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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-0107 STATE OF CITY1991 State of the City 1991 was a year of challenges and accomplishments. The beginning was a little chilly. We had to clean up the havoc created by a punishing 40 year cold snap. The loss of natural gas combined with the extreme cold temperatures to push electrical demand past the system's limits. The cost of the overload was felt well into '91 as weakened systems continued to go down. A third substation was discussed with renewed interest to be prepared for future emergencies. That process led to the establishment of a Citizens Task Force that drafted the first ordinance on electro-magnetic fields in the State, and perhaps the nation. I worked side by side with A1 Williams, head of our electric department, on this project. I had the pleasure of watching him perform under enormous stress and demands during the cold snap. A1 Williams is a great asset to the City of Ashland. The cold weather's effect on our water system was also spread over several months as frozen sections gradually thawed. Under the leadership of our new fire chief, Keith Woodley, our Fire Department took the initiative to educate our schoolchildren in fire safety. Keith has worked to make the department less top heavy while opening up promotional and training opportunities to the rank and file. The changes have lifted morale in the department beyond any of our expectations. It's fair to say that 1991 was another year of intense citizen activity. The concern over the City's growth and its effect on our quality of life clearly dominated our dialogue with the people of Ashland. Although Quality of Life tends to be an elusive idea, there is general consensus that it has to do with good schools, traffic, air quality, water availability, job opportunities and parks. While all of these are related I'd like to discuss them separately to point out where we are and where we are headed. Air quality: A little over a year ago a Citizens Task Force developed with staff support a woodstove and open burning ordinance. The City Council then placed before the voters an opacity standards regulation (the strictest in the County) which the voters approved by a margin of three to one. This was followed by the SOLVE program that replaced old wood stoves with either alternative heat sources or certified woodstoves. It has been an enormously successful program, taking over 40 offending units forever out of use. There is now an effort afoot to include business in the SOLVE program to provide the same opportunities there that now exist for homes. Parks: Although the Open Space program was approved by the voters, its funding mechanism is still uncertain. Nevertheless city staff has continued to work with individuals looking for ways to acquire open space for future generations. As a result we are now close to dedicating a 500 acre mountain park to the Ashland Parks department, preserving our view and a network of well-used walking trails. The open-space value of Siskiyou Mountain Park is complemented by its importance to our water supply and quality. .By bringing this land into public ownership we can prevent clearcuts, wildfire and development. Towards this end the City Council has hired a consultant to develop a forest management plan. In conjunction with our Fire Department the consultant will also work with property owners in the interface area to minimize the fire danger to both the homes and the forest. Traffic: Traffic congestion continues to threaten Ashland's quality of life. Most citizens who come before the council or planning commission on specific developments seem to be most concerned that added traffic might be generated. Traditionally cities in America try to solve traffic problems by building more roads, widening existing ones, paving more parking lots. This may ease the problem for a while. However, in the long run it encourages people to drive and further compromises the quality of life for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists alike as the new roads fill. The question becomes whether government should concern itself with moving cars or people. If it is the latter, the solutions become so much more interesting and varied. In taking this approach we have worked closely with RVTD and cut in half the time people wait for a bus. The downtown was renovated with an eye to accommodating the pedestrian. The state has improved the surface of the Boulevard between the college and the library to make bicycle travel more safe. It also means opening up for discussion mixed uses in neighborhoods: allowing apartments above commercial development and encouraging cottage industry. The more services people can get close to home, the less dependent they will be on their car. A citizens group has been brought together with the sole purpose of looking for and developing transportation alternatives in the future. It has met once and will become more active as the year unfolds. Some people say that without a high-paying job there is no quality of life. While Ashland in the past has been an area of mostly service industry, a variety of small businesses--attracted by good schools, less traffic and enhance quality of life--either have moved or are interested in moving to Ashland. Some of these businesses, however, are not diversifying our economy. They are much larger in scale than our citizens want and threaten the very quality they have been attracted to. As a result the Large Scale Development committee was created to study the community impacts of these developments and recommend reasonable and legal restrictions on the size of commercial developments. Schools are an important component in both diversifying the economy and underpinning our quality of life. Within days of the Measure 5 vote, the administrator, city attorney and I were in the School Superintendent's office to see how we could assist. All of the council has a commitment to fine education in Ashland and we will continue to do all we can to keep the quality of education up as revenues go down. One sad note on this topic: during the last legislative session a bill was passed that deducts any locally raised money for schools from the amount that the state will provide. This does not mean we cannot help. It only means that we will have to be more creative in doing so. Water: This will continue to be one of our most vexing issues. Knowing that a new water source would be prohibitively expensive to the Ashland Taxpayers, the City Council asked staff to explore all possibilities for water conservation. Conservation is not restricted water use; it is wise water use. Through conservation people can save water without significant changes to their lifestyles. Through conservation Ashland can effectively double its water source. While retrofiting the city can go a long way to "creating a new source of water" there is much the city alone can do to minimize waste. One thing we can and are doing is to replace old leaky pipes. But there is much more we can do. At our sewage treatment plant, for example, we have the capability to use recycled water to wash down areas. Instead we are using fresh treated water. In Lithia Park rather than using TID or Ashland Creek water through the creek in the Japanese garden, it is treated drinking water. We can do better. As the city and citizens become more aware of water use, we can enjoy dramatic savings. Once conservation is in place and we know to the cup how much development our water source can accommodate, we'll be equipped to decide the rate of growth that can be sustained. Finally, one of the dimensions of city government that has drawn the most comment and media attention this past year are the working relationships among the City Council, the City Administrator and me. It's really no surprise that these relationships have their rocky moments; we are, after all, talking about eight intelligent, dynamic people with strong and varied opinions about the issues that come before us. If there weren't periodic disagreements, and occasionally heated ones, I'd be inclined to think some of us were falling down on our commitment to serve the people of Ashland the best as diligently as we can. To a point, then, I view constructive conflict as a sign of the City's health and vitality. But even as we disagree, I believe we can improve our effectiveness as Ashland's governing body. Our conflict can be more constructive, and produce better policy, if we rededicate ourselves to open-minded and cooperative communication;...if we concentrate harder on solutions than on fixing blame. Personally, I can see definite room for improvement in the quality of my communication with my colleagues. In this new year I will be striving to be a better listener in all our dealings, and to reflect more carefully on the effects that my actions and statements as Mayor will have on city government. I know I have more to learn about communication and about public service. At the same time, I want to be very clear on one point that has been a source of our past conflict. Healthy and successful municipal governments, in my view, encourage the free flow of ideas and opinions throughout all levels of the organization. That will be even truer in the future, as we confront problems that will only be solved with the dedication, enthusiasm, and very best efforts of our city workers. An organization with strict rules about who can and cannot talk to whom is an organization with something to hide. It is an organization that will not achieve excellent levels of service. This city government is better than that. We can achieve excellence. In pursuit of that goal, I will continue to talk directly with the women and men who work for this city as long as I am Mayor. In the process I will make every effort not to undermine the authority of city managers--their jobs are challenging enough without having to endure second-guessing and nit-picking from above. What I will not do is bow to the old convention that says elected officials don't talk to workers on the line. Following that taboo will not serve Ashland well. Basically we all want the same thing for Ashland. Our similarities are far greater than our differences. When all is said and done, the state of this city is excellent. We are blessed with an abundance of talent and dedication inside and outside of city government. We can meet the challenges that lie ahead of us if we're genuinely committed to working together as elected officials, staff and citizens.