Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-0915.SS.MIN.MINUTES FOR THE STUDY SESSION ASHLAND CITY COUNCIL September 15, 1998 CALL TO ORDER Council Chairperson Wheeldon called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. in the Civic Center Council Chambers. IN ATTENDANCE Councilors Laws, Reid, Wheeldon and DeBoer were present. Councilors Hauck and Hagen, and Mayor Shaw, arrived late. Staff present included: City Administrator Mike Freeman, Assistant City Administrator Greg Scoles, Administrative Services Director Dick Wanderscheid, Director of Finance Jill Turner, City Attorney Paul Nolte, Public Works Director Paula Brown, Director of Electrical Utilities Pete Lovrovich, and Director of Community Development John McLaughlin. DISCUSSION OF DRAFT PUBLIC INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION AND MARKETING PLAN Administrative Services Director Dick Wanderscheid introduced Ann Seltzer, the City's new Communication & Marketing Manager, who will begin work in mid-October and be responsible for many aspects of the proposed Public Information, Communication and Marketing Plan. Emphasized that the plan is a policy framework, and not a job description for the new position. Noted that this plan was initially presented and discussed in July, and that staff had since met with the Ad Hoc Citizens' Communications Committee. Noted that Communication and Marketing Manager position will not become a public information officer, and that the press will continue to have full access to the department heads and decision makers as they do now. Explained that the plan has been revised to include the roles of the Mayor and Council, as Councilor Wheeldon suggested previously. Emphasized that the City recognizes the importance of two-way communication and the expertise brought to the decision making process through public involvement. On the issue of the City newsletter, Wanderscheid stated that after discussion, staff felt that it should be produced on a monthly basis, which is currently beyond the scope of the City Recorder's Office. Based on the plan, the newsletter would be prepared monthly through administration, beginning in January of 1999. Discussed the role of marketing in City operations. Wanderscheid emphasized that staff are aware that certain things are not to be marketed. Suggested that it is important to realize that marketing is not merely about selling, but about getting out information for people to use in making decisions. City Administrator Mike Freeman explained that this is not intended to be an implementation document, but a philosophy to use as a basis for structuring public process. Stated that if Council chooses to move forward with the plan, staff will bring back a 12-month plan with details of staffing, budget, expected impact and costs. City Recorder/Treasurer Barbara Christensen noted that the City newspaper "The Ashland City Source" has been a successful quarterly, but stated that production of a monthly would be beyond what her office is able to do at the present. Christensen explained that the records management/document imaging project was postponed in order to produce the quarterly "City Source" because her office could not do both projects. Stated that she is comfortable with the paper continuing to grow, but that it cannot expand further in her office given staffing and the other projects at hand. Councilor Reid suggested that the plan be a living document, with the Communication Committee to review it after a time. Freeman clarified he will bring information with each year's budget delineating details for the coming 12 months. Also stated that there would be yearly public meetings to get input on the City's progress. Councilor Reid suggested involving Ann Seltzer in the City Administrator's coffee meetings with Council at least part of the time. Ashland City, Council Study Session Minutes 09-15-98 UPDATE ON THE PROGRESS OF THE COMPREHENSIVE WATER MASTER PLAN Public Works Director Paula Brown introduced Bob Elmstad and Ken Wilkins of Carollo Engineers. Noted that Elmstad would be presenting some overheads. Emphasized that Councilors were encouraged to ask questions, and noted that the Water Advisory' Group (WAG) had met recently. Stated that this process is not through, but that this presentation is a step in the continuing process. Bob Elmstad explained the follow-up that had occurred since the first presentation to the Council. Noted that the consultants have met with the WAG twice, and that the WAG also met once on its own. Noted that Council had previously expressed concerns over the base-line demand to be used in the planning process. Explained that the use of"gpcd" in the overheads refers to "gallons per capita per day", and explained that the water year begins on October 1st. Emphasized that the small size of the City reservoir creates a problem due to high summer demand. Noted that the 1996-97 demand was 148 gpcd, and explained that because other Oregon cities do not have similar climate or similar conservation programs, California utilities were used for comparison. The East Bay Municipal Utility District (MUD), which serves Oakland, Berkeley, and Lafayette, has a demand of 215 gpcd. Elmstad confirmed for Mayor Shaw that both Lafayette and Walnut Creek are served by East Bay MUD. Shaw noted that the varied climates served by East Bay MUD would affect planning, and asked whether demand numbers were available for individual communities. Wilkins recognized this as a valid point, but said that East Bay MUD did not provide numbers which illustrate a disparity between the communities, as all customers pay the same rates. Stated that other utilities in the area see demand in the 145-190 gpcd range. Elmstad noted that demand in Ashland is 100 gpcd for residential and 118 gpcd for commercial, which compares very, well with other utilities. Stated that the overall 148 gpcd demand is a starting point for planning, not a starting point for the City. Emphasized that 148 gpcd is close to the goal identified in SRC Report, and this is a compliment to staff efforts. Explained that planning would begin with the 148 gpcd as a base, and consider curtailment and conservation scenarios. Stated that 10% voluntary curtailment on top of a 20% reduction through conservation would significantly reduce demand to 135 gpcd during a critical time. Stated that a 25% mandatory curtailment would do very, well at reducing summer demand. Noted that the planning horizon being used is fifty years, extending to 2050. Stated that the current study is more conservative than the one previously conducted by R.W. Beck, but that the consultants feel it is accurate to the conditions under consideration. Emphasized that it is presumed that conservation and curtailment are to be implemented at the outset of a drought year, not when shortages begin to become a factor. Explained that careful planning is needed up front, keeping snow pack in mind from early on. Discussed the likelihood of a City like Ashland implementing measures discussed. Noted baseline demand curtailment examples take commercial activity into account. Stated that water availability could not be reduced much more without adversely afi'ecting the tourist industry. Eimstad stated that the numbers proposed are aggressive. and the City will have to make an effort to meet these goals. Wilkins noted that regular conservation efforts make it harder to further reduce in a drought, because once people have reached a baseline it is hard to reduce further. Discussed beginning the water season with curtailment. Elmstad explained that with projected growth, the City will need to be aggressive in order to get reductions and begin curtailment at the start of the dry season. Councilor Reid asked for clarification of whether the City would need to implement the most stringent measures at the start of the season. Elmstad stated that curtailment measures would have to begin at this point. Councilor Laws explained that curtailment does not have an effect until the reservoir levels begin to get low. Elmstad confirmed that this would be the case, and that curtailment would need to begin in June. Brown emphasized that increased efforts at conservation will be necessary in June. Reid noted that there is a need to water the City's parks and median strips for citizens and visitors. Brown explained that curtailment would not be needed every year, but that the City should Ashland City Council Study Session Minutes 09-15-98 make an effort to conserve each year. Eimstad suggested that 20% reductions from conservation are achievable, and that curtailment scenarios could be looked at further. Brown confirmed for Councilor Laws that the critical year demand totals are for a single critical year, but that conditions could be worse if critical demand levels occurred in successive years. Councilor Hauck confirmed that this was a "1% likelihood" drought year that was being discussed. Eimstad stated that critical low flows have been repeated several times, and there are a number of future uncertainties. Suggested that some degree of conservatism is appropriate, and stated that uncertainty must be considered in planning. Discussion of historical recurrence of drought. Elmstad emphasized that there will likely be similar magnitude droughts occurring over the planning horizon. Elmstad also confirmed that the 20% conservation being discussed is in addition to the present levels of conservation. Emphasized that while conservation and curtailment have significant effects, toward the end of the planning horizon critical demand is predicted to drain the reservoir completely during two years, and under the most severe conditions (as experienced in 1930) four consecutive years of depletion are predicted. Emphasized that even with conservation and curtailment, some further measures will need to be taken eventually. Discussed the evaluation criteria developed to look at alternatives in the last WAG meetings. WAG created a list of criteria, and the consultants from Carollo helped to narrow this list to four items, which were weighted for use in evaluating alternatives. Environmental/ecological concerns were weighted at 40%, cost at 25%, risk at 20% and implementation/operation at 15%. Explained that while the final process has not yet been confirmed with the WAG, it looked as though each alternative would be assigned a score of 1-10 in each category, then the weight given the category would be factored in to yield a total score. Elmstad noted that there is a need to have the Council buy into the evaluation methods being used. Council discussion of the evaluation process. Brown suggested that she could provide a list to Council showing items falling under each category. Councilor Laws questioned weighting, and suggested that all criteria be equal, and weighed in the mind of each Councilor. Stated that alternatives cannot be standardized without doing them an injustice. Emphasized that if weight is used in categories, it will be given a tremendous influence in the final report. Councilor Hagen noted the complexity involved and emphasized that this is not a straightforward issue. Stated that the WAG had discussed the difficulty in assigning numbers. Eimstad noted that the engineers will not evaluate, but the WAG will use in these weight factors to evaluate the alternatives. Councilor Laws suggested that policy analysis is not mechanical, and cannot be approached as though it is. Elmstad stated that he is open to changes, but this method has worked effectively for his firm in the past. Eimstad noted that supply alternatives discussed had included a new reservoir, wastewater recovery, groundwater wells, '~waterbanking", the TID pipeline, the TAP Intertie pipeline, and increasing the snow pack mechanically. Director of Public Works Paula Brown thanked the WAG members for their attendance tonight, and for the time they've spent at the WAG meetings. Emphasized that there will be public forums, and more information will come back to the Council. ADJOURNED The meeting was adjourned at 7:05 p.m. Submitted by Derek Severson, Assistant to the CiO, Recorder Ashland City Council Study Session Minutes 09-15-98