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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 Our View: A place to sleep ... Is BSA right to allow gay scout leaders? ... Ticket Availability ... Our View: A place to sleep ... Is BSA right to allow gay scout leaders? ... Ticket Availability ... COUNCIL CORNER Council Corner: Please help me with my list Comment By John Stromberg DailyTidings.com By John Stromberg Posted May. 19, 2015 at 12:01 AM By John Stromberg Posted May. 19, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News I make lists. Here are some items I’m incubating. Suggestions welcomed (see contact info below): Trees vs. public uses My relationship to trees has changed a lot. As a teenager I remember helping my dad cut down trees with a two-man saw. It was exciting. Now — and I know this may sound funny — when I turn my attention to an individual tree, I feel like I’m dealing with something holy. Really old trees especially command my respect. These past few years the council and I have had to deal with trees in public spaces and none of those decisions has  been easy. The heart of the problem is that you can’t equate the value of a tree with public safety, affordable housing, etc. There really isn’t a tradeoff. Mitigation is a myth. I want to confront the core issue and not just deal with individual instances. Maybe we could use the Open City Hall feature on the city website to start a discussion. Bears There’s bears in town. I occasionally see them or their scat. Last year a mother bear nursed her cub in a tree next door and one night I encountered a bear that climbed a 6-foot fence to examine our garbage can. Debi N. periodically regales me with tales of bears all over town. She says we have a bear problem — bears that become a nuisance may be trapped and killed by Fish and Wildlife, and under the wrong circumstances someone could get hurt by a bear. Dealing with bears is not in the standard city services template, but Durango, Colo., is way ahead of us. Take a look atbearsmartdurango.org to see what I mean. MJ is coming Legalized marijuana is going to be a reality soon. It’s one thing to read about this happening in another state but I’m sure the reality is going to be full of surprises and “challenges.” True, it will be regulated and the state may allow the council to control certain aspects, but still. Will there be marijuana tourism? What will allergic people do if marijuana plants become part of normal landscaping — unlike every so-called “deer-resistant” plant species, marijuana probably actually is. “Second-hand smoke” takes on another meaning. When you envision a post-prohibition Ashland, what do you see? Drought, veggies and trees Currently our ace-in-the-hole for drought is the TAP connection to Medford water. It can provide more than 2 million gallons per day, just about our winter — and therefore indoor — usage. If we have to ban all outdoor uses, what happens to vegetable gardens? And all the “heritage” trees? Food gardens are an increasing component of our community’s food supply. And these great trees that are integral to Ashland’s quality of life are vulnerable to drought and can transform into serious fire or falling hazards if they die. The city’s water conservationist offers tips on how to train your trees’ roots to go deep, rather than horizontal, so they will fare better during the dry season. But I also want to expand TAP to its full 3 million-gallons-per-day capacity to have extra water available during droughts for trees and veggies. Suggestions for how to allocate this water equitably are welcomed. Storing water on site may be part of the answer. Preparedness at home Years ago the fire chief and I did extensive work with local media on a public information project to help people prepare to “shelter in place” in a disaster. Being prepared would help families feel — and actually be — more secure in a variety of circumstances. We sketched out 10 modules (water, food, medical, sanitary, neighbors and pets, communications, etc.) in simple steps someone could easily follow to survive for a couple of weeks. We envisioned 30-second TV clips (and now YouTube videos) to bring the Rogue Valley community together to increase our security. The project didn’t go forward, partly because of a lack of funding, but I believe it is still relevant, possibly more so. What do you think? Submit suggestions online at www.ashland.or.us/CouncilContact.asp (put “List” in the subject field). John Stromberg is mayor of Ashland.   By John Stromberg DailyTidings.com By John Stromberg Posted May. 19, 2015 at 12:01 AM » 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... 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