Significant issues discovered during renovation work on Community Center
By Morgan Rothborne, Ashland.news
At the Ashland City Council study session meeting Monday, council will discuss the renovation project for Pioneer Hall and the Community Center while the council business meeting Tuesday will include a review of funding for the water treatment plant.
Further complications were uncovered during the demolition phase of both Pioneer Hall and the Community Center, according to a staff report.
“These deficiencies were not immediately visible during the initial analysis and design phases. They do, however, provide serious concerns … about the appropriate path forward for resolution,” the agenda item said.
The additional issues uncovered in Pioneer Hall can be covered within the existing contract and allotted contingency funds, while the issues in the Community Center “would significantly escalate the cost and complexity of the restoration,” according to the staff report. City staff and contractors from ZCS Engineering met in September to discuss the issues and decide to pause the Community Center project for further consideration.
The staff report says fixing issues in the existing structure would “be substantially similar to construction of a new facility,” while “A brand-new facility would have improved functionality and overall performance including significantly improved energy efficiencies,” leading to a recommendation that “demolition and new construction is the most prudent and cost-effective course of action.”
Business meeting agenda
The Tuesday presentation of the water treatment plant will include an opinion of cost for the project and additional information on the Environmental Protection Agency loan intended to fund 80% of the project with an overview of additional funding options, according to the staff report.
In other council business Tuesday, council will vote on a resolution for a pilot program for temporary business signs in commercial zones and the approval of an appointment of a municipal judge.
The pilot program would allow businesses to use A-frame, sandwich board signs for a trial period of one year, according to the agenda item.
The office of municipal judge has been vacant since Aug. 30. According to the city of Ashland charter, the city has 60 days to appoint a replacement for the office. No candidate for the position was named in the agenda item.
The consent agenda includes an approval of the hazard mitigation plan and a contract with Emergency Communications of Oregon. The hazard mitigation plan offers analysis of the city’s natural hazards such as earthquake and fire while the contract with Emergency Communications of Oregon, if approved, would renew a contract to contract emergency dispatch services from the Jackson County organization, according to the agenda item.
The meetings will be held in the Ashland City Council chamber, 1175 E. Main St. The study session Monday will begin at 5:30 p.m., while the Tuesday business meeting begins at 6 p.m. Both meetings can be attended in person or watched remotely through Channel 9 or Channels 180 and 181 (Charter Communications) or live streamed via rvtv.sou.edu select RVTV Prime. Public testimony will be accepted and can be delivered either via Zoom, in person, or as written comment. To sign up for public comment, fill out the public testimony form.
Email Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at [email protected].
