HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-03-11 Downtown Beautification Improvement Ad Hoc Committee Minutes AttachmentDowntown Beautification Committee.,,
Numerous Ashlanders and visitors have
made very similar cornments for improving
the Plaza. These suggestions are practical
and cost effective:
Consult first with an architectural historian
for suggestions on how to make the entire
Plaza more compatible with the downtown
historic district. The current "modern"
Plaza fights the feeling and flow of the
toric downtown motif.
1. Replace the gray pavers with a warmer
color, such as old brick colored pavers. The
current pavers can be reused on some
more suitable site, they won't go to waste!
Paver contractors advise us that the
pavers can be easily replaced w/o disrupt-
ing the Plaza or surrounding businessies.
2. Increase the green planted areas on the
ground with additional areas of hardy, ev-
ergreen native shrubs. More greenery, less
pavers. Raise the beds 8,-12" to protect
from pedestrians. Hardscape can be
nificantly reduced without compromising
the usability of open areas.
3. Reduce the angularity of the overall
design, incorporate more curved, expan-
sive design elements that lend a flow to
the feeling, rather than the chopped up
angels we now see. One way to do this is
to remove one or more of the concrete
seat walls, preferably the longest one. It
makes the Plaza look blocky and stilted,
C1 L I V t I LUJ U ��U
color that compliments the downtown.
Add a fountain or an arbor as a focal
point along the Main St. end of the
Plaza
We iconsultedPaul Stranberg,, of Valley ViewNursery
vashrubsfor ourPlaza. He generouslyresponded
with this list of suggestions. Downtown Beautification Committee, Council,,
staff,, please take note!
"I finally went ter Plaza "look-. planters. they
a beating. Some of f
he plant selections they made aren't bad,. but too many de-
ciduous. I have some recommendations below that would add some accent
and evergreen for year round interest.
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Marys
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Cedrus at. Glauca Horstmann
Creeper
Chamaecyparis True Blue
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Ashland Daily Tidings
March 6, 2014
Letter at Length
City officials misled us on paver color
The recently redesigned Plaza is disliked by 65 percent of Ashlanders just polled by the
Sneak Preview, including over 500 petitioners. Nearly two out of three people say it's dull,
lifeless, unwelcoming. It looks like a parking lot.
During the Plaza redo, checks and balances were disregarded: Why were salmon -colored
paver renderings shown to the public and press throughout the design process, but gray
installed instead? Why does Administrator Kanner say he didn't know about the gray paver
choice? His staff liaison was at the Arts Commission meeting specifically to learn of this.
Wouldn't she have told him? Why was this decision kept from the public and press until
after the pavers were installed? Many here feel we've been deceived.
Petitioners talked to Plaza contractors who knew city staffers were aware of the gray pavers
many months before the public was ever told. Just when did each of the councilors learn
gray pavers had been picked? Except for Councilor Carol Voisin, they've refused to say.
Official explanations for the gray pavers have been sketchy, misleading, nonexistent or
false. For instance, last May, Voisin expressed concern that Covey's color renderings showed
salmon pavers, not gray. Kanner explained the salmon colors were due to "software
limitations."
Petitioners asked Travis Scott, a regional computer renderings expert to study these color
renderings. His comments to us noted that over 14 colors are shown. Gray, or any color, not
just salmon, could easily have been used for pavers. Therefore Kanner's statement, that
software limitations obliged the use of salmon for pavers, is false.
Then city staffers claimed Plaza rendering didn't show the actual colors. But we plainly see:
gray for street, green for plants and salmon for pavers. For over nine months, these official
color renderings were shown to the public and press as representations of what the Plaza
would look like. Showing renderings of salmon pavers for nine months is the same as
promising them.
The sudden appearance of gray pavers on the Plaza was shocking! The council majority and
some city staff violated the public's trust. To add insult to injury, council and staff give
either false or misleading explanations to the public and press, deny there's a problem,
made us pay for it, and have just put Plaza restoration near the bottom of the list for
downtown improvements. (Mr. Kanner stated at a recent council meeting that his "staff
have visually spent the TOT funds" dedicated for downtown improvement.)
This is far more than just a beef over a pile of bricks; it's about the look and feel of our
town, and the accountability and integrity of our City Council and staff. Our councilors and
city staff owe it to the public to keep their promises: deliver colored pavers and more
greenery to the Plaza.
We sincerely encourage the new Downtown Beautification Committee to take into
consideration the city of Ashland's past representations of the Plaza's colored pavers and
lush greenery, made to the Ashland public and press.
David Sherr
Petitioners for Restoration of Our Plaza