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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017.08.23 Conservation Commission Minutes Minutes for the Conservation Commission August 23,2017 Page 1 of 3 MINUTES FOR THE ASHLAND CONSERVATION COMMISSION Wednesday, August 23, 2017 Siskiyou Room, 51 Winburn Way 1. Call to Order Vice-Chair Risa Buck called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Commissioners Jamie Rosenthal, Mark Weir, Cara Cruickshank, and Roxane Beigel-Coryell were present. Staff member Adam Hanks was present. Commissioners David Sommer, Bryan Sohl, Mari Koopman, James McGinnis, and Council Liaison Traci Darrow were absent. Group discussed the agenda and agreed to only do a preliminary discussion of goal setting due to the number of commissioners absent. 2. Consent Agenda Beigel-Coryell/Weir m/s to approve the minutes of July 28, 2017, as presented. Discussion: None. Voice Vote: all ayes. Motion Passes. 3. Announcements The next commission meeting will be September 27, 2017. Beigel-Coryell thanked Buck for her recent article in the newspaper regarding the SOU recycling program which got its start in Professor Eric Ditmeyer's Environmental Studies class. Professor Ditmeyer was present at the meeting and stated for the group that his students were very enthusiastic and had worked beyond the scope of their capstone project. He thanked Buck and Beigel-Coryell for their assistance and encouragement. 4. Public Forum Eric Ditmeyer— stated he is representing SOCAN. They are starting a Master Climate Protector class similar to the Master Gardener program. There was a test-pilot in spring with 15 students. The first class of the next training will start September 1 Oth. He gave details of the sorts of classes to be offered in the series. He gave and overview of how graduates from the program will be able to use the information learned for themselves and the community. Jeff Sharpe—thanked the commission for their on-going work. 5. Old Business Sneak Preview Column—Group discussed the article submitted by Cruickshank and recommended adding either full urls instead of hyperlinks or deleting the links entirely. Cruickshank agree with this suggestion. Weir/Beigel-Coryell m/s to approve the October article submitted by Cruickshank,with corrections to the urls as discussed. Discussion: None. Voice Vote: all ayes. Motion Passes. Group agreed to the following potential article topics: • November—Leaf Bag program, by Rosenthal Minutes for the Conservation Commission August 23,2017 Page 2 of 3 • December—CEAP ordinances (the big picture on where we are),by McGinnis • January—conservation successes at the ASD, by Sommer Water Subcommittee—Buck handed out the flyer for the Laundry to Landscape event. Southern Oregon Landscape Association is sponsoring the event by covering the cost of the instructor. 6. New Business Review of Imperatrice Property Use Recommendation to Council - Group reviewed the recommendation as presented in the agenda packet. Weir/Beigel-Coryell m/s to approve the recommendation memo as presented. Discussion: Weir stated the memo captures what was discussed and the motion made at the last meeting. Beigel-Coryell stated she appreciated that it wasn't a negative or aggressive memo, but was focused on conservation of natural resources on the site. Cruickshank stated she would have voted no on doing a memo at the last meeting because she believes all the uses being proposed have space on the site. Beigel-Coryell stated the memo doesn't eliminate any of those uses, but affirms the group would like Council to keep in mind the natural conservation on the site and that there are many other good locations for solar in town. Buck stated she was compelled by the presentation regarding the grasshopper sparrow and the need for conservation of that species. Beigel-Coryell asked the group if they should make it clear that the focus is on preserving only a specific area on the property? Hanks reminded the group that there are no locations specifically designated for particular uses at this time. Weir stated he wants it to be clear that he is entirely opposed to having solar on any portion of the site. Cruickshank stated there are not black and white (solidly good or solidly bad)uses on the site—just lots of options and grey areas. Cruickshank moved to amend motion to add a sentence that the group isn't ruling out solar on the site. Motion died for lack of a second. Voice Vote on original motion: 4 ayes, 1 nay. Motion passes. Group thanked Hanks for drafting the memo and discussed when was the appropriate time to send to Council. They agreed it should be part of the next update on the 1 Ox2O ordinance. Conservation Commission Goal Setting—Hanks handed out copies of the goals document submitted by the group members. Group discussed whether they should proceed despite lack of attendance or whether moving forward made more sense. Cruickshank suggested that the group table the discussion at the moment and in the meantime flesh out their own goal suggestions for discussion at the next meeting. Minutes for the Conservation Commission August 23,2017 Page 3 of 3 Hanks asked if the group wanted staff s input on any of the suggestions. Buck stated that she would prefer the group work on a prioritization of what's important and then have staff give input. Group generally agreed to this approach. Weir reminded the group that it would be useful to have the goal setting completed before Council starts their own goal setting/strategic planning process. 7. Wrap Up Hanks informed the group that the Drive Less Challenge is about to start and he is working on getting city employees more connected to the program as well as get information out to the public. He also gave information on the new Zagster bike-share program. Buck gave an overview of the commission's recent update to Council. Group thanked Buck for presenting with Koopman. Hanks gave update on when CEAP related ordinances are scheduled at Council and on the CEAP position hiring process. Meeting adjourned at 7:32 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Diana Shiplet Executive Assistant