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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 2017)
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 3 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2017 Business / Agriculture County Commissioners discuss Planning Commissioner, BCDC, etc. Friday, September 29, 2017 — Eastern Oregon Prices trended generally steady. Sporadic rain showers and thunderstorms in hay growing areas have increased rain damagedhay availability. Re- tail/Stable type hay remains the largest demanded hay. Tons Price Range Wtd Avg Alfalfa / Large Square Good/ Premium 30 160.00-160.00 160.00 BY TODD ARRIOLA Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com The Baker County Board of Commissioners held its first, regular session of the month on Wednes- day, October 4, 2017, 9 a.m., in the Commission Chambers of the Baker County Courthouse, with various updates, including a Planning Commissioner Compliance update, from Planning Director Holly Kerns, and Baker City Building Official Ken Hall. 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 Fair Manager An- gie Turner, Baker County Assessor Kerry Savage, Blue Mountain Translator District Administrator Alex McHaddad, and Jefferson Mining District Coordinat- ing Officer Art Sappington. Harvey opened the session, and provided the Invocation, noting espe- cially the recent military and civilian fallen, and led in recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. The agenda was adopted, with a noted addition, with a motion from Harvey, and a second from Nichols. Citizen Participation included Sappington, who provided a brief update on the Jefferson Mining District’s (JMD) efforts in showcasing the issues min- ers are facing with policies and regulations, as well as the benefits of mining, including economic de- velopment. He discussed the continuing effort to get more available funding to universities, in order to continue with mineral studies. The minutes from the Wednesday, September 20, 2017 regular session were approved, with one noted correction from Harvey, with a motion from Ben- nett, and a second from Nichols. Turner provided a Fair Department update, and she said, commenting on the increase in participa- tion, “I think it was a better Fair this year, than it was in previous years; we had a lot more kids...” The kids’ animal auction this year brought in a total of $260,562 (so far), and 375 people were served at the luncheon before auc- tion. She said there was a variety of entertainment, including music and games (a notable giant Jenga puzzle was made from two-by-fours). The num- ber of hogs each year at the Fair is increasing, how- ever, the number of lambs is decreasing, she said. Future Fair projects include the bandstand, possibly in April; the north entrance double doors; a new roof; and insulation (she said she’s working on funding grants). Weed control and clean-up have posed some issues, because of the lack of maintenance personnel (one left in May, and their replacement recently gave notice), but John Jeffries has been con- tracted to deal with weed control. Possible changes — Weekly Hay Report — Alfalfa Large Square Good 220 150.00-150.00 14=50.00 USDA Market News Service—AMS.USDA.gov — Cattle Market Report — Wednesday, September 27, 2017 Vale, Oregon Cattle sold through the auction: 885 Steer Calves 300-400# Bulk 161.00-184.00 Top 200.00 400-500# Bulk 154.00-176.00 Top 177.00 500-600# Bulk 149.00-161.00 Top 163.50 Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press Ken Hall and Holly Kerns. next year include a music festival with vendors, around the date range of August 16-18, she said. An Intergovernmen- tal Lease Amendment, between the State Water Resources Department, and the County, for the purposes of reinstating the lease, documenting the parties’ past performance during tenancy, correcting errors, and updating the parties’ agreements going forward, was approved, with a motion from Ben- nett, and a second from Nichols. Per the lease, the State will continue to pay the County for office space to house State Water em- ployees, from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018, with the option to extend for an additional year. McHaddad provided a Blue Mountain Translator District (BMTD) update, first introducing himself as the new Administrator, since mid-July. He said, “I found that the agency suf- fered a number of admin- istrative deficiencies that were highly publicized, but are now being resolved...” He explained that he and the BMTD Board found issues with fee exemption letter processing for the 2016-2017 fiscal year, and improper assessments (an annual $100 fee is charged by BMTD to each property owner in the District who uses BMTD’s broadcast signal). He said that a proper list was submitted to the County Assessor in September, and that in the future, this shouldn’t be an issue. Among other details, McHaddad said that, in August, the District was informed that 11 of its 20 channels would be displaced, due to T-Mo- bile’s purchase of the 600 millihertz frequency from the Federal government, during the FCC’s auction earlier this year. This has caused BMTD serious budget issues, as 30% of its budget has to now be spent on a consulting firm, new equipment, and pay- ing a wage to an engineer- ing staff. Congressman Greg Walden, while sym- pathetic, would be unable to assist with resolving funding issues until next year, McHaddad said. Order No. 2017-156, Re- Appointing A Member To The Transient Lodging Tax Committee (TLTC), was approved, with a motion from Nichols, and a second from Bennett, with Harvey abstaining. Lea Gettle was re-appointed, her term set to expire on August 1, 2020 (Kurt Miller and Barbara Sidway had also applied). Order No. 2017-157, Re-Appointing Members To The Baker County Development Corporation (BCDC), was approved, with a motion from Har- vey, and a second from Bennett. Alice Trindle and Cliff Schoeningh were re-appointed, their terms set to expire on October 1, 2020. Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort (ALMR) General Manager Peter Johnson, on behalf of the BCDC, recommended the re-appointments to the Commission. Point of clarification: According to ALMR information, the BCDC, a 501(C)(3) non- profit, was formed in 2006, to educate the citizens of Baker County in leadership and community issues, to involve those citizens in related activities, and to engage in County-wide tourism marketing. On October 1, 2010, the owners of ALMR gifted the resort to the existing BCDC, which took over operation and oversight of management of ALMR. As a condition of accep- tance of the gift, BCDC was required to change its purpose, which is now to provide educational and recreational opportunities in the County, to benefit the general public, and to engage in any activity that furthers that purpose. Other than appointing BCDC members, the County Commission Board has no direct involvement in the operation of the ski area, nor are County funds used for the operation of ALMR. Order No. 2017-158, Re-Appointing Members To The Early Learning Regional Council, was approved, with a motion from Harvey, and a second from Nichols. Mark Witty, Andrew Bryan, Al- lison Deputy, and Tammy McEnroe were re-appoint- ed, their terms set to expire on June 30, 2019. Order No. 2017-159, Re-Appointing A Member To The Baker County Wolf Depredation Compensation Advisory Committee, was approved, with a motion from Bennett, and a second from Nichols. Curt Jacobs, representing the sheep industry, was re-appointed, his term set to expire on September 1, 2020. Ben- nett and Martin said there is still a vacancy for a co-exist representative on the committee, and Ben- nett encouraged interested citizens to apply for that position. Kerns and Hall provided an update on an issue that was brought to the attention of the Build- ing Department, and the Planning Department, two reportedly non-permitted additions to County Plan- ning Commissioner Rob Crawford’s home in Half- way, which he owns with his wife, Elizabeth. Crawford himself sits on the Board that governs the permitting process for applicants. The initial investigation by the Building Depart- ment, prompted by a citi- zen’s complaint, is detailed in the Friday, September 22, 2017 issue of The Baker County Press. Kerns said, “The Build- ing Official and I have been working together to make sure that any permits that are required are obtained...I just talked to Mr. Crawford a little bit about what happened...” and she explained the per- mitting process. She said there were some modifica- tions that showed up in the 2016 assessment of the property, and that Craw- ford had met with Hall on Thursday, September 29. Hall said, after noting that the Building Depart- ment had sent a violation notification letter to Craw- ford, Crawford invited Hall to inspect the prop- erty to see the modifica- tions, and Hall said, “He was very cooperative...” Hall inspected the site, took photos, and he said that Crawford did apply recently to the Building Department, for the proper permits. Crawford wrote to Kerns, on October 2, 2017: “Hello, Holly! This is to let you know I submitted all the required permit ap- plications for my remod- eling project--structural, electrical, and plumbing- -on Friday, September 29.” SEE COUNTY PAGE 4 Heifer Calves 300-400# Bulk 153.00-167.00 Top 170.00 400-500# Bulk 139.00-156.00 Top 159.00 500-600# Bulk 127.00-141.00 Top 142.50 Yearling Steers 600-700# Bulk 147.00-161.00 Top 162.50 700-800# Bulk 124.00-145.00 Top 147.00 800-900# Bulk 132.00-139.00 Top 139.25 900-1,000# Bulk 126.00-137.00 Top 137.50 Yearling Heifers 600-700# Bulk 125.00-139.00 Top 141.50 700-800# Bulk 124.00-137.00 Top 139.00 800-900# Bulk 123.00-131.00 Top 132.50 900-1,000# Bulk 119.00-125.00 Top 126.00 Thin Shelly Cows 43.00-59.00 Butcher Cows 61.00-68.00 Butcher Bulls 68.00-81.00 Stock Cows N/A Younger Heifers 72.00-88.00 Stock Cows Young - 1110.00-1475.00 ProducersLivestock.com 541-473-3136 — Log Price Report — Prices are based on the majority of saw mills in Northeastern Oregon and Central Idaho. The prices listed below are a composite prices of various saw- mills willing to visit with me about this topic. Ponderosa Pine—small diameter class 8-11 inches diameter class $250 per mbf. Only one sawmill was willing to buy small diameter pine at this time. Ponderosa Pine—medium diameter class 12-17 inches diameter class $300 to $350 per mbf Ponderosa Pine-large diameter class 18 plus inches diameter class $380 to $410 per mbf The Pine prices are still approximately $40 per mbf below average lumber/log market due to 2017 fire salvage Doug Fir & Western Larch—$380 to $420 per mbf. Normal prices typically ranged between $425 to $475 per mbf. White Fir-$300 per mbf. Normal prices typically ranged between $340 to $360 per mbf. Engelmann Spruce—$350 at one Idaho sawmill, other sawmills including with White fir prices. In general, the log prices still impacted from 2015 fire season and fire salvage that resulted. Sawmills are starting to get log yard inventory in line with sawmill production needs. With a new Administra- tion as of 1/20/2017, a more normal economic envi- ronment should result and hopefully a more healthy housing situation will result in a better climate for Northeast Oregon Sawmill and private forest land- owners. Courtesy of Arvid Andersen, Andersen Forestry Consulting — Precious Metals Report — Price per ounce, USD Gold: $1,274.40 Silver: $16.65 Platinum: $911.85 Palladium: $919.68 Bloomberg.com — Ag Commodities — Corn: $349.50/bu/USD Wheat: $448.00/bu/USD Soybeans: $955.25/bu/USD Oats: $251.25 bu/USD Rough Rice: $12.01/cwt/USD Canola: $493.10 CAD/mwt Live Cattle: $114.90//lb./USD Feeder Cattle: $154.25/lb./USD Lean Hogs: $62.18/lb./USD Bloomberg.com
