Re-opening the Community Center
This issue around the community center seems to have taken on a life of its own in spite of the fact that no one is arguing against repairing and re-opening it.
Background information on the actions Council has taken on the community center and the proposal made by Mr. Sandler are part of the council communication.
The Gist
The Council approved moving forward with the Ad-Hoc Committee’s recommendation (4-3 with the mayor breaking the tie), which made the bare minimum structural fixes to get the community center open again. This plan does not bring the building up to current safety codes, improve energy efficiency related to our climate goals, make the building Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible, or fix the mechanical issues (plumbing, electric, HVAC, etc.) that come from having very old systems in a very old building that happens to be on the National Register of Historic Places.
Staff got to work implementing that plan.
Following Council’s decision, local resident, Allan Sandler, came forward with the very broad outlines of a proposal where he would fully fix the community center at his expense and then manage the community center under lease with the City for 20 years. He proposed that in addition to what it is used for now, other considerations like child care during the day and a children’s theater might be part of the programming.
Councilors Hyatt and Seffinger brought forward Mr. Sandler’s request to talk with the Council about his proposal and that was what the Council was voting on last Tuesday - not the proposal itself, just whether to have a conversation with Mr. Sandler about his proposal. It was voted down after a conversation that included all manner of assumptions about what he was proposing - questions that could have been answered if Council had simply agreed to hear his proposal.
The Details
Unfortunately, misinformation put forward into the community has created a problem where there needn't have been one. I have received a number of messages from concerned citizens voicing their objections to a long-term lease for the management of the community center because they believed this proposal was essentially giving a public building to a private citizen to do with as he pleased and removing it as a critical gathering place for Ashland residents. If that were the case, I would be opposed to it too.
It may be helpful to take a look at his original proposal, which is the last two pages of the council communication.
It's clear from the proposal that Mr. Sandler simply wanted a conversation with the Council to talk about his idea because he thought he might be able to help our community solve a couple of problems at once - a gathering spot that needed to be repaired and lack of childcare facilities.
I spoke with Mr. Sandler and it was clear that he was only interested in moving this forward if he and the City could come to a shared agreement about the uses of the community center. Note that one of the uses contained in the brief outline of the proposal is "community events consistent with current facility uses."
There was never a proposal to make the community center into something else - augment it potentially with day care during the day and possibly set time aside for children's theater programs - but never was it to stop being a community center.
Unfortunately, Mayor Akins said some inaccurate things in a social media post that have created concern. Here is her post from Nextdoor:
"This is on the city council agenda for Tuesday: “Consider motion to pause the current engineering design work on the Community Center building and retaining wall pending a full review of the proposal for leasing and rehabilitating the building as proposed by Allan Sander” Why? Why would the residents of Ashland who have cared for these two public buildings give them away in a private lease to a person who would only pay $1,000 per month for twenty years? Why would we want a single individual deciding who can use our buildings and be able to charge us whatever they want? There are so few places for the public to gather. The city has the money and the plan. The council voted months ago to follow the ad hoc committee recommendations—but nothing’s happened. Why? Please help keep these community assets for the community."
This is what is untrue with Mayor Akins statement:
No one was ever proposing to give the two public buildings away. The proposal was only for the Community Center and it wasn't going to be given to anyone.
Never was there a mention of a dollar figure. In our recent meeting, Mayor Akins indicated that the figure of $1000 came from the "original proposal" but that's simply not true. The conversation wasn't far enough along to have had any figures proposed or discussed. That figure is made up.
Mr. Sandler wasn't proposing that he could decide who can use the buildings and charge whatever he wanted. If we had had a conversation with him and decided to move forward with his proposal, a big part of the conversation would have been about uses for the community and fees - and they would have been included in the lease contract.
A LOT has happened since the Council approved moving forward with the Ad Hoc Committee's recommendation on September 21, including issuing an RFP for the design work that is the first step in implementing the plan, and moving forward to address the retaining wall issue. To say that nothing has happened is again, simply untrue. The details of what has been done are found under the heading "Background and Additional Information" in the council communication.
Mr. Sandler simply wanted to offer a possible solution that would allow a full repair of that building, get it open quickly, and allow him to recoup some of the significant money he would have invested in it over the next twenty years while taking the management duties off of the plate of the Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission.
Given that we received no proposals in response to the RFP for design work to implement the Ad Hoc Committee's plan, Council could have had a conversation with Mr. Sandler without delaying the process that was underway.
I believe it was worth having a conversation - just like it was worth it to talk with the Housing Now advocates about their idea to put affordable housing above the Hargadine Garage.
If you would like to watch the video of the Council meeting conversation regarding the community center, it is here (starts at minute 1:44:14): https://videoplayer.telvue.com/player/w9sPsSE7vna3XTN_39bs1rEXjVWF0kfP/media/686881?fullscreen=false&showtabssearch=true&autostart=true
One other thing is important to mention. The wisdom of the Council is in the body, not in any one councilor. The Ad-Hoc Committee’s recommendation is a half measure at best and eventually, the community will need to fix the community center properly. However, it was the decision of the body and as such, needs to be respected.
While I was disappointed in the Council’s decision, I supported hearing Mr. Sandler’s proposal because the Ad-Hoc Committee’s proposal was aimed at opening the building for the least cost to save the city money. If there was a way to get the full repair done with a public-private partnership that saved the City money before expending too much time and resources on the Ad-Hoc Committee’s recommendation, it seemed worth it to at least discuss the proposal with Mr. Sandler.
It is unfortunate that misinformation was put out to create community concern, particularly given how polarized the discourse has become in our community, especially on social media. When confronted with requests to back up the claims she had made to the public, Mayor Akins said simply that we are all entitled to our own opinions. True enough.
What we aren’t all entitled to are our own facts. Our nation’s recent conversation with former President Donald Trump found right thinking Americans agreeing that a President can and should have their own opinions, but that their position does not allow them to make up their own facts. And so it is in local government.
We are living in a disrupted world that will only get more so in coming years. The actions we did not take over the past few decades ensure that we will see increasing disruption for at least several decades - and that’s if we get our act together on emissions. We navigate this disrupted world, and create a vibrant, resilient Ashland by coming together to solve problems and by living a commitment to the truth.
Saying things that are not true simply to scare residents and make them lose trust in their elected leaders does not serve that vibrant, resilient future.
Public gathering places are vital to healthy communities and will be even more important in a disrupted future. I fully support efforts to ensure that we properly care for our community center and other public spaces.
If you have comments or questions related to this issue, please reach out through my council email: tonya@council.ashland.or.us