Roll Call

Members present:               Vice Chair Brad Knickerbocker          Tracy Harding

                                                Christina Lacy                                      Tom Marvin (absent)

                                                John Hinke (absent)                            Dylan Robbins (absent)

                                                Julia Sommer  (absent)

Council Liaison:                  Russ Silbiger                                        

Staff:                                      Derek Severson, Assistant Planner                

RVTD liaison:                      Paige West, RVTD/TDM Planner

High school liaison:           Cory Lescher (absent)                        SOU liaison:         None            

Call to Order

Vice Chair Knickerbocker called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m.

Approval of Minutes – June 16^th, 2005

The minutes of June 16^th, 2005 were approved as presented. 

Severson noted that new member Christina Lacy was present.  Members introduced themselves. 

Knickerbocker noted that Lexi Delgado had resigned.  Severson noted that Hinke had also stated that he would likely return when his trip was completed.  Members were encouraged to refer anyone they know who might be interested in applying.

Public Forum

Chris Johnson, Gresham Street resident, noted that he was present to observe and get an idea of what the commission was about.  Noted that he was a Segway owner, who had reduced his car by 93%, and that he had only driven 2000 miles last year, and that included a 1200 mile road trip.  He discussed details of the Segway and related city and state regulations.  Members encouraged him to consider applying for appointment to fill a vacancy on the Commission. 

City Councilor David Chapman noted that he was present to provide any background information he could.  He raised the issue of combining the Bicycle & Pedestrian Commission with the Traffic Safety Commission to for a single Transportation Commission that would address all transportation, transit, traffic, and parking issues.  Members discussed this possibility, and Silbiger stated that as liaison to both groups he would explore the possibility of arranging a joint meeting between the two to further discuss the matter.

Car Free Day Discussion

West noted that there had been two subcommittee meetings since the last regular meeting, and that she, Harding, Sommer, and Egon DuBois had been attending.  She explained that loose ends were being tied up, and emphasized the biggest of these – that Rachel from Parks had arranged for the Medford Parks Department to provide an inflatable screen, projector, DVD player, sound system and two staff members to run the movie.  She added that Rachel was working with her Director and the Parks & Recreation Commission to arrange for the movie to be shown in Garfield Park.

West noted that the cost of purchasing the rights to publicly screen a cinematic feature were approximately $150, or the Commission could choose to show a less mainstream item for free.  It was noted that permission has already been received to show Ted White’s latest film at no cost other than the purchase of the DVD.  There was discussion of what direction to take, and it was noted that the less mainstream items were not as kid friendly and would likely draw fewer people to the showing.

Harding noted that Standing Stone would be serving light café fare in front of their business during the event.  She added that there would be tablers, a bike rodeo, free bike maintenance, and the Bike-It riding demonstration by Dave Nourie and company.    Harding pointed out that music was still to be resolved.  Silbiger stated that he could provide CD’s with appropriately themed songs if someone else would work to compile them.  West express interest in doing this.

Harding stated that she would check with Dave Nourie about whether Bike-It’s public address system would be available.  She also explained that the Commission would need to work with Wells Fargo to address their parking lot circulation needs during the event, before the closure at 5:00 p.m.  She stated that the manager would be meeting with her at 5:15 p.m. on August 2^nd at the start of the next subcommittee meeting.

Severson stated that he would follow-up with Police and Street about the possibility of using barricades.  He also noted that he hoped to arrange for assistance in transporting, placing, and removing barricades and signage for the street closure by either the Street Department, the Police Department, or the Community Service Volunteers.

West noted that she would handle advertising through RVTD, and would place ads in the Tidings, Tribune, Peacehouse’s Clear Action, Headwaters magazine, Parent magazine, as well as bus ads, posters and flyers.  She noted that there would also be activities on a smaller scale in Medford, and she would advertise these separately.  She stated that her hope was for an advanced article in the Tidings/Tribune to publicize the event.  She pointed out that free RVTD bus service was still a possibility but had to be discussed further before a final decision was reached.

Harding discussed the tours planned, noting that at this point there was no one to lead the bike tour and there had been no response from the Historic Commission or Tree Commission in response to inquiries asking for members to lead tours.  She noted that Siskiyou Velo holds “show and go” tours and that may be what needs to be done here.  She explained that the hope was for walking and biking tours, and for historic, tree, and birding experts to lead the tours.

West discussed presenting the RVTD Transportation Hero Award, and asked members to get her any additional Who Rides/Who Strides articles or nominations for the award.  Members suggested that the BikeFirst bike recipients be part of a panel to help select the winner.

Knickerbocker/Harding m/s to allocate up to $500 to fund Car Free Day.  Discussion: Members noted that this would potentially include $161 for the city street closure permit, $150 to acquire rights for the public movie showing, and any incidental printing or advertising costs.  Voice vote: All AYES.  Motion passed.

Items from Staff

Severson presented a memo detailing the commission’s budget allocation for the current year and past two years, noting that it was intended both to assist in planning for the coming year and at Harding’s request for consideration in determining what to say when the Commission makes its annual presentation to the City Council on September 6^th at 7:00 p.m.   It was agreed that this should be a significant discussion item for next month.  Severson and Harding agreed that they would be there for the presentation, and indicated that at least two or three others should attend. 

Severson reiterated that Delgado had resigned, Hinke was likely to, and that getting a quorum for meetings was questionable.  He asked that members refer any interested friends to apply for appointment to the commission through the Mayor’s office.

New Business

West noted that the SOU student council had voted some time ago to stop paying for free bus service to students, and that she was only recently made aware of this.  She explained that the City and RVTD were renegotiating this program, and that the removal of funding by SOU meant that the funding for the program would need to be made up elsewhere either by the City, SOU administration, or through reinstituting fees for the bus service.  It was noted that the City currently pays $270,000 annually for the program, and that the SOU student council decision means that an additional $22,000 is needed to continue the program.  West noted that if the City were to cover this cost, it would amount to Ashland residents subsidizing a program to benefit non-resident students.   She noted that when the free bus service program went into effect, there was an unprecedented increase in ridership of 49% and it had continued to rise.  She noted that she was compiling data for Ann Seltzer, and that Seltzer would be taking the matter to the City Council for a decision, and she added that SOU administration had so far been unwilling to cover this cost and had suggested that it be paid by the non-traditional students group.  Silbiger stated that he would look into the matter further.  Chapman emphasized the need for better tracking of riders under the free fare program to give Council an idea of its success and who it was serving.

Agenda Items for Next Meeting

Introduction of new members, election of officers, council presentation, Car Free Day, budget, and combining commissions.

Adjournment

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:25 p.m.