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Architects offer flood-repair plan By WENDY SIPOREN What : Open house to view Calle Guanajuato plans; special meeting of parks commission When : Wednesday: open house, 2-4:30 p.m.; meeting, 7 p.m. Where : Hillah Temple on Winburn Way in Ashland. ASHLAND -- An open house and special meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission Wednesday will be the final opportunity for the public to comment on plans for restoration of flood-damaged Calle Guanajuato before the plans go before the City Council in October. The Eugene-based landscape architecture firm of Cameron McCarthy Gilbert will present its designs, which call for restoration of the creekbed and banks heavily damaged during the New Year's Day flood of 1997. Under the proposal, the paved east side of the calle -- a paved alley behind Plaza businesses -- would remain relatively unchanged to accommodate delivery needs of the businesses as well as a weekend artisans market. The streambed itself would be rehabilitated and made more fish-friendly, particularly during summer months when water flows are low. Throughout the area, steep and unstable streambanks would be replaced with a more natural and stair-stepped design with large boulders and vegetation, better able to withstand floodwaters. Two bridges are proposed, including a new, permanent footbridge slightly upstream from the current footbridge, and a temporary bridge lower in the stream channel that could be removed during winter months. A new flood-control wall would be installed on the east side of Ashland Creek from the bridge downstream. The only major change from design plans presented to the commission in August is an approximate eight-foot widening of the calle in the area of Munchies Restaurant. It would require turning the sloped creek bank in that area into a vertical wall. The expansion would allow more restaurant seating in the lower part of the calle. The design includes a small amphitheater on the west side where a public stage could be installed. Not included in the design are public restrooms; restrooms are planned to be part of the city's renovation of nearby Hillah Temple. The commission paid $49,500 for the series of public workshops and project designs out of a total of $1 million budgeted for the restoration. As proposed, the design will cost more than $1 million, said project leader Brian McCarthy. He said more precise cost estimates will be available Wednesday. Given the budget constraints, parks commissioners have mentioned the possibility of phasing in repairs. If the design is approved, work cannot start before June. State and federal regulatory agencies limit in-stream construction to summer months to minimize impact on fish. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA