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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-0216 Documents Submitted DOG. sOb Mi a /ILO (1ert finn.ty CC4.n c,1\ Grot�-i CITY OF A S HLAND Memo DATE: February 16, 2010 TO: City Council FROM: Conservation Commission RE: 2009 -2010 City Council Goals The Conservation Commission would like to submit the following comments and recommendations in response to the City Council's 2010 -2011 Goals. A. Proposed Environmental Goal Develop a ,s(rdte gl to use conservation and Local renewable sources to meet Tier 2 power demands by 2014. A. Strategy Recommendations Promote conservation measures deemed cost effective by BPA to maximize energy efficiency and cost recovery to the City and utility customers. Measure effectiveness annual energy savings realized and program costs recovered in early 2011. Promote and support a big campaign to get kf ewalile) solar hot water heating on as many buildings (businesses and homes) as possible. B. Proposed Environmental Goal Adopt land use codes, building codes, and fee structures that create strong incentives for new development that is energy, water, and land efficient use of water, energy, land, and other key resources. B. Goal Recommendation Adopt land use codes, building codes, 'GuzZdrziR standards and fee structures that create strong incentives for new development and improvements to existing building that is energy, water, and land efficient use of water, energy, land, and other key resources. C. Proposed Environmental Goal Implement specific capital projects and operational programs to ensure that City facilities and operations are a model of efficient use of water, energy, land, and other key resources. C. Goal Recommendation Develop baseline measures for Greenhouse gasses using the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives ICLEI process. Electric Dept. Tel: 541-488-5357 90 0 N Mountain n S[ Fax: 541-552 243 2436 Ashland, Oregon 97520 TTY: 800 -735 -2900 in www.ashxand.or.us D. Proposed Environmental Goal Adopt an integrated Water Master Plan that addresses long -term water supply including climate change issues, security and redundancy, watershed health, conservation and reuse, and stream health. D. Goal Comment The Conservation Commission would like to be an active participant in developing the Water Master Plan. E. General Goal Recommendation Ensure that the City has a staff person whose job description includes implementation of the City's sustainability goals Electric Mountain Tel: 541-488-5357 4_ 90 N Mountain St Fax: 541-5 52 2 243 2436 Ashland, Oregon 97520 TTY: 800- 735 -2900 www.nslileuu.ui.un Dot SAI mr1-Icdl a hto Cc -trc. 1'H -y1 r`e-.. 7`77 Lrc --ti Dear Ashland Mayor and City Coiincil. February 16, 2010 Thank you so much, Mayor Stromberg, for understanding the dire necessity of diversifying our economic base by supporting our Sustainability non profits. 1 do believe that if everyone immersed themselves in these issues and studied them in depth as you have, they would come to the conclusion that helping these groups address the future needs of Ashland is a most prudent and essential action. So tonight I want to speak to those who doubt the importance of this crossroad. My hope was many would see the Transition Town power point presentation on "energy descent plans" and "closed loop economic systems" that keep circulating many more times through a community and help generate more local business. The deepest and most far- reaching changes for this tired world are coming from implementation of the tried and true practices of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot coupled with innovative new ideas and products.. We are impressed with the City's partnering with Lomakatsi Reforestation Project, and the time the Mayor, Council and staff have spent meeting with people about job generation, restoring and increasing passenger and freight rail systems, exploring water issues and answers, and boosting food production in Ashland. We are also grateful for the progress being made by hundreds of green businesses and entrepreneurial efforts. To strengthen this forward motion the partnering opportunities that can happen between existing institutes and fledgling green ones is exponential. We need the expertise offered by the sustainability groups and their experts to shape change and growth in the right way. The "right way" means we finally address the deficit we owe to the planet and the deficit we owe to not only the future of our children, but to the orphaned individuals and businesses in Ashland who find themselves on the brink of economic collapse. It's elemental we can not continue to take more out than we put back in. Granting some seed money for traction on the ground will create job programs, composting and soil building locations, landfill diversion, state of the art on line currency and barter options, resiliency lending and liquidity markets, a united data base where the public can access information about energy saving products, programs and systems, better resource management, increased food security and community safety, valuable education opportunities.... all these and much more are S coming to Ashland. We would like the new category to be ratified unanimously and the concept embraced by all our citizens. The amount the Mayor has proposed, though modest, is an important step. In my experience with writing a few initial applications to the City, I can say this is the most highly leverage money ever. The City, its dwellers, visitors and businesses will get more "bang for the bucks" than any money previously granted. How do I know? from all the phone calls and emails I've received these past months from well wishers and the Tike- minded who are waiting on the sidelines, some with private money in hand, ready to jump in and support a forward thinking decision by the City Council. Developing the programs and partnering with the Sustainability non profits IS the biggest, perhaps the only, economic growth sector available at this time to Ashland. Diversifying our economic base by increasing interest for visitors and employment for locals is absolutely the direction we want to move as a City united to meet the environmental and economic challenges of the future. Gmail FW: Support Mayor's Proposal for Sustainability Grants for local non profits Page 3 of 3 Let/ Your Err `nd t loretn iC. n'U� -(t) :1t �f t rlatrna41 ..dated crna'J with :«'2 .errut S JA4c _,.iz Catie Faryl <catiefaryl@gmail.com> Fri, Feb 12, 2010 at 4:23 PM To: Anna Cassilly <heartdancers @yahoo.com Ashland Can Never Go Back <ashlandcngb @gmail.com Institute for Altemative Futures <futurist @altfutures.com Beth Gardner <bethgardner @charter.net Dot Fisher Smith <dot @opendoor.com Zander Dorje <zanderonfire @yahoo.com Chris Knutsen <chrisknutsen @gmail.com dave @dyddinvestments.com, dessaireland @hotmail.com, Peter Gibb <pgibb @ashlandhome.net intuitivewomyn@hotmail.com, jdarling @jeffnet.org, Susan Powell <honcha @globalpantry.com Liisa Wale <tumeric1969 @yahoo.com Ronald Quinn <ronald.quinn@gmail.com> puntral Peter Gibb <pgibb @ashlandhome.net> Fri, Feb-12, 2010 at 7:09 PM To: Catie.Faryl <catiefaryl @gmail.com> I cant be there, but I strongly support the mayor's proposal to allocate $12,500 for seed money for non profits working in the area of sustainability. This is exactly the kind of leadership that Ashland can support It is a small investment for a big potential payoff. Please add my name to any list of supporters. Sincerely, Peter Peter Gibb iOun d test S;d TEni 6, a, 2..P4n -5 4 7 1 ,6E a 6 7Yy q,a v1 c f e 5 ell afr 411i/1/4i" 5 5 7 a l ja y- 3/s7 "/3 c 9 t7 St, 'f Fa —O /o 1-- 27R, retrnP ooh/ 9 9 luwpa x 7 https: mail. google. com /mail ?ui= 2 &ik= 4efa2ce245 &view =pt &search inbox &th= 126c4a... 2/13/2010 Gmail FW: Support Mayor's Proposal for Sustainability Grants for local non profits Page 1 of 3 Catie Schwarz <catiefaryl @gmaii.com> FW: Support Mayor's Proposal for Sustainability Grants for local non profits 3 messages catie (aryl <catiefaryl @hotmail.com> Fri, Feb 12, 2010 at 4:05 PM Cc: catiefaryl @gmail.com, catielevitt@hotmail.com From: Subject: Support Mayor's Proposal for Sustainability Grants for local non profits Date: Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:35:52 -0800 Dear Community Members, it is very important that we support the Mayor and some Council members in creating a category for the Sustainability non profits to apply for some seed money from the Hotel /Motel Tax. A small amount ($12,500) has been proposed by the Mayor for this purpose. This would not affect the other traditional recipients of the money, so it is difficult to see why it's met with opposition. Those of you who understand the economic and enviromental realities of our current economy can certainly support the Mayor in the initial move to give a little financial traction to the important work of such groups as Transition Towns Ashland, Triple Bottom Line 21, WebSpirit and OurNexChange (deep on line barter and on line community emergency response systemm), Sustainable Leadership Dialogue, Village Farm, Regeneration Project and others. For more in depth information please see the January 30 article in the Ashland Daily Tidings titled "Mayor calls for sustainability grants" and the February 5 article titled "Ashland finds money for sustainability projects" Although at one point there was a unanimous vote to approve the new category, the matter was placed on the Council's Consent Calendar for their 7 pm Tuesday February 16th meeting at Council Chambers on East Main. There is some indication that this will be re- opened for more discussion and we need as many people to speak and write in favor of the Mayors proposal. If you can attend, get a speaker's slip and let the Council know how much we need action and traction from our Sustainability Non profits. A tiny bit of money will go a long ways to help us move through very rough times and begin making progress in boosting employment, agriculture and energy descent plans in Ashland. These agencies, and their partnering with the City and other established entities, like Thrive and the Chamber of Commerce,are our best hope for job generation and for support and implementing energy saving, economy boosting, community connectedness and food sccurity. Letters to the Editor, Miles Murphy, at the Ashland Daily Tidings will be much appreciated or send them to me and I will hand carry them to the Council that evening. Symbolically, this is a very important issue. The Mayor needs our support now as he's taken this step to https: /mail.google.com/ mail ?ui= 2 &ik=4efa2ce245 &view =pt &search inbox &th= 126c4a... 2/13/2010 Sustainability letter 2/16/10 7:23 PM 2/16/10 Dear Mayor Stromberg, I strongly support Catie Faryl's initiative about funding for Sustainability projects. Recently, as Producer for Ashland Community Theatre, we closed our production of "Local Produce," the short plays by local writers, presented at the Bellview Grange. We thank the City for the $2500 grant which made this possible and are happy to report that we made a profit on the production, with attendance increasing each weekend of the run. Presentation at the Grange, our new (temporary) home, contributed to this success, because of the location near the school and the attendance of Grangers. We are starting rehearsals for our March production there and look forward to even more "cross- pollination" between our heavily "local artists" focus and the community- centered activities of the Grange. The City's grant to ACT was a vote of confidence that catalyzed our will to get our act together and PRODUCE. I think that similar City support for the good works of sustainability initiatives will enable the recipient groups to go forth and make the difference we all see is needed. h appre i. ti Jea ni Grizzard, AC 698 oC: St. Ashland 541 -22 -4484 Page 1 of 1