Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW WE hosts monthly community meal ... Ashland-area resident running for Congress ... Ashland police seek suspect in armed robbery ... WE hosts monthly community meal ... Ashland-area resident running for Congress ... Ashland police seek suspect in armed robbery ... CITY COUNCIL New entry sign designs approved Trio of designs expected to be installed by May; council also sends pot tax to ballot, discusses water rate tweaks Comment By Julie Akins For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted Feb. 17, 2016 at 8:28 PM By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted Feb. 17, 2016 at 8:28 PM » Social News The city of Ashland will be getting new welcome signs, but they won’t say welcome. The City Council on Tuesday approved the designs for for the three metallic signs with a cut out of the mountains which surround the city and the word "Ashland" in a mixture of upper and lower case letters over the word "Oregon" in all capital letters. “OK, who’s going to discuss the text?” asked Councilor Pam Marsh, looking at designer Eric Warren from Rogue Design Group, who answered, “It’s quirky and playful and lets people know they’ve arrived. We tried (Ashland) with all caps and it looked too corporate.” Councilor Carol Voison expressed concern that the lettering with upper case letters scattered through out would not send the right message for school children. Councilor Greg Lemhouse said, “I prefer the corporate look, but I appreciate the work that’s been done here.” Ashland resident George Kramer, the only person to speak during public comment, said he believes the process of public input in local arts projects is flawed, “If there were 20 possible designs, why didn’t we get to them all? Why do we only get to choose from a few?” Councilor Rich Rosenthal countered that there had been five different opportunities for public input and if he was not able to be involved in any of those hearings, Kramer's input via letter was still taken into account. The council approved the new entry signs on a 5-1 vote (Voisin dissented) and added $5,000 to light them at night. The budget for the signs, including design and installation, is $24,000, which will come from transient occupancy taxes. The signs are expected to be installed by May. The City Council also unanimously approved asking voters in November to approve a 3 percent tax on recreational marijuana products. Currently the state taxes recreational products at 25 percent, but in 2017 that will go down to 17 percent. If voters approve the Ashland tax, the total taxes on recreational marijuana products purchased in Ashland starting Jan. 1 would be 20 percent. Councilors discussed adjusting water rates, but made no decision on how to fairly split costs of having access to water from Talent Irrigation District (TID) and Talent-Ashland-Phoenix line (TAP) water as a backup to the municipal water supply, most of which comes from the Ashland Creek watershed. Right now, Public Works officials say the burden has been unfairly placed on commercial users. Proposed rates changes would raise a typical residential customer's bill by about 5 percent, which for the average user amounts to a bit less than $3 per month. The big hit would come to the City of Ashland Parks Department and the Ashland School District, which could see increases of up to 19 percent. That means, for instance, the annual water people for schools would go to $63,000 from $54,000 annually. Dialogue between the city and the school district has begun but nothing is decided yet. There will be future public hearings on the water rates. Nothing is expected to be decided until May or later. Any changes would likely take effect with start of the next fiscal year on July 1. Email Ashland freelance writer Julie Akins at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ @julieakins. By Julie Akins For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Julie Akins For the Tidings Posted Feb. 17, 2016 at 8:28 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501