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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-0106.STATE OF CITY ADDRESS State of the City by Mayor Catherine M. Golden January 6, 1998 One year ago today Ashland was literally still mopping up. As a community we were traveling with our gallon jugs to watering stations and using port-a-potties throughout the city. Many businesses were closed for months. Some because of direct damage others because of personal loss in homes and neighborhoods. Some simply could not stay open without water and plumbing. And yet through the hardship and inconvenience we received many gifts. Together we shoveled mud, removed silt, canvassed neighborhoods, filled sand bags, helped those who could not get out themselves and leamed what it is like to have friends and neighbors like those living in the surrounding cities and county. The residents of Jackson County and beyond opened doors and shower stalls as Ashland dug out. We felt fed and loved. Money poured in to rebuild beautiful Lithia Park. And Ashland residents, once more, dug in their pockets to anti up the necessary funds to match Federal Emergency Management Association money. Here on cable access you watched as I fired my first department head. You watched as we put in place hillside development standards to help protect out city from flood and fire. You watched as our city administrator of 27 years retired from the city to begin a different career. In fact, there is very little that we do not do in front of our citizens and the Southern Oregon community. Even off-night meetings, if the council feels they're of interest, are scheduled when they can be covered by RVTV. And much of what we do also gets capsulated in to the City Source Newspaper that our City Recorder, Barbara Christensen puts out. Although this is the tenth State of the City I have had the pleasure to deliver to you, I cannot remember a year that has been more rambunctious. Last spring, my son Daniel, summed it up nicely when he said: "Mom there is too much drama in our lives." My hope is that 1998 brings a year of far less drama. This year, as every year, I asked each of our department heads to no e important events of the previous 12 months and provide a window into the fut~though much has been accomplished, what started at 12:01 AM on that rainy New Year's Day morning has occupied much of what your city has done for the last year. Police Department In 1997 our police chief Gary Brown took a job in California leaving behind a progressive and professional organization that our new Chief, Scott Fleuter, is building upon. While Scott was not here during the flood, the entire police staff was working around the clock in a coordinated effort with the city team. They became the communication center, answering thousands of phone calls and serving as the hub for both the city crews as well as our citizen workers. Much of Gary Brown's disarming and professional manner is embraced by Scott Fleuter and the rest of the police department. We now have a School Resource Officer program in the high school and middle school with a shared funding source between the city, the school and a federal grant. Teri DeSilva, our first SRO has been highly successful in opening communication between our youth, school personnel and the police department. The "Youth In Law" class has been particularly effective in building understanding between the students and the criminal justice system. Our Youth Diversion Counselor, Jan Janssen, is an invaluable link between the youth of Ashland and the rest of city government. Very few cities have such a position as part of their police department. Our Central Area Patrol, consisting of both staff and senior volunteers providing foot patrol to the downtown and park, has been wonderfully successful. The public has continually commented on how much they appreciate the personal interaction with our officers and the high visibility. Speaking of volunteers, APD would not be able to provide the current level of service without the assistance of our volunteers. They provide foot patrols, courier service, vacation house checks, traffic control, and more. They are an invaluable resource and serve as "ambassadors" for the Police Department and the City. So where is the Police Department going in 19987 Although they have a lot on their plate for the upcoming year, the most interesting is the Citizen's Academy. A citizen's Academy is a short "mini" academy that introduces members of the community (residents, business owners, local media, college/high school students, etc.) to the inner workings of the police department and the criminal justice system as a whole. Most academies are approximately 8-10 weeks in length, and meet one evening each week for a couple of hours. Topics such as criminal law, use of force, Community Policing, and 911 are discussed and presented by various guest speakers. Our version is going to go one step further and ask that the "students" participate by presenting their views and concems. 2 Ashland Fire and Rescue Issues and activities associated with the New Year's Day flood monopolized the Fire Department's attention for the first six months of 1997. Chief Woodley provided invaluable leadership as our field commander. He also was instrumental in the drafting and implementation of The Emergency Management Plan that became our textbook during the flood. Currently, the AFD is revising the plan which should be completed in the very near future. 1997 also marked the completion of the wildfire fuel reduction work in the lower elevations of the Ashland Watershed. This was a strategically important geographical area because of the historic origins of wildfire in Ashland. Removal of wildfire fuels from these lower areas has substantially reduced the threat of wildfire to the Reeder Reservoir area. Work in the watershed to achieve this objective will continue throughout this winter and next spring. On January 2ncl, the Ashland Fire Department became "Ashland Fire & Rescue" with the acquisition of the ambulance services contract for ASA #6 in south Jackson County. As a result of this acquisition, ambulance service levels and response times have substantially improved for the residents of South Jackson County. The calendar year 1997 witnessed continued expansion of ambulance services by Ashland Fire and Rescue, with a special focus on providing quality patient care. With the advent of the "FireMed" ambulance membership program, ambulance services are now more affordable for all households in ambulance service area #6. Ashland Fire and Rescue responded to over 1800 medical emergencies and transported 1,061 patients to area hospitals during 1997. The provision of this service represents the return of the City of Ashland to the ambulance service business after a hiatus of 60 years (the city operated the service from 1926-1936). Planning Department Many years of hard work from community as well as staff resulted in a banner year for completion of a number of projects in our planning department. The highlights: Final adoption of the City's visionary Transportation Element of the Comprehensive plan which will guide the city in its transportation decisions for the next 20 years. Currently we are working on the Transportation System Plan needed to implement the Transportation Element and the Local Street Plan. Completion of the North Mountain Neighborhood Plan. This represents a cooperative effort between the City of Ashland and eleven property owners to create a new neighborhood that encompasses the features and designs that makes Ashland livable. The North Mountain Neighborhood Plan is an example of a new direction for land use planning that recognizes the need to address more than just housing as we urbanize our community. The City received an award from Livable Oregon, Inc. for the City's role in the new Golden Fields building in the downtown. This building represents the direction the city has taken towards new development in a pedestrian-oriented mixed-use structure, meeting the needs of the developer while complementing the historic context of downtown. The City adopted a new cellular tower ordinance, regulating the location and placement of new cell towers. Historic and residential areas are protected from the intrusion of these towers in this ordinance. Final adoption of the City's Hillside Development Standards occurred after approx. 2 years of meetings and revisions. While this adoption process was somewhat controversial at the end, the final product represents an excellent effort at controlling the environmental impacts associated with construction on steep slopes, while providing guidance for property owners. Nomination of the RR district as a National Register Historic District. This district represents an important part of Ashland's past, and full protection of it as a resource for our future will be undertaken as part of this process. Public Works The Public Works and Engineering Department were significant players during the flood and after math. Along with volunteers, Public Works filled hundreds of sandbags, moved 4500 tons of granite dumped by the flood waters, repaired and replaced water lines, cleared slides off of roads in the hillside areas, repaired Winbum Way, Water Street and Bluebird Park, and put the lift station back on line at the wastewater treatment plant. The sewage treatment and water treatment plants held up remarkably well despite damage around the area and to collection and distribution systems. All told we ended up with 42 different flood sites, combined into about 15 different FEMA projects, most of which have been completed or substantially competed within allowable FEMA reimbursement standards (thanks greatly to Jim Olson and Karen Huckins). Among the significant projects that were completed: · Ashland Creek Flood Restoration Project Windbum Way Bridge Replacement Central Ashland Bike path (after nearly 5 years, this project as come together. Bid for construction were received this fall and construction is expected to begin any day. It will be completed in the fall of 1998.) · Roca Creek Improvements · Wastewater Treatment Plant Design. · Demonstration Wetlands · Indiana/Wightman Realignment · Fordyce Street Improvement · Ann/Clinton/Orange and Mountain Street Improvements · East Main and Mountain Intersection Improvements · Street improvements on Van Ness, Dogwood Way, the road to Alsing Reservoir · Storm Drain Construction on Faith Street, East Main, and Emerick. · Water Line Improvements to the airport and south end of town, B Street, Water Street, Fordyce Street and new services to all subdivisions (approx. 200). Water pressure was lowered on the east end of town to a manageable 50 psi from 200 psi Next year's challenges for Public works: · Re-organization of the Department · Review infrastructure requirements for the next 20-50 years · Updating the digital filing capabilities and completing the aerial mapping and digitizing of the City's system so we can be compatible with the GIS systems. Conservation 1997 marked the end of nearly 17 years of federally provided funding for conservation programs in the City of Ashland. From 1980 until 1997, a total of $6,333,276 of Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) supplied money was spent in Ashland on conservation programs in their operation. This relationship ended on October 1, 1997. the future, local utilities will individually decide the fate of conservation programs and then fund them locally if they want to continue offering them. In The Division, in addition to operating electric energy conservation programs, also operates the City Water Conservation and Air Quality programs. They also provide staff support to the City's conservation commission and help it to promote its "Sustainable Ashland- Where Green Becomes Mainstream" slogan. Conservation is currently working with the Electric Department on its cost of servcice study and strategic planning efforts and hope to include a discussion about ways to continue the City's f'me conservation traditions as part of these strategic planning and rate study processes. The Electric Department The Electric Department, characteristically quiet, will soon be taking center stage in Ashland. · This last year our electric department re-negotiated with BPA for 15% of our electrical load which will result in a savings of approximately $750,000 over the next four years. · Our electric department relocated and stabled electrical transformers and associated facilities within flood areas along Winbum Way · They installed more than 20 miles of underground conduit in conjunction with new construction and overhead to underground conversions · They are conducting a Rate and Cost of Service study which will be presented to the city council within the next 30 days · They have completed the design for a telecommunication dark fiber ring withing the City of Ashland. This fiber optic ring will afford the City and its citizens many opportunities within the telecommunications industry, such as voice, data, automatic meter reading and demand side management programs, in order to keep our utility as cost efficient as possible. Construction is under way. FinanceDepartment Finally I would like to take a moment to comment on our finance department. The City of Ashland has a truly gifted team working under our Jill Turner. We hear about the finance department only during budget season and each year when they win regional or national awards for financing practices. But 1997 presented enormous challenges to this small city department. First the flood. When the flood hit our finance department had to completely re-evaluate our budget. Money had to be borrowed within departments to pay for immediate emergencies. Karen Huckins took on the daunting task of FEMA project grants and much of our success rests squarely on her shoulders. Usually January to March marks the time when the Finance Department prepares the next years budget. But in 1997 that time was filled with dealing with the day to day of FEMA grant writing and paying for flood repairs. That meant that the people working under Jill Turner had to continue with unbelievable demands to crank out the budget by the spring. Couple all of this with Measure 47 and the funding uncertainties that it presented to all municipalities, followed by Measure 50, five labor contracts, successful bond sales, living in a construction site while the elevator was going in, implementing a new city wide phone system and you have an exhausted team. I do not believe we could have place more challenges before Jill Turner and her staff than we did this year. Through it they remained good-natured and hardworking. All in all the citizens should be proud of the people who serve them each day from City of Ashland. We are a small thriving community because together we run our city like a business with a heart. However, the City of Ashland could not be in the enviable position it i~ it were not for the citizens of this community. When I think of our citizens, friends and neighbors I think of the song, Pennies from Heaven. Every time it rains, it rains pennies from heaven Don't you know the clouds contain Pennies from heaven We live in a city where people have their umbrellas turned upside down, finding the gifts in our challenges. Bless you all and thank you for this opportunity to continue to serve you.