Agendas and Minutes

City Council (View All)

Study Session

Agenda
Monday, April 03, 2017

MINUTES FOR THE STUDY SESSION

ASHLAND CITY COUNCIL

Monday, April 3, 2017
Siskiyou Room, 51 Winburn Way
 
Mayor Stromberg called the meeting to order at 5:31 p.m. in the Siskiyou Room.    
 
Councilor Morris, Darrow, Rosenthal, Seffinger, and Slattery were present.  Councilor Lemhouse was absent.
 
1.   Public Input  
Susan Hall/210 East Nevada Street/Spoke at the last Study Session on the Public Works Director’s authority regarding Transportation Commission decisions and had not received a response to her inquiries. 
 
City Attorney Dave Lohman explained Mr. Faught planned to call her directly.  Ms. Hall responded Mr. Faught had stopped her before a meeting and explained in cases his recommendation was different from the Transportation Commission, they presented their recommendation, and he presented his.
 
Louise Shawkat/870 Cambridge/Thanked everyone for their response regarding the 10x20 ordinance.
 
2.   Look Ahead review
Interim City Administrator John Karns reviewed items on the Look Ahead.
 
3.   City Recorder/Treasurer Appointment Process
City Recorder Barbara Christensen explained advertisements were in the paper for two weeks that resulted in three applications.  If Council was satisfied with the applications received, they needed to determine next steps for interviewing and the appointment process.
 
Council discussed appointing a City staff person living within the city limits to cover duties until Council decided whether to keep the position elected or put it on a ballot to make it appointed.  There was concern that appointing an employee might go against the City Charter.  If the public voted the position as appointed, it would involve a decrease in pay.  Another discussion on an appointed position was whether the offer went directly to the Interim City Recorder or opened to the public.  Staff would establish a job classification with a pay range in the event the position changed to appointed instead of elected.  Also discussed were types of questions to ask the applicants and training.
 
Council would interview each candidate individually by April 22, 2017 and make a decision at the May 2, 2017 Council meeting. 
 
4.   Discussion of upcoming meetings regarding budget prioritization  
Mayor Stromberg reviewed the Possible Additions to the 2017-19 Baseline Budget document with Council.  For item No. 3 Police Staffing Increase, Council did not want a utility surcharge tied specifically to the Police Department.  Council would discuss the matter at the following night’s meeting.
The Parks and Recreation Department would not have additions this budget cycle.
 
Interim City Administrator John Karns addressed item No. 10 New Phone System, and explained the new system would allow a higher volume of calls from the public during weather events and emergencies.  Currently, citizens often encountered busy signals during these events.
 
 
Mr. Karns confirmed the deadline for budget additions had passed.  The Mayor and Mr. Karns would prioritize the items by rating each one.  They would also review citizen survey results in regards to the budget items. 
 
Assistant to the City Administrator Adam Hanks addressed replacing roofs with solar panels.  There was a state house bill that required a percentage of project costs to be renewable energy.
 
Councilor Darrow addressed the City Recorder’s position and asked staff to review if there was adequate or available staff that could fill in that position until an election occurred to either fill the Recorder’s position or propose a Charter amendment to make it appointed and not elected.  She would email her request to the Mayor and Mr. Karns who would research options.
 
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting adjourned at 6:20 p.m.
 
 
Respectfully submitted,                                                                                                                             
Dana Smith
Assistant to the City Recorder 

 

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