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Ashland resolves to `do the right thing' Adopts moral obligation steps to help those affected by city By DANI DODGE Text of fairness resolution The text of Ashland's resolution about fair treatment of people and businesses affected by city decisions: Section 1. From time to time, the exercise of lawful powers of the city, while in the interest of the community as a whole, may have deleterious effects upon specific individuals. These persons' legal rights to monetary compensation sometimes do not fully make them whole. Section 2. In such instances, the community, through its municipal government, has a non-quantifiable, but nonetheless, quite real moral obligation toward individuals so affected. A moral obligation is defined as extra-legal or "a step beyond what the law requires,"which does not create any legal obligation. Section 3. It is the policy of City of Ashland to acknowledge such moral obligations as and when they arise. The city will seek to treat such affected persons justly. After meeting its lawful financial obligations toward such persons, the city will then seek to ameliorate and to mitigate such non-compensable harm as they may suffer. It is not the intent of the city to assume financial responsibility for any business, person or entity. ASHLAND -- The Ashland City Council passed a "moral obligation" resolution Tuesday night that says the city will treat people and businesses "justly" if they are adversely affected by city decisions. The resolution, written by Councilman David Fine, is intended to assure the voting public that if a fire station expansion bond passes in November, the employees and owner of a business that will have to relocate to make room for the expansion will be treated fairly. It creates no financial or legal obligations, he said. "This should assure citizens of the city that the city government will do the right thing," said Fine. But council members Carole Wheeldon and Steve Hauck voted against the measure, which Wheeldon referred to as an "empty gesture." "I'm looking to do something that will be a useful tool and really address the issue of relocation, not simply wish them good luck," Wheeldon said. "This doesn't do much more than that." They also said the language was too all-encompassing. Hauck said he would have supported a resolution that spoke solely to condemnation and relocation. But any number of people who feel they are affected by city decisions -- from constructing sidewalks to spraying effluent -- may feel the city owes them something more than it does now. "The language was way too broad for my liking," Hauck said. City administrator Mike Freeman took no position on the resolution. Last month, the council agreed to put a general obligation bond on the November ballot to finance the expansion and renovation of the fire station at Siskiyou Boulevard and East Main Street. In order to expand, the city needs to raze the Blue Mountain Cafe building. The property owner is willing to discuss a sale with the city, but the restaurant owner only leases the building. The city's main legal obligations are to the property owner, not the business owner. This was the second draft of a resolution intended to help the Blue Mountain's owner and employees. Fine noted, though, that the resolution doesn't mandate a financial expenditure. Instead, it means the city will spend staff and council time to help solve problems they create. "We also recognize we aren't a bottomless pit of money," Fine said. "And we can't spend tremendous amounts of money to make people feel whole." Councilman Don Laws agreed with Wheeldon that the resolution isn't much more than a goodwill gesture, but said it may be important to make the statement anyway. "Whether this is good or not, the resolution doesn't do any harm at all and a vote against it might," he said. In other action, the council unanimously approved the city's obtaining a $5.8 million loan from U.S. National Bank for long-term financing of the Ashland Fiber Network. The loan is secured by revenues from the AFN and a pledge of the net operating revenue of the city's electric fund. Staff members explained, though, no one expects electric fees will ever be used to pay off the loan. The electric fund was used as security. With the vote, construction on high-speed Internet connections will begin today in the neighborhoods surrounding Ashland Community Hospital. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA