8 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017
Local
County: Three Planning Benefit
Commissioners reappointed
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
BY TODD ARRIOLA
Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com
The Baker County Board
of Commissioners held
its first, regular session
of the month on Wednes-
day, September 6, 2017, 9
a.m., in the Commission
Chambers of the Baker
County Courthouse, which
included concerns from
local miner Ed Hardt about
Planning Commission
member appointments and
term limits.
Present from the Board
were Chair Bill Harvey,
Commissioners Mark Ben-
nett and Bruce Nichols,
and Executive Assistant
Heidi Martin. Atten-
dance also included Baker
County Sheriff Travis Ash,
Baker County Road Master
Jeff Smith, Ken Anderson,
Tork and Wanda Ballard,
and Arvid Andersen.
Harvey called the meet-
ing to order, and provided
the Invocation, and led in
recitation of the Pledge of
Allegiance.
The agenda was adopted,
with one noted addition
from Martin, with a motion
from Bennett, and a second
from Nichols.
There was no noted com-
ment provided for Citizen
Participation, however,
Harvey said to Hardt that
he is still looking into an
issue that Hardt brought to
the Board’s attention dur-
ing a previous session.
The minutes from the
August 16, 2017 regular
session were approved,
with a motion from Ben-
nett, and a second from
Nichols,
Order No. 2017-145,
Designating A Sole
Source Provider For 420E
Caterpillar Cab For Baker
County Road Department,
was approved, along with
the purchase for the cab,
with a motion from Ben-
nett, and a second from
Nichols.
Prior to approval, Smith
discussed the purchase
with the Board.
Sukut Equipment &
Parts was designated sole
source provider, and the
Road Department planned
to purchase the cab, for
$8,030, from that provider,
to replace the damaged
cab on a 420E Caterpillar
backhoe.
A contract, between the
County and Tigard-based
Pauly Rogers and Co., PC,
for County audit services,
and an engagement letter
regarding the same, were
approved, with a motion
from Nichols, and a second
from Bennett. Nichols
explained some details
of the letter and contract
prior to approval, which he
recommended.
A reclassification of the
non-union position of Pa-
trol Sergeant, from Range
16, to Range 15, was
approved, with a motion
from Bennett, and a second
from Nichols.
Prior to approval, Ash
explained the purpose of
the reclassification, which
Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press
Citizens Tork and Wanda Ballard.
is more appropriate for
the Sheriff’s Department
overall structure.
Order No. 2017-144, Re-
appointing Members To
The Baker County Cultural
Coalition, was approved,
with a motion from Ben-
nett, and a second from
Nichols.
Ginger Savage and Chris
Cantrell were re-appointed,
their terms set to expire on
July 1, 2020.
Order No. 2017-146,
Directing The Baker
County Sheriff To Make
Sale Of County Property;
Fixing The Minimum Price
And Providing A Por-
tion Of The Conditions
And Terms Of Sale, was
approved, with a motion
from Harvey, and a second
from Bennett.
Martin recommended a
low minimum bid, which
was then set at $8,500.
An auction for the
property, located at 2130
9th Street, is scheduled for
Tuesday, October 31, 2017,
10 a.m., on the steps of the
Baker County Courthouse.
Order No. 2017-147, Di-
recting The Baker County
Sheriff To Make Sale Of
County Property; Fixing
The Minimum Price And
Providing A Portion Of
The Conditions And Terms
of Sale, was approved,
with a motion from Har-
vey, and a second from
Bennett.
The minimum bid was set
at $9,500, and per Har-
vey’s recommendation, the
requirement that the struc-
ture be removed within 60
days after purchase, and
per Bennett’s recommen-
dation, that all garbage be
removed within 10 days
after purchase.
An auction for the prop-
erty, located at 1440 13th
Street, is also scheduled for
Tuesday, October 31, 2017,
10 a.m., at the Courthouse.
Order No. 2017-148,
Appointing A Member To
The Transient Lodging Tax
Committee (TLTC), was
approved, with a motion
from Bennett, and a second
from Nichols. Loran
Joseph was appointed as
the City Representative for
the TLTC, his term set to
expire on August 1, 2020.
Order No. 2017-149,
Appointing Members To
The Baker County Plan-
ning Commission, was
approved, with a motion
from Nichols, and a second
from Harvey, with Bennett
abstaining.
Incumbent members
Suzan Ellis Jones, Jim
Grove, and Rob Crawford
were re-appointed to fill
three vacancies, their terms
set to expire on September
1, 2021.
Prior to approval, Ben-
nett said, “It’s probably
one of our toughest com-
missions to fill, because
there’s a lot of staff work
to do... I’m glad to see
that we have extra folks
applying (Melody Huff and
Terrie Simons, both from
Halfway, though Bennett
said there was possibly
one more, and Nichols and
Harvey said they weren’t
sure what happened with
that applicant)... I would
encourage everybody to
apply...”
He said that he would
prefer to have the Planning
Commission recommend
the people to fill the three
vacancies (according to the
staff report with the order,
the Planning Commission
hadn’t reviewed the ap-
plications).
Harvey added, “It takes
many, many years to
understand what’s going
on, and then to understand
the laws and process (he
served for 12 years)... I
just say, credit to those
who want to continue, and
I thank those who wanted
to apply for it...Those who
want to continue—their
knowledge level is greatly
appreciated, to help make
tough decisions.”
Hardt voiced con-
cerns about delays in the
Planning Commission
hearing process, which
he said were caused by
obstructionism within
the Commission, and
he said,“When you (the
Board) are going to vote
on this, you should think a
little bit about who you’re
appointing.”
Harvey said that the
Board’s involvement is
limited to matters that
come before it, and that
if there are clear cases of
obstructionism, the Board
has the authority to remove
members at a later date.
Bennett said that the Board
and Planning Department
watch for issues like that
closely, and that Hardt or
any other citizen can come
to the Board to express
concerns.
Hardt said his other
issue is that there are no
term limits for Planning
Commission members
(members are appointed
on four-year terms, with
re-appointments possible),
and Harvey said that the
Board will contact the
Planning Commission
about Hardt’s concern.
Wanda had asked about
term limits and quorum
details, but she emphasized
that she was not advocat-
ing for term limits.
During Commissioner
Update, an offer to pur-
chase foreclosed County
property, located at 1244
3rd Street, was approved,
with a motion from Ben-
nett, and a second from
Nichols.
The offer included a
purchase price of $25,500,
with a down payment of
$5,000, and payments on
a five-year term. Prior to
approval, Martin discussed
the details with the Board.
Nichols also encour-
aged citizens to fill out and
return a Community Ser-
vices Needs Assessment
recently mailed recently by
Community Connection of
Northeast Oregon, Inc.
Nichols explained the
importance of the assess-
ment, and he said, “Certain
people don’t have things
that we take for granted.”
He provided copies of the
assessment to press in at-
tendance, which included
Josh Dillen of The Baker
City Herald.
A work session is
scheduled for Wednesday,
September 13, 2017, 9
a.m., which will include
a continuing discussion
of a proposal to mine the
Sumpter Dredge tailings.
Petition drives scheduled
The Baker County Re-
publican Party will have a
petition drive on Saturday,
September 9th and 16th at
the corner of Campbell and
Grove, 1:00-6:00 p.m..
We are circulating the
repeal SB719 petitions
which will put this issue
on the ballot in November
2018. Any hopefully will
ultimately repeal by a vote
of the people, the Senate
gun confiscation bill that
was passed last session.
We will also have peti-
tions for:
Initiatives:
Petition ID #1 Prohib-
its spending public funds
directly/indirectly for abor-
tion.
Petition ID #5 Voters
must provide ID proving
citizenship
Petition ID #22 Overturns
Oregon Sanctuary statute
Referendums:
Petition ID # 301
Will repeal Gov. Brown’s
new healthcare sales and
service taxes.
Petition ID #302 Will re-
peal SB719, gun confisca-
tion law
Any questions or if
anyone would like to help
circulate petitions, please
call Suzan Ellis Jones at
541-519-5035.
According to Harrington’s mother, Robin Harrington,
“She has Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome. It’s fairly rare. Most
of the people who get it are kids—babies and kids—and
they’re very physically and mentally handicapped, but Ta-
sha got it when she was older so she’s not like most kids
are that get this epilepsy. She’s considered high function-
ing, but she can’t live on her own or have any job really,
she would have to be somewhere where people were
trained to deal with her and it would be a huge liability.
So, it’s really difficult trying to come up with something
that would work out for that.”
According to a press release by Lynette Perry, Events
Coordinator/Treasurer for Baker City Events: “She has
seizures every day, some much worse than others. Her
Mom is a beautician (who suffers with chronic migraines)
and does lots of party plan type businesses to try to make
a living and her dad is a seasonal blue collar worker. They
are not the kind of people who would ask for help or take
hand-outs. But their daughter’s life is at risk. They have
had yard sales and are trying their best to raise the funds,
but yard sales are not going to generate the money they
need.
“They need to raise $10,000 to qualify for a grant pro-
gram to cover the cost of the dog which runs an average
of $40,000. The dog would warn Tasha ahead of time that
a seizure is coming so she could get to a safe place. Falls
on cement or the middle of the street or even in bedroom
hitting her head on dresser are daily threats for her and
happen all too often. The bright lights of the cross walk
can trigger a seizure.”
“So many people donated to this fund raiser today that
I can’t even say thank you enough,” said Robin Har-
rington.
Perry said that Harrington’s mother has been her hair-
dresser for years and put the benefit concert together in
two weeks.
“I saw her grandmother had a post on Facebook,” Perry
said. “And was going on about how extreme it was and
I thought; ‘You know, I have insurance coverage for the
last Sunday of the summer in September, we don’t have
anything booked. We can throw a benefit concert for her!”
According to a press release: “Musicians who donated
their time and talent to the benefit concert were: Salt Lick
#39: Marilyn Haynes, Lonnie Shurtleff, Manny Guiter-
rez, Tim; Gloria Kandle, Duane Boyer; Debbie Friedman
and Michael Porter; Coyote Joe Sartin; Marvin Sundean;
Nancy Ames; Doc and Robert.”
Raffle baskets and gift certificates were donated by
Baker City Events, Baker County Republicans, Betty’s
Books, Black Distributing, Chill’z, Guyer and Associ-
ates, Audrey Hindman, Old West Federal Credit Union,
Lynette Perry donated Melaleuca products, Bob and Kay
Petrik donated Khmer Krafts purses, Rising Phoenix Met-
al Works, Serenity Salon, Teresa Smith donated Scentsy
products, Sorbenots Coffee, Sycamore Tree, Tawny’s Toy
Box, Ron Vinson, and Tori Whiting.
People who still wish to make donations can make
checks out to Baker City Events/Dog and mail them to
P.O Box 1126, Baker City Oregon.
Power rates to
increase
On July 26, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)
adopted a 5.4 percent average wholesale power rate
increase and an average transmission rate decrease of 0.7
percent for the cost of power it provides to its not-for-
profit electric utilities in the Northwest, including Oregon
Trail Electric Cooperative (OTEC). BPA will apply this
rate increase to OTEC’s wholesale power purchases
beginning October 1, 2017.
Over the last several months OTEC has been discuss-
ing its cost of service, the potential impacts of a BPA
wholesale rate increase and associated distribution cost
increases. OTEC’s current average rate including their
power supply and distribution costs ranks them 26th low-
est in the nation.
“Regardless of this favorable ranking, we continue to
focus on utility operations and efficiency in delivering
power. Because we understand the impact it has on our
local economies,” said OTEC General Manager Les Pen-
ning.
BPA delivers clean renewable hydropower to more than
140 Northwest utilities and continues to face significant
challenges in several areas.
“The combination of a recent court decision order-
ing increased spill at the hydroelectric dams along the
Columbia River and the collapse of the secondary energy
market has many Northwest utilities who get their power
from BPA, including OTEC, concerned,” added Penning.
“Combined with continued investments in their aging
infrastructure (approximately $6 billion over the next 6
years) and lost revenues from the reduced demand for the
sale of the excess power BPA produces, consumers may
now be expected to make up for those lost revenues.”
Historically, the sales of BPA’s excess energy onto the
secondary open energy market helped to reduce whole-
sale rates to their consumers, including OTEC.
Prior to the increase taking affect in October, OTEC’s
Board of Directors will review the final “Cost of Service”
study assessing revenue requirements for operations of
OTEC’s distribution system and the final landing point of
the wholesale power cost and approve the final rate.
“When looking at rates, generally our Board of Direc-
tors will concentrate on two primary categories,” said
Penning. “Delivery charge and energy charge.”
For more information on BPA’s rate increase visit
www.bpa.gov/news.