City Coffee & Conversation event drew diverse crowd, divergent questions on Tuesday 

By Morgan Rothborne, Ashland.news

From the water treatment plant to pickleball courts and the definition of anti-semitism, the city of Ashland “Coffee & Conversation” event drew around two dozen people to the North Mountain Park Nature Center on Tuesday for the opportunity to ask direct questions on any subject of city staff and city councilors. 

Public Works Director Scott Fleury sat on a bench in the park surrounded by a handful of people asking about plans for a new water treatment plant. One man asked about the opinion he has observed in some of his fellow Ashland residents — it would be OK to do nothing. 

“Yeah, that’s not an option,” Fleury said.

Fleury responded that the alternative option is to spend $8 or 15 million over the next decade or so to keep the old plant going, which would be “sunk cost,” and would not mitigate risks such as flood or earthquake but only keep equipment functional and improve access. 

Access is a unique issue with the current plant, he said. Only one driver in the state is willing to brave the long narrow road that runs alongside the plant with a semi-truck filled with the chemicals it uses to treat the water.

“He’s getting older and he’s getting ready for retirement,” Fleury said. 

If the lone driver can’t deliver anymore, the city will have to either have deliveries come in at an alternative location and use staff time and trucks to ferry them up to the plant or blow out the rock wall next to the narrow road to widen it. 

The project to build a new treatment plant is in a holding pattern due to a citizen’s petition to put funding for the project on the ballot. Fleury said the city will have to wait to hear from voters to obtain the loan from the Environmental Protection Agency to fund the project. A woman asked him if this meant the city would lose the opportunity for the loan.  

“They’ll wait a while. … They’ve had loans where they’ve been working with municipalities for over five years. I’ve been working with’em since ‘21, so we still got some time,” he said. 

A group of local pickleball players — nearly 10 in number — set in on Ashland Parks Commissioner Jim Lewis and Ashland Parks & Recreation Commission Interim Director Leslie Eldrige about the status of increased and improved availability for the sport. 

One man said he used to go to the courts and be able to recognize nearly everyone there; not so now. The courts are overfilled consistently with a variety of age in players. Another argued tennis has declined in popularity to the degree that the courts at Hunter Park should be “re-striped” for pickleball ahead of a planned maintenance project at the courts. 

Eldridge responded that if the city got the grant for the Hunter Park project, the language supports repairing the tennis courts. She has also received emails and requests from tennis players asking for support for their sport in parks. Any alterations of courts would have to be “a wider community conversation.” 

“We have the same conversations about fields, there are shortages all over the system,” she said. 

She encouraged the pickleball players to take a course of action similar to what local mountain bike groups have done and raise funds with the Ashland Parks Foundation, then work with APRC to locate sites and develop the facilities they want. The foundation has started a restricted fund for pickleball, she said. 

One player responded that local pickleball players have raised the funds to support their sport but want to see corresponding effort or commitment from APRC. Lewis reminded the man of the speed at which the government moves as opposed to what might be desired. 

Benjamin Ben-Baruch made the case to Councilor Gina DuQuenne that the city of Ashland and the city Social Equity and Racial Justice Advisory Committee need to to stop using definitions of anti-semitism from the Anti-Defamation League and the International Holocaust Remembrance Association because they are too broad, creating false jumps in reports of incidents of anti-semitism and leading to the labeling of people like himself. 

“About half the time I open my mouth I become an anti-semite. Wearing this shirt makes me an anti-semite,” he said, gesturing to the words “Jewish Voices for Peace,” across his chest. 

“Calling for a ceasefire in Gaza is considered anti-semitism under that definition. People calling for a cease fire go into the ADL’s tabulation of anti-semitism. That definition cannot be used by your committee,” he said. 

DuQuenne told him she would, as council liaison for SERJ, approach the committee to consider a change in what definitions and information it uses to evaluate anti-semitism. 

“I can’t speak for council and I can’t speak for SERJ, I can only speak for myself, and I am pro-peace, I don’t want any genocide of anyone anywhere anytime,” she said. 

Additional attendees to the event wore the kaffiyeh scarves often associated with support for Palestine as they questioned city councilors. 

The city has scheduled a series of Coffee & Conversation events throughout the year, as previously reported by Ashland.news. 

A summer event is set for 10 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, July 12, at Enders Shelter in Lithia Park on Winburn Way near the Butler Memorial Bandshell. Councilors Paula Hyatt, Jeff Dahle with Mayor Tonya Graham are expected to attend. 

An autumn event is scheduled for 3 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, at Railroad Park on A Street between 6th and 8th streets. Councilors Eric Hansen and Dylan Bloom plan to be present. 

Email Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at morganr@ashland.news.