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C.P. council seeks to connect with Medford Veteran members resist changes By SUSAN JAY CENTRAL POINT -- The new City Council majority moved like lightning Thursday, approving changes proposed by new Mayor Bill Walton only two weeks ago. First, the four members voted to change the City Council meeting from the first and third Thursdays of every month to the second and fourth Thursdays. The purpose is twofold, Walton said. It allows him and other council members to attend Medford City Council and other meetings. It also means the city can eventually air its council meetings on cable TV without conflicting with Medford's air time. Walton said it was important to attend other city and agency meetings, and to develop a dialogue with other community leaders. Central Point shares common problems and common solutions with all of them, especially its largest neighbor to the south. Council member Carol Fisher voted against the change, saying, "I have talked to people in the city who are very upset" over it. "It upsets me personally that we are becoming so involved with Medford." Councilman Duane Christensen abstained from the vote. Fisher said Walton's interest in Medford was an indication that he was interested in running for a regional office. Walton responded by saying he is attending the other meetings only "with the city's problems in mind." Fisher said Walton doesn't even attend the city's own Chamber of Commerce meetings. Walton said the chamber meetings conflict with the meetings of a regional transportation group of which he is the vice president. Fisher also said she relies on news bulletins and announcements from other cities and agencies for information. The four other council members, who make up the new majority, are following Walton's lead. Councilman Bill Stultz attended the Bear Creek Valley Sanitary Authority meeting, and Councilwoman Donna Higginbotham attended the Medford Water Commission meeting. They both reported possible future financial impacts from those agencies on Central Point. The new council majority also passed a number of motions late in the evening. Fisher and Christensen voted against them. They included instructing the city staff to research and bring back proposals for storm drain and street utility fees, street and storm drain system development charges and the purchase of software which would allow the city to place ordinances, fee schedules and council agendas on the Internet. Fisher said these were all things Walton wanted to do when he was a council member, and that it was wrong for Councilman Dave Gilmour to be introducing them now. Christensen also argued against the items, saying he had no chance to study them beforehand. He was also concerned about the added work for staff. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA