Posted on 10/01/2007 10:16:50 AM PDT by jazusamo
ASHLAND — The fractured Ashland City Council found something its members can agree on. They need help.
The city has hired a counselor to help the councilors learn to work together and restore some civility to their interactions.
Rick Kirschner, an Ashland naturopath who has written several books about the art of persuasion and human relationships, will meet with the council later this week in the first of a five-month series of therapy sessions.
Taxpayers will foot the $37,000 bill.
The council’s cry for help was highlighted last month when Councilman David Chapman told Councilman Eric Navickas to “shut your f——— mouth” during a discussion about council rules.
Chapman said he was frustrated with how the session was progressing. He said the issue has taken them more than a year to debate with little progress.
“I just lost my temper,” Chapman said. “He’s lost his temper with me before. We kind of take turns.”
Navickas acknowledged losing his temper in the past, but said, “I can’t think of a time in a public meeting where I’ve used that strong of language towards another councilor.”
Councilman Russ Silbiger said he hopes the upcoming counseling sessions will improve things. “Could it be any worse?” he asked. “Anyone watching any meeting can see the divisions.”
Ashland City Administrator Martha Bennett said the $37,000 is money well spent if it means restoring civility to the council.
“It may seem like a lot of money,” she said. “But if the council doesn’t function, the city doesn’t function.”
But the cost seems excessive to many of the people who have commented about the news on the Web site for the Ashland Daily Tidings newspaper. Some questioned why the contract wasn’t put out to bid, and others wondered if the sessions violate open meetings laws.
“This is absolutely, positively the LAST STRAW!” wrote one poster. “Why should we taxpayers foot the $37,000 bill for therapy? If these people cannot get along like adults, then they shouldn’t be in these jobs.”
Medford is conservative, as is Grants Pass, where I and several other Freepers live.
If you want anti-government neighbors, Wolf Creek and Cave Junction have them in spades...
For a wonderful, small-town feel, you can’t get better than the city of Rogue River.
Ed
Eugene is far more liberal than Ashland.
Ever been to the city library? Ever been to the summer marketand seen the wiccans, dopers and topless hippies?
Ashland has its share of those types, but it also has some ranchers and old-timers from the good ol’ days.
My Grandmother graduated from Southern Oregon Normal in 1908, by the way, and she graduated from Gold Hill High School in the 1800’s!
We have a bunch of her stuff to the Jacksonville museum...
Ed
I wonder which of the councilor’s relatives or friends this bloke is... Nice paycheck for five days work...
UPDATE FROM THE SHRINK!
This should make the citizens happy to spend their $37,000 on this. LOL!
October 2, 2007
Conflict resolution for council defended
By Robert Plain
Ashland Daily Tidings
After being lauded by MSNBC, interviewed by USAToday and bombarded with comments from residents, Ashland City Councilors — and their counselor — are saying “it’s not therapy.”
“It has nothing to do with therapy,” said Dr. Rick Kirschner, who is working with city councilors on how they can better work with one another.
“I’m not here to analyze why people are the way they are or work through childhood issues or relationship issues or make them better human beings,” he said. “Those are therapy outcomes. It’s about conflict resolution and leadership.”
An author and naturopath as well as a life coach and public speaker, Kirschner also teaches communication skills to people working together in professional environments. Although this is his first city council, he has worked with the Ashland School Board and several large companies and institutions, such as NASA, Heineken and Starbucks.
He has already made some preliminary assessments of the council.
“I don’t think the council has a functional process for dealing with the city’s business,” the Ashland resident said. “There is lot of misunderstanding among the members and I think that plays out in the way business of city gets done. They spend an unbelievable amount of time together. It’s astonishing what a great service they are giving to the community.”
He will meet with the entire council for the first time this weekend. He has already begun talking with individual councilors for a process that will take five months, an unknown amount of meetings and time, as well as $37,000 of the public’s money.
City Administrator Martha Bennett, who called it “communication skills training” said the money for the training is coming from the council’s budget. A press release on the city’s Web site said, “Under Ashland’s municipal code the contract with Dr. Kirschner is exempt from the competitive bidding process due to his unique set of skills, background and experience.”
This is the second time this council has spent money on such activities, according to Bennett. In January, they hired a company from Eugene for what she called a “team-building session” for $7,600 for a day and a half of sessions.
Councilor David Chapman, who swore at one of his colleagues at a recent council meeting, said he hopes the sessions with Kirschner will help the council communicate with each other more effectively.
“A lot of us are not very skilled at this,” he said.
In a prepared statement, Mayor John Morrison said, “I believe that once we complete this training, the Citizens of Ashland will benefit. Citizens will see stronger leadership, better teamwork and increased cooperation in conducting city business without compromising the individual councilor beliefs and political passions.”
Ashland Daily Tidings link
http://www.dailytidings.com/2007/1002/stories/1002_therapy.php
"Dude, take a hit and chill out."
Ashland being the capitol of Californigon, you’re probably right.
Rick Kirschner is for real, but that doesn’t mean that the Assland city council is.
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