Agendas and Minutes

City Council (View All)

Study Session

Agenda
Monday, May 05, 2014

MINUTES FOR THE STUDY SESSION
ASHLAND CITY COUNCIL
Monday, May 5, 2014
Siskiyou Room, 51 Winburn Way

                                                                                                                                            
Mayor Stromberg called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. in the Siskiyou Room. 
 
Councilor Voisin, Lemhouse, Slattery, Morris, Marsh, and Rosenthal were present. 
 
1.     Look Ahead review
City Administrator Dave Kanner reviewed items on the Look Ahead. 
 
2.         Continued discussion of the draft Council goals
 
Government
Leverage our regional and state relationships to increase effectiveness in relevant policy arenas
 
Develop plan for coordination with Jackson County

  • Jackson County road improvements within City Limits
  • Weed abatement on County land within UGB and beyond
  • Ongoing relationship between Councilors and County Commissioners
 
Establish living documents on strategies, goals, and tactics regarding specific topics for new councilors to review
 
Create mechanism for developing stronger relationships between the Mayor, Council, and County Commissioners
Explore LOC involvement proactive/ongoing (Board/Policy Committees)
  • Have a Study Session to determine LOC opportunities
  • Create alliances with LOC members
  • Expand the City’s involvement in local LOC activities 
 
Form relationships with other cities that have common interests and issues with Ashland and solidify relationships with cities in the Rogue Valley
  • Establish a formal connection with the Medford Water Commission
  • Communities interested in organic agriculture and establishing organic regions within Oregon.
  • Determine what policies are coming up in the next six years
 
Improve coordination and regular communication with State Legislators
  • Determine regional and state relationships and associated entities Ashland should engage with
  • Work state and federal relationships to attain stable funding to complete and maintain AFR
  • Maintain a continual relationship and improve coordination with state representatives and legislators to support City issues and direct the City to other agencies as well 
  • Have an Assistant City Administrator attend key meetings
  • Department Heads will continue to participate in their regional state and national organizations
  • Improve communication with County Commissioners
  • Commit a certain number of Study Sessions for strategic report sharing, timely, or schedule a specific amount of time each Study Session for reports on relevant items
  • Regular reports to Council regarding the Legislative hotline (during legislative session only)
    • Explore the utilization of other forms of legislative representation (lobbyist, dedicated staff, etc)
    • Develop a local legislative agenda prior to the session (possibly with Ashland Coalition partners)
Identify issues that directly affect Ashland
 
Make the city more accessible to do business in Ashland
  • Use state relationships to work on ecommerce and enterprise zones
  • Be accessible to and engage with Economic Develop partners
 
Work to expand/offer County heath/social services in Ashland
  • Establish a mental health outreach presence in Ashland through Jackson County by 2020
 
Promote effective citizen communication and engagement
 
Evaluate existing communication tools currently in use and promote the most effective ways to communicate with Council
  • Open City Hall
  • Listserve
  • RVTV
  • Newspapers
  • City website
Find innovative ways for people to feel engaged with government
  • Develop mechanism to relay facts regarding issues to the public prior to meetings
  • Develop an efficient way to receive input from citizens prior to Council making a decision
  • Repackage the Council Communication
  • Have Councilors attend Town Hall meetings or informal gatherings
  • Have Councilors and Commissions auto connect to the City’s website
  • Possibly establish a “City Walk” outreach program
  • Balance existing time commitment/constraints of Council with new outreach efforts
  • Identify key issues to develop advanced outreach, input opportunities and informational sessions “on their turf”
  • Develop a communication plan - policy level versus operational
  • Research using television, radio (KSKQ), publications (Locals Guide and Sneak Preview) for communicating to the public
  • Add the Look Ahead to the City Source monthly newsletter
 
Use the Mayor’s State of the City address to honor and recognize volunteer involvement
  • Have Council participate in the State of the City speech
  • Incorporate the Ragland Award and other volunteer related activities
  • Make the State of the City and Ragland Award a public celebration
  • Possibly create a five star restaurant atmosphere for appointed commissioners where Council and City management are the servers for the evening

 
Support and empower our community partners; for example:  SOU, Mt. Ashland, Parks
Delayed due to time constraints
 
Identify and support core City services
Delayed due to time constraints
 
 
Meeting adjourned at 7:13 p.m.
 
 
Respectfully submitted,                                
Dana Smith
Assistant to the City Recorder

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