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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018.08.15 Wildfire Safety Commission Minutes ACTION MINUTES FOR A MEETING OF THE WILDFIRE MITIGATION COMMISSION Wednesday,August 15, 2018 11:00AM to 1:00PM Training Room, Ashland Fire Station#1 455 Siskiyou Blvd I. CALL TO ORDER: Doug Kay, Tracy Peddicord, Bruce Moats, Stephen Gagne, Chris Chambers, Tonya Graham, Steve Jensen, Alison Lerch, Jessica Bain,Julie Smitherman II. INTRODUCTIONS III.APPROVAL OF MINUTES: July 18, 2018 Bruce moves to approve the minute, Tracy second, all in favor. IV. PUBLIC AND GUESTS FORUM V.ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA -Plant List Subcommittee Expansion -Status update from Chris about a shortage of fire personnel. VI.REPORTS (2 minutes each) A. Report on Wildfire Mitigation Ordinance Study Session—Stephen a. Tracy commented that the graphics from the Study Session presentation were really thoughtful, especially the ember spread maps. The visuals were worthwhile and a good education piece. Bruce watched the Channel 10 coverage, and mentioned a mistake in the language, saying Ashland has 50 new buildings and 200 new"outhouses"per year. Doug's perspective from the Farmer's Market is that the education focuses on 0-5 feet from the house. There is not enough time to get into the full flammable plant list within 1 minute so they are passing out the trifold brochure. B. Chamber Wildfire Task Force (Smoke/Evacuation/Business)—Alison a. Smoke/Business: The Task Force did not meet in July, but will be meeting on August 29" at loam. There is still discussion about how to effectively educate visitors about smoke and health information. There is a need to create a business card that can be distributed to all hotels and bed&breakfasts with important links to air quality and wildfire info. b. Evacuation: Jackson County is still missing an Emergency Manager. C. Plant List Subcommittee(Waterwise/Firewise)—Alison/Tracy/Julie a. The Plant List Subcommittee is meeting today at 2:00pm at Station 1. Interested citizens are invited to this meeting to go over the Prohibited Flammable Plant List Resolution. b. Doug supports the expansion of the Plant List Subcommittee. Tracy supports the expansion,but is concerned that contractors will not attend a meeting due to their work schedule. Tonya feels that we can promise that this is not a static list,but put out interest to the Plant List group once/year and see if there is participation. If nobody participates then the list stands as it is. Julie suggests holding the meeting during a Southern Oregon Landscape Association meeting at a restaurant and offer CEU's for Landscape Contractors. Tracy mentioned that we can offer CEU's for Landscape Architects. Steve suggested to keep it small. We will hold the first meeting in December 2018/January 2019, and will ask the group about meeting quarterly, twice a year or annually. c. Stephen made a motion to expand the Plant List Subcommittee to include outside experts and stakeholders including landscapers, nurseries and interested parties, meeting annually or semiannually as decided by the subcommittee. The committee will report back to the Wildfire Mitigation Commission with recommendations to the Prohibited Flammable Plant List. Size limited to 10, including 5 open seats. Tonya second. All in favor. d. ACTION ITEM: Chris and Alison will add this motion to the City Council packet for August 21 st,2018. D. Farmer's Market—Doug a. Doug and Alison have been at the Farmers Market for the past 4 weeks. The table display shows burnt and unburned bark mulch, as well as examples of rock and Synlawn. Additional props include a gutter filled with leaves and needles and a fire resistant vent product. A local sheet metal contractor is donating a larger gutter with leaf guard protection for the table display. The table also has Spanish versions of the Smoke and Firewise brochures. E. FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant—Check In a. The Notice of Funding Opportunity(NOFO)was sent out on August 3rd. The grant application is not open yet but Alison will be attending a webinar on August 16". There is a direct tie between the updated Wildfire Mitigation Ordinance and the FEMA grant. Ashland would have a better chance at receiving the grant if the Wildfire Mitigation Ordinance passes. b. Alison and Chris will give a short staff update at the City Council meeting. We are asking FEMA to assist our city and we cannot expect FEMA to support us in the process. The grant will not hire more fire fighters,but will enhance moving forward on reducing wildfire risk on already built lots. F. Firewise USA—Alison quick update a. Ashland Fire &Rescue is hiring Brian Hendrix as the Firewise Assistant starting mid- September. There will be $750/neighborhood for July 2018-June 2019. G. WMC members attending other committees-anything pertinent to report? VII. OLD BUSINESS A. Firewise Demonstration Trailer—Doug a. The price of the trailer increased by the time the contract made it to Hardcastles. Alison is working with the city to get a new contract in place. B. CWPP Risk Assessment Presentation(Chris, 15 min) a. Community Wildfire Protection Plans have to include a risk assessment. The Intterra data has the entire city at the same exposure level. Chris and Alison have been working on creating a more accurate exposure level for the city. The wildland areas within Y2 mile of the city have been reclassified to fuel models in the BeHave fire model. There are a few areas that still need to be analyzed. VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. Mulch varieties in the Rogue Valley a. Stephen's wife has been researching nonflammable mulch that is available in the Rogue Valley. A-1 Rental claims the composted mulch is not flammable. i. Would it be worth it to replace the lowest boards on your house with fiber cement siding so you can keep plants and mulch next to the house? This could be addressed with Appendix W. B. Gutters a. Steve Asher, a local Ashland contractor,has been using a specific gutter guard. He claims that this is the only fire proof gutter guard made due to the curved nature of the guard. There is a company in Portland that is flat topped so it accumulates debris. Doug also has another option that he is using on his house. Stephen can see the Wildfire Mitigation Commission offering recommendations to the citizens about better solutions for gutter guards. b. ACTION ITEM: Chris will check with the City Attorney about recommending gutter guards and other fire-resistant construction products. C. ISO rating and Insurance Overlay a. At the Study Session on August 61h, questions were asked regarding Ashland's insurance rating. One questions asked if the ISO rating will go down when adopting a citywide ordinance. The other was asking if the expanded overlay will make individual homeowner insurance go up. The consensus is that insurance agencies have their own equation to determine if they will insure someone or not. Ashland Fire &Rescue is also looking to lower the ISO score to a 1 (now 3)by establishing an inspection program and building a training facility. D. Trail Maintenance(Stephen) a. Weed abatement does not cover our local trails. The Parks Department is responsible for these areas. There is concern about wildfires being started along unmitigated trail systems throughout Ashland. Chris clarified that,while a valid concern,to be effective, eliminating significant flammable vegetation on trail systems would require clearing far beyond trails,which is not in any current budget or budget projection, and appears lower priority than other current challenges. E. Fire Protection Resource Update(Stephen) a. As a Commission, it is good to have an understanding about the wildfire resources available during fire season. IX. REVIEW AND SET COMMISSION CALENDAR/NEXT MEETING A. WMO City Council First Reading: August 21,2018, 7:00pm(Council Chambers) B. Mayors Brown Bag Lunch: August 24,2018, 12:00pm(CommDev) C. Wildfire Task Force: August 29, 2018, 10:00am D. Next WMC Meeting: September 19,2018, 11:00am(Station 1) X. AGENDA ITEMS FOR September 19,2018 A. November/December: Presentation on wildland fire resources in the Rogue Valley XI.ADJOURN: 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).