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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018.12.19 Wildfire Safety Commission Minutes MINUTES FOR A MEETING OF THE WILDFIRE MITIGATION COMMISSION Wednesday,December 19, 2018 11:OOAM to 1:OOPM Training Room, Ashland Fire Station#1 455 Siskiyou Blvd I. CALL TO ORDER: 11:04am Stephen Gagne, Tonya Graham, Tracy Peddicord, Bruce Moats, Dan Dawson,Hazel Wheeler, Chris Chambers,Alison Lerch II. INTRODUCTIONS David Lane, Ashland Resident 2davidlaneggmail.com Pricilla Franco, Interested Citizen III.APPROVAL OF MINUTES: November 14, 2018 Bruce moves to approve the minutes,Tonya Second, all in favor IV. PUBLIC AND GUESTS FORUM Pricilla Franco is on the Forest Lands Commission but would like to attend these meetings and stay informed. She shared the Nevada"Be Ember Aware"campaign with the commision. David Lane is concerned about an urban fire storm that could take out 10%or more of the town. He has a comprehensive approach that he proposes might begin with raising awareness by creating a 3 minute video to be shown to community groups, schools, churches and on YouTube. If the commission is interested David would put together a comprehensive summary of a program that the commission could adopt. V.ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA VI. CITY COUNCIL CHECK IN In order to make the official commission name change to Wildfire Safety Commission,the commission needs to rewrite the Wildfire Mitigation Commission Charter and present it at a City Council meeting. Chris will get this on the January 15'City Council meeting. Stephen will print out the Wildfire Mitigation Commission charter and prepare it for the January 15'City Council meeting. Alison will do the Council Communication and get it in by January 4'. Alison and Stephen will attend the City Council meeting. VII. NEW BUSINESS A. Commission Retreat Overview(Stephen,All) a. Since the Retreat,there have been two meetings with the City Administrator to try to move forward the aspects of the retreat findings that require an ask to the City Attorney. There are proposals that cam e from the retreat, and the other are straight from Ashland Fire &Rescue that include changes in the department and may include budget implications. i. Wildfire Safety Inspections at the time of a home sale ii. Hiring the City of Ashland Communications Director iii. Ordinance expansion,redefining"nuisance" iv. New Ashland Fire Safe Business License v. Unhoused camp fire ban/enforcement during fire season • There is a significant safety issue with enforcement. There could also be a heat sensing drone program at random times several times a week. • Can there be anagreement that would allow the Ashland Police to respond? • Oregon Department of Forestry has citation authority on non-federal land including city land and private property. • A cooperative agreement could be drawn up with the City, County and Forest Service(FS)to address this issue using infrared cameras on the drone. Chris mentioned that the City of Ashland cannot be a part of these FS agreements to share law enforcement authority. Chris will report back in January about this issue. • Any drone operations may have pushback due to privacy issues. vi. Changing the Unhoused Campfire culture • Is there a way to leverage with the people that have a social contract with each other?The way we would do that is have a program that we work with the local unhoused population. Creating an ambassador program with locals who are permeant parts of that community. There can be specific information for their community on the importance of not starting fires in the watershed, signing up for nixle and watching out for each other. If they are self-policing themselves, it can go hand in hand with the drone program. • What alternative technologies can be passed out to assist individuals to heat food and stay warm instead of making a fire? • OHRA(Options for Helping Residents of Ashland): Can the city offer a little bit of funding for a safety program for this community group and help train ambassadors. vii.Electrical Utilities Safety Maintenance • Where are the boundaries of the City's jurisdiction of power lines? B. Commission progress update and prioritize action items(Stephen, Chris) a. The document has a big DRAFT on it since some of them have budget implications. Is may go to a study session or be presented to the budget committee. b. There may need to be a Spring 2019 retreat to prioritize these issues. c. Brainstorming session with the Chamber of Commerce,Real Estate Leaders. i. Getting input on the early side and bounce off ideas. C. Plant List Subcommittee suggestions for new members (Doug/Tracy/Bruce) a. Tracy suggests Annette Pugh, Gateway Real Estate b. Bruce suggests Christie Mackison, Shooting Star Nursery D. New Subcommittee Idea(Tonya) a. 2019 Fire Season Subcommittee: There is a need to shift how people view their relationship with ire in Ashland. To what extent can we use this time to help move this forward and give people guidance about what they need to be in place before the next fire season. Be prepared to evacuate,your most precious items,taking care of your neighbors. There is another Wildfire Summit in January held by Representative Pam Marsh and we could announce a campaign. It could look something like this: February(backup your photos),March(prepare for an evacuation),April(landscaping and home hardening), May(prepare for smoke season). Work with the hardware store to do a bulk purchase, make materials that can be posted in local businesses. The video script that David Lane passed out could be a great starter. Use social media to push out videos. Hazel has a connection with Jordan b. Hazel, Tracy, Tonya,Alison will be on the subcommittee. E. Firewise USA Community discussion(All) a. Ashland has hit a ceiling on staff being able to manage 33 Firewise USA neighborhoods. There is no enforceable standard and now we have a new ordinance with strict standards. The Commission could brand and create their own version of Firewise USA with a certification according to the Wildfire Mitigation Ordinance. b. How often will the sidewalk assessment be updated? c. Train Firewise Ambassadors to keep the program going. d. How else can we utilize the educational choir? e. Chris and Alison can put together a suite of proposals for 2020 Firewise. Can CERT volunteers be a part of the Firewise Ambassador Program? F. Report from Oregon Shakespeare Festival about Fire Season take away(Hazel) a. Hazel handed out the 2018 Smoke After Action Report. In April 2018, Hazel started working on an evacuation plan for all Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) employees and most of which do not have transportation. Hazel assisted OSF with smoke data information. Three straight weeks of hazardous air for at least hazardous for one hour, six straight weeks of unhealthy air for at least one hour. Hazel worked on how to communicate. Sealed the doors,identified clean spaces indoors for the actors and staff, changing filters on a regular basis. Handheld air quality monitors did not work. There are not studies that support long term effects of short term smoke intrusions. Hazel sent out daily emails to staff. He had eight smoke incident reports in 2018. Communicating tamped down the fear of smoke. There needs to be a system of communication and support throughout the entire town, including businesses. VIII. REPORTS (2 min each when time allows) A. Tree Commission Report B. Evacuation Study Session(Chris) C. Chamber Wildfire Task Force (Smoke/Evac/Business)—Alison D. FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant—Check In E. Implementing the Wildfire Safety Ordinance(Chris, Alison) F. WMC members attending other committees-anything pertinent to report? IX. REVIEW AND SET COMMISSION CALENDAR/NEXT MEETING A. Chamber Wildfire Task Force: January 8, 2019, 12:00pm(Station 1) B. Next WSC Meeting: January 16, 2019, 11:00am(Station 1) X. AGENDA ITEMS FOR January 16,2019 A. Appendix W(Ralph Sartain) B. Presentation on Rogue Valley Wildland Fire Resources (Chris) C. Code Compliance Process (Andrew Barrow) D. City Attorney report on fire proof building materials(Chris) E. Unhoused Population Fire Adapted Communities Network Call (Who wants to attend the call) F. Forest Service Agreement Report(Chris) G. Presentation to Real Estate Agency(Tracy) H. Oregon Ready, Set, Go! Website (Dan) XI.ADJOURN: 1:00pm 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).