ASHLAND — Ashland City Council tackled a variety of issues during Tuesday night’s meeting.
First, council approved an ordinance that codified a number of fee schedules. Codifying the list will improve the accessibility of the lengthy list of city fees for the varying departments. No fees were added or increased in this ordinance.
The list will be put on the city’s website for easy access.
In other business, the reconstruction of Claremont Avenue took another progressive step. The city received a $2 million grant that will give Claremont a smoother surface, fresh curbs, new drainage and more.
“We applied for a $2 million grant to reconstruct Claremont Avenue from Baney Road all the way down to Smith Road,” Mayor Matt Miller said. “It’s a major thoroughfare in the city and a very expensive street to maintain because it’s four lanes, where as most of our city streets are two lanes.
“We were successful getting that $2 million grant.”
The road will remain four lanes wide and will not include a bike lane. The Ohio Department of Transportation will begin the Claremont project during their 2022 fiscal year.
The roundabout at the intersection of U.S. 250, Faultless Drive and Cottage Street will begin construction in ODOT’s 2023 fiscal year. It’s specifically designed to accommodate large semi-trucks. The city secured a $2.3 million grant for that project.
Also on the agenda:
— South Street Grill LLC officially received a liquor permit from the city. It intends to open in November.
— Lee Peters of the Ashland Rotary Club mentioned the upcoming “Make Ashland Sparkle” event. They have accrued over 70 volunteers so far.
“The first 100 people (to sign up) will get a t-shirt,” Peters said. “We’ll have lunch provided by Pizza Hut, Arby’s, and Dairy Queen is going to give us a coupon.
“We’ll be painting fire hydrants, trash cans, picking up trash and some other projects that the city deems worthwhile.”
The volunteering event will take place on Saturday, Sept. 12. For more information or to register, visit the Rotary Club’s website.
During the public comments portion of the council meeting, Erin Schaefer, a representative from Colorful Ashland, thanked city council for its support.
“I really just wanted to say thank you to all of you: for the mayor for coming to meet with us; for Dennis Miller for coming to meet with us also; and for working with us and for being a partner with us and collaborating,” Schaefer said. “We just really appreciate that very much.”
Colorful Ashland is group dedicated to raising the awareness of racism and striving to provide equality for all of Ashland’s citizens. Schaefer detailed a story about one of the members being flipped off at work presumably because she was a woman of color. Schaefer also challenged the board to make a statement declaring that racism isn’t tolerated in Ashland.
Tensions sparked for a moment between members of Colorful Ashland and a community member when a gentleman commandeered the microphone to express his disapproval with the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I’ve been flipped off by a lot of people and I never considered it a racist act,” the public orator said. “To make a blanket statement that ‘The community of Ashland is racist’ is a little hard for me to hear.”
Councilman Steve Workman offered his thoughts, which were unanimously supported by the remaining council members.
“The city of Ashland is an equal opportunity employer by law,” Workman said. “We follow all those rules and regulations as we should.
“We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age or disability. That’s not to say racism doesn’t exist, however, no amount of legislation or policy is going to change what is in a man’s heart. Change must come from within.”
