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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (July 17, 2015)
12 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2015 Local County signs $8K per month contract with Gregory Smith & Company, LLC, talks high local tobacco use, ODOT snow fence move • CITIZEN PARTICIPATION FOCUSES ON USFS MEETINGS BY TODD ARRIOLA Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com The Baker County Board of Commissioners held a special session on Wednesday, July 15, 2015, at 9 a.m., in the Com- mission Chambers of the Baker County Courthouse. Present from the Board were Chair Bill Harvey, Commissioners Mark Ben- nett and Tim Kerns, and Executive Assistant Heidi Martin. Attendance included Baker County Health Department Director Robin Nudd, Baker County Road Master Jeff Smith, Baker County Planning Director Holly Kerns, Baker County Planner Kelly Howsley- Glover, Oregon Depart- ment of Transportation (ODOT) Project Leader Sean Mahoney, ODOT Roadway Designer Mark Kightlinger, ODOT Area Manager Craig Sipp, Ed Hardt, John Creighton, Ramona Creighton, Wanda Ballard, Ken Andersen, Art Sappington, and Suzette Sappington. Shortly after the Pledge of Allegiance and Invo- cation, the agenda was adopted, with a motion from Kerns, and a second from Bennett. During the Citizen Participation segment, Ramona Creighton shared some comments regarding two of the U.S. Forest Ser- vice (USFS) forest access workshops held recently which she attended, in Enterprise, and John Day. She said attendance was good at the workshops, but she noted that, at the one held in John Day, there were issues pointed out to the USFS concerning a suitable landing strip for Search and Rescue (SAR) purposes. Harvey pointed out is- sues with road and area name changes initiated by the USFS, resulting in future difficulties and con- fusion with SAR emergen- cies and other scenarios. John Creighton com- mented that, while he and Ramona had attended one of the meetings, USFS staff had stated that Wal- lowa County is unique, in that it is the only county in the state with a Natural Re- source Advisory Commit- tee (NRAC). He said that he and others immediately informed those attending that that information is incorrect, and that Baker County has had an NRAC for many years. Art Sappington discussed a presentation made re- cently in Union, sponsored by Oregon State University (OSU), regarding timber, mining, and agricultural research, during which partnership with local live- stock and other producers was solicited for data col- lection, etc., but refused, he said. Nudd provided the Board with a Health Department update, including a discus- sion of the role of the department. She said some of the program elements the department handles are communicable diseases, including sexually-trans- mitted diseases (STDs), tobacco prevention and education, and Women, In- fants and Children (WIC). Bennett asked Nudd about addressing mari- juana regulation along with tobacco issues, since recreational use of mari- juana was legalized on July 1st of this year. Nudd responded that it’s important to have a unified message about smoke-free facilities, campuses and areas in the county, and possibly vapor-free policies imple- mented also. Nudd said the county ranks among the highest in the state, as far as tobacco use is concerned, noting that a significant portion of that is among pregnant mothers. She said, because of the department’s funding sources and associated agreements, she and other staff are not allowed to teach tobacco prevention in area schools, which didn‘t make sense to Harvey. Nudd discussed other topics, including programs administered by the depart- ment, including Babies First!, Oregon Mother’s Care, and immunizations for children. She also noted that she would like to see the Health Depart- ment, on Pocahontas, more centrally located within Baker City, and a bet- ter facility that meets the department’s needs. Ben- nett said he’d like to see a Trolley stop included for the department’s current location. Smith provided the Board with documents regarding a Road Depart- ment purchase bid, for a 2006 Kenworth T800, from Bowman Trucking, Inc., in La Grande, for $41,000. Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press Citizen participation at the Commissioners’ session this week focused on public access and USFS workshops held recently. Standing, John Creighton, seated in front Ramona Creighton, seated in back Wanda Ballard. Smith explained that the funds would be available from the department’s budget, and, from the four total bids provided, the truck bid from Bowman Trucking represents the ex- act type of vehicle needed, at the lowest cost, result- ing in an upgrade for the department’s belly dump fleet. The purchase was approved, with a motion from Bennett, and a second from Kerns. Smith also noted a future need to purchase another vehicle, and said funds would be available for that. The Board ap- proved the future purchase, with a limit of $20,000, with a motion from Ben- nett, and a second from Kerns. The Board discussed a Professional Services Agreement between Baker County and Gregory Smith & Company, LLC, for contract services to facili- tate the implementation of Economic Development. The term of the agree- ment, from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2017, includes monthly payments of $8,000, for a yearly sum of $96,000. Harvey emphasized that there was public confusion previously regarding this contract, and that Smith as an individual is not paid the total, but the $96K per year is paid to Smith’s company. Smith pays for his company’s staff, materials, etc. at his discre- tion. Smith’s company also contracts with other neighboring and presum- ably competing Oregon counties to provide similar business development services to those provided Baker County. Smith’s contract was approved, with a motion from Bennett, and a second from Kerns. Lea Hoover, Baker Heritage Museum Director, was not present to discuss a requested spending au- thority approval, so Martin discussed the details with the Board. She said that the request- ed approval is for $25,000 in flexible spending within the museum’s budget, which will be used for various purposes. The re- quest was approved, with a motion from Bennett, and a second from Kerns. Holly Kerns and Howsley-Glover discussed with the Board, during a public hearing, the second reading of Ordinance No. 2015-04, An Ordinance Changing The Zone Of Tax Lot 4001 In Township 8 South Range 38 East, From Exclusive Farm Use (EFU) To Timber Grazing (TG). As this matter in- volves individuals related to Commissioner Kerns, he recused himself during this hearing. The ordinance, in title only, was adopted, with a motion from Ben- nett, and a second from Harvey. Sipp, Kightlinger and Mahoney talked about an ODOT snow fence project, as an informa- tional discussion, with the Board, and provided maps detailing the locations. This includes fencing already installed south of Culley Lane, east of I-84, called Site 1, which is expected to be extended south. Site 2, which would include fencing north of Culley Lane, also east of I-84, would prove more challenging, because of possible interference with a privately-owned pivot irrigation system, due to public right-of-way. All three members of the Board voiced con- cerns about interfering with the pivot system, and explained that any land- owners involved would need to receive a fair deal negotiating with ODOT, which could include com- pensation for any losses incurred, or modification to the pivot system. Any landowners in- volved would need to have agreements with ODOT, and issues would need to be resolved with them satisfactorily, before the Board would address the issue, all three Commis- sioners explained. Sipp, Kightlinger and Mahoney responded that all efforts were being made to lessen impacts, and to arrive at solutions accept- able to everyone involved. Order No. 2015-134, Ap- pointing A Member To The Baker County Weed Board, was approved, with a mo- tion from Bennett, and a second from Kerns. Kathy Thompson was appointed, her term set to expire on April 1, 2018. Order No. 2015-135, amending Order No. 2015-133, Re-Appointing A Member To The Baker County Cultural Coali- tion, was approved, with a motion from Kerns, and a second from Bennett. Aletha Bonebrake was re- appointed, her term set to expire on July 1, 2018. Kerns discussed a recent Tri-County Weed Board meeting he attended, stat- ing issues with coordina- tion and communication voiced by some between that Board and Arnie Grammon, Baker County Weed Department Man- ager. Kerns and Bennett said it’s important to keep working together with Tri- County, but Bennett and Harvey noted that they still had not received informa- tion regarding expendi- tures of government funds within Baker County by Tri-County. Harvey said the funds should be used to utilize local people to address weed issues, rather than using out-of-area staff. Kerns said he would keep the Board informed of future developments from the Tri-County Board. Harvey discussed with the Board a request from the Greenhorn City Coun- cil, for $80,000, through funding or other services, from Baker County, for improvements to the city’s water supply system, a city park project, and an emergency landing strip project. The City Council in- cluded a request for Baker County, which owns lots in that area, to donate those. The discussion was tabled for now pending further investigation into associ- ated issues, with a motion from Harvey, and a second from Kerns. Oregon’s digital newspaper project moves ahead The Oregon Digital Newspaper Program (ODNP) is an initiative to digitize historic Oregon newspaper content and make it freely available to the public through a keyword- searchable online database. The initial phase of the program, through the University of Oregon, has concentrated on newspapers pub- lished between 1860 and 1922, with approximately 150,000 pages made freely available online in the first two years (2009-2011). The ODNP was also constructed to help facilitate the digitization of Ore- gon newspapers by outside organiza- tions/individuals. The program will deliver access for people who can’t get to a library to use microfilm. The resulting product will be an open state-wide resource for historic Oregon newspapers online. This year, newspapers through the present year are at last being up- loaded to the project’s Google Drive for inclusion in this online database. These papers do include most news- papers published in Baker County. Several hundred thousand news- paper pages can be found online at already at: http://oregonnews. uoregon.edu. The Oregon Digital Newspaper Program is committed to providing free online access to historic Oregon newspapers. This is made possible with the support of federal and state grants, the UO Libraries, and through private donations.