Joint meeting will address potentially delaying a new parks director hire, long-term funding outlook, and city’s strategic planning process

Ashland.news staff report

The Ashland City Council and the Ashland Parks & Recreation Commission will hold a joint meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, in the City Council chamber at 1175 E. Main St., to discuss hiring a new parks director, long-term department finances, strategic planning, and proposed commercial uses of Calle Guanajuato and the front of Lithia Park.

New Parks & Recreation director search

Assistant City Attorney Carmel Zahran, Deputy City Manager Jordan Rooklyn, and Rachel Dials, acting parks director, will present an overview of recent changes to the parks department and identify “structural obstacles” in the current governance system, and recommend to the council and commission to delay the hiring of a new director, the city documents note.

The documents cite that Ashland’s parks system has evolved significantly since voters established the Parks Commission and a permanent parks tax more than a century ago, and that more recent changes, including statewide property tax limits, shifts in funding, and consolidation of the parks general fund into the city’s general fund, have reshaped how the department operates within city government.

Meantime, the council adopted an ordinance formally establishing Parks & Recreation as a city department, removing the Parks Commission’s status as a legal entity.

The council holds ultimate financial responsibility, while the Parks & Recreation Commission oversees Ashland parks and sets policy, and the city manager oversees budgeting, labor contracts, hiring, and compliance, the documents note.

The parks director oversees staff but does not control labor contracts or major spending, and reports to both the commission and the city manager. That shared authority between the city manager and the parks director can create challenges when policy direction, budgeting and operations are not aligned, the documents note.

With the position budgeted at more than $21,000 per month overall, pausing the hiring process would save the city money, according to the documents.

Financial outlook

City staff will also present financial forecasts for the parks department within the city’s general fund, the documents note, with staff presenting two- and five-year projections building on estimates shared at the council’s 2025 retreat.

Vendor approvals

City leaders will be presented with  commercial use requests for Calle Guanajuato and the front of Lithia Park for the upcoming season, according to meeting materials.

Nine restaurants and vendors have submitted applications, along with site plans, seeking approval for outdoor seating and market space, according to city documents.

According to staff, proposed changes to the 2026 leases would consolidate the Lithia Artisans Market into a single location at the front of Lithia Park, removing artisan booths from the interior of Calle Guanajuato. The changes are intended to increase restaurant seating on busy days, reduce weekly reconfiguration demands, strengthen market visibility, and better integrate the market with the park, the meeting documents note.

The changes are recommended as a pilot for the upcoming season and would be reviewed before future leases are approved, according to meeting documents.

Staff also propose offering three seasonal operating options for restaurants and the market for up to nearly 10 months, with limited off-season use.

Fees would remain under an existing three-year schedule approved in 2023 and are expected to generate $50,000 to $60,000 per year, depending on participation.

Commissioners are expected to consider motions approving the 2026 boundary map, seasonal options, use of the front of Lithia Park by the Lithia Artisans Market, and the individual commercial use requests, according to documents.

Strategic plan

At the meeting Mayor Tonya Graham and the parks commissioners are slated to talk about Ashland’s strategic planning process after meeting with the city’s consultant firm last month.

Attending the meeting

The Wednesday study session can be attended in person or viewed live on cablecast Channel 9 (or 180) or streamed online at rvtv.sou.edu (RVTV Prime). The session will be posted online the day after the meeting.

Email Ashland.news associate editor Steve Mitchell at stevem@ashland.news.