HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025.08.07 SERJAC minutes A r"'ol ,HLAND SOCIAL EQUITY AND RACIAL JUSTICE, ADVISORY COMMITTEE
REGULAR MEETING
MINUTES
August 7, 2025
Siskiyou Room - 51 Winburn Way - 4:30pm
1. Call]to Order and W&Icume
The irlr me ting was callbd�to order at 4:32pm
Members Present:Jo dire'Tyler,Vibtoria,gage, Cassi,e Preskenis,Sean Smith,Cath,erine Greenspan,Allison Mendbl,
and Emily Simo,n(via Zoom)
Guests Preseint: Echo, Felds,Tamsin Taylor,and AII on Phelps
,Staff Liaison Present:Kerrick Gooden
1. Land Acknowledgment-Weackniowledge and honor the aborigin,61 peopleon whiose
ancestral homelands we work,-the lkirakutsurn din d ,ofthie Shasta Nation, as well as the
diverse and vibrant Native communities,whin, make their hiome here today. Wedenouncethle
egregious acts of the colonizers an rn a in irecognizethie hio ir�ri fii iiii"mpacts,that,still
existtoday. We honor thefirst stewards,in the Riogue Valley and the lands we loveand
depend on: Tribes with ancestral lands,in and surro,uni iin��,gi,tlh,e,gi,eo,graphy of t1he Ashland
Watershed include the original past, present and fu sir iiiind'ii'ige,nous,inhabitants of the ShastaT
Takelma and Atha,baska n people. Wealso reGOgnizeand acknowledige the Shasta villageof
K T wakhak,hia -"Wherethie Crow, Lights"-that, is iniowthie Ashland City, �Plaza
Tyler tread thi Illand acknowled�grnent
2. Labor Acknowledgment-Wealso, pauseto reco gin ize and acknowledge t1he labor uipon�wbi&h
our couin try, state,, and instituitions are built. We rememberthiat our country,is built on�the labor
ofenslaved people who were kidnapped and brought tothie 'U.S.from the African continent
and recognizethie continuied con tribuitioni f their suirvivors., We also, acknowledge all
immigrant labor, including voluntaryl involuintary,,trafficked,,forced, and undocumented
peoples who GOntributedtothie building of the couintryand GGntinue to, serve withi[n our labor
force. We acknowledigeall unpaid care-giving labor. To t1he people who contiributed t1his
immeasuirable work and t1heir descendants, we acknowledgeth,eir indelible markon the space
in� wbi&h wegathier today. It is our collective responsibility,to critically examine these histories,
to repair harmT and 'to honor, protect, and suistain their GOntributilon to-ouir sodiety.
Pr 11. niii itead the Ilaboracknowled�grnent
II. Approval of'Uin rut es,
1. Approval of minutesfrom the '7.10.2025 regular meeting
Tyler im ovedI to approve the minutes from the July 10, 2025 me,efibigi. Preslkenis sfecondbd1 the imotiiion.All Ayes.
Motion passfed.
III., Public Forum
none
I'V. AinnounzemienU-and Evein�ts
1. Presentation iregarding an upcominig event: Ashiland Sunris,e Pro jug ct's Gp Action
September 8, 2025
Taylor, Ph,elps, ,and Preskenleis presente,d about an upcomiing event of the Ashla,M Sunrise Project: Get Into Action
onSeptenib,er,8 at,6:30. Rre sent ersspdke of this as a communi-ty engaglement eveint intende,d to initiate discussion
on how to,support 11ocal social justice issues. Presenters spoke of not requesting fun,ds, but for support liiin the form of
fo rimer alsupport through llll �b rat:il n ni Ipublicity on the City' ents page. Presk.enis spoke that she wolulid abstain
from vot ii inigi,(oui t,of,a,in,a, uindaince,of uLu-iiii n im mber of thie Ash[an,d Sunrisfe Project
SiMon moved thatthieSocial IEquit .in IRacial Justice Advisory Cornmitteeendorse and slupplort the
AshlandSlunrise Project iii any way possible as a committee and to,ask theCity Co run cill to support other
actions of the Ashland Sunrise PrqJeCt.,The imotion was seconded Iby Ty Ill er.i Roll Call Vote: Simon,,Mendel,,
Smith,Greenspan,Sage,,,Tyler-YES. IPresk rrliis-ABSTAIN.IMotion Passed.,,
2. SO
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V. Uaision IUpdates and Reports,,
1. Updatefforn current liaison assignments:
,Greenspan— Planning Gommission
Tyler—Climate and Energy, Policy Advisory Ciomrnifte,e
Sage—Historic Preservation Advisory Cornrnifte,e
Preskenis—'Transportation Advisory Cornrn lift
e,e
Simon— Public Arts,Advisory Ciomrnifte,e
Mend&l—Housing and Hurnan� Services Advisory Commiftee
Smi'th-- Parks
Greenspan:the last Planning Commission meeting was canceled -the Iprevious spe&ial meeting focused on the
,SOU Master Plan.
TyIer:was snot able toattend GE PAC's last meeting due toconflict with SERJAC's moved meeting.
Sagle:the Historic Preservation Committee's meeting focusedona,Granite Street Illocation with nothinig standiag out
for discussion.
Preskenis:TAC included the announcement of Pride Month and Disability Pride Month�.�� D isc'ussion included how
budget c'uts might affect,dliis,a,lbili,ty,,a,in,d imno illliit liissues �n Iprogress with work on the AStreetsidewalk.to make it
more ADA-compatib III e. Discussion also included new iteportin o�ftwar�ea n Ipublic interest iiin maintaining TID ditch
access,.
Simon(and Preskenis): IPAAC celebrated Juneteenth by,viewingi the Guanajuato I-leaft, Mural Felt aft,and lookiinig
for placement around town for the second Guanajuato he,a rt Traffic Boxes are proposed for Ipainting in South
Ashland. PAAC was approached with allegations of irlr misrepresentation Iby a local airtist-the committee responded it
was snot in it i's purview to investigate. The committee isconsiderii'ng a request to,relocate City-ownedairtwork that no,
longer represent � h l a n , a n iteplace it with other art such as the second Guanajuato, I-leart.
Mendel (and Fields): HHSAC: HUD rejected a required City reportof a homeless point-in-time count Ibecausfe liit
indluded tra ins gender people.
Smith: spoke of Il ar' . Ihavinig both study sessions and bu liinies imeetings and was advised that business meetings
are where decisions ar deani Ihot topics for consideration areexpected t: iiinclude the Pioneer IHall and
Community Center Fees proposal as well as the East Main Furl Iproject.
Mendel:CoCoConvo went well and included discussion about Pioneer Hall fees proposal-to,be disciussfed later in
theagenda.
VI. Un fib ished Busibess
1. Belonging Survey- Update from subGOMmifte,e and commiffee discussionI on� use
,Sagle suggested clarification on where services are pr iii liiin Section'T,and the committeediscussed whether the
Housii'nig section could be bolstered to indlude what the I-IHSAC is going tocoIlaborate with SERJAC on with its
Equitable Housing Plan. Committeecon6luded these are, Tifferent enough to sMani d alonle. i sub,committeewill
come up with final version of the Belonging Survey to senid to Council through it's Council Liaisons for direction on
how toadminister and Iprocess lit.
VII. New Busibess,
1. Vice Chair Inornination and election
Mendel inomr mireated Smith forVice-Ghair who agreed to,the nomination-all members were in favor.Srnith acicepteel. .
2. Discussion regarding proposedfees fdr Pioneer Hall and Community,Genter,being considered
by Ashland Parks and Recreafion�
Mendel brought forward this disc' ssilion from the meeting,of,committee chairs for-AEI JAC toconsider ifthere are
anyso,&ial equity issues in these fee considerations.Thecommittee discussed that the intent for these fees is to
over costs associated wit h the use of the builidiag, but disc ussfed how to be equitable towards ini itofits anii
folks trying t: Iput together eventssuch ascommunity meals Thiecommittee considered a two-fiered structUre to
subsidizeevents such as community,imeals while root subsidiziinig eventssuch as weddings.The committee noted
that the Chamber of Commerce offerS a non-profit rate anid ,char ges Ibusinesses Ibased on the number of employees.
Discussion inclluded offering non-profitsa rate Ibased on income and,/br offering to,waive fees with ceftain qualiffers.
The committeeconsidered the importanceof reviewing the original iiintent and subsequent usfe of the Ibuiillldings over
time,such as a record of the Ibuilding being uii for 25years for community feeds.
I Request for colIaboration from the Housing and Human Services AdOsory Committee fb,r
development of the Equitablb Housing PI an
Fields(HHSAC hair)requested help to collaborate with the IHIHSACon two Ipublic engagementevent,s as Ipart of
th IEquitable Housing Plananid spoke to the primary tasks IIIisted in t1hie Memo liiimncl ui liin packet). IF iiields suggested
forming a working group with a few imembersof each committee to,workon this,.The committee discussed the
difference Ibetween an Equi-tablie HousingStudyand the Belonging Survey that SERJAC Ihas been working on.
Vill., Adjournmien�t
The committee discussed that the Sneak Preview Ip,uIblIis�hiedll,a,in,a,irticlle including SERJAC's involvement with the
Playwrights Walk Plaque unveiling. It was suggested that some,one from the committee write a letter of t1hanks to the
editor. Greenspan offer ed to create a draft for iteview n IPreskenis offered tosubmi-t.
Thy irlreetingadjolurned at 6:00pm