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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1971-0216 REG MINMINUTES FOR REGULAR MEETING ASIILAND CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 16, 1971 The regular meeting of the City Council was held in the City Council Chambers, City Hall, on the above date. The meeting was called to order by Mayor McKeen. All Councilmen were present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: It was moved by Conklin, seconded by McCannon that the minutes of the February 2, 1971, regular meeting be accepted and placed on file. Motion carried unanimously. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS: It was moved by Soderberg, seconded by Conklin that the departmental reports for the month of January be accepted and placed on file. Conklin asked the City Administrator hm¢ Southern Oregon College and the Mark Antony are billed by the City for work performed by the City Electric Department. Hr. Almquist indicated he would have a report regarding the matter at the next Council meeting. Willstatter requested that the fuel consumption report be included with the Airport F~onthly Report each month. City Administrator Almquist assured him this would be done and indicated he would provide fuel consumption reports for the past few months. On motion to. accept reports and place on file, carried unanimously. At this time, the meeting was recessed for a short period and reconvened at the Hillah Temple to accommodate a large audience. STANDING CO~,%IITTEE REPORTS: a. Finance & Property Committee - No Report b. Public Service Committee 1. Chairman Roble moved for adoption of the recommendation of the Committee that the Civil Service rules for Fire Department be amended to grant Oregon residents a five-point bonus on entrance examinations. Fol]owing brief discussion, motion was seconded by Conklin. City Attorney Salter indicated an amendment to the original ordinance would be necessary. tie also pointed,, out that some definition should be given to the term"residents-- such as defining a certain period of time required for residency. Considerable discussion followed. Conklin withdrew his second and Roble amended his original motion to state on entrance examinations to fire service, a five-point bonus be granted to all Oregon residents qualifying such Oregon residents of six months or more. Motion seconded by Conklin. On roll call, carried unanimously. Following brief discussion, it was moved by Soderberg, seconded by Roble to instruct the City Attorney to draw up an ordinance amending the original ordinance for presentation at the next Council meeting, with Council action to be taken before March 27 (date scheduled for next Fire Department entrance examinations). On roll call, carried unanimously. c. Streets & Traffic Committee 1. Conklin moved to accept the Committee~s recommendation to allot one authorized vehicle space to W. G. Mattix, 30 South First Street, for proprietor use only--not for customer parking. Motion was seconded by Soderberg. Several members of the Council expressed concern that the City conduct a study of the available parking spaces per dwelling (including their availability to tenants). On roll call, carried unanimously. SPECIAL COMMITTE~ REPORTS: None CO~UN I CAT ~ ON S: 1. It was:moved by ~cCan~on, seconde~ by Willstatter that the minutes fo~ the Ash]and Ilevelopment Commission meeting of January 22, 1971, be accepted and placed on file. ~otion carried unanimously. 2. It was moved by Conk]in, seconded by Soderberg that the minutes for the Planning Commission meetings of January 11 and 25, 1971, be accepted and placed on file. Motion carried unanimously. 3. Council's attention was called to a memorandum from City Attorney Salter regarding alley vacation located bet~een Elm and Prospect in the vicinity of Leonard Street and Palmer Road. City Attorney Salter requested that the matter be continued to the next Council meeting for presentation of a resolution. IIe explained that, due to a misunderstanding between ~r. Richard Cottie, Mr. Harry A. Skerry and himself, Mr. Cottie and Mr. Skerry were not present at the meeting. It was moved by Willstatter, secondDd by Roble that the matter be continued to the next regular Council meeting. Motion carried unanimously. SPECIAL AGENDA ITEix~S: Unfinished Business: 1. 8:00 P._~{. PUBLIC HEARING: City-wide ban on open burning prop~FF~ ~kson County TB & RD Association - ~{ayor HcKeen requested that members of the audience wishing to speak comment on the subject at hand only (City-wide ban on opening burning) and limit their presentation to five minutes unless they give advance notice of their intention to speak longer. It was pointed out that comments by the audience will be recorded for perm.nnent record. -3- Dr. Wayne Linn read a letter from the Jackson County TB & RD Association which indicated the Association's reasons for desiring an open burning ban. He also pointed out that the Association was not stimulated to take this action by the Environmental Quality Control Commission. ~1 Dr. Elmo Stevenson indicated he thought a burning ban would be discriminatory since many of the older people in the town use wood in their furnaces, etc. FIe did not feel that a danger of air pollution existed at this time to warrant such a hasty decision and urged the Council to give the matter careful consideration before taking any action. Mr. William Myer indicated he recently moved here from the Eugene area. Eugene does have an open burning ban. He felt this action was necessary in any area where the wellbeing of neighbors is determined by what one does. tie indicated that he is willing to pay the price to have his garbage hauled off in order to improve ~he public health. Mr. Miles Everett presented a report dealing with the effects of air pollution on the ~edford area during a period of years. Following presentation of the report by Mr. Everett, Councilmsn Roble requested a copy of the report for study by the Public Service Committee. Mr. William Keddie felt that he was producing more air pollution by mowing and raking in his yard than by burning. Dr'. Lloyd Pennington felt that the public needed to keep the issue of banning open burning in perspective. He felt this type of ban to be unnecessary until the population density warrants this type of action. One member of the sudience pointed out that western Oregon has the potential of becoming the worst pollution affected area in the country as soon as the population increases. She urged the Council to give the matter of open burning ban careful consideration, because the danger is already present. Dr. Elliott ~[acCracken pointed out that as long as greene~ grows, it will take carbon dioxide out of the air and produce more oxygen. He felt that Ashland has not reached a point where a burning ban would be necessary for public health. Mrs. Connie Battai]e, representing the League of Women Voters, pointed out that the pollution created from various industries has decreased from approximately 94 percent to 56 percent; believer, the pollution from individual sources has increased to approximately 12 percent. She felt that now ~s the time to establish some type of pollution control regulations. At this time, City Administrator Almquist read a letter from the League of Women Voters urging the Council to support an open burning ban and suggesting alternate methods of disposing of garbage, etc. A member of the audience asked Fire Chief Reed how much it costs the City to answer fire alarms caused from open burning. Chief Reed replied that approximately 34 percent of the Fire Department runs last year were caused by careless burning; it costs approximately $65 to move a piece of fire equipment out of.~he station. Following more discussion, it was moved by Roble, seconded by McCannon that the question of open fire burning be tabled to a time when the Council and the Public Service Committee can study the matter further. Motion carried unanimously. COB~IUNICATIONS: (continued) 4. City Administrator Almquist read communication dated February 10, 1971, from the Board of Directors of Ashland School District No. 5 requesting to be informed of any future discussions concerning major street arterials which include Walker Avenue, Mountain Avenue and Beach Street. It was pointed out that these streets have been designated as pri.mary thoroughfares as access to Southern Oregon College and movement of cross-town traffic. City Administrator Almquist recommended that the Planning Commission be requested to forward its findings to Councilmen Conkljn add Willstatter (BCVTA Policy Committee representatives) by '~iarch 10 in order that they may present the Council's position to the BCVTA Policy Committee following a consideration of that policy at the Council meeting on March 16. Mayor ~!cKeen so directed. New &Misccllaneous Business: 1. City Administrator Almquist reported that a request had been received for a Class C Liquor License from Black Forest Enterprises, Inc., 1700 Ashland Street; however, since Chief Hays has been unable to contact the applicant to obtain fingerprints for a routine records check, it is recommended that action be deferred until March 16. It was moved by Conklin, seconded by Willstatter to accept the Administrator's recommendation. Motion carried unanimously. 2. City Administrator Almquist reported that the Water Division is requesting permission to call for bids for 18 fire hydrants for new and replacement purposes; estimated cost is $3,350. Suggested bid opening date is March 1S, 1971, at 1 p.m. in the Council Chambers. It was moved by Willstatter, seconded by Conklin that staff be authorized to call for bids for the fire hydrants as specified. On roll call, carried unanimously. 3. City Administrator Almquist reported that the Water Division is requesting permission to call for bids for gunnite to be utilized in lining portions of the TID irrigation ditch, as well as for the Lithja Park Project. Reference was made to a memorandum from Public Works Director Alsing dated February 12, 1971. Hr. Almquist recommended that Council authorize the call for sealed bids for both the TID irrigation channel and the HUD Lithia Par}c Extension Project, with award to be made by the Director of Finance based on low sealed bid. It was moved by ~cCannon, seconded by Soderberg to adopt the City Administr~tor's recommendation. carried unanimously. On roll call, Ordinances, Resolutions & Contracts: 1. City Administrator Almquist read ordinance amending Ordinance No. ]361, the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Ashland, to rezone certain property from C-2, Commercial-Downtown and R-3-1.2, Residential-Hultiple Family, to R-i:B-10, Residential-Single Family. It was moved by Soderberg, seconded by McCannon to pass ordinance to second reading. On roll call, carried unanimously. 2. City Administrator Almquist read Ordinance No. 166~ increasing the fees to be charged for lien searches. It was moved by McCannm~, seconded by Conklin to adopt Ordinance No. 166~ On roll call, carried 5-1, with Willstatter dissenting. 3. City Administrator Almquist read ordinance providing for parking prohibitions on one side of certain streets from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except Sundays and holidays except where parking has heretofore, or may hereafter, be more restricted; providing for the enforcement and penalty for v~o]ation thereof; providing for the effective date of said ordinance; and declaring an emergency. Following some discussion, ~.~r. Almquist read letter from F~arvin D. Davis regarding allovqng parking on the east side of Glenwood Drive. Mr. Almquist also reported that he had received a petition signed by 50 property owners in the vicinity of the college requesting that Council give careful consideration to prohibiting parking on both sides of streets with restricted parking. Some discussion followed. City Attorney Salter pointed out that the request from ~r. Davis regarding changing the parking prohibition front t.he east side to the west side of Glenwood Drive would constitute a substantive change in the ordinance and, therefore, the ordinance would have to be reprocessed (two full readings of ordinance). It was moved by Conklin, seconded by Roble to adopt the ordinance as read. Several members of the audience spoke in opposition to the proposed ordinance, indicating that it was discriminating against the college students. It was pointed out that the parking lots presently provided by the college for student parking were inadequate, since they were frequently muddy and rutted. Several residents in the v~cinity of the college indicated that they had been bothered by blocked driveways during school hours and would we]come parking restrictions on their streets. They also expressed concern for the safety of'children walking along the s~des oF the streets ~n question, indicating that the severe congestion presently existing creates safety hazards. -6- On roll call on motion to adopt Ordinance No. 1668, carried unanimously. 4. Following presentation of brief backgroun~ on the matter, City Administrator Almquist read resolution approving the Sewerage System Study prepared by Cornell, Howland, Hayes and Merryfield, Inc., completed with an advance from HUD under the terms of Public Law 560. FIr. Almquist pointed out that the technical portions of the sewer study have been completed; however, the issue of financing of the proposed facilities is a matter of Council policy and should be discussed at a future study session. It was moved by Conklin, seconded by ~cCannon that the rules be snspen~ed and resolution passed to second reading by title only. On roll call, carried unanimously. Following second reading by title only, it was moved by Roble, seconded by Soderberg that the resolution be adopted. On roll call, carried unanimously. 5. It was moved ~y EIcCannon, seconded by Conklin that the Memorandum.of Understanding by and between the City of Ashland and the Asialand Employees Associatjon relative to salaries, fringe benefits and working conditions be adopted and the Mayor and Recorder be authorized to sign the agreeme~t on behalf of the City. Roble complimented the Employees Association and the City Administrator for their ability to negotiate to everyone's satisfaction. Mr. Ed Pentkowski, President of the Employees Association, also expressed appreciation to the Connell and the Administration for their cooperation in negotiating with the employees. indicated that a big gap in communication has been bridged this year and the employees are grateful for the considerations granted them by the Council and staff. Mrs. Ruth Beck indicated that this show of cooperation between the employees and Council will make for better cooperation between the citizens of the City and the employees. She commended the City work force for its excellent performance. On roll call to adopt Memorandum of Understanding, carried unanimously. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned subject to the call of the Mayor. 1cr Acting City Recorder