FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2015
4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
Opinion / Local
— Editorial —
Econ dev
services
worth six
figures?
We definitely raised our eyebrows this
week after the Economic Development
Board voted to renew Representative Greg
Smith’s contract to continue providing
economic development services—to the
tune of $96K per year in Smith’s salary
alone.
First, we were surprised because we
didn’t see a mention of Smith’s contract
negotiation on any agenda. Maybe we
managed to miss it somehow. However,
if we hadn’t been a little curious and
scheduled a reporter for that meeting, this
bit of information would have slipped by
unnoticed.
Though the County’s Budget Com-
mittee added the funds to the economic
development line item during the budget-
ing process two weeks ago, which enabled
the Economic Development Board to
vote on whether to extend the contract,
there was quite a bit of concern among
the Budget Committee members. Member
Pat Sullivan, for one, found Smith’s salary
exorbitant and the benefits provided to the
County minimal.
In the interest of full and honest dis-
closure, we had one incredibly negative
experience ourselves when one of our own
turned to that office for “confidential”
assistance back in 2012 and 2013. We’re
trying not to let that experience taint our
opinion of the issue.
And that issue is whether or not the ben-
efits of the Economic Development office
are worth six figures to local taxpayers.
Keep in mind that Smith’s salary is
just the beginning. That office is staffed
with one other employee. There are other
expenses such as rent and utilities. There
are even expenses past that for marketing
materials development, travel, trade show
attendance, etc. This doesn’t add up to
chump change.
In addition, for years Smith himself has
provided similar economic development
services for some of our neighboring
counties. We don’t believe it would be
possible for anyone under those circum-
stances to remain loyal or faithful to just
one county. Not if they wanted to keep
those two or three other paychecks com-
ing in.
Wouldn’t it be wiser to simply hire
one person, dedicated solely to Baker
County’s interests? Or ask Smith to stay ...
fiscally monogamous?
In addition, since Smith is a legislator,
when session is in, he isn’t here. At all.
We can safely say from experience that
entry-level economic development coordi-
nators in the private sector, whose posted
duties are identical or nearly identical to
Smith’s, begin around the $40-45K range.
Besides, we have several resources in
our area that are already here to promote
and market us. We have the Chamber of
Commerce. We have Historic Baker City,
which is currently rising back from the
ashes. We have the Small Business Devel-
opment Center hosted by Blue Mountain
Community College with Gene Stackle
and Jeff Nelson. We’ve seen these guys
get things done. The Base Camp Baker
site, featuring a huge Facebook follow-
ing created by the photography there is
another asset. The loan assistance the Eco-
nomic Development office offers really
amounts to referrals to local banks or to
the Northeast Oregon Economic Devel-
opment District, all of which will advise
applicants on their own without a middle-
man, as we discovered. Does anyone else
see an expensive duplication of effort?
Trade shows, presentations, pretty
speeches, and smoke and mirrors are not
bringing new businesses into the County.
And yet that same Economic Develop-
ment Board also gave Smith the go-ahead
to attend one particular trade show in Utah
for the third year.
What businesses came to Baker County
as a result of those first two years?
We think it’s time for change. Sadly,
with the signing of this contract renewal,
we’re in for two more years of the same.
—The Baker County Press Editorial Board
— Letters to the Editor —
Does BLM listens when public
speaks?
To the Editor:
The comments are in and the public has
spoken — or has it? Over 400 letters sent
to the BLM in response to the Board-
man to Hemingway Draft Environmental
Impact Statement all nicely sorted by cat-
egory of responder — federal, tribal, state,
county, local, non-governmental organiza-
tions, educational institutions, businesses,
and finally individuals. The next sort the
BLM says will be by subject, wonderful!
Most letters are well-written, thought-
ful, sincere and provide many suggestions
for improvement. You can count on both
hands the number of letters in support of
the project. Even Idaho Power spends 391
pages “improving” the DEIS that so many
of us have found inadequate.
There has been no indication that the
BLM, with the Wallowa-Whitman tagging
along, is considering significant changes.
With all governmental bodies critical if
not outright opposed, and many of our
friends and neighbors in the same posi-
tion, to continue with the same project
makes no sense at all.
The need is questioned, the route is out-
right opposed by most, Oregon receives
no real benefit, sage grouse legislation is
changing and the cost is now estimated at
$1.2 billion.
Please read the letters, they are an eye-
opener.
Letters are here: http://www.boardma-
ntohemingway.com/deiscomments.aspx
Regardless of what and when the BLM
decides, we will have only 30 days to
respond. The Wallowa-Whitman has its
Travel Management Plan, the BLM has
its Boardman to Hemingway project and
each of them seems to be ignoring the
public that they should be serving.
Gail Carbeiner
Bend
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YOUR ELECTED
OFFICIALS
President Barack Obama
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202.456.2461 fax
Whitehouse.gov/contact
US Sen. Jeff Merkley
503.326.3386
503.326.2900 fax
Merkley.Senate.gov
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Wyden.Senate.gov
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Walden.House.gov
Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown
503.378.3111
Governor.Oregon.gov
State Rep. Cliff Bentz
503.986.1460
State Sen. Ted Ferrioli
541.490.6528
Baker County
Commissioners Bill Harvey;
Mark Bennett; Tim Kerns
541.523.8200
541.523.8201
— Guest Opinion —
Closed meetings
and
conspiracies:
Creating
controversy out
of thin air
By Suzan Ellis Jones
Submitted Photo
I would like to put to rest the silly
accusations stated about the Baker
County Republicans in the last two
issues of The Record-Courier. They
are born of ignorance. That paper’s
editor raises questions about the local
Republicans holding “closed” rather
than “open” meetings. She expresses
anger that only the 46 existing Re-
publican PCPs are allowed to attend
when the meetings are closed. “That’s
a whole lot of Baker County citizens
… who aren’t allowed to attend,” she
complains.
Well, yes! Because these are meet-
ings for Republican PCPs – the same
PCPs who donate money as well as
hundreds of hours of volunteer time
in this community. If you’re on the
Board of Directors for Pepsi, are you
offended when you’re not allowed to
sit in on a Board meeting for Coke?
If you’re a Boy Scout are you angry
when you’re not notified about Girl
Scout meetings?
In the past three years, only a hand-
ful of our monthly meetings have been
closed. The remainder, including the
one last week, were open to the pub-
lic. The Democrats and Republicans
in most counties across most states
hold closed meetings. By comparison,
we’re extremely open. Our closed
meetings were specifically to hold
the nominating convention for the
replacement County Commissioner,
which required ballot security, as most
would imagine. Other closed meetings
have been to handle internal business
such as the welcoming of new PCPs,
election of new officers, resolution de-
bate, etc. Holding a closed meeting to
deal with internal business is just good
common sense. Apparently to some
it is suddenly fodder for a conspiracy
theory.
That paper’s editor, who signs off
only as “GDP,” also questions whether
our group may be violating public
meeting law.
The answer is no! A little legal
research would have shown that fact
prior to print. Political central com-
mittees aren’t governed under public
meeting law the way City Council
members or County Commissioners
are. ORS 248.015 Sec. 3 (7) states we
shall not be considered a public of-
ficer. We’re treated, by law, more as a
private political action committee.
We realize the complaints about the
legality of closed meetings are com-
ing primarily from a handful of people
who signed on to support non-partisan
initiative 1-63, along with GDP and
her family. Our group opposed that
initiative.
Suzan Ellis Jones is the current
Chair of the Baker County Republi-
cans.
We saw this complaint pop up on-
line in various venues, in some odd ef-
fort to detract from the local party we
suppose—to detract and distract from
the actual issue at hand. Now that 1-63
has failed, it seems the proponents’
axe still needs grinding.
GDP refers to our monthly meet-
ings as “secret.” The meeting schedule
is announced at the beginning of the
calendar year, and then again two
weeks in advance to all 46 members,
and when they’re open, announced
in press releases to most local news-
papers in advance. I guess we need
to look up the definition of “secret.”
Somebody sure has it wrong.
This same editorial then skips on to
accuse the County Commissioners of
having a hidden agenda regarding a
Public Lands Resolution presented to
them by our group. She accuses them
of suppressing information from the
agenda, when this just isn’t so. The
editorial also reads: ”One of the im-
portant items which was absent from
the May 20th agenda was a represen-
tative from the Baker County Republi-
can Central Committee …”
Chuck Chase, who presented our
draft of the resolution is a duly elected
precinct committeeman and Chair of
the committee’s Natural Resource
Committee, which drafted this reso-
lution. Who better to present this
resolution? He chose to attend the
Commissioners’ session and present
the resolution during the Citizens Par-
ticipation section of the meeting. This
section of the meeting is open to all,
and items within it are never specified
in advance in an agenda. When Mr.
Chase tried to respond with a Letter
to the Editor to The Record-Courier,
GDP refused to print it, and sent a
letter to him calling him rude, said he
was “spewing hate” and that his opin-
ion was “nonsense.”
GDP goes on to question why Mon-
tana Rep. Kerry White attended the
same meeting as Chase, and why his
visit also wasn’t on the agenda. Well,
because it was a public meeting and
people can show up without notice –
which is exactly what White did while
here on vacation with family.
It’s ironic that in one breath, the
editorial complains about Republicans
not being open enough with meetings,
and in the next, has a problem with us
legally attending them. It’s enough to
make your head spin.
Wallowa Mountain Loop Road
construction schedule set
Southern 13 miles closed
and gated until June 18.
June 18 – June 30:
Southern 13 miles closed
and gated Tuesday at 8 am
thru Thursday at 5 p.m.
July 1 – October 15:
Open every day but travel-
ers can expect up to 1 hour
delays and a flagger / pilot
car.
Forest Service Road
(FSR) 66 to Fish Lake is
open and free and clear of
snow all the way through
from Halfway to the 39 rd.
This is the detour route for
the construction on the 39
road.
The detour route is 30
miles in length and is a
well-maintained single-
Letter to the Editor Policy: The Baker Coun-
ty Press reserves the right not to publish letters
containing factual falsehoods or incoherent nar-
rative. Letters promoting or detracting from spe-
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Word limit is 375 words per letter. Letters are lim-
ited to one every other week per author. Letters
should be submitted to Editor@TheBakerCoun-
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Advertising and Opinion Page Disclaimer:
Opinions submitted as Guest Opinions or Let-
lane gravel road with pull-
outs. The route is suitable
for vehicles with trailers;
however it is not recom-
mended for motor homes.
If unsure of suitability,
please contact the Wallowa
Mountains Office at 541-
426-5546 or the Pine Field
Office at 541-742-7511.
ters to the Editor express the opinions of their
authors, and have not been authored by and
are not necessarily the opinions of The Baker
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