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Ashland Recorder/Treasurer was elected to six terms Barbara Christensen Thursday Jan 19, 2017 at 8:34 PM Jan 19, 2017 at 8:34 PM By Julie Akins For the Tidings City Recorder Barbara Christensen will officially step down from her longtime position with the city of Ashland as of April 30, it was announced at the Ashland City Council meeting Tuesday. She has been the recorder/treasurer since 1994, winning six consecutive elected terms. Christensen, who had a minor stroke in December and has been recovering away from the office, resigns roughly a year and a half prior to when her elected term ends. The council agreed a new appointee will fill the position until the next election. City Attorney Dave Lohman told councilors they need to find a a qualified candidate within 60 days. He told them the person is not required to live within city limits. Councilors also created an ad hoc committee to consider the best steps in dealing with City Hall, which has been reported unable to withstand a seismic event. “It's a pile of bricks held together with mortar unsupported on three sides," said interim City Administrator John Karns. "It will fail. It’s probably one of the most vulnerable buildings in the city. It needs to get seismic retro-fit regardless of its use.” The state of the old City Hall was first discovered in a roof inspection and councilors have been considering the best options to fix it or replace it. Mike Faught and Kaylea Kathol from the Public Works Department offered up roughly seven alternatives, including moving city hall functions to Winburn Way where planning offices are and expanding that building, fixing the current city hall with or without the historic facade, or moving city hall offices and functions to a new building where there's currently a city-owned public parking lot on Lithia Way at Pioneer Street. Faught told councilors it’s important to take action. “If there were an event that building would probably come down," he said. "The city administrator is in that building, along with many other key players who perform important functions in keeping the city operating.” Councilor Dennis Slattery urged fellow councilors and city staff to continue sharing the story of why the city hall needs repair and to consider the expenses. “It’s going to be a very challenging year,” he said. Councilors Rich Rosenthal and Greg Lemhouse agreed that something needs to be done with City Hall as quickly as possible, while allowing time for public input. The ad hoc committee will be created by Mayor John Stromberg and it will be expected to offer a recommendation for councilors to consider a year from its inception. The City Council also took up some housekeeping matters at the suggestion of the city staff. One is to limit the number of items brought to consent agenda to be approved by council which amount to smaller intergovernmental contracts. Attorney Lohman suggested that the city could authorize administrators to handle day-in-and-day-out functions involving contracts. Arguing in favor was Councilor Rosenthal, who described the current practice of bringing all matters before council “an inefficient use of city staff time,” while Councilor Slattery argued any loss of transparency, “especially in the current political climate,” could harm the city. In the end the measure received unanimous support. The council also voted to clean up old charter language which still includes fishing age limits for people in Lithia Park and library fines, both of which are no longer governed by the city. Councilors agreed that the city staff should continue this process and councilors will examine the changes at a later date and make recommendations. Email Ashland freelance writer Julie Akins at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/@julieakins.