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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017.07.19 Wildfire Safey Commission Minutes MINUTES FOR A MEETING OF THE WILDFIRE MITIGATION COMMISSION Wednesday,July 19, 2017 11:OOAM to 1:OOPM Training Room, Ashland Fire Station#1 455 Siskiyou Blvd In attendance: Tim Bewley, Doug Kay, Stephen Gagne, Tracy Peddicord, Bruce Moats, Tonya Graham, Julie Smitherman, Chris Chambers,Alison Lerch Not in attendance: Stef Seffinger I. CALL TO ORDER: 11:00am II. INTRODUCTIONS III.APPROVAL OF MINUTES: May 17, 2017 Stephen moves,Tracy seconds, all in favor. IV. PUBLIC FORUM V.ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA: CEAP Plan VI.BUSINESS A. New Business a. Firewise Presentation to Landscape Community i. Julie talked with the Southern Oregon Landscape Community about giving a 1 hour presentation to the Landscape Contractors to earn their CEU. We could use the Community Center or Pioneer Hall. Week of August 30, 31. Alison will prepare a PowerPoint presentation and deliver it to the WMC in August. Julie will extend the invitation to landscape contractors and nurseries. ii. More pictures of Ashland specific Firewise visual tour on the ashlandsaveswater.org. Including before and after photos/videos. b. Daily Tidings Articles i. Tim was interested in knowing about the feedback from the Alarm Box article. Alison experienced some feedback from the Farmers Market about signing up for Citizen Alert. c. Live Fire Exercise for 2018 i. Should we conduct a live fire exercise for the general public in Ashland? If there was a fire awareness day we could show children the videos from the 2017 Southern Oregon Firewise Expo. Maybe this could be done in conjunction with the Ashland Sprinkler Trailer. ii. What about a Fire Summit from the Wildfire Mitigation Commission? iii. What about a directed advertising campaign during the first week of May? iv. Firewise landscaping was incorporated in the Spring Garden tour v. Firewise can have a table at the Spring Garden Fair at the Expo vi. Parking Lot:Ashland City Tax discount from being Firewise Participant. This should be brought up at the next WMO meeting. d. Ashland Firewise Communities Celebration Event(Tim, Doug, Tracy) i. The Commission would like to host another Firewise Communities Celebration in October. October 2nd.9 A few presentations from new communities,before and after photos from new communities. ii. What if existing Firewise communities could get more funding to their community if they talk about Firewise to another neighborhood? iii. Desired outcomes of this event: • Recruiting individuals as advocates • Flash Presentations B. Old Business a. Insurance Letter—status update i. On June 26, 2017,we received a reply from Brad Hilliard from State Farm. The letter talked about how State Farm supports Wildfire Community Preparedness Day through 150 $500 grants but that they do not offer a discount for homeowners in Firewise Communities. Ashland's ISO rating is lower because of the Firewise Program participation. A suggestion was made that we need Oregon State Fire Chiefs Association or a large State Organization that has lobbyist who have the ability to go to the legislators to encourage this process. Chief Shepherd likes the idea of giving a grant to individual landowners who are doing Firewise around their homes. The City could give a loan to an individual to do their mitigation work,but the loan is added to their tax bill over time. • Could a single structure get a Firewise certification?Not right now. • Can Ashland lower their ISO rating?We can buy an aerial,build a training tower, or get a secondary water source. • Can we create a juniper removal fund for lower income or people on a fixed income. b. Committee Updates: (4 minutes each) i. Plant List Subcommittee • Julie and Tracy would like to forward the plant list to their people and get a meeting before the next WMC meeting. • Julie knows the owners of Valley View Nursery and will make a call. Julie will set up a meeting where Alison and Julie can be with Valley View Nursery. • Put Waterwise Ashland as the top link on the 3rd column • Keep vetting this trifold to the Farmers Market for the next month and get more feedback. ii. Wildfire Mitigation Ordinance • Next Meeting is July 31 st from 2-4pm at Station 1. The regularly scheduled meeting is every other Monday from 2-4pm at Station 1. iii. Wildfire Task Force (Smoke Marketing, Evac/Com,Business Resilience) • Smoke Marketing: There is a collaboration with the healthcare community to put a publication and a dedicated website and advertising time • Evac/Com: This information will be incorporated in the 2017 Ashland Is Ready Preparedness Booklet • Business Resilience: The Chamber of Commerce is working through the Business Preparedness Program through CERT. iv. Community Wildfire Protection Plan Subcommittee • The CWPP is being driven by Alison, Chris and Vicky Sturtevant. The Risk Assessment is still in the process. v. Farmer's Market • People loved that the plant list was tailored to the Rogue Valley.Next Farmers Market is August 1st from 8:30am-11:30am vi. Firewise Update • Two new neighborhoods approached Alison(Scenic and Frank's). 4 coming up. • Alison will send Tracy and Tim an email about the next Assessment dates for a ride along. vii.AFR/AFAR Update • A public tour of the Forest Service prescribed burn is scheduled for July 29,2017 at gam. Helicopter thinning and hauling is completed. Ground based thinning is still in process. C. Parking Lot Issues a. Branding the WMC b. Wildfire Commission Collateral VIL COMMISSIONER COMMENTS VIII.REVIEW AND SET COMMISSION CALENDAR/NEXT MEETING A. Mayors Brown Bag Lunch: July 28, 2017, 12:OOpm(ComDev) B. Next WMO Meeting. July 31, 2017, 2-4pm(Station 1) C. Next WMC Meeting: August 16,2017, 11:00am(Station 1) D. Wildfire Task Force: September 6, 2017, 10:30am(Station 1) IX. AGENDA ITEMS FOR August 16, 2017 A. Firewise Landscaping Presentation B. CEAP Plan—send the link to the CEAP out to the group. X. ADJOURN: 12:30pm 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 35102-35104 ADA Title I).