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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-01-18 Bicycle & Pedestrian_MIN Bicycle & Pedestrian Commission th January 18, 2007 Regular Minutes Roll Call: Chair Dylan Robbins, Jim Olney, David Young, Vice Chair Tracy Harding (late), Selene Aitken, Tom Burnham Council Liaison: David Chapman Staff: David Stalheim, Community Development Director; Derek Severson, Associate Planner Steve McLennan, Police Officer (absent) RVTD liaisons: Paige West & Steve Maluk, TDM Planners High school liaison: Vacant SOU liaison: Nathan Meyerson (absent) Call to Order Chair Robbins called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m. Approval of Minutes – November 16, 2006 th Olney/Aitken m/s to approve the minutes of the November 16, 2006 meeting as presented. Voice vote: All AYES. Motion passed. Public Forum None. Introductions Those present introduced themselves to new member Tom Burnham. Severson introduced the Director of Community Development, David Stalheim, who was present to observe the meeting. Severson noted that both Bleicher and Rostykus had resigned in the past few days due to scheduling conflicts, and indicated that the Mayor’s office was in the process of advertising to recruit new members. He also pointed out that there were several recent resumes on file from the most recent recruitment where Burnham was selected. Young indicated that he would have preferred a chance to discuss scheduling options in order to try to retain Bleicher and Rostykus. Budget Update Severson noted that in addition to the information presented in the memo, there was approximately $1,710 in the Wheeldon Memorial Fund. Severson explained that he had followed up and while there was over $3,000 in the account for the helmets and lights line item, these items had not been budgeted for expenditure. He suggested that he would need to follow up on current costs, but felt that it was likely that money could be found to purchase lights during this fiscal year. Young clarified, asking that front lights be purchased to supplement the 43 rear lights already on hand. Teige noted that there were helmets on hand at Parks and these could be shared with Police until more were purchased. Subcommittee & Liaison Reports Teige gave a brief update on the Bike Swap subcommittee meetings. She noted that the Parks Department hoped to hire someone to reconcile receipts after the Swap, as there was not staff time available to do this. She noted that they would pay a living wage and that the expenditure would not exceed $185. She suggested that they would prefer to hire Harding to do this as she had experience with the Swap and the tasks. She clarified that the payment would not be for the volunteer efforts in support of the Swap, but rather for work that would normally be done by paid staff. She indicated that she didn’t feel this created any conflicts. Severson indicated that under Oregon public officials ethics laws, the fact that Harding would have direct financial benefit did represent a conflict of interest. He clarified that this was not a problem in and of itself, and added that it did require that Harding not participate in the discussion or the vote on this matter. He noted that these funds were 2006-1116 Bike & Ped minutes Page 1 of 5 held by a private non-profit, the Ashland Parks Foundation, and that they had graciously allowed the Commission a recommending authority in how the funds were spent. He emphasized that the Commission did not have the budgetary authority to enter into contracts or appropriate funds on behalf of the City, and that in this case the request was for a recommendation to the Parks Foundation to support their desire to expend funds they hold as a private non-profit from previous Bike Swap proceeds. Young indicated that he was somewhat uncomfortable with discussing payment to a commissioner just for the potential appearance of impropriety. Olney noted that the Commission could simply approve the request with a recommendation that Parks could pay someone to do the required work, and that the Commission would not be involved in the selection of who was hired. Olney/Young m/s to recommend that the Parks Foundation expend an amount not to exceed $185 from Bike Swap funds to pay a part-time person at living wage levels to handle reconciliation of receipts after the Bike Swap. Voice vote: All AYES, with Harding abstaining. Motion passed. Severson noted that the Verde Village had submitted a revised proposal addressing changes made in response to the Commission’s recommendations from last month. th Severson explained that there was a Commissioner Appreciation Event scheduled for March 12, and indicated his hope that a least a few members would be available to table at the event. Olney noted that he had attended one meeting of the Jackson County Bicycle Advisory Committee and would try to keep doing this as his schedule allowed. Update on Council‘s 12/4 Discussion of Bikepaths Severson gave brief background, noting that the City had received federal funds to complete this project, but in the time since those funds were received significant increases in the cost of the project had occurred due to federal engineering requirements and right-of-way acquisition. As such, the cost of the project had increased by more than three times. He explained that Public Works Director Paula Brown had made a presentation to the Council in early December but had been unable to update this Commission beforehand due to the timing of the meetings. He explained that Brown was recommending repayment of the funds amounting to approximately $90,000 to remove the federal funds, and thus their requirements and increased costs, and also noted that Brown would like the Commission to engage in helping to update the City’s Transportation System Plan with regard to bikepaths and bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Members were generally supportive of Brown’s recommendation. Severson noted th that this item would again be coming to the Council on February 20 for further discussion. Request for partnership and $200 financial support of ICLEI from Commission Funds Severson noted the history behind this request, explaining that the City has previously participated in ICLEI programs for local government sustainability but that a fee has recently been instated to support ICLEI and engender a greater sense of ownership in their members. He noted that the Conservation Commission and the Conservation Department would each be picking up a $200 one-third share, and suggested that it was appropriate for this Commission to pay one-third given that the primary focus of likely measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions would have to do with reducing automobile use within the community. He added that many of the Commission’s recent successes have come through partnerships (with B.T.A., the Parks Foundation, etc.) and then suggested that as important as the ideas behind ICLEI were he felt the opportunity to begin a meaningful partnership with Conservation was of equal value here. Burnham questioned the nature of ICLEI programs and their appropriateness to this commission, as many seemed energy or transit related. He questioned why the Council couldn’t just pay the membership fee rather than tapping this Commission’s limited funds. Members noted that the opportunity for partnership were valuable, as was the potential third-party program support from ICLEI, and that Ashland would have the opportunity to tailor a program to its own needs. Robbins emphasized that being involved would give the Commission a greater say in how this program was designed and implemented. 2006-1116 Bike & Ped minutes Page 2 of 5 Young/Harding m/s to expend $200 in Commission Funds to pay a one-third share of the City’s membership in ICLEI. Voice vote: All AYES. Motion passed. Election of Officers It was agreed to delay this item until after the appointment of new members to fill the two recently created vacancies. Goal Setting Goal setting began with an open brainstorming session to identify concerns and interests of those present: Robbins noted his interest in eliminating obstacles, including classist barriers, that prevent people from cycling. Dubois noted the need to follow up on recent discussions of doing a better job to promote walking. He noted ways to do this might include a pedometer program, or through outreach and partnerships with local employers. Bill Hyman, audience member and League of American Bicyclists certified instructor, suggested that all commissioners need to be educated on street smart cycling and that the commission needs to completely review city ordinances and policies relating to bicycles. He noted for instance that by law all bicycles are to be licensed, but suggested that there is currently no mechanism for licensing in place. Burnham suggested that the Commission look at the Comprehensive Plan and its Transportation Element and make carrying these out the focus of their work. West suggested creating a matrix to identify goals and policies and how they are addressed. Audience member Elaine Shanafelt urged the commission to work toward completing sidewalks and furthering Greenway connectivity, particularly between Mountain, Nevada and Oak Streets. Severson briefly discussed the Council and Public Works Departments rolls in the LID process, but noted that the Commission could take a roll in making recommendations and that one obvious opportunity to do so would be through annual review of the Miscellaneous Concrete Projects. He added that the Greenway connection was still being pursued, but that right-of- way acquisition was a time consuming matter that was limited by cost and property owner willingness. Stalheim emphasized that Commission input should be a guiding force in determining project priority rather than relying strictly on vocal citizens to raise issues of project priority, as the Commission’s have a better big picture grasp of existing facilities and connectivity needs. Young identified the Safe Routes to School Program as a priority. Aitken indicated that she would like to work to promote a culture of non-motorized transportation, and suggested that the way she saw doing this was through a weekly Car Free Day as had been previously discussed. Burnham said there was a need for more marketing and promotion through the preparation of printed educational material. West noted that RVTD could be a partner in a marketing campaign. Members noted the need to focus on repairing and maintaining infrastructure including bikelanes, bikepaths, sidewalks, and signage, and to put greater emphasis on the annual review of Miscellaneous Concrete Projects. Members identified a need to focus on partnerships with the BTA, Traffic Safety, Parks and Recreation, Parks Foundation, Police Department, Public Works Department, Conservation Division, Conservation Commission, and Ashland Community Hospital. Members also indicated that there could be more outreach to bike shops and to the University, and efforts could be made to better integrate efforts with those of other advocacy groups including Siskiyou Velo, the Southern Oregon Sizzlers, Silver Striders, the local running shop, etc. Members noted that Siskiyou Velo might be a funding partner, and that efforts could be made to build partnerships to offer classes and distribute educational materials. Aitken exited at 6:30 p.m.. 2006-1116 Bike & Ped minutes Page 3 of 5 It was suggested that efforts be made to focus on driver education, either through the distribution of materials, teaching of classes, or required diversion programs for drivers ticketed for violating pedestrian or cyclist rights. It was also noted that the Commission could sponsor a forum on cyclists rights and responsibility similar to the one put on by the BTA in Medford last year. West discussed the Safe Routes grant that would be coming up shortly. Severson noted that there was a grant application previously prepared to install sidewalks on Laurel adjacent to Helman School. He explained that while it had been rejected due to issues with the Laurel Street railroad crossing,, it could be slightly modified for resubmittal and would have all of the legwork essentially complete. West noted that ideally the state was looking for these applications to come through coalitions or task forces consisting of citizens, police, planning departments, and school districts. West asked that Severson provide her with a copy of the previously submitted Laurel Street grant application. Members noted that continuing Car Free Day and expanding to include weekly car free observances, continuing the Bike Swap and bike safety education program with the B.T.A. were also priorities. Hyman suggested working to educate the police and local judges about enforcement. Dubois added that tickets should be fairly sizeable or in the form of fix-it tickets or diversion programs. Members suggested forming a committee to address regional transportation issues. Severson noted that in transitioning from the brainstorming portion of the session to developing more concrete plans, it was important to consider some things: he emphasized that staff time to support commission activities was limited; that the time available essentially went to preparing agendas, packets and minutes and attending meetings; that the Council had directed staff to not take on new work programs other than through Council goal setting; and that members also realistically consider how much time they were willing to commit before developing an overly ambitious goal list. Members discussed the need for champions to energize and promote individual items. Harding indicated that she would continue to work on expanding Car Free Day, and on the Bike Swap. West indicated that she would work on expanding and facilitating Safe Routes to School efforts, including the grant application. Robbins indicated that he would work on education, outreach and promotion, possibly to include classes, brochures and outreach to the local judge. Young indicated that he would work on the memorial to Carole Wheeldon. Teige, Dubois and Hyman all indicated an interest in working on offering adult bicycle education opportunities. Olney noted that he would continue to attend the Jackson County Bicycle Advisory Commission meetings, and Burnham suggested that he would work on outreach and development of strategic partnerships with Siskiyou Velo. Severson agreed to prepare a draft outreach letter that could be included with the Commission’s agenda when it is sent to other organizations, and suggested that if anyone had other groups in mind for outreach they let him know and he could update the mailing list. Members suggested that meeting times could be provided to Siskiyou Velo for inclusion on their calendar as well. Members suggested that infrastructure to include Greenway, bikepath, bikelane, and sidewalk connectivity, signage, review of Miscellaneous Concrete Projects, and work with Public Works on the Transportation System Plan remain on the radar screen as items to be addressed. New Business th Harding noted that April 14 was to be a national day of action on climate change, and stated that the Conservation Commission was forming a subcommittee to look at this issue to meet the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. She stated that she would follow up and provide additional details as they become available. 2006-1116 Bike & Ped minutes Page 4 of 5 Agenda Items for Next Month Goal Setting follow-up, Next Year’s budget request, Wheeldon Memorial, Bike Lights and Helmets, Pedometers. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:15 p.m. Upcoming Meetings: th Regular Meeting – February 15, 2007 at 5:15 p.m. 2006-1116 Bike & Ped minutes Page 5 of 5