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.