COUNCIL POSITION 2
JOY FATE
TONYA GRAHAM (INCUMBENT)
What is your position on planning and building infrastructure in Ashland, specifically related to outdoor recreation?
Joy
One of the major reasons I decided to settle in Ashland 23 years ago was the beauty of our mountains and the easy accessibility to outdoor recreation. I’ve spent many hours walking through Lithia Park and hiking numerous trails in the watershed. I support investment in outdoor recreation infrastructure to the extent that the Parks Department budget can accommodate.
Tonya
One of the primary jobs of the City of Ashland is to develop and maintain infrastructure that supports both residents and local businesses. With our location in an area of such incredible natural beauty and recreational opportunities, that infrastructure should include a strong focus on recreational activities for both our residents and visitors. We have quite a lot of this infrastructure in place already, but I believe a stronger recreational sector is key to Ashland’s future. The economic development planning that the City is engaged in with the Chamber of Commerce will provide a road map for the infrastructure, recreation and otherwise, needed to meet our community’s economic development goals.
With OSF cutting performances in 2023 and recovering from COVID losses, do you have any specific ideas related to maintaining and/or increasing tourism revenue in Ashland?
Joy
Our trails, predominantly built and maintained by an active group of volunteers, are cherished by people in our community. At the same time, they represent an opportunity for greater use by tourists, particularly those who are younger, active and interested in outdoor recreation. With the nearly $500,000 grant the Chamber of Commerce receives annually, it can do a far better job marketing our outdoor activity opportunities.
Tonya
During the pandemic, Ashland’s visitor economy held better than many thought it would, given that OSF was shuttered for two seasons. It has also recovered better than many other visitor economies across the state. When the Chamber of Commerce requested additional funding from the City of Ashland to study the visitors who were coming during the pandemic, I fully supported that investment.
We learned that people love to visit Ashland for more reasons than the theater and that is something we are proactively building on. That investment has paid off well as it played a key role in the re-branding done by both the Chamber of Commerce and Travel Ashland and is being used in the economic development work currently underway.
I am particularly fond of the concept of Ashland as a base camp to southern Oregon where people can enjoy the great outdoors during the day and come back in the evening to enjoy high quality accommodations, food, theater, art, and music. As climate change continues to bring extreme heat, wildfire risk, and smoke to our region from July to September, we need to focus our efforts on developing other draws to Ashland in what has been traditionally seen as the “off season.” OSF and other theater and art organizations will remain a key element that attracts visitors, so we must continue to support those elements, but more diverse offerings will strengthen our visitor economy while drawing a wider range of visitors, including younger families.
What is your overall impression of mountain biking and hiking in the Ashland Watershed, both in regards to tourism and as a local amenity for residents?
Joy
I believe that our fabulous trail system has been developed in a manner that provides wonderful opportunities and challenges for a wide spectrum of people, from those who enjoy a leisurely walk in the outdoor wilderness to reconnect with nature and find personal meaning, to the active hikers and competitive mountain biking community using the trails for physical fitness. The Chamber should be advertising our extensive trail system in the watershed.
Tonya
I am not a mountain biker myself, but I helped lift a mountain biker out of a ravine on the Toothpick Trail while out for a hike. He was very good natured and appreciative, which is how I have found the majority of hikers and mountain bikers on our trails. People are generally friendly and our trails are a place of community building. We have wonderful hiking trails in and around Ashland and the pandemic reminded us of how important it is to have a wide range of outdoor spaces for our residents and visitors to enjoy.
What do you know about the Ashland Watershed Trail network, specifically city trails and alignments?
Joy
While I’m not a mountain trail biker, I am aware of most of the trails on city property and forest service land.
Tonya
In terms of mountain biking and hiking as a tourist draw, I see that visitors do enjoy that aspect of our community, but it is not given as much focus as it could be, especially to encourage younger families who want to include nature experiences for their children when they travel. We are definitely moving in that direction under the leadership of the Chamber of Commerce and Travel Ashland, and I look forward to seeing how the City of Ashland can add value to those efforts.
What is your opinion on the Rogue Valley Mountain Bike Association's Sustainable Trails Plan?
Joy
The Rogue Valley Mountain Bike Association has put together a thoughtful plan for use of existing trails and development of more trails for exclusive use by mountain bikers. I applaud the volunteer work done over many years by hikers and bikers in developing and maintaining the trail networks that has saved the city many thousands of dollars. Thank you. The issue of funding new trail development needs to be part of future discussions as plans move forward.
Tonya
I am not very familiar with the trail network as a complete network, but it is clear that we need to be looking at the trail system as a single network and evaluating what investments should be made to optimize that system for both residents and visitors while staying within the boundaries of the ecological integrity of our watershed. It is something I am interested in exploring more as part of the economic development efforts currently underway.
What is your position on Ballot Measures 15-210 and 15-211 regarding City of Ashland/Ashland Parks and Recreation structure?
Joy
Ballot Measures 15-210 and 15-211 have my support. With the adoption by the voters of a city manager form of government, putting parks employees under the overall city management umbrella makes sense. As does providing greater flexibility in city budgeting. We are a small community and we need to work closely together to improve efficiency, ensuring that our tax dollars are used wisely.
Tonya
Ballot Measure 15-210
First, I love our parks and recreation programs, as most, if not all, Ashlanders do. They are a key element in our high quality of life and a significant part of why many of us call Ashland home. They have served me and my family well and have contributed to my sense of place and community. Some of my fondest memories are from times spent in our parks.
Since the inception of our park system in 1908, parks and later recreation services have been managed by an independently elected body - the Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission. It has been separate from the city through a variety of structures during that time, but in the early 90s, state legislation put the revenue for the Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission under the control of the city council. Today, much of our parks and recreation budget comes from the General Fund of the City of Ashland (mostly from taxes) directly to the Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission, which then directs how to spend the funding and supervises staff to do so.
Ballot Measure 15-210 is a question before Ashland voters regarding whether to put all of the city employees who are supervised by the Parks and Recreation Director (who answers to the Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission) under the direction of the City of Ashland’s City Manager (who answers to the Ashland City Council). If this change takes effect, the City Manager will take direction from the Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission for the city’s parks, but will take direction for all other aspects of the city’s operations from the Ashland City Council. The City Manager will also have the authority to hire and fire the Parks and Recreation Director, an authority currently held by the Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission.
Some decisions are so large that they should be made by the voters, and this is one of them. As a city councilor, I will work to implement whichever decision our community makes in the November election.
Ballot Measure 15-211
Ashlanders voted to invest the food and beverage tax in parks capital improvement projects, paying off the wastewater, and large street projects.
The City paid off the wastewater treatment plant debt in 2020 and in the 2021-23 budget changed the way we manage street funding to pay for large street projects with the franchise fees that utilities pay for access to the rights of way on our streets.
The question is whether the 73% of the Food and Beverage Tax that can no longer be spent on the wastewater treatment plant and large street projects should be placed in the General Fund for the Ashland Budget Committee to determine where it should be spent.
Like Ballot Measure 15-210, this is a decision that should be made by the voters. I voted to put this to Ashland voters because I want to know how the citizens of Ashland want the City to invest these funds. I could weigh in on how I intend to vote, but it is more important to me that I hear what the voters want for an issue as important as this. Either way, I will work to help the community realize its goals for this funding.
What is your vision for Ashland?
Joy
Ashland is a beautiful place in Southern Oregon where I raised my daughter. We have an unusual mix of great cultural events, outdoor opportunities, viticulture, small local farms, and educational enrichment options. But, most important is the wonderful mix of people with impressive backgrounds and interests. My priorities as a councilor will be to work to expand housing options that average people can afford, to assist employers who offer good paying jobs and to set sound policies for our city government.
Tonya
The Ashland of the future I am working to create is radically welcoming, climate friendly, and economically vibrant. It is a community where a diverse array of people work, raise a family, and retire. It is a place where people routinely bump into friends and neighbors as they go about their business because it is designed for such interactions to take place.
I realize that these descriptors can sound too lofty, but Ashland is already a wonderful place to live and what I have laid out here are values I believe the majority of our community shares. Alongside this vision, we need to set clear goals for moving toward this vision. I am excited by the process the Council is undertaking to identify 3-4 primary goals for the City of Ashland to focus its energy on over the next 5+ years. Having concrete goals and effective ways of measuring progress is key to building on the many strong and positive elements of our community while moving us toward the future Ashland we want to be.