Initiatives would prevent public meetings conflicts

The three Jackson County commissioners have recently had conflicts with the Oregon Public Meetings Law. A “quorum” at any meeting is two commissioners because there are only three of them.

Any conversation they have is a public meeting and should be appropriately publicized. In addition, no two of them can attend public meetings without conflict because any two would constitute a quorum and the meeting would be a meeting of the Jackson County commissioners and subject to the public meetings law.

Recently, at a staff meeting of commissioners on Jan. 11, the commissioners discussed the above issue because two potential conflicts had occurred. One meeting was an online meeting of the Association of Oregon Counties and the other was a local political party meeting.

The latter discussion included strategies on how to defeat the Jackson County for All
initiatives that will reform the commissioners’ election and salaries. If the initiatives pass, the above-mentioned conflicts with public meetings law would be reduced because there would be five commissioners and any two could attend the same outside meeting without conflict.

The initiatives would also allow two commissioners to be out of town at once since the commission would still have a functional quorum to do county business.

For the good of the citizens of Jackson County, the commissioners should drop their opposition to the initiatives.

For more details on supporting the initiatives, please go to jacksoncountyforall.org.

Kent Knock / Rogue River

Viaduct created ‘dagger’ through the heart of Medford

Downtown Medford is a victim of bad planning decades ago. I assume the predecessor of OR 99, the Pacific Highway, was laid out on a path along Bear Creek convenient to the early settlers, eventually becoming Riverside Avenue.

Over time, the West Coast and Medford grew with resulting traffic. The then-current vogue of elevated freeways led to construction of the present “viaduct” along and above the creek.

The resulting “no-man’s land” is now a dagger right through the heart of a potentially significant city. High-quality urban uses will never be built in that vicinity.

No amount of lipstick will make this pig beautiful. The original error must be corrected with major surgery. Bear Creek is nature’s gift to our citizens. It should not be wasted.

Consider a new surface freeway cutting the I-5 corner to the west of Medford between roughly Phoenix and Gold Hill, and a sophisticated accessible urban park along Bear Creek without its elevated tombstone.

The low-grade land uses that now tolerate the noise, shadow and blight of the viaduct would through natural economic development be replaced by attractive, even elegant, businesses, offices and residences. Medford would be whole again, with a real center.

Yes, there will be great cost. But eventually the viaduct will need to be widened to accommodate more traffic. That won’t be cheap and will just make the problem worse.

With a superb central park, Medford will attract new kinds of businesses and professions, leading to area-wide economic and cultural development.

John Ames / Ashland