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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987-0120 REG MINMINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING ASHLAND CITY COUNCIL January 20, 1987 ROLL CALL APPROVAL OF MINUTES SUPER GOOD CENTS AWARD SMOKE DETECTORS / NUCLEAR FREE ZONE Mayor Medaris led the Pledge of Allegiance and called the meeting to orderat 7:30 PoMo on the above date in the Council Chambers. Elerath, Reid, Bennett, Laws and Arnold were present. Acklin was absent° Bennett moved to approve minutes of the regular meeting of January 6, 1987; Reid seconded the motion which passed unanimously on voice vote. The Mayor read a letter from Bonneville Power Administration informing the City that the Super Award for outstanding perform- ance in the 1986 Super Good Cents was given the City of Ashland along with Larry Medinger of Medinger Construction Company for the most Super Good Cents Homes in the Lower Columbia Area and Don GreerE of Greenewood Homes who was awarded the Grand Prize for the Most Energy-Efficient Home. Conservation Coordinator Dick Wanderscheid and both builders were congratulated by the Mayor and Council for their outstanding efforts in Energy Con- servation implemented in the City of Ashland. A letter was read from Robert Macknovski, 499 Iowa Street relative to the use of smoke detectors containing Americium-241 and prob- able violation of the Ashland nuclear free zone ordinance. Fire Chief LeeRoy King gave an indepth report on the use of the smoke detectors saying that fires are the third leading cause of death in the U. So and that most fire injuries happen in the home. King said the radiation of the smoke detector is so small that the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Commission does not require a license for their use. King went on to say that a single xray has more impact on the body than having a smoke detector next to you for 365 days a year, and said that he didn't believe the nuclear free zone ordinance was ever intended to be implemented to this degree. A gentleman in the audience said he is more concerned about people discarding the devices carelessly and asked about the danger involved if the smoke detector gets wet etc. Susan Wille, 497 Chestnut, said that she looked for photo electric detectors and was able to find them in order to make them available. Wille said she met Mr. Macknovski a few weeks ago and discussed the pro- blem with him. Wille described the thin layer of gold and silver foil encasing the Americium and expressed concern because most people are not aware of the contents of the typical smoke detector and would not be concerned with the danger of discarding them like ordinary material. Wille said she called a Consumer Advocacy in Washington, D.C. and they couldn't tell her what to do but she said it is important that the device be sent back to the manufact- urer and that such instructions are supposed to be on each device° Wille said many people would not read the instructions and further that the instructions could be destroyed due to prolonged use or other conditions. Wille said that if the material is crushed in a landfill situation that the chemical could leach out into our water and soil and will be passed from one body to the next. 1/20/87 P. 1 SMOKE DETECTORS/ NUCLEAR FREE ZONE BUDGET COMMITTEE ELECTION Robert Collins, 1235 N. Mountain said he is representing Peace House and it is neutral on this issue. Elerath reviewed information he had researched and said the micro- curi is a trivial amount and said that it could be lethal because it is a heavy metal. Elerath said the ordinance is written in a way as not to be enforceable because of the need to use radio- active materials in the hospital for nuclear medicine, the college biology department would use it for radioactive tracers and many other uses on a small scale° Elerath said he thinks the ordinance cannot be enforced and it is time the intent is clari- fied. Arnold said he was involved in passage of the ordinance and is a supporter of the ordinance. He said the concern he has is that this issue has been raised that possession or sell- ing of smoke detectors could be in violation and recommended that Council go on record sayinK that smoke detectors are acceptable for use. Laws said he would go one step further and amend the ordinance to clarify intent and was told by the City Attorney this could not be done because Council cannot amend an ordinance voted on by the people. Laws asked that Salter research and that clarification be put before the people. Salter said it should not be referred to a special election. Arnold read a resolution he drafted which said "it is the sense of the Ashland City Council that the ioniza- tion type smoke detectors containing Americium 241 do not violate Ashland's ordinance establishing a Nuclear Free Zone". Arnold moved to adopt; Laws seconded the motion. A gentleman living at 495 Chestnut noted there is a warning in or on the detectors which warns the detector's interior should not be touched or played with and added that it is a lethal dose of the Americium. Reid said she is interested in what Wille had to say about land-fill contam- ination and offered to work with her on the issue. Reid, Bennett, Laws and Arnold voted in favor of the motion; Elerath opposed and the motion carried. Laws recommended that the Mayor appoint Elerath, Arnold and Peace House representative Collins to draw up language to refer to people. Mayor and Council agreed. Reid nominated Sabra Hoffman to fill one vacancy on the Budget Committee; Bennett seconded the motion. Mayor nominated Michael Donovan. Elerath nominated Greg Williams. Laws moved to close nominations; Bennett seconded the motion which passed unanimously on voice vote. Elerath voted for Willjams; Reid voted for Hoff- man; Bennett voted for Williams; Laws voted for Hoffman; Bennett voted'for Willjams; Arnold voted forHoffman and the Mayor voted for Donovan. Three votes went to Hoffman and two to Williamso Hoffman won with 3 votes; Williams two. Bennett nominated Williams; Arnold nominated Golden and the Mayor nominated Donovan. Elerath voted for Willjams, Reid voted for Golden, Bennett voted for Williams, Laws and Arnold voted for Golden. Golden received three votes; Willjams two and Golden won the election. 1/20/87 P.2 Regular ~ - -ring Ashland City Counc~ 1 1/20/~B7 P. 3 GOLF COURSE EXPANSION BUDGET MEETING DATE NATIONAL REGISTER PHYSICAL CONSTRAINTS EMERGENCY STREET CUT COUNTY ROADS IN CITY LTS PUBLIC FORUM Planning Director Fregonese reviewed the draft copy of the Golf Course Financial Plan and noted the Committee recommended that Bancroft Bonding be implemented and referred to the Voters at the Special Election in March for their approval. Fregonese said a public hearing will be held at the next regular meeting. On Reid's question as to why playing rounds are low at the moment, Fregonese said that playing 9 holes twice is not the same as playing 18 different holes. On Lawst question as to where documentation was gathered, Fregonese said that several municipal courses were con- tacted including Reno, Nevadarand the Dakotas etc. Elerath expressed concern that the documents were not signed by the com- mittee and Fregonese said it was probably because it was in draft form° David Powers, Golf Course Architect, was introduced and presented Council with physical installation of the expansion along with the costs and anticipated growth of play as a result of the proposed expansion. Bennett moved to accept the report and that a public hearing be set for February 3, 1987; Laws seconded the motion which passed unanimously on voice vote. The first Budget Comm~ ttee meeting was set for February 12, 1987 at 7:30 PoM. and Laws moved to approve; Arnold seconded the motion which passed unanimously on voice vote° Nominations by the Historic Commission to the National Register of Historic Places included the National Guard Armory and the Ashland Municipal Powerhouse in Ashland Canyon. For information onlyo On question as to why the Powerhouse is being nominated, Almquist noted this was required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in licensing the plant. A public hearing for amendments to Physical Constraints Ordinance was set for February 3, 1987 at 7:30 P.M. A memo was read notifying Council that an emergency street cut was necessary to repair water line on Helman Street still under the street cut moratorium. A memorandum relative to County roads within the City limits from the Director of Public Works who recommended seeking jurisdiction- al transfer of streets cited was considered and Bennett moved to proceed with recommendations; Laws seconded the motion which passed unanimously on voice vote. The City Administrator presented a request from Hospital Chief Executive Officer Mack requesting the release of funds for a portable x-ray unit and Laws moved to place on the agenda; Reid seconded the motion which passed with all members voting YES on voice vote. Elerath moved to approve the $86,000 x-ray unit acquisition; Bennett seconded the motion which passed with all AYES on voice vote. The Public Forum closed at this point. 1/20/87 Po 3 ~gular ~ .... ing Ashland City Council 1/20/87 P. 4 ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS, CONTRACTS Susan Lane Impro ordo Neon Sign Ordinance Trailer & Camper Restrictions State Revenue Sharing Albertson Annexation Reeder Reservoir A letter from the property owners effected by the proposed imp- rovements of Susan Lane was read in which they requested a more narrow street than proposed, a different assessment district policy and a new design for the cul de sac at the end of the lane. Almquist noted a revised proposal cal~ for an alternative to the typical front footage assessment criteria based on 50% area and 50% front foot. The Planning Director reviewed the proposal and said if you go for a 20 foot wide road you would need parking bays and drew a hammerhead configuration on the blackboard and diffi- culties where people use them for parking. Fregonese said the proposed 34 ft. cul de sac would take up less room and people are not as apt to use it for parking. Fire Chief King said he prefers the cul de sac for the maneuverability of the fire trucks and recommended it for that reason. Alsing noted that Sheridan Street was done a narrow width because that is all the space that was available and that future development should be anticipated and said he didn't want to see the street standards downgraded. Kramer said there are still three property owners opposing the project and since the narrow road bed has been adequate at 10 to 12 feet in width he couldn't see the need for a street about as wide as Wimer Street. Laws moved to postpone the proposal until the next meeting; Bennett seconded the motion which passed with- out opposition on voice vote. Elerath agreed with the need to reconsider costs and Laws noted that the new computation policy may be good in this instance but would want to look at each situation and be free to choose either policy for individ- ual cases° Second reading by title only was given an ordinance amending the sign code with respect to neon signs° Laws moved to adopt; Arnold seconded the motion which pas ~d w'~h E erath Bennett on t vo½' ' Laws and Arnold oti g in favor. [el ac~s a~ne~: Motion carried. v n (Ref. Ord. 2412) Second reading by title only was given an ordinance amending the Code to make parking restrictions apply to trailers and campers and Arnold moved to adopt; Laws seconded the motion which passed unanimously on roll call vote. (Ref. Ord. 2411) First reading was given an ordinance electing to receive State Revenue Sharing and Laws moved to second reading; Arnold seconded the motion which passed unanimously on roll call vote. The City Attorney requested that the three ordinances relative to the proposed Albertson (Clay St.) Annexation be postponed due to ligigationo The Director of Public Works reviewed progress on the sluicing project at the reservoir which entailed removal of 15,000 cu yds of sedimentation. Alsing noted the holding pond to gather debris is working out well and that construction work at the reservoir ...... continued ~egular ~-eting Ashland City Council 1/20/87 P. 5 SLUICING cont. ADJOURNMENT will be starting shortly and is on schedule. The meeting adjourned to the executive session at 9:40 P.Mo Nan E. Franklin City Recorder Mayor 1/20/87~