Agendas and Minutes

City Council (View All)

Regular Minutes

Agenda
Tuesday, March 05, 2002

MINUTES FOR THE REGULAR MEETING
ASHLAND CITY COUNCIL
March 5, 2002 B 7:00 p.m.
Civic Center Council Chambers, 1175 E. Main Street

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor DeBoer called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Civic Center Council Chambers.

ROLL CALL
Councilors Laws, Reid, Hartzell, Hanson, Morrison and Hearn were present.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of February 19, 2002 were approved as clarified by Councilor Hearn on page 4 of 5 under Other Business to indicate that, "there were no "big box" applications in the pipeline that would be affected by the ordinance."

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS & AWARDS
The Mayor, Alan DeBoer, read aloud a Proclamation declaring March 10 through 16, 2002 as Girl Scout Week.

CONSENT AGENDA

  1. Minutes of Boards, Commissions and Committees.
  2. Liquor License Application from David Gremmels dba Palace 542 A Street.

Councilors Hartzell/Reid m/s to approve Consent Agenda. Voice Vote: all AYES. Motion passed.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

1. Public Hearing and adoption regarding Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program changes.

Maria Harris, Associate Planner, gave a brief report on the CDBG program changes and noted email and comments received concerning the changes. She noted that most were in favor of the changes. She clarified that if the council approves the changes, the next steps will be: 1) April 5th receive RFP; 2) April 24th it will go to the Housing Commission; and 3) May 7th the Council will see the proposals.

Harris clarified that applicants would make two presentations and there would be two public hearings -- one for the Housing Commission, and one for the Council. She noted that the program year would change to a calendar year, and City Administrator, Greg Scoles, clarified that there would just be a line item in the budget.

Public Hearing - Open 7:15 p.m. /Closed 7:15 p.m.

Hartzell expressed concern about stimulating as many housing projects as possible and suggested changing the wording to, "preferably one but not more than three." She noted that while administration costs must be kept down, sometimes we can make a difference. Reid noted that she has no trouble with this change. Scoles responded that the idea is to minimize administrative overhead costs associated with these kinds of grants, noting that the reporting process is tremendously staff intensive, even for a small grant. So with smaller projects it would be better to have a different funding source than CDBG. Reid suggested planning for another pot of money for small loans to come out of and Scoles agreed, noting that the other grants the city offers, require much less in administration cost. Hartzell announced that the Housing Commission has begun discussion about creating a Housing Trust Fund.

Councilors Laws/Hearn m/s to adopt staff recommendations. Discussion: Hartzell noted that by adopting this recommendation, it binds the use of CDBG funds based on that number, but does not bind us, as a community, with coming up with additional resources. Voice Vote: all AYES. Motion passed.

PUBLIC FORUM
Malena Marvin/107 Alida Street/Spoke concerning her idea of making Ashland a global leader in municipal sustainability, especially in the areas of livability, resource use, ecological integrity of our watershed, and local food sufficiency. She suggested creating an internship position that would be responsible for coordinating efforts from various city departments, heading public education and outreach, national and international research, and follow-up on existing programs. She also suggested creating a large, focused Internet presence for the program. She expressed her hope that such a program might generate eco-tourism in Ashland.

Mayor noted that he would communicate with her further on this issue.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS (None)

NEW AND MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS

1. A recommendation to select City of Ashland and Parks & Recreation Commission auditor for fiscal years ending June 30, 2002-2004.

Finance Director Lee Tuneberg gave a brief report on staff's auditor selection process. He explained staff's recommendation to contract with Pauly, Rogers and Co., P.C., 12700 SW 72nd Avenue, Tigard, Oregon as the City and Parks auditor for the next three fiscal years with options to extend the engagement an additional two years upon mutual agreement.

Tuneberg explained that all applicants were from outside of the local area. He further clarified that in comparing the previous contract for the first three years, Pauly, Rogers, is $26,000 less than Moss Adams over the same three years. Tuneberg explained the criteria used in selection, which included the firms experience, cost, references, staff, ideas and approach, performance, and upcoming projects.

Councilors Hanson/Reid m/s to approve staff recommendation. Voice Vote: all AYES. Motion passed.

2. Request for Sewer Service outside the City limits, but within the City's Urban Growth Boundary -- Bruce Davis, Siskiyou Village, 2799 Siskiyou Boulevard, 39 1E 14D TL700.

Public Works Director Paul Brown gave a brief synopsis of Mr. Bruce Davis' request for sewer service outside of the Ashland City limits and noted that the application meets city criteria. Davis explained various issues related to such a hookup, and expressed his concern with his estimate of $60,000.00 in Systems Development Charges (SDCs) that he would have to pass on to tenants in the form of rent increases. He asked that, in light of affordable housing issues, if SDC credits might be given to offset some, or all, of the costs for the public portion of the sewer line extension. He reported that currently the park has 49 spaces and requested permission to add two more spaces and replace an existing structure.

The council noted that while affordable housing is an issue in Ashland, SDC costs could not be credited and that raising rents is a choice Davis makes. The council discussed reviewing the current ordinance so sewer hookup issues could be addressed directly.

Councilors Reid/Hanson m/s to accept staff recommendation that the council approves the sewer connection for Siskiyou Village and direct staff to obtain all necessary agreements prior to final connection. Discussion: Council discussed issues related to adding more units after a sewer hookup and asked clarification on rates. Voice vote: all AYES. Motion passed.

ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS AND CONTRACTS

1. Second reading by title only of "An Ordinance Amending Sections 2.40.010 and 2.40.020 of the Ashland Municipal Code to Comply with the Charter and State Law regarding Filing of Nomination Petitions for Elected Officials."

Councilors Hartzell/Reid m/s to approve Ordinance #2880. Roll Call Vote: Hearn, Hartzell, Laws, Hanson, Morrison and Reid - all AYES. Motion passed.

2. Reading by title only of "A Resolution Transferring Appropriations within the 2001-2002 Budget."

Councilors Hartzell/Hearn m/s to approve Resolution #2002-03. Roll Call Vote: Laws, Reid, Hearn, Morrison, Hartzell and Hanson - All AYES. Motion passed.

OTHER BUSINESS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS

Council discussed the motion on the "big box" issue that was brought forward during the last council meeting. Clarification was made, that staff was directed to bring back information so the council could make informed projections. Hartzell emphasized her willingness to work with staff on these issues. Mayor suggested putting the issue on an upcoming agenda so staff could report to the council. Laws noted that if the council will be looking at a matrix of all projects within the context of the goals, then he assumed adjustments could be made at that time. Scoles noted that it could be made a council goal. Mayor agreed that, as Laws suggested, the issue could be addressed when doing the goals. Hartzell noted that because a couple of the council goals concern growth issues, that this would not be outside of their boundary.

Reid expressed her desire for a council "Visioning Quest," in order to more fully explore the future vision for the community. She suggested that the council might make it a goal for sometime in the next year. Hartzell noted that significant changes in the dynamics of growth in the community affects the images we might have had five years ago when some of these things were put in place.

Hanson informed the council that his National Guard unit had been mobilized and that he would be called for a 9-month tour of duty. He outlined a couple of options for his council position in his absence. Mayor noted that while the council rules state, that any seat may be replaced if the seat is vacant for more than 30 days, he supports leaving Hanson's seat open in his absence.

Laws expressed his desire that the council goals be condensed.

Mayor gave a reminder about the study session scheduled for noon on March 6th, 2002.

ADJOURNMENT
Meeting was adjourned at 8:28 p.m.

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