.
May 29th, 2003:
News release regarding proposed fee increase and public hearing click here.
May 29th, 2003:
A letter height of 0.08" will now be acceptable for 18" x 24" surveys. The lettering must be uppercase and an appropriate line weight to maintain legibility.
January 1st, 2002:
Effective now only one original copy of Subdivision and Partition plats will be accepted for recording. No true and exact copies are necessary. The original plat will be scanned by Deeds and Records and returned to the Surveyor's Office for filing into the survey records.
July 17th, 2001:
Today marks the 150th anniversary of the first government corner set in Lane County. To commemorate the occasion members of our field crew recreated the photo of the Surveyors Office circa 1910. Go here to see.
May 1st, 2001:
The Board of County Commissioners recently adopted a fee increase for the Land Management Division. The new fees schedule will be effective July 1, 2001. Click here for the updated fee schedule.
January 22nd, 2001:
Effective now Assessment and Taxation is requiring that Partition tax workup requests show the location of all existing improvements. This is meant to help the department place existing structures on the appropriate parcels. A new workup request form (in PDF format) is available under the "Checklists" section. Please use this form with new submittals.
September 5th, 2000:
The new visual index project is completed. The older blue books are no longer being updated so please use the new index located at the east end of the research room.
June 16th, 2000:
Effective July 1st, 2000 the Deeds & Records recording fee for Partition Plats will be $36.
May 26th, 2000:
The Surveyor's Office has recently purchased a new Canon Microfilm Viewer and Digital Printer to replace one of our aging 3M Reader/Printers. The Canon can reproduce 18x24 and 11x17 prints from microfilm and digital images. This machine marks a new era for the Lane County Surveyor's Office in utilizing digital technology to index, retrieve and reproduce quality prints from our records. The operation of this machine is not as intuitive as the older 3M's, so we are asking that you please have a member of our staff instruct you on its operation.
April 17th, 2000:
Effective immediately, only one original and one true and exact copy of subdivisions and partitions will be accepted for recording.
February 01, 2000:
We have implemented a new tracking system for Surveys, Subdivisions, and Partitions. As a result, since January 1st we have been assigning a single CSF Number to multiple page surveys.
December 13, 1999:
Deeds & Records has changed the process for recording documents and plats. All items received for recording are now scanned upon receipt and a 1½" X 4" recording sticker is placed on the first page of the item. This includes Subdivision and Partition Plats. As a result, care must be taken to ensure an open area for this sticker on all plats. In addition all recorded documents are now indexed by a ten (10) digit document number rather than reel & instrument.
November 29, 1999:
We have received a new index for the City of Eugene's street centerline coordinates. The index is a set of maps similar to the old index, with point numbers plotted at the physical location of the control points. It is smaller than the old index and different in appearance. The index is in a black pressboard binder, 11" x 17" in size and is labeled as follows:
Centerlines
Centerlines Points
And Point #
The index is located on top of the new survey visual index cabinets. ("I" on the research guide.) The accompanying notebook of centerline coordinates is being kept on the shelf below the index.
November 15, 1999:
The Surveyor's Office has received the following recently approved maps from the B.L.M.
- Section 21, T. 16 S., R. 1 W., W.M. - Dependent Resurvey & Subdivision of Section
- Section 11, T. 18 S., R. 7 W., W.M. - Dependent Resurvey & Subdivision of Section
- Section 25, T. 20 S., R. 6 W., W.M. - Dependent Resurvey
- Section 19, T. 16 S., R. 6 E., W.M. - Supplemental Plat