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PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
STUDY SESSION
MINUTES
October 23, 2008
Present: Commissioners Eggers, Gardiner, Lewis, Noraas, Rosenthal; Director Robertson; Superintendents Gies and Teige
Absent: City Council Liaison Navickas
Gardiner called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. at the Parks office, 340 S. Pioneer.
GREEN BUSINESS UPDATE
Conservation Analyst Robbin Pearce reviewed the “Green Team Walkthru Reports” of May 22 (North Mountain Park Nature Center) and September 9 (Parks office and maintenance shop). She said the team—including representatives from Ashland Sanitary, DEQ, and the city’s Conservation Division—reviewed the facilities from the perspectives of waste management, pollution prevention, energy, water, and “other.” Pearce pointed out both successes and challenges found at each location. With regard to the challenges identified at the Parks shop, Pearce emphasized the need to come into compliance with all DEQ regulations before continuing to pursue Green Business status. She said a follow-up DEQ visit to the Parks shop would need to be scheduled in the near future.
Short-term goals (referred to as “low hanging fruit”) were identified for all categories:
§ Waste Management—Risa Buck of
o Create “green team” of two or more people (both management and non-management) to communicate with staff, volunteers, or patrons about purchasing, recycling, and other green processes
o Purchasing – buy products with recycled content and avoid products from virgin material; use least “impact-cleaning” process such as “Mystic Maid” type system
o Recycling – adequately label all recycling systems and educate staff about recycling processes and programs
§ Pollution Prevention—Lisa Freeman of DEQ
o Properly store or discard old paint products and chemical containers
o A number of issues specific to the Parks maintenance shop were also identified
§ Energy—Larry Giardina of City of
o Conduct blower door test and implement air sealing alteration to code minimum
o Conduct duct leakage test and implement air sealing measures indicated
o Replace remaining incandescent light bulbs with Energy Star compact fluorescent bulbs
§ Water—Robbin Pearce of City of
o Base irrigation on weather data and show seasonal changes; demonstrate to public the use of weather station to show advantages of weather base irrigation
o Address bathroom sump issues
§ Other
o Education—Add “green” topics to newsletter, Web pages; display successes
o Track resource usage by site (energy, water, gas, garbage)
Several longer term goals were identified for the
Discussion Among Commissioners
Pearce and commissioners discussed the remaining facilities within the parks system. Commissioners provided feedback, discussed next steps, and thanked Pearce and the team for their efforts.
LITHIA ARTISANS MARKET CONTRACT RENEWAL DISCUSSION
Robertson said the 2004-2008 Calle Guanajuato Marketplace Use Permit and Service Contract was set to expire and required commissioner review, possible revisions, and approval for another five-year period. He reported meeting with Teige and Marcus Scott to discuss the contract and said the Legal Department would need to provide input before the commission could complete its final review and approval.
Marcus Scott of the Lithia Artisans Guild said the market grew to 40 vendors and others were turned away for lack of space. He said the artisans’ board of directors discussed expanding the market by using the space across the bridge from the Calle—on the west side of Ashland Creek—and in the city parking lot next to the Community Development building.
Scott asked about underutilized restaurant alcoves along the Calle and suggested reallocating the space to the artisans. He asked the commission to reevaluate the Calle area in front of Pilaf Restaurant and said the artisans occasionally subleased it from the restaurateur.
Scott asked the commission to consider making the following changes or corrections to the contract and addendum:
§ Expand season to April through mid-November (rather than May through October)
§ Remove sections E: 10 and 11 from the contract (as artisans are not responsible for monitoring or cleaning restrooms)
§ Change contact name to Marcus Scott, registered agent for the artisans
§ Use Lithia Artisans Guild address rather than a personal address
Discussion Among Commissioners
Commissioners asked staff whether complaints or conflicts were reported between restaurateurs, shop owners, and artisans and staff reported receiving very few. Robertson said the artisans used space formerly utilized by Pipon’s Restaurant. He suggested a possible space sharing arrangement in which restaurants could voluntarily sub-lease space to artisans instead of providing outdoor seating for customers. Gardiner said the space was evenly allocated to both restaurants and artisans. Eggers suggested resolving any contract revisions in the best way for all concerned. Rosenthal spoke favorably about expanding the artisan market season. Noraas requested a walkthrough along the area under discussion.
Staff was directed to prepare a draft revised version of the contract based on comments and feedback from commissioners and artisans. On behalf of the artisans, Scott was asked to suggest draft language for the revised contract.
ADJOURNMENT – By consensus, Gardiner adjourned the meeting at 8:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Susan Dyssegard,