Council splits 5-1 on making interim city manager permanent

By Morgan Rothborne, Ashland.news 

In a five-to-one vote at the Tuesday evening City Council business meeting Sabrina Cotta was appointed city manager of Ashland. 

Councilor Gina DuQuenne opposed Mayor Tonya Graham’s proposal to appoint Cotta on the grounds of what she said is “due diligence and due process” owed to the residents of Ashland. The city had already budgeted money to hire a recruitment firm and seek a wide net of candidates. 

“I feel like we would be kind of doing a disservice to the community of Ashland if we didn’t try to get the best person and the best experience for this position. It may very well be Ms. Cotta but we should do the work for ourselves,” she said. 

Graham stated she proposed the appointment for two reasons. The city has seen immense turnover in its highest administrative position. The time and money spent pursuing a new candidate would be a distraction for a city already burdened with plans and projects. And, Graham said, despite stepping into the role of interim city manager during an unsteady moment for the city, Cotta has done the job well. 

“I cannot imagine anyone who is better suited to lead the city’s operation at this time than Sabrina Cotta,” Graham said. 

Councilor Eric Hansen said it would be “disingenuous” to go through the hiring process and risk alienating the candidate the city already had in its interim city manager. 

“I would not feel comfortable going through a recruitment process knowing the person I’m sitting next to is the person I want in this seat,” he said. 

Councilor Jeff Dahle said seeking the right candidate for a position usually means trusting that the skills or experience someone may present on paper will translate to success in the reality of the role itself. The only way around that uncertainty is hiring someone who has already proven themselves.

“Sabrina has demonstrated time and again her leadership and ability to execute in Ashland. … This community deserves better than this council spending their dollars rolling the dice when we have the answer sitting here right now,” Dahle said. 

Councilors Dylan Bloom, Paula Hyatt and Bob Kaplan echoed support and confidence in Cotta’s abilities in light of her work as both interim and deputy city manager since February 2023. 

Councilors Hyatt, Bloom, Kaplan, Dahle and Hansen all voted yes on the appointment while DuQuenne voted no. 

Leaf blowers may get early start in hot weather

In other council business Tuesday, councilors unanimously approved a loosening of the city’s noise ordinance to allow earlier operation of leaf blowers and construction equipment during the increasingly extreme heat of summer. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration may create new standards to try to protect those who work outside in heat waves and smoke. Oregon is one of five states with updated standards regarding worker protection in extreme heat, according to the OSHA website. 

The alteration to the city ordinance will allow work with noisy equipment to begin at 5 a.m. from June to September, Cotta said. 

“This is part of our reality, this is part of what it means to live in a climate disrupted future,” Graham said of the anticipated inconvenience and frustration of Ashland residents at the changes. 

Hansen stated that, coming from his construction background, he sympathized with the need to make cooler morning hours available for work, but he underlined the frequent emails from Ashland residents concerning leaf blowers aren’t going unheard. 

“Yes, we hear you. And some of us on council agree that, specifically, the internal combustion leaf blowers should be banned in the city. This doesn’t address that, but you’ve been heard. … That’s another conversation,” he said. 

The changes in hours regarding leaf blowers are specific to city employees, Cotta said. Kaplan asked if the change could be utilized by Recology and lead to earlier trash pick up times. Cotta stated that conversation has happened, and as soon as next summer Recology may be picking up cans earlier. 

Council also unanimously approved a small update to the city attorney job description and directed Human Resources Director Molly Taylor to move ahead with a recruiting firm to seek a permanent city attorney. The only edits to the job description were proposed by Councilor Paula Hyatt who asked to strike a residency requirement in favor of a larger applicant pool and add an emphasis on knowledge of parliamentary procedure. 

Council unanimously accepted the dedication of six lots in the Beachie Creek Subdivision. The land is part of a city of Ashland requirement for certain kinds of development on annexed land to include affordable housing and will be banked by the city for future affordable housing development awaiting the right partner agency, according to a presentation on the offer from Brandon Goldman, director of community development. 

Email Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at [email protected].