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ASHLAND Ashland agrees to give ODOT services for new welcome center Ashland will provide water, sewer services for ODOT rest area Comment By Alec Dickinson for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Alec Dickinson for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 26, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Alec Dickinson for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 26, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News Plans to build a rest area and welcome center by the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 just southeast of Ashland can proceed after the City Council agreed to give 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 spoke against the welcome center during the council's May 19 meeting, citing safety concerns. Some requested that ODOT and Travel Oregon, the operator of the center, put a fence around the facility, add a gated service entrance, guarantee the number of hours the facility would be staffed and run background checks on employees at the site. A six-foot chain link fence and gated service entry were incorporated into the design. But Travel Oregon declined to require background checks or guarantee staffing hours. Representatives did say they intended to have the site staffed seven days a week during peak travel seasons and roughly 40 hours per week during winter months, and that "employees and staff will be screened consistent with standards of the industry." 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 thought 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 at the meeting. "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?” 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. Sol was escorted from the chamber by Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara. During the planning of the $3 million project, the city raised several concerns, including fire suppression and water usage at the welcome center. ODOT incorporated sprinklers and drought-tolerant landscaping. According to estimates, the current design would use roughly the same amount of potable water as two residences. Travel Oregon has said that having a welcome center with maps and brochures would help drive tourism, but Councilor Greg Lemhouse said he felt motorists would forgo driving into Ashland if they stopped at a rest area near it. 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 Michael 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. “Even if we said no to the water, I think there would still be a rest area there. … It’s federal money, a 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 Carol Voisin, Lemhouse and Stefani Seffinger opposed. 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 Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Alec Dickinson for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 26, 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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