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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-0904 Council Mtg MIN CITY OF' ASHLAND MINUTES FOR THE REGULAR MEETING ASHLAND CITY COUNCIL September 4, 2018 Council Chambers 1175 E. Main Street , Note: Items on the Agenda not considered due to time constraints are automatically continued to the next regularly scheduled Council meeting [AMC 2.04.030.E.] 6:30 p.m. Executive Session - Labor Negotiations* *Purpose of Executive Session Item - Conduct deliberations for labor negotiations, pursuant to ORS 190.660(2)(e) and to conduct deliberations with persons designated by the governing party to negotiate real property transactions, pursuant to ORS 192.660(2)(e). Executive Session was adjourned at 7:00 PM 7:00 p.m. Regular Meeting 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Stromberg called the Business Meeting to order at 7:05 PM II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE III. ROLL CALL Councilor Slattery, Morris, Bachman, Seffinger, Rosenthal and Jensen were present. IV. MAYOR'S ANNOUNCEMENTS Mayor Stromberg announced the current Commission and Committee vacancies. V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Study Session of August 20, 2018 2. Business Meeting of August 21, 2018 Rosenthal/Morris moved to approve the minutes. Discussion: None. All Ayes. Motion passed unanimously. VI. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS & AWARDS 1. Annual Presentation by Conservation Commission Bachman/Jensen moved to approve the acceptance of a donation of services from Clouser Drilling to Ashland Parks Recreation Commission. Discussion: Bachman loved the idea. I I XIIL ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS AND CONTRACTS 1. Second Reading of Wildfire Mitigation Ordinance Ms. Madding gave a Staff report. Ms. Madding spoke regarding questions from citizens regarding insurance (see attached). She explained that this item can be postponed to give time for Staff to bring back a report regarding insurance implications. i Council discussed options. Bachman/Slattery moved to postpone the second reading of the ordinance amending Chapters 18 of the Ashland Land Use Ordinance regarding development standards for wildfire lands. And amending Chapter 9.04 of the Ashland Municipal Code to declare prohibited flammable plants a nuisance. And to direct staff to bring it back in 2 weeks along with information about some changes in language used in the Ordinance. Bachman/Slattery withdrew the motion. Bachman/Slattery moved to direct Staff to either bring back to Council the current Ordinance at next meeting for second reading or bring back a modified Ordinance for first reading in 4 weeks and provide requested information on budget impacts and insurance. Discussion: Bachman spoke in support of the motion and the importance of getting more information. Slattery spoke in support of the motion. Seffinger spoke to the importance of having citizens know how to make their properties fire resistant in an affordable way. Jensen and Morris spoke in support of the motion. i XIV. OTHER BUSINESS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS/REPORTS FROM COUNCIL LIAISONS Seffinger regarding the new Senior Services Superintendent and that she has 20 years' experience and will be a great addition to the Senior Center. Bachman spoke to the importance of having citizens be informed on senior issues. XV. CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT Ms. Madding spoke that senior issues will be brought back to a future Council Meeting. Administrative Services Director, Mark Welch spoke regarding utility billing issues. He explained that during the software conversion there have been issues with billing and that Staff is working hard on correcting this issue. XVL ADJOURNMENT OF BUSINESS MEETING The Business Meeting was adjourned at 9:08 Tuesday, August 21, 2018 Dear Mayor, City Council, and Staff, Woman whose family perished in Greek fire files lawsuit This summer a fire swept through the seaside resort town of Mati, near Athens, and 96 citizens died. In the aftennath of the fire, a lawyer filed a criminal lawsuit against seven officials, to prove that all seven officials being sued shared responsibility and blame. Loss of human lives might have been prevented except for a series of omissions and oversights by the named officials. For example the officials failed to clear public areas of flammable material. The seven officials sued for fire homicide blame, included a LOCAL MAYOR, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, AND THE POLICE. This criminal lawsuit sets a precedent internationally, would you agree? (Source: "Woman whose family perished in Greek fire files lawsuit," by Elena Becatoros and Fanis Karabatsakis, www.APnews.com) The wildfires are real. There is only one best way to keep the officials' options and choices open, and that is to get closure for kickstarting the Fire Department's Wildfire Mitigation Ordinance. I. The Fire Department has emphasized to the Mayor and City Council that passing this ordinance is both urgent and important because of real and present danger. 2. The Wildfire Mitigation Commission already approved this ordinance as is. 3. Prohibited plants are a non-issue because the Tree Commission already approved it as is. 4. The City Planning Commission passed it forward as is, without objection.. 5. Fire and Rescue already did due diligence with four-years of public scrutiny. They went high when you went low in calling for one more Fire and Rescue public meeting for the pleasure of the councilors, who promised to attend. 6. There has been none major public outcry against this good ordinance. That means there is overwhelming silent majority consent of the 22,000 population, and passing the ordinance is a no-brainer. 7. The people in California and Oregon towns that burned down this summer probably wish their cities had a Wildfire Mitigation Ordinance like the one that needs your vote of confidence. 8. It makes total sense to shift toward celebrating and honoring the Fire and Rescue's hard work and accomplishment, it is very researched, has good precision, and is well-vetted by the very men and women who put their lives at risk in fighting fires to save human lives. 9. Failure by city officials and/or city departments to have wildfire mitigation preparation, appropriate laws, and fire restrictions is a legal liability. A word to the wise suffices. 10. Elected public servants should always put public safety first. Nancy Nelson, Retired Executive Coach Biography Nancy C. Nelson BA, CMH, "INLP, holds certificate of life membership with the California Scholarship Federation, has a Bachelor of Arts degree with the Ambassador Alumni Association, and is certified as Master Hypnotherapist, Trainer of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and Master Practitioner of Time Line Therapy. She holds certification as Humana with Advanced Neuro- Dynamics and the Ka Ha O'Hawaii Foundation. The lineage of Kahunas who passed down their traditions to her include Papa Bray, Daddy Bray, John Kaimikaua, Uncle George Naope or Lanakilakeikiahiali'I, and Dr. Tad James or Kiaiana'auaomaikalant, one of the world's foremost Huna teachers. Huna is the shamanistic art and science of ancient HAWAII. She holds certificate with the Silva Method of mental mastery, and is certified with the Usui system of Reiki. Nancy was listed for three consecutive years in Who's Who in Executives and Businesses. Her Executive Success Program sewed valuable clients in Pasadena, California, from 1992 to 2003. The October 22, 1999, "'Alternative Medicine Offers Options" article, published by the Los Angeles Times, featured her work. After retiring her practice in June 2003, Nancy had major radical surgery to save her life in December 2004. As a graduate of the Pasadena Neighborhood Leadership Institute's class of 2005, which included Pasadena Emergency Response training, Nancy first organized three Emergency Response meetings for her neighborhood. She next brought the Eco-Community Dialogues special guest speaker series to the city's Central Library every month from June 2009, to June 2010. Then in January 2010, Nancy was invited by Federal Judge Dorothy Nelson to participate in the Western Justice Center's conflict resolution training for volunteer mediators. As a volunteer mediator with the Westem Justice Center's 7`s Annual Peer Mediation Invitational she encouraged students to be peacemakers at their schools. In August 2010 Nancy moved to Ashland, Oregon, where she wrote 121 Eco-Community Dialogues Newsletters between May 23, 2013, and November 2, 2016. I I i From: Angie Harrier <angie.harrier.i4v5@statefarm.com> Sent: Monday, August 27, 2018 10:01:18 AM To: Brandon Goldman Cc: Angie Harrier; Brodie Hurtado Subject: FW: Ashland, Oregon Wildfire Question Good Morning Brandon, My colleague, Brodie Hurtado, passed your questions along to me - I apologize for the delay in getting this information back to you. After checking with several contacts in our UW area, was able to get some more insight for you. As the largest PC [Property and casualty] insurer in the nation, we are able to rely on our large database of information to help us better evaluate risk. Not all companies may be able to do this, so wanted to point out they may have different policies. That's why I'd suggest you get in touch with the insurance trade in your area - the NW Insurance Council. They can be reached at (800) 664-4942 or via e-mail at info(@nwinsurance.org and may be able to provide you with additional information gathered from other member companies that could differ from State Farm's approach. For State Farm, the designation itself of an area as a wildfire overlay would not change how we UW [underwrite] insurance in an area. Rather, we would rely on our assessment of wildfire potential, which would include taking into account our own loss experience in the area. To the degree wildfire overlay areas have positively impacted fire losses, that, along with other factors that we look at when determining rates, would be reflected in our rates. Hope this is helpful, thanks - Angie Harrier Angie Harrier, APR - Public Affairs Specialist State Farm 0 Territory: AZ, TX, NM, UT, OR Desk: 480-293-6014 Mobile: 269-207-8006 Email: angie.harrier.i4v5(5~statefarm.com May contain CONFIDENTIAL information which may not be disclosed without express written authorization. 1 Brandon Goldman From: Rod Palmieri <palmieri.ra68@gmail.com> Sent: Friday, August31, 2018 7:23 PIS! To: City Council Subject: Wildfire Zone Before you decide to make the entire city as part of the wildfire zone, please take into consideration the impact of obtaining fire insurance by the citizens. By passing this ordinance, you may severely impact individuals ability to get reasonably priced fire insurance and this will affect the lower income people the most. If you are interested in making Ashland more affordable then I suggest that the proposed ordinance will have just the opposite effect and will certainly drive more people out of the city, or worse yet leave a substantial part of the city without fire insurance. What will happen to the city if half of it is uninsured? Will this help make the city more affordable? I doubt it. You must take into consideration not only the "niceness" and "political correctness" of your decision, but the realities as well. I hope that you do your due diligence and get all the facts from all the insurance companies as well as input frorn the citizens. I suggest a mailed out letter telling the citizens the true and factual impact of this ordinance and ask-for their response. I hope that you table this ordinance until all the facts are in. Thank you Rod Palmieri i i Brandon Goldman From: Renee Rickert <r.valliere@hotmail.com> Sent: Friday, August 31, 2018 8:45 PM To: City Council Subject: Wildfire hazard zone proposal Dear Council, I am completely opposed to the designation of our town as a wildfire hazard zone. There are many bad ramifications of a decision of this magnitude. Insurance problems for property owners and businesses are only the tip of the iceberg. Please, please vote no on this bad idea. Renee Rickert 164 Almeda Drive I Sent from my iPad 1 Brandon Goldman From: russ rickert <russreneetours@hotmail.com> Sent: Friday, August 31, 2018 9:08 PM To: City Council Subject: Wildfire Hazard Zone Expansion Please do not vote for expanding the Wildfire Hazard Zone into the entire city of Ashland. We can all cooperate with the fire departments guidelines without this expansion. The risk of high insurance rates and many companies opting out of fire insurance all together are too much to put on us citizens and businesses. Your continues rate increases have created enough pressure for us working class residents. Our home of 30years is rapidly becoming unaffordable in this new era of Ashland, city for the wealthy. Thanks, Russell Rickert i 1 From: Lauren Morris [mailto:lauren.morris.ashland@gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2018 2:47 PM To: City Council <council@ashland.or.us> Subject: RE: Meeting Expansion of WHZ 9-4-18 Dear Council Members, There is the possibility that many Ashland citizens will face higher homeowner/renter's insurance rates or will be completely dropped from their carriers due to being in a Wildfire Hazard Zone (WHZ). We felt it best to contact our insurance company directly versus someone telling us that our rates would not change, or if they did, it would be nominal. Our Agent informed us after checking with his Underwriting Dept., they would not be able to offer us a policy for a house that we were looking at in Ashland. Per the Agent, the property was-22 feet away from the current Wildfire Hazard Zone in Ashland and the house that we are currently residing in is not considered to be in or close to a Wildfire Hazard Zone at this time, so therefore, our policy would remain in tact with no change in cost. It's our understanding, insurance for "WHZ/Extreme High Risk Area's" can be difficult to purchase and possibly five times what a standard policy might cost. In some cases, purchasing a high-priced insurance policy could be an alarming amount for a person/family with a mortgage. In a nutshell, in regards to mortgages, if the homeowner receives a termination letter from the insurance company for it's no longer willing to cover in WHZ/High-Risk Areas, and Homeowner-does not immediately purchase a new policy, the Lender will attach to the mortgage what's known as "Force-Placed Insurance". If the Homeowner does not pay the amount that he's been charged which he had no say in, foreclosure proceedings will begin. With that in mind, the question is, could we see several foreclosures in the future if insurance companies start sending out letters of termination, or substantial hike in rates; due to the home's location in a "WHZ/EHRA"? Will homeowner's be left with the choice of either purchasing an extremely expensive insurance policy or possibly face foreclosure because they are unable to financially fulfill their contractual agreement with their Lender? Therefore, instead of blanketing the entire town with a label that insurance companies will surely recognize as a red flag, how about starting at the basics, for we all want a safer community. 1. The new construction/remodeling restrictions make for good common sense when it calls for the wood shake roofs to no longer be permitted. Putting in this restriction in the issuance of building permits makes for more sense than the proposed WHZ ordinance. 2. Is the prohibited plant list really effective in reducing fire threat? Throughout our town, many yards have different stages of ugly dying tall grass, weeds, shrubs, trees, piles of dead leaves/branches, last years Christmas Tree, piles of wood next to buildings, etc. that shou!d be removed immediately. A great percentage of these dying plants/tree's that we see, are NOT even on the prohibited list. The prohibited plant list does little to address what is currently the problem so why not deal with that first since it is more of an immediate threat on any given day? Sincerely, Michael and Lauren Morris I From:-Elizabeth Taylor Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2018 2:25 PM Cc: Chris Chambers <chris.chambers(@ashland.or.us>; Alison Lerch <alison.lerch@ashland.or.us>; Brandon Goldman <brandon.goldman d)ashland.or.us> Subject: Wildfire Mitigation Citizen Message Hello Councilors, This message came in from the Facebook page from Susan Goodman Burman. "It sounds like if this wildfire designation is passed, we won't be able to sell our houses, or worst case scenario even get fire insurance for our existing houses. This would be devastating to the entire community, property owners, realtors Our nest egg is our house, we must be able to sell it. We have a friend moving here next week. Now she's not sure it's a good idea. Look at your own picture of Ashland. Do we cut down all those trees? My house is surrounded by Leland Cypress trees. Can't you pass something lesser that would encourage new builds to be firesafe without punishing the entire population of Ashland? I'm very concerned." Thank you, Elizabeth TaN-lor, Executive Assistant City of Ashland, Administration 20 East 1\laui Street, Ashland, Oregon 97520 541-552-2100, -M- - 800-735-2900 FAX - 541-488-5311 I