HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-04-17 Downtown Beautification Improvement Ad Hoc Committee Minutes AttachmentDowntown Beautification Committee members:
The Committee's long-term "Identified Projects" list includes such
items as replacing the pavers, adding greenery, adding planters, and
more, within the next three years. According to contractors we've
consulted these projects can easily be accomplished in less than a
couple weeks, and this with no disruption to downtown businesses or
to our visitors.
Therefore, there is no reason to extend these improvements out three
years, when they can easily be accomplished in the near -term. Now
that this committee has more information than was available to it
during the first two meetings when the long-term status was assigned
to the these projects, we ask that this committee recommend to the
council these deferred projects begin sooner. Create a near -term
timetable, recommend a commitment of funds, and advise the council
to initiate these projects this year.
I'd like to read to you a few of the comments from citizens concerning
the Plaza. The reason I emailed them to you previously is so that you
will get an idea of the overwhelming sentiment in our community:
This Plaza is in need of some major first aid! The goal is to bring the
Plaza back into the foal of our historic downtown district. Neil has
some great Ideas, and so do many residents here. Mr. Kanner and his
staff have also advanced some very creative suggestions.
Since my involvement in this issue beginning early last year, I've
talked with hundreds of people here who have expressed concern and
shock at the look of our new Plaza. Hear some of their comments:
Katherine Freeman ASHLAND, OR
I grew up in Ashland and recently moved back here.
That was an historic plaza and important to the image
of Ashland as a charming, cultured small town. The
plaza did not need renovating and now looks like the
cold, vacant plazas they put outside transit centers
(i.e... Eugene, Oakland) It's an outrage really!
Patricia Millen ASHLAND, OR
The Plaza may have needed some improvement but
what was created is a dreary, bleak space. It is not
fitting for the specialness of our town especially
given the high quality art community present. Please
admit you made a mistake and take action to restore
our Plaza to a place of beauty that creates a
welcoming, uplifting and special ambiance.
• Bev Collins ASHLAND, OR
I love my city, and have always been inspired and
proud of it's aesthetic. I have lived here for over 35
years, owning property on High St. and now Valley
View. The recent alterations to our lovely plaza are
shocking.,. I know no one who likes it. That's rather
telling.
It was not enough just to satisfy the perceived interests of one
segment of the business community by creating a bare -bones looking
Plaza design, just to discourage what one commissioner has termed
the "vagrants" of our town. Doing so meant disenfranchising a larger
segment of our long-term residents and a majority of our community.
We don't want to foster a civil war over the Plaza in our community.
Besides, it hasn't worked, the transients are still there due to the
proximity to handouts. Our Plaza can still be made to look attractive,
to fit in with the downtown historic district, and continue to retain its
openness and it's usefulness.
What is needed is an overriding concept plan to harmonize and
coordinate all the different ideas for the Plaza, into a cohesive whole;
we need to seek a community consensus on these vital issues
affecting everyone, so that the downtown Plaza really comes together
in a unified way, so that it blends in and supports our historic
downtown district. In the near and long term, both the interests of
the business community and the majority of the folks in Ashland will
benefit from fostering a beautiful Plaza for all to visit and enjoy.
David Sherr
Petitioners for Restoration of Our Plaza
The Downtown Beautification Committee's list of "long-term"
projects for the Plaza appear to be easily accomplished in a short
time, as estimated, below. Would someone on this committee
please clarify for me why these projects have so quickly been
assigned a "long-term" designation status by the committee
extending out to 3 years? And this even before the scheduled
meeting on future Plaza improvements? Why?
Downtown Beautification Committee's Long Term Projects
per committee website:
Long term projects (could be completed over the next
three years):
Plaza Projects:
Free standing planters -
Moveable tables and chairs
Replace pavers
installation time, per contractor
estimate. No disruption to businesses
or pedestrians (per Pete Cislo).
Trellis over seat walls on Plaza
Add denser (pedestrian -unfriendly)
plants to planting beds on Plaza
Estimated time to install:
1 day to install
1 hour
10 days
Three weeks
1 week or less
As the committee's thinking is refined over the coming weeks,
feel a more specific and immediate timeline needs to be
developed for this Plaza's refurbishments.
These Plaza projects, above, appear to have been advocated
without an overarching point of view, just as the copper top to
the info booth is soon to be installed without an overall plan in
place. I believe no Plaza refurbishments should be implemented
without a Master Plan which addresses the concerns of 65% of
Ashlanders recently polled. These plans should be published and
made known to the public for comment before implementation.
Randomly executing the identified projects above may leave us
with a "window-dressing" hodgepodged effect for the Plaza, and
a disjointed overall look that continues to fight the feeling and
flow of our historic downtown. The end result will likely be more
people dissatisfied with the Plaza. I realize Mr. Kanner and his
staff are trying their best to salvage the Plaza which has
displeased so many and for which they are responsible, but I
think their approach so far is rather piecemeal.
I believe the city commissions and city staffers are hesitant to
make innovative suggestions, for fear of stepping on someone's
toes. That's unfortunate, but a common problem in
bureaucracies. All the more need for outside intervention and
objective guidance. The Plaza needs to be restored with
conscious oversight of a designer with an architectural/historical
background, so that it can be refined in keeping with its historic
downtown backdrop. I urge the committee to consult such an
individual.
The fountain at the Chamber can be restored for under $20,000
per the plans that were submitted by David Sherr. This would
free up an additional $15k to $20k in the proposed identified
projects budget. The Plaza should take precedence over the
Chamber's fountain, in my view.
Preserve Ashland's Historic Plaza
December 5, 2013
Excerpts from a "Guest Opinion" piece written by Historic
Preservation Consultant George Kramer (Mail Tribune 11/28/12):
"Cities have a choice to rush toward the mundane or to be
creative and visionary where they can ........... "the fact of the
matter is that brand-new designs, smack dab in the midst
of a historic downtown, no matter how well -conceived,
have a strong tendency toward sterility. Hardscape parks, by
their very nature, can be especially sterile as concerns about
durability and low maintenance tend to trump the very things
that make a park space beloved." "The thing about preservation,
particularly issues like this, is that most everyone thinks you're
crazy when you bring them up. I'm used to that. When the
doubting Thomases lose, and the preservation happens, it is
rarely seen as a mistake."
George was speaking about the Greyhound arches in Medford
and he is not affiliated with our Plaza efforts, but his words and
sentiment are the same as ours.
The newly created modern Plaza in the midst of our downtown
Plaza is not working. Everyone agrees the Plaza is a work of art
in progress: But sometimes, an artist needs to scrape the paint
off the canvas a bit and redo a portion of his work. So too, with
our Plaza. I feel Neil Stewart's plan, presented would be perfect
for the Plaza. It's very well thought out, it undos the cold, stilted
feeling the Plaza now presents, and offers a warm, inviting and
universally appealing Plaza that will welcome our visitors and
residents. It's a superb refinish of the Plaza, fits our historic
downtown very well. Hopefully this committee will realize the
potential for improvement, and agree.
Sincerely,
David Sherr