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Quality control team urged for expansion By Vickie Aldous Ashland Daily Tidings The City of Ashland should require the formation of a Quality Assurance/Quality Control Team to oversee any expansion of the Mt. Ashland Ski Area and make sure impacts to the municipal water source are minimal, according to City of Ashland Public Works Director Paula Brown. Brown made the recommendation Monday during an Ashland City Council study session where city staff reported their findings on possible impacts to water quality and quantity, city finances and wildfire risk from an expansion. The QA/QC team - likely made up of two to four experts in soils and hydrology selected by city and U.S. Forest Service staff along with community members - would be paid for by the Mt. Ashland Association, would give direction to the association and its expansion contractor, and would report to the Forest Service and city, according to Brown's recommendations. "It would make sure the Mt. Ashland Association completes the job correctly," she said. Earlier this summer, the Forest Service released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement detailing expansion alternatives for the nonprofit ski area, which is operated by the Mt. Ashland Association on Forest Service land in the municipal watershed. Expansion options in the DEIS contain numerous mitigation and monitoring measures that, if carried out correctly, would minimize sedimentation in the Ashland Watershed, according to Brown. "If you look at the amount of sediment loading in the creek system, it is absolutely minimal," she said. The QA/QC team would be hired prior to construction and define measures needed to control erosion. The team also would develop a monitoring strategy, evaluate construction activities and recommend corrective measures if problems are detected, according to Brown. Among her other recommendations, Brown said the Mt. Ashland Association should assure the city and Forest Service that corrective steps would be taken if recommended by the team. The Forest Service and Mt. Ashland Association also should monitor for water quality impacts where Forest Service Road 2060 crosses a fork of Ashland Creek below the ski area, she said. Speaking after the meeting, Jeff Hanson, ski area general manager, said creation of a QA/QC team could be beneficial. "I think something like that makes good sense for a number of reasons," Hanson said. "It builds in some trust and accountability for all the groups�. If it was set up well, it could be the eyes and ears of the Forest Service, the city and us, to some extent," Hanson said. As for financial risk to the city from an expansion, City Finance Director Lee Tuneberg recommended the Forest Service develop an updated estimate of the cost of restoring the existing ski area, as well as costs for restoring an expanded ski area. The Mt. Ashland Association is responsible for the costs of restoring the land if the ski area failed, but the city - which holds the Special Use Permit for the ski area - would become responsible for those costs if the association were unable to pay for the restoration, according to City Attorney Paul Nolte. Restoration costs estimated in 1992, and adjusted for inflation, would be $267,000 for the existing area. Costs for restoring an expanded ski area are not known, according to Tuneberg. The Mt. Ashland Association has marketable assets with a fair market value of $1.25 million, more than four times the amount needed to restore the existing area, he said. Restoration costs would rise with an expansion, but assets also would increase, Tuneberg noted. The Mt. Ashland Association plans to finance an expansion with a community fund-raiser and excess operating revenues, rather than a loan, association officials have said. "If for some reason, construction costs were more than the fund drive, we have a concern that any assets held for reclamation costs not be pledged for any other reason," Tuneberg said. He recommended the Mt. Ashland Association be required to ask the city for approval if the association ever wanted to pledge assets as collateral for a loan. In other staff reports, staff recommended new structures built as part of an expansion have fire protection equipment to prevent the spread of a fire into the watershed. City Administrator Gino Grimaldi recommended that the city council make additions, deletions or modifications to the staff opinions and submit the results as a council comment on the DEIS. The Forest Service is accepting public input until Oct. 23 due to an extended comment period. The city council will take public input on the expansion issue at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30, in the Ashland Civic Center Council Chambers, 1175 E. Main St. The council then will discuss the issue during a regular council meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7, with possible discussions to continue on Tuesday, Oct. 21. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -