FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 5
Local
City Council hears econ development updates
BY GINA K. SWARTZ
Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Tuesday night’s Council
meeting began with Mayor
Mosier calling the meet-
ing to order and leading
the pledge of allegiance
and a brief invocation.
City Recorder Julie Smith
called roll, all councilors
answered present.
Council turned to the
consent agenda that con-
sisted of minutes from the
September 13th Council
meeting and a request for
a liquor license allowing
for “Off Premises” sales by
Safeway Inc. in the Albert-
son’s building located at
1120 Campbell Street.
In a report prepared by
Police Chief Wyn Lohner,
it was noted the location
previously allowed sales
while operating as Alb-
ertsons and Haggen, and
he saw no reason not to
approve the request.
With no changes noted
Councilor Downing made
a motion to approve with a
second heard by Councilor
Lowe. A unanimous vote
followed. Mayor Mosier
called for citizen participa-
tion, of which there was
none.
Economic Development
Update
The City of Baker City
contracts, together with
Baker County, with Greg
Smith for economic devel-
opment services.
Smith, accompanied by
two of his staff members,
addressed Council.
Smith began by con-
gratulating Nudd on her
new position with the City.
He also acknowledged a
“great ribbon-cutting with
Albertsons.”
Smith did mention that
he was not at that ribbon-
cutting because he was
working with a potential
third grocer possibly inter-
ested in locating to Baker
City.
Smith did not hint as to
whom that grocer was but
did indicate they were a
type of specialty store.
In his update, he noted
that this summer had been
a really good tourism
season according to local
lodging partners he’d
spoken with and they’d
indicated their numbers
are remaining good so far
through September.
He advised Council that
the gas station, conve-
nience store and hotel at
Farewell Bend will be
seeing construction proj-
ects and reopening, but
however did not provide an
estimated timeline for that
to happen.
Although Farewell Bend
is actually in Malheur
County, for which Smith
also serves as Economic
Development Director,
Smith said, “It is of impor-
tance and impact to Hun-
tington and Baker City—”
due to its location.
Smith noted that Work
source Oregon currently
had 60 jobs open in the
area.
He said, “And these are
not just entry level posi-
Drugs
CONTINUED FROM
PAGE 1
At present, Baker County
and the City of Baker do
not allow recreational
marijuana dispensaries,
however; the City of
Huntington does and the
subject is currently up in
tions they are family wage
jobs, so we are seeing that
there are job opportunities
within the City and the
County. One of the things
we are hearing is that it is
a challenge trying to find
folks to fill those posi-
tions.”
Smith noted that in the
realm of economic devel-
opment he recognized the
importance of providing
support to already estab-
lished businesses as well as
attracting new businesses.
He spoke of bringing
local business owners to-
gether approximately every
45-60 days.
In these gatherings, busi-
nesses are able to discuss
ways that Smith can help
these businesses grow.
Smith says that in recent
meetings he has been
hearing that “there is a
real need for workforce
development. The jobs are
there they just can’t find
the right employee.”
In an effort to meet this
challenge, County Com-
mission Chair Bill Harvey
took the lead and with
Smith is bringing together
entities from throughout
the region such as Work
Source Oregon, BTI, The
Chamber, Economic De-
velopment, BMCC, DHS,
SMBC to name but a few
in an effort to assist local
business owners with an
organized summit called
Building a Better Business.
The summit will be held
November 1st at the Baker
County Event Center.
In a recent survey
conducted among local
businesses Smith asked
questions pertaining to
hiring, he found that 79%
of the 57 responses he
received back had hired an
employee in the last twelve
months and 66% said they
anticipated hiring an em-
ployee in the next twelve
months.
According to Smith busi-
nesses expressed reasons
for not hiring as varying
from employees struggling
with many different issues
including technical skills,
work ethic, and commu-
nication among the most
common.
The summit will have
a session on hiring and
retaining employees.
Smith then moved on to
an exciting new opportu-
nity that could potentially
help with a large concern
in Baker County; clean-
ing up the dead and dying
timber in our forests and
particularly our watershed
that currently pose a great
fire danger.
At the request of com-
missioners, Smith began
looking into options to
assist with addressing
options to remedy this
problem.
At a meeting with
Portland General Electric,
Smith was asked if he
knew what was happen-
ing at the coal fire plant in
Boardman.
He listened closely with
the understanding that the
Oregon Legislature has
said that energy sources
will have to become 50%
renewable sources within
the next 20 or 30 years.
PGE will have to switch
their coal fire plant to
another energy source by
2020.
Smith heard loud and
clear that PGE is looking
into using torrified wood.
Torrefaction is a 100%
natural process that leaves
wood stable and durable.
The Vikings used this
method to enhance the
resistance and durability of
wood.
First, the wood is gradu-
ally heated to approximate-
ly 130° for about 20 hours.
This process equalizes the
material and lowers the
moisture level to almost
0%.
The wood then un-
dergoes an intense heat
treatment where the wood
is heated to about 200°
to thermally modify its
molecular structure.
The wood is much less
subject to fluctuations in
moisture levels, giving it
unmatched stability and
durability.
The wood has much
greater resistance to decay
and insects. The tem-
perature is then gradually
lowered. During this phase,
the controlled addition
of water vapor brings
the moisture level of the
wood back to 4% to 7%
making the wood much
like charcoal. Smith sees
this as an opportunity for
Baker County to get on the
front end of the movement
creating jobs and economic
security in the area.
Smith estimates over
100 million tons of ter-
rified wood would be
needed annually and
obviously Baker County
can’t provide all of that,
it would be sourced from
all over leading Smith to
point out the possibility of
Baker City being a rail hub
to transport the product to
Boardman, adding another
element to the positive
economic impact.
He told Council that
this opportunity would
continue to be explored
and as he learned more he
would be advising them on
the matter.
Community Develop-
ment Update
Robin Nudd, recently
hired to serve roles as the
community developer
and as City Manager Fred
Warner Jr.’s management
assistant, briefly addressed
Council.
Warner introduced her
to Council saying, “Today
is only her ninth day on
the job, but she has hit the
ground running.”
Nudd advised Council
of a small array of projects
she has begun working
on including working
with Baker High School
on Brownfield projects,
which are properties
that are identified as real
property that has been
identified as being able to
redevelop or reuse but may
be contaminated by actual
or perceived environmen-
tal contaminations, for
example; mold.
The school has been in-
volved with these projects
for several years, most
notably the Ostwald site.
a machine shop operating
from the 1920s until 2000.
Grants from the US
EPA, DEQ and NEOEDD
helped to fund the cleanup
of the site. Other projects
mentioned were working
with BC Vibe and Main
Street projects.
Nudd advised she would
be meeting with HBC very
soon to discuss collabora-
tions.
Nudd also is planning a
meeting with businesses
on 10th Street in an effort
to reenergize the improve-
ment project planned for
that area.
Nudd also said she would
like to add a page on the
City’s website specifically
geared toward community
development.
Third Reading of Or-
dinance # 3350 Charter
Franchise Agreement;
Amending Ordinance #
3349
A third reading of this or-
dinance, in its entirety was
passed upon a unanimous
vote of the council. This
ordinance simply corrects
language in the previously
adopted ordinance. It will
not change the ordinance
in any way.
Vehicle Purchase Au-
thorization
The 2016-2017 adopted
budget allocated dollars for
the purchase of two pick-
up trucks, replacing two
pick-up’s the City already
owns and the acquisition
of an additional mid-sized
SUV for use by the build-
ing department. Those
allocated funds, $30,000
for one crew cab pick-up,
$28,000 for one extended
cab pick-up and $28,000
for one SUV were budget-
ed for in the equipment and
vehicle fund and building
funds respectively.
Michelle Owen advised
council that bids were so-
licited for the vehicles with
four separate bids being
received.
After clarifying that none
of the bids met all of the
specifications entirely,
City employees directly
impacted by the purchase
and use of these vehicles
reviewed the submissions
and selected what they felt
would be the best options.
Those that were chosen
were also the lowest cost
bids.
Owen explained that the
lowest bid for the crew
cab pick-up was from
Tonkin Nissan, out of the
Portland area, for a 2017
Nissan Frontier at a cost of
$26,442.
Owen advised Council
that Tonkin had contacted
her after the RFPs were all
received and the close date
to submit had passed to
inform her that they had a
year end 2016 model avail-
able they could offer at
roughly $500 less than the
2017 they had submitted a
bid for.
Owen stated she did not
feel it was entirely fair to
consider the 2016 model
as it was received after
the close date and was not
included in the official bid.
Councilor Joseph stated
that he did not feel a $500
discount was enough for a
year older vehicle, Council
agreed with the excep-
tion of Councilor Lowe
who felt perhaps an even
larger discount could be
offered for the 2016 model
with further negotiations.
Mayor Mosier and Owen
both agreed that unfortu-
nately that was not how
the “bid” system worked it
was different from the way
one would buy a personal
vehicle.
The lowest bid for the
extended cab pick-up was
from Gentry Auto Group
for a 2017 Ford F-150 ex-
tended cab for $25,023.28
and the SUV came back
with a lowest bid from
Baker Garage for a Chev-
rolet Traverse at $26,571.
All Vehicles were under
the budgeted amount.
Councilor Down-
ing moved to approve
the purchase of all three
recommended vehicles
with a second by Councilor
Thomas.
All Councilors voted in
favor with the exception of
Councilor Lowe. The mo-
tion carried.
City Manager/Director
Comments
Fred Warner Jr. advised
Council he had finalized
the contract for the Golf
Course but not in time to
get it in front of Council
for a vote and was working
to finalize the 911 dispatch
contract.
The 911 agreement will
go to the County Com-
missioners, since the City
contracts with the County
for those services. Once
approved by the Commis-
sioners the Council should
expect to see it in plenty of
time to review before vot-
ing on its approval.
He also mentioned a
meeting with the DEQ
and that it is time to begin
looking at options for im-
proving to the wastewater
system, which has become
critical.
He also mentioned that
he had been made aware
of improvements needing
to made on Main Street
concerning wheelchair
access, that there was not
the ability to navigate
easily from one side of the
street to the other. Michelle
Owen addressed Council
that the improvements and
upgrades to Sam-O Swim
Center were very near
completion. All projects
went well and they are
on schedule to reopen on
Monday October 3.
Council Comments
Councilor Abell men-
tioned the Taste of Baker
being held October 8,
2016, which will feature
24 vendors.
Tokens will begin being
sold at 2 p.m. that day
outside of Charley’s Deli,
US Bank, Earth and Vine,
Glacier 45 and the Little
Bagel Shop.
Councilor Thomas
reminded everyone that the
Cast Iron Chef Cook-off
will also be held October
8, 2016 from 9 a.m. to 2
p.m. at the Oregon Trail
Interpretive Center.
With nothing further
Mayor Mosier adjourned
the meeting.
the air in both Halfway and
Sumpter.
At present, Hunting-
ton has one established
dispensary with a potential
second in the works, and
an enormous grow site. A
stream of traffic with Idaho
license plates has become
common in Huntington.
Unity has at least two
grow sites, said Ash.
“Marijuana is still a drug
to me,” said Ash. He said
he can put his personal
opinions on the matter
aside, however, and work
with growers and dispen-
saries. “It’s legal,” he said
with a shrug.
Spencer gave a range
of statistics to the room.
“There are 194 registered
medical marijuana users
in Baker County,” he said.
In Union County there are
335, and 475 in Malheur
County. Statewide there
are 66,880.
29,832 registered “care-
givers” or medical marijua-
na growers are registered
in Oregon.
In Oregon, said Spencer,
85% of the applicants for
medical marijuana cards
are white males age 21-28
claiming chronic pain.
Spencer pointed out
that in Colorado, where
he just visited to receive
additional training, burn
center visits related to
butane explosions due to
marijuana-related activities
are up 120% since legal-
ization there, and also attri-
butes at least some of that
state’s 20% rise in welfare
recipients since that time to
legalized marijuana.
Several audience mem-
bers whispered agreement
while others voiced dis-
agreement, and pointed out
the tax benefits of legaliz-
ing the drug.
Spencer tried to bring the
discussion back around to
physical signs of consump-
tion, and the chemical
makeup of marijuana.
Spencer spoke to increas-
ing levels of THC—the
chemical component in the
buds that makes people
“high”—and how it differs
from much lower levels in
decades past.
Gina K. Swartz / The Baker County Press
Greg Smith gives updates on his office’s activities to the City Council.
SEE DRUGS PAGE 8