Ashland is offering programs to help business owners as the city emerges from the pandemic

By Tonya Graham

If you have been downtown recently, you probably noticed new, stylish rectangular garbage bins. These garbage bins come compliments of the city of Ashland. They are part of a program underway at the city to support our local business owners and make Ashland more welcoming to residents and visitors alike.

Beautification grants to businesses

The city launched the multipronged business support program last fall with beautification grants to help local business owners improve the appearance of their buildings. Awarded on a first-come, first served basis, the grants are offered to match the investments made by local businesses in upgrades, such as cosmetic improvements, outdoor lighting and seating, signs, landscaping and handicapped-accessible infrastructure. These grants can also address existing code violations.

All of the $175,000 set aside to be distributed by June has been awarded to 30 businesses stretching from Exit 14 through downtown. Another round of funding will be available July 1.

New snappy garbage bins

Back to the garbage bins. It may seem that they have appeared out of nowhere but, in fact, they have been carefully selected to solve challenges our business owners have brought to our attention since we emerged from the pandemic.

Last year, the first year the Oregon Shakespeare Festival was able to offer a full season since 2020, local businesses found that the garbage bins, which had worked well enough in the past, were frequently overloaded with garbage — especially on the weekends when garbage collection doesn’t take place. The unsightly view of overspilling garbage bins on our sidewalks in the downtown area was affecting how residents and visitors felt about spending time in the economic heart of our community. We received many complaints, and it was clear that something had to be done.

Rather than buying extra-large garbage bins to hold larger amounts of garbage, our team chose compacting bins that allow much more waste to be dropped into the bins between collection days. Because compacting bins need a source of electricity, solar seemed the best option.

At the same time, the city had been undertaking efforts to accentuate Ashland’s great features, so it made sense to add some artistic flair as other communities have done when upgrading to this style of bins. Therefore, photos from local artists of beautiful Southern Oregon scenic vistas are integrated into the design of the bins.

We care about the environment here in Ashland, so we were also looking for the best way to integrate recycling. But here’s the catch. The general public is terrible about sorting recycling and waste into separate bins. Absolutely terrible. So bad, in fact, that public recycling bins are often so contaminated with regular trash that the contents can’t be put with the recyclables when the bins are emptied.

Piloting the bins

As much fun as it would be, we aren’t talking about piloting flying garbage bins. But the city is doing a pilot program, placing 11 bins in our highest foot traffic areas to see how well they meet our needs. Some have recycling attached, some don’t. Will the public’s waste sorting skills be good enough to include recycling bins at other locations? We simply don’t know yet. But these bins are more expensive than regular bins, so we are testing them out before making a larger investment.

Once we know how well the bins are working, we’ll decide about other locations and what to do with the existing metal bins, which have their own place in Ashland history. We know the commercial area around Exit 14 needs additional bins and other areas may need them as well.

Streamlining city processes

We have also heard from local businesses that it can be very time-consuming and frustrating to navigate city regulations when they need to make changes to their buildings, signs, fences, etc. In response, the city is working to clarify and streamline regulations business owners encounter while also launching an online permit application process. There is a special focus on making it easier to host events in town through this process. More is in the works to support our local businesses now that we have hired an economic development specialist.

Updating our website

If you have tried to find information on our website, you know “challenging” isn’t the half of it. We recognized that before the last budget process and are working to fix it. The city will launch a new website later this spring to help you find what you are looking for and keep abreast of city decisions so that you can more easily participate when a decision is being made that is important to you. There will be a section to help businesses navigate local regulations that apply to them as well.

The moral of the story

Taken together, these efforts are designed to support our local businesses — those that rely on visitors and those that do not. We know it has been a rough few years and we are working hard to be a good partner to our business community.

While some find it entertaining to assume the worst about investments the city makes to improve our community, usually the truth is much more logical (and much less exciting) than what gets tossed about on social media. Something to remember is that the bigger the investment, the more time and thought has been put into identifying the best path forward.

We all want a beautiful, functional and welcoming community for all who chose to live in or visit Ashland. That value is one of the things that holds us together despite our many personalities, quirks and challenges.

So, if you see something new the city is doing (like garbage bins) and wonder how that came to be, please ask — through our “Let Curiosity Be Your Guide” button on our website (easy to find on the home page), directly to me ([email protected]) or to the entire City Council ([email protected]). We will do our best to get a timely answer for you. 

Email Ashland Mayor Tonya Graham at [email protected]. Email letters to the editor and viewpoint submissions to [email protected]s.

Related story: Downtown Ashland gets new high-tech trash cans for $4,783 apiece (April 2, 2024)