FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2015
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 9
Local
City Council: Langrell, Kee, Owen clash
over City’s contract services decisions
• TREE BOARD TO
EXPAND BY TWO,
VEGETATION
MANAGEMENT
POLICY APPROVED
BY GINA K. SWARTZ
Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Tuesday evening,
Mayor Mosier called the
usual Baker City Council
meeting to order followed
by the pledge of allegiance
and invocation led by
Councilor Augenfeld.
City Recorder Luke
Yeaton called roll with
Councilors Downing,
Abell, Thomas, Augen-
feld, Langrell and Mayor
Mosier answering present.
Merrill was not present
at the meeting.
Mosier indicated she
had been contacted prior to
the meeting by Merrill who
informed her he was not
able to attend the meeting.
Mosier called for any
citizen participation—there
was none.
Council then moved for-
ward with the agenda.
Council Support of Re-
gional Housing Rehabili-
tation Project.
City Manager Mike Kee
gave council information
regarding this proposal.
Community Connections
Northwest along with
Union County is applying
for a community develop-
ment block grant in order
to rehabilitate low income
or elderly persons’ homes
in Baker, Union, Wallowa
and Grant Counties.
Community Connections
is seeking Mosier’s signa-
ture on a letter of support
of the project.
A similar grant that was
sought out last year but
was unsuccessful in being
obtained.
Council was supplied
with background informa-
tion on the grant including
statistics showing Baker
County has a higher than
average poverty rate, siting
approximately 100 homes
in Baker County that lack
plumbing facilities and 200
that lack complete kitch-
ens.
Information provided to
Council also included por-
tions of the grant applica-
tion for their review.
Kee advised that the
program makes 0% interest
deferred payment loans to
low and moderate income
home owners based on
priorities such as outdated
heating systems, improper
and or heating ineffi cien-
cies, structural issues such
as roofi ng or foundation
issues and elderly and
handicap with accessibility
needs.
As the loans are paid
back they will fund a
revolving fund that will
provide additional rehabili-
tation.
Loans will be distributed
on a fi rst-come, fi rst-served
basis.
Baker City has some his-
tory with housing rehabili-
tation grants.
Kee advised, “Most
of the loans I have been
involved with were mostly
for energy effi ciency, the
repayment of those loans
become due when the
homes sell.”
Several have come due
in recent years and the
money goes into a fund
City Council can vote on
how to use.
Langrell motioned for
acceptance for the Mayor
to sign the letter with
a second by Councilor
Downing a unanimous vote
followed.
Ordinance #3344 –
Proposed Changes to
Tree Board: First Read-
ing.
The Tree Board has
requested that the board be
expanded to include seven
members instead of fi ve in
an effort to spread the tasks
among members and make
the board more effective.
Several of the members
also work full-time and ad-
dition of members would
help the board be more
effective.
Also missing from
wording in the ordinance
creating the Tree Board
was wording that is in
other board and com-
missions stating that if a
member misses three meet-
ings unexcused that person
can lose their seat on that
board.
Before Kee read the
Ordinance in its entirety
Downing asked if there
was specifi c wording
requiring that members of
the board live within the
city limits.
Kee said there was not.
Kee read the Ordinance,
after which Abell made
a motion to accept the
reading with a second by
Augenfeld.
All Councilors voted
to accept the fi rst reading
and then all voted to have
a second reading by title
only.
Kee read for a second
time the ordinance by title
only.
Abell again motioned
that the Council accept the
second reading that was
seconded by Councilor
Downing.
Again council voted to
unanimously accept the
reading. Mosier advised
that a third and fi nal read-
ing would be had at the
next Council Meeting.
Award of GIS Services
Contract.
Michelle Owen, Public
Works Director, addressed
Council on a project that
the city has been working
on for a couple of years
starting a GIS program.
“We are starting from
the ground fl oor. A couple
of years ago we did a
mobile scan. We hired a
fi rm that drove around the
entire town, kind of like
Google Earth and captured
all that data for Baker City.
“Now we want to trans-
fer not only that data but
our auto cad data, which is
our line drawings for wa-
ter, waste water and storm
water systems and put
this all into GIS which is
going to be an easier way
to access the information,”
she said.
The County parcel maps
will also be included
and OTEC will also be
involved so the City can
gather information for a
street light inventory.
The City also plans to
have a street sign inven-
tory as part of this system.
Having all the information
together in a GIS system
will be extraordinarily ben-
efi cial according to Owen.
Since this is new to us we
have asked consultants to
submit proposals to help us
get started.
“There were two of the
nine received proposals
OTEC to assist
wildfire victims
• CANYON CREEK,
WINDY RIDGE
HOME LOSS
VICTIMS’
RECONNECT RATES
WAIVED
Baker City, Ore (OTEC)
This morning, in order
to assist OTEC members
recovering from the effects
of the wildfi res of 2015,
OTEC’s Board of
Directors, in a specially
called board meeting,
unanimously voted and
passed an amendment to
Tariff No.1, Rule E, Sec-
tion C, allowing that all
forty-three homes and fi fty
structures destroyed in the
Cornet-Windy Ridge and
Canyon Creek Complex
wildfi res would be exempt
from any rates and fees
related to the re-establish-
ment of electrical services.
“We, as a board, have
been closely monitoring
the destruction of the wild-
fi res over the past month
and knew that when the
time came to rebuild, we
would work collectively
to reach out and help our
neighbors in their time of
need,” said Grant County
board member, Gary
Miller. “This is a historical
decision that will go into
effect immediately.”
The waiver of OTEC
tariff rules is retroactive
to the start date of the
wildfi res and valid for a
24-month period, begin-
ning August 12, 2015.
The caveats are that
members must take electric
service from the same
location as existed prior to
the wildfi re destruction and
the exemption is not trans-
ferrable to a new owner of
the effected property.
“The beauty of a not-
for-profi t electric coopera-
tive vs. an investor owned
utility is that we have the
strength of our shared
membership and can lend
a hand when it is needed
most,” explained Union
County board member and
president, George Gal-
loway. “Given the severity
of the damages and the
devastation experienced
by our members in Baker
and Grant County, this was
simply the right thing to
do.”
Over the next few
weeks, OTEC will be
reaching out to contact
members who were af-
fected by the wildfi res,
providing information and
helping them to re-estab-
lish electrical service.
that we got past the dead-
line but roads were closed
due to fi res so I chose to
accept them regardless,”
she said.
City Engineer Doug
Schwinn and Owen scored
the proposals for the
project.
She added, “While price
is always a concern we
looked primarily at com-
pany and individual experi-
ence. For this project we
really want to make sure
we get the fi rm that serve
us the best.”
The fi rm Owen recom-
mended based on scores
her and Schwinn awarded
was Erlandsen and Associ-
ates for $20,790.
Erlandsen and Associ-
ates will also provide train-
ing to City staff regarding
data input and conversion
into the GIS system for
which Owen was confi dent
her staff would be able to
do once trained.
Owen also offered ex-
tensive time spent with the
fi rm adding confi dence to
her choice.
Langrell, concerned with
price differences among
the proposals stated, “With
one of the UV things you
recently had a bunch of
electrical work done, I
know that Baker Electric
was the low bidder on
that—and they didn’t come
up and schmooze you and
they have a lot more expe-
rience in the particular type
of electrical stuff than the
fi rm that you chose to hire.
“I kind of wonder if
Langan Treadwell (another
fi rm with a bid almost
$9,000 less) had kind
schmoozed you a little and
answered your questions,
they could have possibly
scored a little higher.”
Langan Treadwell Rollo
was the next choice for the
bid award.
“I think I can answer
that, Councilor,” Kee said.
“No. That wouldn’t have
made a difference. Now
if you have some kind of
question about how these
were scored, talk to me
about it. And you’re state-
ment about Baker Electric
being most qualifi ed for
that job is not true.”
Langrell rebutted saying,
“Well, actually it is.”
Kee replied, “No, it’s
not.”
Langrell then offered, “If
you’d like to bring Ross
(from Baker Electric) up
here, he could sure explain
it to you.”
Kee then stated, “If you
have a problem with the
way things were scored
come talk to me about it.
I’ll explain it to you.”
Langrell asked Kee,
“Did you score them?”
Owen broke into the
argument saying, “Doug
Schwinn and I scored them
and I’ll just comment that
the proposal document is
the document by which
we grade and judge these
fi rms.”
Elements considered,
according to Owen, were
a signed signature sheet
agreeing to the terms, fi rm
qualifi cations for 35 points,
individual qualifi cations
for 20 points, a timeline for
20 points and cost for 15
points
With the $20,790 bid,
Owen says they are still
well within the $30,000
that was budgeted for this
expense.
Langrell asked Owen if
the all of fi rms were scored
prior to speaking with
them.
She advised that they
were not, but the fi rms
that took an interest and
spoke with both herself
and Schwinn attempting to
gain deeper understanding
of what was trying to be
accomplished put together
in Owens words “a better
proposal.”
After a bit more discus-
sion, Downing moved
to award the proposal to
Erlandsen and Associates
for $20,790.
A second was made by
Thomas
A vote of 5:1 resulted
with Langrell being the
only Councilor to oppose.
Vegetation Manage-
ment Policy Approval.
Owen again addressed
Council speaking to the
work that the parks board
had done in response to
community concern in
concern to the spraying
of chemicals in our City
Parks.
Owen explained staff
researched various com-
munities put together a
plan the plan went to the
Parks Board for review
where some modifi cations
were made.
Before Council was the
modifi ed vegetation plan
for the City of Baker City
the Parks Board approved.
“It does allow for cer-
tain areas to be herbicide
free zones,” said Owen.
In addition to the South
Baker Park that is entirely
herbicide free, “There are
no chemicals applied.”
Owen also spoke a list
that is available more eas-
ily than in the past of prod-
ucts used. She said, “It has
changed a bit in the plan
just so you are aware.”
New signage require-
ments are more clearly
defi ned in the plan that had
been decided upon as well
as an email notifi cation
system has been created.
Signs are to be clearly
posted 24 hours in advance
and will remain up for a
period of time post appli-
cation to notify those with
sensitivities so they can
limit or avoid exposure.
Downing moved to ap-
prove the vegetation plan
with a second by Abell.
Before the fi nal vote
Augenfeld stated, “I think
this is a good document
and it is an improvement
but I just want to go on
record saying that I don’t
think it is a good policy to
use toxic substances for
atheistic purposes but I’m
trying to be realistic.”
The vote, however, was
unanimous.
City Manager/Director
Comments.
Kee had nothing further
for the Council and neither
did Owen.
Council Comments.
Mayor Mosier noted
that the dedication ceremo-
ny for the bandstand was
held the past weekend and
urged the community to go
take a look at the beautiful
structure that had been “a
long time coming.”
Owen mentioned
that part of the area was
blocked off due to reseed-
ing and suggested the
structure be appreciated
but the reseeded area be
avoided for now.
With that, Mosier then
adjourned the meeting.
Walden to hold town hall meetings
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden
(R-Hood River) will hold
public meetings next week
to listen to eastern Or-
egon communities about
preventing and fi ghting
catastrophic wildfi re.
Agency offi cials will be
on hand in Canyon City,
Baker City, and Enter-
prise to give an update to
Walden and community
members about recovery
efforts.
Fires have burned
throughout Oregon this
summer. In Baker and
Grant counties alone, the
Cornet/Windy Ridge and
Canyon Creek Complex
fi res have burned a com-
bined total of over 213,000
acres and destroyed 47
homes.
At the town halls,
Walden will also give an
update on legislation he
has championed in the
House—the Resilient
Federal Forests Act of
2015—to reform federal
forest policy and prevent
wildfi re.
These town halls in
Lakeview, Canyon City,
Baker City, and Enterprise
will be his 24th through
27th of 2015.
On Tuesday, Walden
will meet county com-
missioners in La Grande,
where the Eastern Oregon
Counties Association will
honor him for his work to
reform federal forest policy
and prevent catastrophic
wildfi re.
Monday, September 14,
2015:
Grant County Fire Town
Hall, 5:15 p.m. at
the Canyon City Com-
munity Center, 123 South
Washington Street, Canyon
City.
Tuesday, September 15,
2015:
Baker County Fire Town
Hall, 8:00 a.m. at the Sun-
ridge Inn, in Baker City.
You’re invited to a
PATRIOTS DAY, 9/11 VIGIL
Friday, September 11, 6-7 p.m. The
community is invited to gather in front
of the National Guard Armory in
Baker City for the 2nd annual vigil to
remember those who were lost
during the 9/11 attack on America, and
to honor those who bravely responded.