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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Budget committee nixes solar farm, AHS-to-SOU scholarships Ashland downtown beautification project underway on Lithia Way Memorial Day rites set for Monday Grizzly earns prestigious UO academic scholarship Police Reports Education Grizzly earns prestigious UO academic scholarship The battle for the Earth Bowl Principal Zundel looks to next challenge Youth Activities and Academics Levy rolls in early returns It takes a village to raise a child Environment Demonstrators hope to save tree Documentary 'When Giants Fall' tells tragic story of elephant poaching Mt. 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Budget committee nixes solar farm, AHS-to-SOU scholarships ... Memorial Day rites set for Monday ... GOP's war on the poor ... Budget committee nixes solar farm, AHS-to-SOU scholarships ... Memorial Day rites set for Monday ... ASHLAND CITY COUNCIL Welcome Center plans can proceed Opening of rest area on south edge of Ashland still two to four years off By Alec Dickinson For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Alec Dickinson For the Tidings Posted May. 20, 2015 @ 5:10 pm Updated May 21, 2015 at 1:01 PM By Alec Dickinson For the Tidings Posted May. 20, 2015 @ 5:10 pm Updated May 21, 2015 at 1:01 PM » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2324,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Plans to build a rest area and "Welcome Center" by the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 on the south-east corner of Ashland can proceed after the City Council voted 4-3 Tuesday to sign an agreement giving the Oregon Department of Transportation access to city water and sewer services. Residents who live near the planned site south of Crowson Road in Ashland turned out to speak in opposition. Topping concerns raised by residents was the issue of safety surrounding the rest area. A number of requests were made to take steps to increase safety at the site, including a fenced area surrounding the facility, a gated service entrance, a guarantee regarding the number of hours the facility would be staffed, and background checks for employees at the site. While a six-foot chain link fence and gated service entry were incorporated into the design, Travel Oregon, the operator of the Welcome Center, declined to require background checks or guarantee staffing hours. Travel Oregon did say they intended to have the site staffed seven days a week during peak road travel season, and roughly 40 hours per week during winter months, and that "employees and staff will be screened consistent with standards of the industry." Councilor Carol Voisin raised concerns as to whether Travel Oregon would meet staffing targets in the absence of some kind of guarantee to the city. Requests to change the fence design to either an 8-foot chain link fence or to top the existing six-foot fence with barbed wire were also declined by ODOT. An Oregon State Police station is incorporated into the design, though it will not be regularly staffed. Ashland Police Department staff has advised the council that there is no statistical evidence that crime increases around rest areas, particularly those in urban areas. “I though the conditions were supposed to be set to protect us who live in and around here and our whole city," nearby resident Alex Sol said during public comment. "A little piece of barbed wire, and that’s not OK? My daughter, when she’s 16, and there’s no background checks on the employees? If some person is selling drugs out of there because there’s no background checks done? What if there’s a pedophile working there?” (This paragraph has been changed to correct resident's name.) After he continued to shout his objections after the conclusion of public comment, and again after the council vote, a visibly upset Sol was asked by Mayor John Stromberg to leave. He was escorted from the chamber by Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara. During the planning of the project, which dates back to the a fatal car crash in the 1990s that led to closure of a rest stop further south, the city raised several points of concern regarding the 3,800-square-foot building on a 19-acre parcel, with an estimated construction cost of $3 million. To allay fire safety concerns, the city asked that a metal roof and sprinkler system be included in the design. While the sprinkler system was incorporated, ODOT declined to change the design of the roof, which the department says has the same fire safety characteristics as a metal roof, due to aesthetic and planning process concerns. Water usage at the proposed development has also been a concern for the city; however, ODOT has incorporated drought-tolerant landscaping to comply with city water curtailment parameters. According to estimates, the current design would use roughly the same amount of potable water as two residences. Despite Travel Oregon’s assertion that having a Welcome Center with maps and brochures would drive tourism in the area, Councilor Greg Lemhouse said he felt motorists would forgo stopping in Ashland if they were to stop at a rest area immediately before the city. Lemhouse also said he did not feel the city had been treated as a partner in the process. “A partnership means you give something and you get something in return," he said. "And in this case, all we are doing is giving something.” Councilor Mike Morris said that although he wasn’t completely happy with the agreement, he felt this was Ashland’s best shot at having some influence over the project. (This paragraph has been changed to correct the name of the councilor.) “Even if we said no to the water, I think there would still be a rest area there. Some people disagree with that, but (…) It’s federal money, State project, and county land. And Ashland is just the water. I think they’d probably find a way to just put the rest area in and we’d have no say in what they did. Fences, access roads, barbed wire, fire suppression. Anything.” Ultimately the council voted 3-3 with councilors Voisin, Lemhouse and Steffinger opposed. Mayor Stromberg cast the deciding vote in favor of approval of the water and sewer service extension. ODOT says it will begin soliciting bids for the first phase of the project in the next week. The timeline for completion of the facility is between two and four years.   By Alec Dickinson For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Alec Dickinson For the Tidings Posted May. 20, 2015 @ 5:10 pm Updated May 21, 2015 at 1:01 PM » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » 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. 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 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. 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