HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015.08.12 Wildfire Safety Committee Minutes MINUTES FROM A MEETING OF THE
WILDFIRE MITIGATION COMMISSION
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
11:00AM to 1:00PM
Conference Room, Ashland Fire Station #1
455 Siskiyou Blvd
I. CALL TO ORDER
Meeting called to order at 11:03AM
II. INTRODUCTIONS
Greg Lemhouse, Vicky Sturtevant, Tim Bewley, Bruce Moats,Alison Lerch, Ron Parker, Chris
Chambers, Frank Betlejewski (FLC), Margaret Basset-citizen
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: June l Oth 2015 (No minutes from July 81h due to lack of quorum)
Tim: Motion to approve minutes,pending changes with acronyms and tone and a few clean up items.
Bruce 2"d. All in favor.
IV. PUBLIC FORUM
The fire restriction press release from July 31, 2015 needs to be more specific to reflect the intention
of mowing green lawn. The wording makes it sounds like you cannot use equipment to reduce fuels
in irrigated areas. Chris explained that the intent is not to restrict chainsaw use and equipment use on
irrigated lands. You can use electrical equipment regardless of the restrictions and the restrictions
are for gas powered equipment. You can get a permit to operate if you are a business. The general
public and business have a different set of regulations. Future restrictions should include new
language that outlines the difference between public vs. business equipment use during fire season.
This could be updated in the Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). Regulations are an
important public education and awareness piece.
ACTION ITEM.-Include a map with the updated fire restrictions. Chris or Margueritte will update
the council about this issue.
The social chapter for the Ashland Forest Plan is mostly complete. Frank will pass a draft copy of
that chapter to the Wildfire Mitigation Commission(WMC)by the end of the week.
Margaret is new to Ashland and interested in what this group is doing.
V.ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA
VI. BUSINESS
A. Wildfire Hazard Zone (WHZ) Expansion Proposal Review
a. This effort is in the hands of City Planning. Greg will talk with the council about
moving this up on the priority list. Wildfire danger exists well beyond the current
WHZ and the update will include the entire city to reflect that.
B. WMC Recruiting
a. Doug Kay will be joining the WMC in September.
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C. Ashland Fire & Rescue (AF&R) Updates
a. Wildland Fire Leadership Council (WFLC) meeting
i. WFLC is a group of high level leaders from various public agencies,
spearheaded by the undersecretary of agriculture and undersecretary of the
interior, and are essentially responsible for implementing the Cohesive
Strategy. Their quarterly meeting was held in Ashland and it included a
tour of the watershed and local presentations. This was a direct result of
Chris's trip to D.C. Tim congratulated Chris on this huge effort. The
mayor was honored by Tom Tidwell, Chief of the Forest Service, for the
city's efforts in implementing the Cohesive Strategy. This provides the
WMC some inspiration and incentive to continue our efforts, and
confirmation that Ashland is on the radar.
b. Firewise Communities
i. We currently have twenty-two Firewise Communities and are working on
six more. Two out of the six communities are just about complete with
the process and four are on their way with community meetings being
scheduled in September. Alison has prospective communities to reach out
to in Park Estates, Beach Ave, and Timberline Terrace.
c. Community Assistant Grant
i. Co authored by Chris Chambers/Ashley Lara community assistance grant
with the Oregon Department of Forestry(ODF). They applied for the
maximum $250,000, ODF takes about half. We should be hearing on this
any day. You do not have to be in a Firewise community, but it is
encouraged. This is similar to the biomass grant from last year. When/if
this becomes available we will advertise. Southwest Oregon received this
grant last year so it is not a done deal. Regardless, we are a great
contender for 2016 grants.
1. Question from Greg: Under Firewise Communities webpage, some
of the communities have info and some don't. This needs to be
updated to reflect all 22 communities.
ACTIONITEM.Alison will work up updating the Firewise Communities page on the City of
Ashland website.
d. Staff Changes/Expectations/Goals
i. Alison is here, she will be part of the commission, an integral part of the
CWPP update, as well as managing the Firewise Communities. Alison's
position is not dependent on grant funding.
D. CWPP Update Timeline
a. Set up a meeting with key Firewise community leaders/other groups
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i. WMC would like to create AD HOC committees to help with the CWPP
update:
1. City Leaders/Ashland Coalition Committee: Vicky has been
talking with Sandra Slattery of the Chamber of Commerce. We
would like to host a lunch. We need buy in from the City,
SOU/President, OLLI, Chamber of Commerce, Oregon
Shakespeare Festival (OSF), YMCA, Ashland School District,
Hospital
Members: Tim Bewley, Greg &Vicky
2. Firewise Communities Committee: Have a BBQ, ask questions
about"What's worked? Successes? Ideas for CWPP?
Members: Doug Kay, Ron Parker
3. Technical Risk Assessment Committee: Utilize Jackson County
risk assessment, and scale it back to the Ashland community level.
Take a look at critical protection areas for Ashland besides just the
homes.
Members: Hugh Holden, Vicky, Frank
4. Social Assessment Committee: Work with Social Ecology as they
are completing a community survey.
Members: Vicky, Tim
AGENDA ITEM FOR SEPTEMBER: Finalize WMC "Talking Points"for distribution to the
AD HOC committees
b. Frank is presenting the Ashland Forest Plan update timeline to the City.
Overlapping areas: Social chapter that is 40 pages long; Risk Assessment: Open
forest lands currently have risks associated with them(172 acres/9 parcels of city
owned). Vicky mentioned it would be useful for Frank to work with the Risk
Assessment AD HOC
c. CWPP timeline is tabled until September meeting
E. Social Ecology Quarterly Update (Trish)
a. Talked to 106 people so far, 59 female 47 male, 22-90 years old. Overall, when
the topics of"fire/fire safety"were brought up, they would get minimum
responses. They now use "wildfire" in their conversations and people are more
responsive. Trish believes there is genuine interest in wildfire. Awareness about
Firewise or defensible space seemed low, but there is interest in knowing more
about the program. If anyone on the WMC is interested in going out with Social
Ecology, ask Vicky for Trish's phone number.
VII. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS
VIII. REVIEW AND SET COMMISSION CALENDAR/NEXT MEETING
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A. Next meeting September 16, 2015
B. Save the Date August 30, 2015 3:00 PM
IX.ADJOURN: 1:00 PM
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate
in this meeting,please contact the Public Works Office at 488-5587(TTYphone number 1 800 735
2900). Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable
arrangements to ensure accessibility to the meeting(28 CFR 35.102-35.104 ADA Title I).
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