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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985-1001 REG MINMINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING ASHLAND CITY COUNCIL October 1, 1985 ROLL CALL APPROVAL OF MINUTES GUANAJUATO REPORT MEXICO CITY PUBLIC HEARING DOWNTOWN PARKING Mayor Medaris led the Pledge of Allegiance and called the meeting to order at 7:30 p~mo on the above date in the Council Chambers~ Present were Elerath, Reid, Bennett, Acklin, Laws and Smith. Smith moved to approve minutes of the regular meeting and executive sess- ion of September 17, 1985; Bennett seconded the motion which passed unanimously on voice vote° Gustavo Lopez-Laing reported for the City of Guanajuato expressing it's appreciation for the particupation of delegates Stacy Heard who partici- pated in their pageant and Don Smullin, member of the Sister City Committee. Lopez said that the City of Guanajuato was untouched by the recent earth- quake which devastated Mexico City° Judy_Compton and Me=edith Reynolds, both of whom have graduated from the University of Guanajuato, said they have been upset since learning of the Mexico City disaster and asked Council support of an effort to assist victims through donations which would be given in the name of City of Ashland Good Samaritan Fund through the Red Cross channels° Compton said that donors could designate one of three categories 1) food, 2) shelter or 3) medical needs and donations would be tax deductible° Smith moved to place on agenda; Reid seconded the motion which passed unanimously on voice vote° Compton challenged the citizens of Ashland, students, visitors etco, to give to the people of Mexico during this time° Laws moved to authorize the City to act as rec~ient of funds to the City of Ashland Good Samaritan Fund and direct staff to decide on any legal aspects of so doing; Acklin seconded the motion which passed unanimously on voice vote. Compton and Reynolds were thanked for their concern. Planning Director Fregonese reviewed the history of the downtown parking problem along with the efforts of the many Parking Committees and said that the demand was for 124 additional spaces and that the need is becoming more critical. Fregonese reported on the results of an extensive study by the Downtown Parking Facility Committee chaired by Councilor Laws and the survey conducted by Geography students working with the Planning staff, which used a computerized analyses of the various areas. Fregonese noted that it is imperative that downtown employees and employers be urged or made to use parking spaces other than those in the core downtown business district for all-day parking during the summer months to make room for cus- tomers, tourists etco who come and goo Fregonese said that parking spaces freed by employees and employers would amount to between 120 and 180 spaces. The proposed improvement of the Water Street lots at a cost of approximately $35,000 would create an additional 20 spaces and the improvements could be financed through Bancroftingo Parking fines and surcharges added to bus- iness licenses for employees at a rate of $5.00 per employee, to include the City, Shakespeare and non-profit institution employees would generate between $3,000-4,500 per year. Fregonese said the proposal also recommends increasing parking fines by $1.00, which would generate between $5,000 and 6,000 per year° Fregonese said the total revenues raised by those outlined should generate an excess of costs for parking improvement and any surplus would go into the Downtown Parking Improvement Fund for use to improve the ...... continued 10/1/85 P~ 1 PUBLIC HEARING cont, parking situation when further improvementsare needed° Fregonese showed several exhibits covering questionnaire results relative to the parking demand, etco City Administrator Almquiat requested that letters received by Council be made part of the record and reviewed the proposed ordinance° A new section was added to provide for loading, unloading and delivery the case of Real Estate offices. Laws proposed that an optional section be added to the ordinance which would delete the need for the license numbers and addresses of employees and employe~s but would simply call for names of employees° Almquist reviewed the violation penalties which call for a written warning for the first violation. The Mayor opened the public hearing° Mavis Cloutier, member of the Cham- ber of Commerce Board of Directors said she is not speaking in support of the ordinance as such, but would like to see of the of positive points implemented° Cloutier encouraged cooperation on the concept° John Shannon 345 Siskiyou, said that if the spaces could be made available as outlined, people could use stickers to park and the problem would be solved° Tim Alford, representing Rogue Federal Credit Union, said they were never contacted during the study and asked that the time limits for parking remain the same on Third Street and Lithia Way° Alford opposed the plan as presented and recommended further study for the total effect of the plan. Ron Roth, owner of Geppetto's said he has forty employees and only fifteen have vehicles and that he supports part of the ordinance but is opposed to registration etc. Roth said parking restrictions shouldn't be changed on Lithia Way and suggested that parking fines be substantially increased° Roth recommended use of the property formerly owned by the Bagley Canning Cow, and suggested the City and Shakespeare work together to provide downtown parking. Michael Donovan, owner of Chateaulin Restaurant said he has approximately 30 employees during the summer and admitted the Parking Committee had a difficult task, but he feels a parking structure would be the answer. Donovan said he doesn't feel employees will want to register~ Don Evans, owner of Don's Barber Shop expressed concern with proposed changing of the time for parking on Lithia Way° Evans said he and his employees park several blocks away to make room for customers and urged Council to keep the two hour parking° Stu Watson, 128 Pioneer Street, opposed the registration saying it dis- criminates againstthe employees and would shift parking to the single- family residential areas~ A1 Willstatter, 128 Central, said he would take a positive approach and eliminate the crosses painted in the front and rear of the parking spaces and that many spaces could be picked upo Don Rist, 310 Bridge, encouraged Council to use the proceeds from the sale of the warehouse property on "A" Street to purchase property for parking purposes. 10/1/85 P~ 2 PUBLIC HEARING cont. DOWNTOWN PARKING Joel Gonzales~ 355 Tudor, recommended increasing the parking fees and also raise the fines for second and third time offenders° Gonzales said he is opposed to registration and would like to see Shakespeare share in the costs involved. Gonzales suggested the shuttle bus being used by the Seniors be used to transport employees to the parking lots before and after work. Mary Lou Gross asked if City employees would be treated the same as other downtown employees and if authorized spaces would continue in use along the side of City Hallo Laws said those parking spaces would be retained and City employees are included in the proposal° Gross spoke in opposition to the registration of employees and vehicles° The publid hearing was closed~ Reid said that tourists are valued customers downtown but the employees are too° Elerath said that by repainting the spaces some could be added and disagreed with the registration of employee's vehicles° Acklin said she has worked on previous parking committees and the City has been involved because the need was brought to it's attention by the Chamber of Commerce, Shakespearean Festival and the business people. Acklin said the City employs about thirty people downtown and the City is being asked to solve the whole problem, She stated the only quick and inexpensive solution would be for employers to ask their employees not to park in time limit zones downtown. Acklin added that it shouldn't be any more offensive to register a vehicle for parking purposes than to register with DMV or register to vote. Acklin said without the $5.00 fee, the City won't have money to improve the Water Street parking lot and the Municipal Judge doesn't want to raise the park- ing fees because of the outcry by tourists who write volumes of letters threatening they won't come back to Ashland, etc. Bennett said she is sympathetic with comments heard but can't understand why no one wants to give the proposal a chance, and if it doesn't work then it could be abandoned after a year's trial° Laws equated the parking problem with the sign ord- inance in that it was resented at it's onset, and after being implemented brought a dramatic change in aesthetics in the downtown area. Laws com- mented on the allegation that registration would make second-class citizens of employees saying they are already registered with the State and Federal government and noted that 95% would probably obey the ordinance. Smith reviewed the enforcement proposed and recommended that the two hour parking on Lithia Way between E. Main and Third Streets remain as is and that first time parking ticket be increased to $5.00° The City Attorney noted that the Judge Could still use his discretion on the fee° Reid moved to accept the $5°00 fee on employees; improvement of Water Street parking lot and leave parking on Lithia Way to four hours and increase first and second time parking violations; Elerath seconded the motion. On roll call vote, Elerath and Reid voted in favor and Bennett, Acklin, Laws and Smith opposed the motion which failed° Smith moved to pass ordinance to second reading with amendment deleting license numbers and addresses; Laws seconded the motion which passed with Bennett, Acklin, Laws and Smith voting in favor; Elerath and Reid opposed. 10/1/85 Po 3 gular Meetlng DEAN'S RIDEABOUT Liquor License Request-Toonerville Bellview School Stop Light Request A letter from Dean Spencer outlining his proposal to operate a guided tour business in Ashland was read and Spencer was present to review his plano Spencer said he would ideally have four passengers for tours and he would use his Volvo stationwagon for this 1~ or 2 hour tour. Spencer said he has a chauffeur's license and liability insurance~to cover the business° Spencer said he would not use loud speakers or invade anyone's privacy along the way and the passengers would be returned to the point of origin° On question of Councilor Smith on planned route, Spencer said he would go from Oak to "f' Street, "A" to 8th Street, 8th to "B" Street - to 6th and on "C" down to Morton, Morton to Eo Main etc. Spencer said he would visit the areas to show highlights, view etc. and eventually return to the point of origin. Councilor Elera~h said he usually hires cabs to take him on tours of a city and he likes the idea but doesn't want competition with the franchise holder who has heavy expenses to provide the City with services outlined in the franchise. City Attorney Salter said that the proposal could in fact be competition but from reading the ordinance Salter said that with the tour the passenger does not control the route where in the case of a cab they would. Salter said the Council still has the option of saying yes or noo Bennett said she would like to see a map designating the route. Laws said he approves of the concep't but requested that Spencer come back with route so Council can address the request~ Reid asked Spencer if he has done this before cit n usiness climate necessitatin longer shifts and promotion of tours to make up for declining calls for cabs° Along with this fact Perkins cited other conveyances and modes of travel as having cut into his business to an alarming degree. Perkins asked that his three page letter be made part of the record (dated: 10/1/85). Council agreed it would need to see Spencer's route before discussing further° The executive secretary of the Chamber of Commerce noted that she has had inquiries about availability of this type of tour° of Application requesting change of ownership/liquor license for Toonerville Deli Depot and recommendation by Police Department for approval was consid- ered by Council and Laws moved for approval; Acklin seconded the motion which passed unanimously on voice vote. Eric Jorgenson, principal of Belleview School, expressed concern for the safety of the students because of inadequate signals at the dangerous intersection on the corner of Siskiyou Blvd0 & Tolman Creek Road° Jorgen- son said that traffic to and from 1-5 creates a speeding hazard and the yellow blinking light which is too high to be easily seen is ineffective. Jorgenson said the last traffic count was taken in 1985 and hopes to get a more current count to justify the need for a traffic light approval by the State Highway Department~ Jorgenson asked the City for it's expertise and support in requesting a four-way light to control the traffic. Dir- ector of Public Works Atsing said he checked with the State Highway Depart- ment and learned that the project is on their six-year plan for 1989 but at this moment it does not qualify by their warrant system. Alsing said they did offer to do a study to check on requirements for approval and it should be ready in about six weeks at which time it could be studied. continued 10/1/85 p. 4 Bellview Traffic Signal Hospital Bd. Appt. Public Forum Ordinances, Resolu- tions & Contracts Fordyce Annex~ Fordyce Withdraw- al from Fire Dis~ Fordyce Annex~ Rezoning Ridge Rd. Imp~ Water St. Parking Lot Resolution Susan Lane Dedication Jerry Smith, PTO chairman of Health & Safety reported he had talked to Bill Maude at the State Highway office and was told the proposed signal was not on the six year plan and described the safety problem. Smith asked the cooperation of the City so the request could go through the right channels. Alsing suggested that Traffic Safety Commission might be of assistance by taking a look at it and report to Council° Director of Public Safety Lively said there is a speeding problem there and will try to have a car in that area for careful patrolling° Traffic Safety Commission Chair Smith offered to work with staff and Jerry Smith and bring back recommendation. A memo from Mayor Medaris requesting approval of appointments of Michael Jewett and Dr. Jerry Cooper to fill vacancies on the Ashland Community Hospital Board of Directors was read and L~ws moved to approve; Reid seconded the motion which passed unanimously on voice vote. No response from the audience. First reading was given an ordinance annexing property known as Fordyce Annexation and Acklin moved to second reading; Laws seconded the motion which passed unanimously on roll call vote° First reading was given an ordinance withdrawing recently annexed real prop- erty (Fordyce Street Annexation) from Jackson County Fire Dist. #5 and Laws moved to second reading; Acklin seconded the motion which passed with- out opposition on roll call vote° First reading was given an ordinance amending Ordinance No. 2052, the Land- Use Ordinance of the City of Ashland rezoning certain property from Jackson County RR-5 to Coty R-1-5P and SOo First reading was given an ordinance authorizing and ordering the improvement of Ridge Road from Terrace Street Northwesterly 2132 feet by constructing curbs (partial) paving and authorizing the assessment of cost against property benefitted thereby in general obligation bonds of the City of Ashland~ Laws moved to second reading; Smith seconded and the motion passed unanimously on roll call vote. A resolution setting a public hearing on improvements of Water Street parking lot for October 15, 1985 at 7:30 P.M0 was read and Laws moved to adopt; Smith seconded the motion° Language was changed to indicateJ "affected" properties as opposed to adjacent and the motion passed unanimously on roll call vote. A memo from the Director of Public Works was read outlining City policy for rights of way relative to proposal to relocate building at the end of Susan Lane in exchange for dedication of additional right of way for future street improvements. Acklin moved to approve; Elerath seconded the motion which passed unanimously on voice vote. 10/1/85 P. 5 Leave of Absence For information only, Elerath said he would be leaving the country and absent from October 27 to November 15, 1985. Permission had been received earlier. Special Olympics The City Administrator asked Council consideration of donating $125.00 to the Special Olympics event to take place next month to defray the cost of banner installation to publicize the event° Laws moved to place item on agenda; Acklin seconded the motion which passed unanimously on voice voter Laws moved to approve; Acklin seconded and the motion passed with- out opposition on voice vote. ADJOURNMENT Nan E. Franklin City Recorder At 11:15 PoM. the meeting was adjourned to an adjourned meeting set for October 8, 1985 at 7:30 P.Mo and that meeting will be followed by an executive session to discuss real property transactions. Smith asked that maps of downtown parking proposal be available. Mayor 10/1/85 P. 6