Ashland’s Oak Knoll Golf Course was a fitting setting Tuesday for the City Council’s first Coffee & Conversation gathering of the year. The nine-hole course has been a hot topic among some Ashland residents, with some suggesting the city find other purposes for the land or just sell it.
“I was criticized because we didn’t turn the golf course into a pickleball court,” Councilor Jeff Dahle said.
Dahle, who acknowledged he’s left a few divots on the course over the years, and Councilor Dylan Bloom fielded questions from about a dozen people at the clubhouse during the Coffee & Conversation. More such events planned through the summer. Last year, the city held three of the get-togethers. Other city officials attended, including City Manager Sabrina Cotta, Deputy City Manager Jordan Rooklyn and Parks & Recreation Director Rocky Houston.
Dahle and Bloom talked to residents for more than two hours, sitting down for one-on-one conversations and group chats.
“Any time you can have great interactions with the community, sign me up,” Dahle said.
Bloom answered questions on a number of topics, including pickleball, the homeless shelter, expansion of park lands and the future of Ashland.
“I want to find a balance between tradition and modernity,” he said. “How do we have an Ashland for everybody?”
Bloom said he’s seeing an increasing bifurcation of Ashland between the north half, with its focus on the downtown, and the south half, with Mountain Avenue the rough dividing line. Both councilors got into lively conversations, offering a chance to hear about a variety of concerns. Bloom was particularly concerned about Ashland resident Corrie Frank’s frustration over her efforts to host a national pickleball tournament in Ashland this June.
Source: https://ashland.news/city-serves-up-coffee-conversation-at-oak-knoll/