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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987-1103 REG MINMINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING ASHLAND CITY COUNCIL November 3, 1987 ROLL CALL Mayor Medaris led the Pledge of Allegiance at 7:30 P.M. and called the meeting to order on the above date in the Council Chambers. Elerath, Reid, Williams, Acklin, Laws and Arnold were present. MAYOR'S APPRECIATION: Halloween Night Mayor Medaris expressed appreciation to everyone who celebrated Halloween night in Ashland in a fun and orderly manner, and also to the Police Dept., Fire Dept., Sheriff's Office, State Police and District Attorney's office for their help in keeping things under control. He also thanked the Street Division employees who cleaned up the streets in the early morning. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Arnold moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of October 20, 1987; Williams seconded the motion which passed unanimously on voice vote. CONFIRMATION OF APPOINTMENTS: Appointment of Mayor Medaris commended the search committees for Hospital Admin./CEO the Hospital Administrator, Finance Director and Public Works Director for their efforts, and said he is in complete agreement with the recommendations of each committee, and asked the Council for confirmation of the appointments. A letter from the Hospital Board was read requesting approval of the appointment of Mr. James Watson as Administrator/C.E.O. of Ashland Community Hospital to assume duties on November 16, 1987. The Mayor's recommendation endorsing this request was read. Acklin moved to confirm the appointment, Laws seconded the motion which passed unanimously on roll call vote. Appointment of Dir. of Finance/ Admin. Services A memo from the City Administrator was read recommending the appointment of Jill B. Turner as Director of Finance and Administrative Services to begin employment as Assistant Director on December 7, 1987, until Robert Nelson's retirement on December 31, 1987. The Mayor's endorsement of this appointment was read and Laws moved to confirm the appointment. Reid seconded the motion which passed unanimously on roll call vote. Appointment of Public Wks. Dir./ City Engineer A memo from City Administrator Almquist was read which recommended the appointment of Steven M. Hall as Director of Public Works/City Engineer, to begin on December 7 or 14, 1987 as Assistant Director, until Allen Alsing's retirement on December 31, 1987. The Mayor's request for confirmation was read and Reid so moved. Acklin seconded the motion which passed unani- mously on roll call vote. 11/03/87 P. 1 Re~mlar Meeting Ashland City Council 11/03/87 P. 2 COMMUNICATIONS, PETITIONS & REMONSTRANCES: Community Center A letter from Planning Director John Fregonese was read concerning the history and use of the Community Center in recent years, and a request to continue with the present policy of occasionally booking the Center to groups other than the Folkdancers on Friday nights. On a question from Arnold, Fregonese said the contract calls for 30 days notice to terminate. Reid feels the Folkdancers serve a need in the community. Elerath said they have been using the Center for 15 years and it wasn't fair to bump them. He can see the need for them to have a regular meeting place and if they are not paying their fair share, they should be asked to pay more. Arthur Clemons, 175 California St., spoke for the Folkdancers explaining that the same people don't dance every time, therefore it's hard to measure the >eople they serve. Their dances have ,els of difficulty but the steps are learned ~ and all age groups get involved. They to get a formal policy on the use of the i don't object to being bumped once in a ~ant to be assured it won't happen too a question from Arnold concerning problems ~g other places, Clemons said the Legion ~r is too hard, and the lighting is poor. if the group would be open to being bumped ~ year if it was not more than twice in any ~ period, and Clemons said yes. sth, 201 Granite St., said the real issue is building is a Community Center or a Arts Center. He noted there were 36 people group in the audience, and felt a Community rd should be appointed to run the Center. Mirriam Marrs, 150 Sixth St., said it would be appro- priate for some groups to use Hunter Park and she would be willing to serve on a Community Center Board. Dan Hamnet of Talent talked of the difficulty of moving their equipment which is stored there and said the acoustics in the Center aren't the best for musical performances. He asked if City had been soliciting groups specifically for Friday nights and Fregonese said no, they market the Center for use at all times. 11/03/87 P. 2 Regular Meeting Ashland City Council 11/03/87 P. 3 COMMUNICATIONS, PETITIONS & REMONS~%NCES: (Continued) Community Center Michaele Sallade', 8 Beach Street, felt City was soliciting to rent Center to other groups to get more revenue, but understood the Children's Group had been offered free use. She also read a letter from the Heather & Rose Scottish & English Dancers in support of the Folkdancers. Councilor Laws suggested a policy be adopted whereby the grandfather groups using the center be bumped no more than six times a year, including once for the annual maintenance of the building, and not more than twice in a three-month period. These groups will only be bumped by groups meeting the following conditions: 1) they give six weeks notice; 2) they are open to the public; 3) their activity is of general interest to the public; and 4) they have an expected attendance of 50 or more. Laws made the foregoing a motion which was seconded by Elerath. The motion passed unanimously on voice vote. Current Drought Director of Public Works Alsing said there has been a little rain lately and we're in good shape. He suggested waiting a couple weeks before taking conser- vation measures. No action necessary. "B" St. Property Purchase City Administrator Almquist said the seller had accepted the City's offer of $16,000 and it was now necessary for Council to authorize the Mayor and City Recorder to sign the agreement. Reid so moved, Elerath seconded the motion which passed unanimously on voice vote. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Liquor License/ Property Taxes It was decided to hold the discussion of the liquor license/property tax payment issue prior to talking about the Mark Antony liquor license. Councilor Arnold said its good for business to have taxes paid and we should stay with original policy. Laws felt lessees should not be penalized when they have no control over payment of taxes on a leased building. Williams wanted to be flexible and give owners a time frame to pay taxes current, review the tax rolls each year and if not paid, revoke liquor license recommen- dation. Acklin was not opposed to being flexible. Mayor Medaris noted that alcohol causes the majority of problems for our Police Dept., which is funded partially by property taxes. 11/03/87 P. 3 Regular Meeting Ashland City Council 11/03/87 P. 4 I;NFINISHED BUSINESS: Liquor Licenses (Continued) Laws moved to change the policy whereby applicants or owners who certified that they could not pay taxes current were offered a plan to bring them current within three years, and payment would be a condition of liquor license renewal. Williams seconded the motion. Arnold felt we would get further behind in the collection of taxes. City Attorney Salter said if tax records were checked prior to annual renewal, they would not get very far behind. On roll call vote the motion failed as follows: Elerath, Reid and Arnold, NO; Williams, Acklin and Laws, YES; Mayor Medaris broke the tie with a NO vote. On the question of denying a liquor license recommendation if a person was charged with a crime, Laws felt the application should be processed as if the person was innocent. If they were found guilty, this would be taken into account in a year when the license was up for renewal. Arnold moved that a charge or accusation of a crime not be the basis for denial of approval of a liquor license. Laws seconded the motion which passed unanimously on voice vote. Reid asked that a notification system be devised where people were made aware of the liquor license policy. Mark Antony Liquor License Reference was made to the recommendation from City Attorney Salter included in the agenda packet. Arnold moved to deny the motion to reconsider their previous denial of liquor license approval. Laws seconded the motion which passed on voice vote as follows: Elerath, NO; Reid, Williams, Acklin, Laws and Arnold; YES. NEW & MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS: Council Liaison A letter was read from Lance Pugh requesting a Council Ashland Performing Liaison to the Ashland Performing Arts Center Board of Arts Center Board Directors. Mayor Medaris appointed Councilor Laws, Arnold moved to approve the appointment and Reid seconded the motion which passed unanimously on voice vote. So. Pioneer St. A letter from the Parks Commission was read requesting a study of So. Pioneer Street to explore the feasibility of either closing the dirt section to vehicular traffic or paving it. Reid asked that people in the neighborhood be kept posted and said the Parks Commission will hold a public forum at one of their meetings. Council asked staff to proceed with cost estimates for paving, and a study on the impact of closing the street. A public hearing will be held at a later date. 11/03/87 P. 4 Regular Meeting Ashland City Council 11/03/87 P. 5 NEW & MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS: (Continued) Financial Acklin moved to accept the financial commentary for Commentary the period ending September 30, 1987 and place it on file; Arnold seconded the motion which passed unani- mously on voice vote. Wimer Street Pedestrian Walkway A memo was read from the Traffic Safety Commission concerning the possibility of a pedestrian walkway on Wimer Street. Public Works Director Alsing showed a plat of the area and said a walk could be developed on the north side of Wimer between North Main and Chestnut St., but would not be possible on that side behind the curb between Chestnut and Prim Streets. Parking is checkerboarded because of icy conditions in the winter. Marilyn Bolstad, 481 Thornton Way, expressed concerns for school children from Briscoe School who use Wimer and said the School District does not provide busing because of the steepness of the street and abuse to engines. On a question from Elerath as to other routes, Bolstad said there was no other way for small children to walk. Susan Mann, 477 Taylor St., owns property on Wimer and said the developer had assured property owners that sidewalks would be built when the street was paved in 1978. Karl Hesse, 117 Nob Hill, is Principal of Briscoe School and expressed willingness to work with the Council in alleviating this hazard. Laws moved to research the records to see if a walkway had been a condition of the paving; obtain cost estimates and hold meetings with the property owners; and request the Traffic Safety Commission to look at parking on one side and striping on the other as an interim measure. Acklin seconded the motion which passed unanimously on voice vote. PUBLIC FORUM: Halloween Food Booth Report Emile Cloutier, speaking for the Kiwanis Club, ex- pressed thanks for being allowed to have a food booth on Halloween and reported a profit of $2600 which, along with last Halloween's booth and the 4th of July booth, the Club will be able to donate $4,000 to the YMCA's Tolman Creek Park playground. He suggested that next year service oriented non-profit groups be given first option to have booths on Halloween. William Thompson, 809 Clay Street, said he appreciated the way the Council conducted their business and asked about garage sale signs and why they were pulled off poles. He was told that it was against City Ordinance to tack anything to the poles and people who did were asked by the Police Department not to do so. There being no further comment from the audience the public forum was closed. 11/03/87 P. 5 ReguJ~r Meeting Ashland City Council 11/03/87 P. 6 ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS & CON~I~ACTS: Clay St./Hwy. 66 Second reading by title only of an ordinance amending Rezone (Rarity) the Comprehensive Plan and rezoning property at the Southwest corner of Clay St. and Highway 66 from R-l-5 to R-2 (Michael Rarity, Applicant). Laws moved to adopt the ordinance, Arnold seconded the motion which passed on roll call vote as follows: Elerath, NO; Reid, Williams, Acklin, Laws and Arnold, YES. (Ref. Ord. ~2427) CBM Annexation 245 Tolman Cr. Rd. Second reading by title only of an ordinance annexing 2.586 acres of property located at 245 Tolman Creek Road (CBM Annexation). Arnold moved to adopt the ordinance, Laws seconded the motion which passed on roll call vote as follows: Elerath, NO; Reid, Williams, Acklin, Laws and Arnold, YES. (Ref. Ord. ~2428) CBM Annexation 245 Tolman Cr. Rd. Second reading by title only of an ordinance with- drawing recently annexed property from Jackson County Fire District No. 5 (CBM Annexation). Laws moved to adopt the ordinance, Arnold seconded the motion which passed unanimously on roll call vote. (Ref. Ord. #2429) CBM Annexation 245 Tolman Cr. Rd. Second reading by title only of an ordinance rezoning certain property from Jackson RR-5 to City of Ashland R-2 (CBM Annexation). Arnold moved to adopt the ordinance, Williams seconded the motion which passed as follows on roll call vote: Elerath, NO; Reid, Williams, Acklin, Laws and Arnold, YES. (Ref. Ord. #2430) Demolition of Historic Struct. Second reading by title only of an ordinance amending the Building Code with respect to the demolition of historic structures. Arnold moved to adopt the ordinance, Acklin seconded the motion which passed as follows on roll call vote: Elerath, Williams and Laws, N0; Reid, Acklin and Arnold, YES; Mayor Medaris, YES. (Ref. Ord. #2431) Public Hearing Set Peachey Rd. Annex. Second reading by title only of an ordinance calling a public hearing on a proposed annexation, zone change and withdrawal from Jackson Co. Fire District No. 5 of property located at 1660 Peachey Road. (Lyle Reeder, Applicant). Laws moved for adoption of the ordinance, Arnold seconded the motion which passed unanimously on roll call vote. (Ref. Ord. #2432) 11/03/87 P. 6 Regular Meeting Ashland City Council 11/03/87 P. 7 fYI~IER BUSINESS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS: Report on Police Vic Lively, Chief of Police, gave a report on Policy - Oct. 31st Halloween night saying the high profile police officers worked well with the help of other law enforcement agencies and predicted there would be no problems on future Halloween nights in Ashland. Council Goal- Setting Session Reid asked about scheduling a goal-setting session and City Administrator Almquist said he was planning one for the middle of December. Reid said she would like pedestrian walks to be discussed. Resolution in Memoriam - Robert W. Bailer Mayor Medaris read a resolution in memoriam of Robert W. Bailer, a former Councilmember, who passed away on August 24, 1987. The meeting was adjourned in his honor and a moment of silence held in Mr. Bailer's memory. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 10:07 P.M. Nan E. Franklin City Recorder Mayor 11/03/87 P. 7