Newly appointed Ashland City Councilor Derek Sherrell, as he appears in a photo on the thataduguy.com website.

2025-27 budget of $374 million approved on 4-1 vote

In a 3-to-1-to-1 vote, Derek Sherrell was appointed to the vacant seat on Ashland City Council during its business meeting Tuesday. 

The council seat vacated by the resignation of previously elected Councilor Doug Knauer attracted eight applicants. Mayor Tonya Graham said there would be a public swearing in prior to the next meeting. 

Ashland residents George Kramer, Linda Peterson-Adams, Sherell, Meg Wade, Mike Brouillard, Stephen Gagne and Mark Morrison all applied for the vacant seat. 

Councilors Jeff Dahle, Dylan Bloom, and Eric Hansen voted for Sherell. Councilor Bob Kaplan voted for Meg Wade and Councilor Gina DuQuenne voted for George Kramer. The newly appointed councilor will serve until the next biennial election, according to the staff report. 

“To all of the people who came forward, I want to tell I you learned something honestly from each and every one of you and I make notes, when I’m sitting here you will hear me echo your words from time to time and I want to tell you how much I appreciate your efforts and to keep doing what you’re doing,” Duquenne said to the applicants.  

Graham said in speaking with other mayors empty council seats sometimes sit vacant for long periods of time as no members of the public come forward to fill them. 

“We have a community (where) I don’t see that ever happening,” she said. 

The 2025-27 budget of $374 million was approved in a split vote with DuQuenne voting in opposition and councilors Kaplan, Hansen, Bloom and Dahle voting in favor. 

Council also unanimously passed the first reading of a recreation immunity ordinance, approved the first reading of an economic opportunity analysis to assist with future strategic planning efforts, approved a consolidated revamped utilities assistance program, approved the second reading of the Climate Friendly Areas planning overlay, and, with an additional split vote, approved the water rates study with Kaplan and DuQuenne voting in opposition. 

Kaplan stated he believed the proposed rate structure departed from the city’s conservation values and its stated focus on more equitable rate structures. 

Graham also asked for and received a moment of silence to remember former Mayor John Stromberg. 

Navickas offers apology

In other business Tuesday, during public comment Eric Navickas offered an apology and explanation of his physical altercation following an accusation of racism from Ashland Police Chief O’Meara during the May 20 business meeting, as previously reported by Ashland.news. 

“I would like to begin by fully apologizing for my response to the police chief. It was inappropriate. I am a human being and being called a racist can be very triggering,” he said. 

Navickas went on to state that his father was a navy pilot and their family was stationed in Slidell, Louisiana, for his junior high school years. 

“The school was predominantly Black, in the middle of a poor Black neighborhood. People were living in dilapidated wood structures without paint,” he said. 

His father was a hobbyist beekeeper and Navickas said he gave a presentation for his science class on beekeeping. One student,  “the toughest” in the school, approached Navickas afterward and said he was inspired to become a beekeeper and a friendship between the two boys followed this conversation. 

“As a redhead with glasses, acne, I was prone to get picked on at school. He always stood up for me, and my standing among my peers changed as a result,” he said. 

Corporal punishment was allowed in Louisiana schools. His friend misbehaved in their science class and the teacher brought the 13-year-old boy to the front of the class, made him drop his pants to bare skin and paddled him in front of the class until the paddle broke, Navickas said. 

“That image of my friend who always stood up for me being beaten before the class has stuck with me my entire life. It has formed my sense of social justice; it has demanded that I speak against injustice,” he said. 

Navickas then said he felt strongly the city’s laws for its Enhanced Law Enforcement Areas were a form of oppression to poor and disenfranchised people and that he would “continue to speak out.” 

Salmon protection

Dan Van Dyke also gave a presentation representing the Department of Fish & Wildlife. The city could do more to protect native salmon in Bear Creek from canopy and riparian vegetation cleared excessively for development. The right riparian vegetation is needed to keep water cool enough to protect fish populations in increasingly hotter weather and to prevent erosion during flooding events. 

“I would encourage the city to lead the valley in stewardship. Ashland is the headwaters for these streams, the driver of continued progress and protection of Bear Creek,” he said. 

Email Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at morganr@ashland.news. This story first appeared at Ashland.news.