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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (May 29, 2015)
FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2015 THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 9 Local City Council: Grants, herbicides Huntington • ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PRESENTATION REITERATES PREVIOUS IDEAS BY GINA K. SWARTZ Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com All councilors were present at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. Mayor Mosier then called for citizen participa- tion to address anything that was not already on the agenda. No one came forward. The Council next ad- dressed appointing a new member to the Tree Board to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of Larry Wood. The partial term was avail- able to anyone including persons residing outside city limits. Christine Howard ap- plied and was unanimously agreed upon by the council to fill the vacancy. Economic Develop- ment. Council was given a presentation similar to that which has been presented to the County during meet- ings over the past several months by Greg Smith with Baker County Eco- nomic Development. He spoke to Council about interest in Farewell Bend. Investors out of Salem have a vision of redeveloping a restaurant, convenience store and fuel station there. According to Smith, “They (the investors) have the finances, just maybe not as much time as they would like to be here to get it going.” Smith also reminded of the website that promotes available sites for prospec- tive business opportunities, oregonprospector.com. The website, now years old, gives a list of places in our community and information about each listing including whether water, sewer, electrical or other amenities are avail- able at that location. Smith also indicated a link to that website was available on the Baker County Econom- ic Development website bakercountyeconomicde- velopment.com as well as access to their Facebook page containing informa- tion regarding classes that are being held to help busi- ness owners and up and coming entrepreneurs. Smith also advised Council that he has plans to showcase Baker County at the Oregon State Fair this year; he already has the space. He said he would like to see involve- ment for every city in the county by sending repre- sentatives who can high- light each of the county’s different communities special attributes. Smith also told of a partnership he is working on with ODFW that will make Phillips Lake one of five bodies of water in the state participating in a program being billed as the Trophy Trout Program. The ODFW will release “trophy” type trout, some being 16-24” in length and up to five or more pounds into the reservoir. If the reservoir is chosen to participate in this pro- gram it may attract fisher- men to the area, spending money by purchasing items like fuel, food and other supplies with the possibly of staying over a night or two in a local motel. Vegetation and Herbi- cides. The Council then moved on to the park’s vegetation plan. Joyce Bornstedt from the Public Works Depart- ment was at the meeting in place of Public Works Director Michelle Owen to discuss the City vegetation plan. Bornstedt felt more direction was needed from council as to what was wanted from the parks advisory committee on this issue. Council discussed the issue at length. Clinton Troyer, from Grass Masters, the City’s contracted applicator advised Council, “If I felt there was an all-natural product that worked as well, yes I would use it. I can promise you we are as careful with the products as possible. I tell my guys if there are a lot of kids around or a bus pulls up and lots of kids file out just leave. We don’t spray if the wind is blowing. The problem with using, as I’ve heard suggested, vinegar or citrus is it leaves a brown spot and doesn’t get the roots.” Mayor Mosier did not like the idea of brown patches at all. “We’ve got things under control enough we think we can get away with only two applications this year,” Troyer added. There was more talk of greater use of signs possibly posted further in advance of the application. “We could definitely do that,” said Troyer. A buffer zone of 25 feet around sprayed areas was also discussed with pos- sible help from volunteers hand pulling weeds in that area to assist in the reduc- tion of herbicide use. Mayor Mosier suggested the possibility of maybe using just one of the parks as kind of a test park to see if implantation of a non- chemical approach would be feasible. She suggested putting that task back in the hands of the parks commission. Airport Pavement. Council heard form City Engineer Doug Schwin about the airport pave- ment maintenance program stating that there are some improvements that are needing to be made that will cost around $41,000 however 90% of that can be funded by the state so the out of cost expense will actually be around $4,000 and that will come out of the $150,000 entitlement funds from the FFA. Councilor Downing said, “I have been out there recently and there are some fairly large cracks. They are pretty major. There is a lot of movement hap- pens out there and I for one want to see our firefighters/ ambulance drivers, that transport patients out there be safe. I move to adopt this.” There was a second on the motion by Councilor Thomas, the Council voted all in favor and the motion passed unanimously. Audit Services. City Manager Mike Kee spoke to Council next regarding an RFP for audit services for the City. Two were received—one from Guyer and Associates in Baker City the other from Dickey and Tremper in Pendleton. After discussion that included Kee informing Council that it was thought to be a good idea to change audit services occasion- ally to avoid possible local relationships between members of the finance de- partment and the company conducting audits. The Council ultimately voted to award the contract to local Guyer and Associ- ates. Sam-O. At the recent Budget board meetings, the board suggested the Council cre- ate a task force to examine projects at Sam-O-Swim center. After several ideas were discussed including the creation of a more perma- nent advisory committee to continually oversee and prioritize projects at the facility, which will require an ordinance forming a new board, the council was unable to agree on the direction this task force needed to head. Mayor Mosier was hesitant to appoint those named at the budget board meeting to a committee for fear it would give the gen- eral impression that certain people were hand-picked to make biased decisions about the projects. She instead said she would prefer to open it up to applications as with any other advisory committee. Council did not make any decisions about a task force or committee and will revisit the issue at the June 9th meeting in hopes an agreement on the direc- tion this issue needs to go will be made. “I think this was a simple thing that has been destroyed by over analyz- ing it,” commented Coun- cilor Langrell. Before the conclusion of the meeting Mike Kee stat- ed that Fred Warner would be addressing Council at the next meeting with a presentation on the Salmon Creek property. He also was pleased to inform Council that he had learned earlier in the day that the City had been awarded a grant that Michelle Owen had been working on for the boiler at Sam-O-Swim in the amount of $1,500. Dog Park. Mayor Mosier also brought up a program called Bark for your Parks where on the website petsafe.net our community can vote for the creation of a dog park here. She en- couraged everyone to visit the website and vote. There is also a Facebook page where one can vote. City Recorder/Human Resource Manager Luke Yeaton has agreed to be available for any questions regarding setting up of ac- counts for that website. After Mayor Mosier announced she would be absent on June 9th, the meeting was adjourned. WWNF says vandals left mark BAKER CITY—Van- dalism on large and small scales is a constant problem on the Wallowa- Whitman National Forest. Repairing and replacing damaged facilities eats up funds that could be used for maintenance or improvements. During the 2014-2015 winter season, a total of 14 fire rings went missing from campgrounds and picnic areas in the Phillips Lake area. At $300 each, that’s $4,200. Someone else decided they wanted to take a picnic bench home, at a cost to the For- est of about $700. There’s an added cost to safeguard facilities against future vandalism. Theft- proofing the replacement fire rings will jack the cost up to $6,000. Others want to leave their mark. Some creative chainsaw artists carved up several stumps and hollow logs at a campground of Forest Road 77. To prevent others from being inspired to express themselves, recreation staff will have to cut the timbers down to manageable size, load and haul them out. Trash is also a problem, and not just on the ground. In recent months, someone dumped two bags of gar- bage in the vault toilet at the Mowich Campground, despite being closed. Back in the day, rookie seasonal workers were tasked with the unpleasant chore of fishing garbage and other non-biodegrad- able waste from toilets. Nowadays, anything in a toilet is considered a biohazard and requires professional handling, including Tyvek suits and breathing apparatus. As a result, the bill for cleaning up the relatively “small” mess is projected to be $8,000—the equivalent of a brand-new outhouse for another site. In some cases, vandals’ actions can put others at risk. Many gates are in place for safety reasons and it’s not uncommon to find gate locks cut, but accessing closed areas can be fatal. Earlier this year, a man attempted to traverse Forest Road 39, despite its closed status, became stuck, and suffered a heart attack trying to posthole his way out. Nor is vandalism always visible. Countless signs, ranging in price from $3 to $200 each, are taken every year. Signs, toilets and sheds of all sorts make popular targets. Shooting on fed- eral lands is allowed, but restricted to a distance of 150 yards from developed recreation sites. Carving into a live tree’s trunk causes a wound that makes it vulnerable to insects and disease. Driving off-road across wetlands, meadows and up steep hills, destroy vegeta- tion, expose soil to erosion, and leave scars upon the land that may last for many years. “Mudding,” even on developed roads, can result in extensive repairs to keep the roadway in a safe con- dition for other motorists. Damaging a federal resource carries a fine of $5,000 and up to six months incarceration, plus the cost of repairing or replacing the damage. man receives award Eileen Driver / The Baker County Press Mike Raney poses with his Norman Ross Fellow- ship Award for Dedicated Humanitarian Service. • AWARD IS HIGHEST GIVEN BY LIONS IN THE STATE OF OREGON BY EILEEN DRIVER Eileen@TheBakerCountyPress.com On Monday, May 25, as the Catfish Derby was winding down, Lion Mike Raney, 32-year club member, Lion’s Club Treasurer, Derby Master and the only Lion’s Club member to serve in all 30 years of the Catfish Derby, was presented the Norman Ross Fellowship Award for Dedi- cated Humanitarian Service. The Norman Ross Fellowship Award is the most prestigious form of recognition bestowed upon a Lion in the State of Oregon. In addition to the plaque he received, Lion Mike Raney’s name will be placed on a perpetual plaque residing in the Oregon Lions Sight and Hear- ing Foundation Office in Portland, Oregon honoring all recipients of the award. According to Lion Bill Burley, Club Secretary, who presented him the award on behalf of the Huntington Lion’s Club, “All persons that receive this award embody the qualities that Norman Ross was known to possess: dedication to Lionism, visionary for the future and ser- vant to those in need.” Norman Ross who the award is named after was a 58-year member of the Portland Downtown Lion’s Club. During his years of service he never missed a club meet- ing, he was the founder of the Oregon Sight and Hearing Foundation and the Lion’s Eye Bank of Oregon. Countless numbers of people have regained their sight because of his efforts. Also presented with an Apprecia- tion Award for outstanding service to the Huntington Li- on’s Club Catfish Derby was Kristen Van Diepen who no longer lives in Huntington, but year after year selflessly goes out and gets amazing amounts of prizes donated for the Derby raffle and three days of Bingo, and comes back to help out and serve the community during the Catfish Derby Event. Vivian Crawford scholarship awarded The P.E.O.’s Vivian Crawford Scholarship has been awarded to Terri Clark of Baker City. Clark will use the $500 scholarship as a pre-nursing student. She will be striving for a bachelor of science degree at a four-year university. P.E.O. is a philanthropic, educational organization interested in bringing women increased opportunities for higher education. The Vivian Crawford Memorial Schol- arship was established by Ken Crawford, Vivian’s P.E.O. sisters, and friends. An excellent, enthusiastic teacher for 25 years, she was always interested in promoting educa- tion. This fund honors her memories. Clean Air Act extended to e-cigs On Wednedsay, Gov. Kate Brown signed House Bill 2546 into law. The bill, which passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, bans the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors and applies the Indoor Clean Air Act to e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes, like regular cigarettes, will be regulated under the Oregon Indoor Clean Air Act and will not be able to be used in restaurants, bars, movie theaters, work places and indoor public places. Representatives praised the signing of the bill this week.
