8 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015
Local
New Council member
Lewis sworn in—again
Sumpter
Christmas
planning begins
• SPECIAL CITY
COUNCIL
MEETING HELD TO
HOLD RE-VOTE PER
CITY CHARTER
BY GINA K. SWARTZ
Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Monday evening at 6:00
p.m. a special meeting of
the City Council was held.
All councilors were
present for this special
meeting held because it
was brought to Coun-
cil’s attention in the City
Charter that when voting to
replace a City Councilor,
such as was done at the
October 13th meeting to
replace the seat vacated
by Ben Merrill, a majority
vote must be made—not
simply the person with the
most votes.
In last Tuesday’s vote
and subsequent appoint-
ment of Margaret “Sandy”
Lewis to the council,
Lewis received three votes
with two being cast for
Randy Daugherty and one
for Michael Meyers.
Although Lewis
garnered the most votes,
it was not the majority
required.
“I do want to apologize
to everyone that is par-
ticipating in this part of
the process. There were a
number of people in the
room that could’ve caught
that error on the night
when we had our first vote.
I could’ve caught it, Mr.
Kee, staff—our City Attor-
ney was also in the room
and no one did so, here we
are. But, I do believe doing
it right is the right thing to
do,” said Mayor Mosier.
Upon discovering
Lewis’ appointment was
not official, it was advised
that because Lewis made
a second on Councilor
Downing’s motion regard-
ing purchase of an Admin-
istration Vehicle, the issue
needed to be readdressed
and a revote made.
New ballots for the
Councilor position were
handed put to the Council-
ors but before they were
tallied, City Manager
Mike Kee told Council
that Randy Daugherty had
withdrawn his name as an
applicant.
Upon speaking with
Daugherty, he said, “I
know quite a bit about
how City operations work.
First of all, the reason I
volunteered to serve was
it was going to be a short
term, only 15 months. Had
it been a full two and a half
years, I would not have
done it. I thought with my
experience, being on the
planning commission for
two years, City Council
for four and Budget Board
for six—I am the current
Budget chair—the cur-
rent Council might find
that useful. Looking at the
make-up of that Council,
you don’t have a lot of
experience.
“There are some big
things are on the horizon.
They are going to hire a
new City Manager. I’ve
been though that process
twice. There is nothing
easy about it.
“Labor negotiations that
should start the first quarter
of next year, you should
get that out of your way
before the budget process
begins again. There is
Meghan Andersch / The Baker County Press
Gina K. Swartz / The Baker County Press
New City Council member Sandy Lewis was sworn in by Luke Yeaton for the
second time this Monday, making the appointment official.
some uncertainty of wheth-
er Tiedeman Consulting
is going to renew their
contract next year at the
Golf Course. I thought the
Council would probably
want that experience on
there to try to help them.”
Daugherty continued,
“But, after the vote on
13th, I got two votes. It
was clear that my experi-
ence wasn’t necessary. I
didn’t see any reason why
that would change at all in
a revote, so I just accepted
that and knew there was
no reason to continue on.
I knew clearly that I was
not going to get appointed
(even in a revote). I felt
that if I withdrew, they (the
Councilors) could have
the opportunity to vote for
either Sandy or Mike.
“I ran to try to help. I’m
not the type that is looking
for accolades or to be on
the front page of the paper.
I like to be involved in
things and try to get things
accomplished, that other
people can take credit for,
and I think I’m pretty good
at getting things done.
Clearly the council did not
feel that was the direc-
tion that they wanted to
go. I knew at best the vote
was going to be the same.
There’s no hard feelings.
I’m not upset about it. I
was born and raised in this
town. I’ve lived here all
my life. I’m a small busi-
ness owner in this town
and I like to pitch in and
help if I can, try to make
things successful.”
City Councilor Candi-
date Michael Meyer asked
to address Council before
that vote as well.
He urged the Council to
rethink the purchase of the
administrative vehicle say-
ing, “I would ask that you
think of what a true luxury
that is to be able to spend
twenty-some-thousand
dollars on a new vehicle.
Look at all the possible
options. I would guess that
most of the citizens, many
on fixed incomes in this
town, would see that as a
dream to be able to do that.
Mr. Langrell has proposed
a much less expensive
vehicle, $4,000 less, but it
seemed there was no fur-
ther council discussion.”
He also suggested use
of the Citizens On Patrol
vehicle that the Police
Department has as an
alternative for purchasing a
new vehicle.
Meyer said, “I don’t
think I’ve ever seen it
move. It’s a newer looking,
larger sedan and I believe
that Baker City already
owns that. I’m thinking
$21,000 would go a long
way toward gas, oil chang-
es and any needed repairs.
I’m thinking those dollars
could be spent on more
pressing needs that would
benefit all of Baker.”
As he wrapped up his
statement he added, “This
is hard for me, but I also
would like to withdraw my
name, my application, for
the City Council just due
to personal reasons.”
Lewis then approached
Council and said, “I just
wanted to say that I was
looking forward to serving
on the Council. I think that
what I would add would be
to do some very thorough
research and try to be well
prepared for every item
on the agenda and to truly
try to represent all of the
citizens of Baker City if I
should be appointed.”
The Council ballots
were gathered and counted
with all Councilors vot-
ing unanimously, 6-0, for
Lewis.
She was again admin-
istered the Oath of Office
then invited by Mosier to
join her fellow councilors.
The councilors then
turned their attention to
the administration vehicle
purchase.
Kee addressed Council
with some background
information he felt the
Council needed to consider
before the vote.
He advised that the City
is currently using a 2002
Oldsmobile Bravada with
approximately 165,000
miles. The budget board
approved purchasing a
vehicle with a budget of
$23,500.
Kee said the vehicle is
used to transport drinking
water samples to Pendleton
to be flown to Portland
twice weekly for testing.
The water sample testing is
time-sensitive.
He also noted the
vehicle would be used by
city personnel to go to
meetings and trainings and
needed to be able to fit five
comfortably.
Kee explained that the
budget board had been
approached at budget time
and the need for this as
well as the type of vehicle
that was being sought was
explained at that time.
Kee called attention to
the price sheet that had
been provided to Council
indicating bids submitted
for the vehicles that met
the specifications required,
there were five received
that met those specifica-
tions.
The price sheet included
a 2016 Chevy Malibu for
$22,268, a 2016 Chrysler
200 Limited for $21,840,
a 2015 Nissian Altima SV
for $23,211, a 2015 Nis-
sian Altima S for $21,863
and a 2016 Ford Fusion for
$21,810.
Kee indicated that while
evaluating the choices
staff included calculating
the MPG, operation costs
of the vehicles as well as
complimentary oil changes
and the cost to take the
vehicle to an out of area
dealer to utilize warranty
services into the net cost of
the vehicles.
The choice of the 2016
Ford Fusion from Gentry
Ford Lincoln in Baker
City was presented as staff
recommendation.
Councilor Augenfeld
asked about the trade-in of
the Oldsmobile Bravada
and was advised that it had
been determined that the
outright sale of the Bra-
vada rather than using it as
a trade-in would be in the
best interest of the City.
Councilor Langrell
again mentioned the Dodge
Dart that had been bid by
Powder River Motors. He
said that the Dart met all
the specifications that were
sent out in the bid but,
“The Public Works Direc-
tor didn’t ‘like’ it. That
is too bad, it met all the
specifications. The reason
we send things out to bid
is to try and get the best
deal for the citizens. This
bid was $4,000 less. If she
(Michelle Owen, Public
Works Director) didn’t
want that kind of car, she
should have done a better
job (with the specifica-
tions).”
Langrell stated that after
the last meeting he had
received a call from the
dealer that submitted the
bid asking what govern-
ment agency could be con-
tacted to file a complaint
against the City. “I assured
him it would be a waste of
his time,” said Langrell.
He again motioned that
City Council approve the
purchase of the Dodge
Dart.
Without hearing a sec-
ond, Mayor Mosier said,
“That motion fails.”
Councilor Downing then
made a motion to accept
the bid for the 2016 Ford
Fusion and authorize the
purchase with a second
by Councilor Thomas. A
6-1 vote was cast with all
Councilors except Langrell
in favor.
Mayor Mosier then
closed the meeting.
The first meeting of Sumpter Valley’s 2015 Christ-
mas Celebration Committee was Tuesday at the
Sumpter Community Center. L to R: Anna Stafford,
Lynne Applegate, Nancy Myers, Barbara Malone,
Dick Malone, and Mark Luker. More volunteers are-
welcome. Activities include the Christmas bazaar,
parade, and tree decorating. Please contact Barb
Malone at barbmalone@msn.com, text to 208-890-
3266, or call 894-2458. The Christmas Celebration
Committee is a part of the SVCV (Sumpter Valley
Community Volunteers).
Burnt River Home
Extension Group
gathers
Photos courtesy of Joan Towell.
The Burnt River Home Extension Group met this
month in the home of Barbara Lewis at Bridgeport.
She hosted a potluck salad luncheon. Several
quilts were on display in her Calico Cottage. Beth
Atkins brought one of her quilts, which she had just
finished, with the center theme of an elk herd. In
attendance were Sally Shumway, Bonnie Clugston,
Cindy Kerr, Ferrell Anderson, Betty Duncan, Beth
Atkins, Pat Ross, Joan Towell, Eleanor Sullivan,
Barbara Lewis and guest Dawn Patterson from
California, who took the picture, and daughter of
Pat Ross. Above are photos of the group and Beth
Atkins holding her quilt.
Ash to run again
Interim Baker County Sheriff Travis Ash, who was ap-
pointed this year by Commissioners to finish out the term
vacated by the former sheriff, says he'll be running for
the position in 2016.
Ash issued this statement: "I would like to announce
that I will be running for Baker County Sheriff in 2016.
I am proud to call Baker County home and to raise my
family here. I am not a politician. I want to continue as
Sheriff so that I can continue working to keep our com-
munity a great place to live in and visit. The Sheriff’s
Office performs many vital functions within our county
including: emergency response and evacuations, main-
taining our jail, investigations, law enforcement, parole
and probation, and Search and Rescue. My goal for the
Sheriff’s Office is to do our utmost to protect safety and
security while building and maintaining relationships
with citizens and partners and to do so with empathy,
integrity, efficiency, and transparency. Since being
unanimously appointed by Baker County Commissioners
this spring, I have received overwhelming support from
folks throughout the county and I take my responsibili-
ties for the welfare of our citizens very seriously. I have
the experience and integrity to do the job well and have
been successful in meeting the varied challenges of the
office. I am looking forward to the future as Sheriff and
to continuing to serve Baker County."