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