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M/CLOUDY Temp: 42 °F Wind: WNW at 3 mph Monday, March 3, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend February 12, 2003 Knight doesn’t know why he was replaced on MPO By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune A Medford councilman yanked from a regional committee that manages the area’s major road projects is baffled at the decision, but council members say it wasn’t political. The new appointment to the Metropolitan Planning Organization came a little more than two weeks after Councilman Skip Knight, who has represented the city on the MPO for eight years and served as its chairman for six years, cast an important vote that determines the MPO’s voting structure. Knight favored a supermajority system for MPO members rather than a weighted structure that would favor larger cities like Medford. Sources familiar with the situation who didn’t want to be identified said they believe Knight was pulled off because of that vote. Knight couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday. Councilman Sal Esquivel, the city’s newly appointed representative on the MPO, said that even though he supports the idea of a weighted vote, that’s not what’s behind the change. "Maybe it’s just time for a change," he said. "I think after a while, all changes are healthy." The Metropolitan Planning Organization, which oversees regional planning for everything from bike lanes to buses, is a federally mandated organization made up of the urbanized area of Jackson County. Before the 2000 census, that area included Medford, Central Point, Phoenix and White City only. The 2000 census expanded the urbanized area to include Ashland, Talent and Jacksonville. At an MPO summit in January, representatives decided that the new members (Ashland, Talent and Jacksonville) should get a vote, and that there would be a "supermajority" vote, where seven of the nine members would be needed to approve projects, as opposed to a weighted vote, where large cities like Medford essentially would have more than one vote. Paul Wyntergreen, Jacksonville’s liaison, supports the supermajority. He said the MPO has worked well for 20 years without a weighted vote. "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it," Wyntergreen said. "The one-jurisdiction, one-vote process gives a fair means for every jurisdiction to present their road projects based on the quality of their needs. It’s a level playing ground." During Thursday’s Medford City Council meeting, council President Bob Strosser made several appointments for liaisons to other agencies and organizations. After the announcement was made that he’d been replaced on the MPO, Knight expressed his disappointment in a lengthy speech to the council. He said that the city has benefited from his time with the organization, pointing out that his efforts have helped net the city more than $120 million in MPO projects. "I feel I have represented this city extremely well," Knight said. He described his role as a complicated process during which "you have to keep a lot of balls in the air and keep things going smoothly." Knight said he didn’t understand Strosser’s decision to remove him. Mayor Lindsay Berryman credited Knight for managing a "horrendous amount of material." "I hear you feeling wounded and undervalued and I want you to know that I value and appreciate fully the time that you have put in on the MPO," she said during Thursday’s meeting. On Tuesday, Strosser said that the council is OK with a supermajority vote, and said he had no problem with Knight’s representation. "Mr. Knight has performed a service in the community well," he said. "You try basically to be as courteous as you can, but you also want to spread (appointments) around." The council liaison appointments will be confirmed at a future council meeting. The MPO’s policies, including the supermajority vote, must be approved by each member’s governing body, before being voted into place at a March 25 meeting of MPO representatives. It’s unclear when Medford’s City Council will consider the issue. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S