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Central Point's new majority forges ahead Changes divide City Council By SUSAN JAY CENTRAL POINT -- If January's city council meetings are any sign, this place is in for some real changes -- changes that some believe November's voters wanted. The new council members, who now are a majority, already have approved changing the days of the monthly council meetings, have asked city staff to research creation of a city Web site and report back by April on system development charges and maintenance fees for street, sewer and storm drains. What also was made clear at January's meetings was the wide gulf in attitude and philosophy between the new and former council members. Councilman Dave Gilmour described it as a clash in cultures, resulting from differences in education, experiences and attitudes toward new ideas. And while both groups on the council want to do what's best for their city, they have different ideas about what that is. The changes made by the council so far have been to the dismay of those in the council minority, Carol Fisher and Duane Christensen. "For a whole group to come in and take over that way, it doesn't sit well with me," Fisher said of new council members Gilmour, Donna Higginbotham, Bill Stults and Garth Ellard. She said the new members have their own agenda and didn't tell the voters. She also said they are trying to make Central Point more like Medford, and are moving too fast in taking the city in a different direction. She doesn't want to see any new fees for residents and builders, saying she doesn't see a need for them and thinks the budget process is where these issues should be raised. Fisher has served on the council since 1995 and has been a strong supporter of former Mayor Rusty McGrath. New Mayor Bill Walton and Gilmour, however, said they were clear when they ran for office that they favored slower growth -- until other city services, including schools and streets, could catch up. And Walton says his idea of leadership is to implement what's already in place: the city's strategic plan, a document that dates back to community meetings held in 1997 that drew more than 100 residents, including business owners, officials, students and seniors. Those meetings, coordinated by the Rogue Valley Council of Governments and paid for with grants, produced a planning document used by the city staff that identified residents' wants and key concerns. Those concerns focus mainly on the increased demand that residential growth has placed on public services. Some cited lack of farmland preservation, few activities for youth, the need for new streets and sidewalks, the problems of overcrowded and aging schools and Pine Street traffic. In fact, Walton and the new council members met several times between when they were elected and when they were sworn into office to study the strategic plan and the best ways to implement it. "The way I look at it, as mayor you should try to evaluate those (goals) and translate them into action, especially those that don't cost money," Walton said. "For those that cost money, we should put forth the tools to accomplish them." The plan represents what the citizens said they wanted as a collective voice, he said. System development charges are a common way to pay for new streets to accommodate traffic that results from development, Walton said. It's also one of the more controversial suggestions among builders. Walton wants to meet with all the home builders before a vote is taken on the system development charges. As a council, he said, ``we're working for the builders and the citizens. "It's not that we want to stop growth, or control growth. We want growth to be equitable," Walton said. He credits the former council for bringing growth to a city that saw little development from 1955 to 1995. Then, council members didn't see the need for system development charges and utility fees. But now those charges are necessary, he says, after the city has seen an average of 200 new homes built each year for the past five years. Another big difference between the new and old council is the approach to the school district. Walton and the new council members feel strongly that the city should work with the school district any way it can, because what happens at the schools affects the city and vice versa, council members said. City administrator Jim Bennett sees the new council majority as just following a mandate given to it by voters. "These people were elected by an overwhelming majority," Bennett said. "They're trying to do what the people of Central Point elected them to do, which is to look at the issue of growth, look at how fast the city is growing and to make sure that all the things are in place that need to be in place, like streets and parks." Bennett said he thinks many of the new families in Central Point were the ones who voted for change. The focus of the former council was to get things going in a quiet town, to attract home building and businesses, he said. That council did a great job -- maybe too good of a job, he said. "Once you get that engine stoked and burning and moving, sometimes it's hard to slow it down. I think that's maybe part of it," Bennett said. Fisher also credited the old council's efforts. "The former council brought in businesses and it did grow. You know, a place has to have so many residents for businesses to take note." While she said her constituents are upset at how the council is turning, Gilmour said he is receiving lots of positive comments. "People really do want to slow growth," he said. "Things will be done differently, but how, we don't know until we've been at it for a while. It will probably be a year or two before people see the actual changes." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA