The Baker County press., October 20, 2017, Page 8, Image 8

8 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2017
Local
County approves $99K Wyden holds
to City over three years town hall
CONTINUED FROM
PAGE 1
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 Planning Director
Holly Kerns, Baker County
Administrative Services
Director Christena Cook,
Baker County Technology
Department Director Bill
Lee, Baker County Emer-
gency Management Direc-
tor Jason Yencopal, Baker
County Emergency Man-
agement Deputy Director/
Fire Authority Gary Timm,
Baker County Sheriff
Travis Ash, Baker County
Facilities Maintenance
Foreman Dan McQuisten,
Baker City Manager Fred
Warner, Baker City Interim
Fire Chief Cliff Hall, Bak-
er Heritage Museum Vice
Chair Dave Hunsaker, and
Tork and Wanda Ballard.
Harvey opened the
session, provided the
Invocation, and led in
recitation of the Pledge of
Allegiance. The agenda
was adopted, with no noted
changes, with a motion
from Bennett, and a second
from Nichols.
Citizen Participation in-
cluded Muller, who said he
disagreed with the Board’s
decision not to take any
action against County
Planning Commissioner
Rob Crawford, whose
two non-permitted (at the
time) home additions were
brought to the attention of
the City Building Depart-
ment and the County
Planning Department,
by a County citizen, this
spring (this initial Building
Department investigation
is detailed in the Friday,
September 22, 2017 is-
sue of The Baker County
Press).
The Board subsequently
decided to allow the inves-
tigative process to contin-
ue, and to send the matter
to the Planning Commis-
sion for its own review.
Muller said, “You all
agreed that the responsibil-
ity lies with the Planning
Commission. This is an
example of the ‘Good Ole
Boy’ system ... You don’t
punish them ... This ... way
of handling those of you
who violate the rules and
by-laws of the County is
appalling. It must stop ... I
ask that you three Com-
missioners fire Robert
Crawford ... If one of the
Planning Commission
members ... cannot keep
his Planning Commis-
sion rules himself, then he
should not be a member...”
Harvey said the process
is continuing, and, “We’re
not done yet ... They (the
Planning Commission)
have the opportunity and
the right to make a deci-
sion, if they’re going to
make one ... Then, it comes
to us ...We didn’t send it
off to them to sweep it un-
der the rug—we sent it off
to them, because that’s our
responsibility to do...”
Bennett said, “I’m
certain we can agree that
everyone is entitled to
due process. Everyone is
entitled to review ...With-
out that, it would be really
unfair, to unilaterally fire
him, without any due
process...”
Nichols echoed the
Board’s sentiments, and
Samantha O’Conner / The Baker County Press
Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press
Baker City Manager Fred Warner, Jr. addresses the three Baker County Com-
missioners.
Sen. Ron Wyden.
BY SAMANTHA O’CONNER
Samantha@TheBakerCountyPress.com
said, “We did not have all
the facts ...We couldn’t
make a decision with the
information that we had at
the time ...”
Muller asked when the
Board first knew of the
reported conditions, Har-
vey said he’d read about it
in the article, and Bennett
said he knew earlier, but
he didn’t realize what the
magnitude of the projects
was at the time.
Crawford was first
appointed as a Planning
Commissioner last Decem-
ber, and re-appointed in
September.
The minutes from the
Wednesday, October 4,
2017 regular session were
approved, with no noted
corrections, with a motion
from Bennett, and a second
from Nichols.
Lee provided a Technol-
ogy Department update,
which included, among
other details, a discussion
of the County Courthouse’s
new backup power genera-
tor, which sits in a fenced
area near the building, on
the north side.
Lee said, “I want to
emphasize the importance
of the backup generator...”
He spoke about the issues
of the past, with only
the department’s (costly)
battery backup systems in
place, and the hours it took
to revive affected equip-
ment, a situation that’s
been vastly improved with
the generator.
He said there’s an
advantage to not losing
power, over losing it and
regaining it.
Lee said that the Health
Department, the Sheriff’s
Department, and now the
County Courthouse, all
have backup generator
power.
Addendum No. 7 to a
lease agreement, between
the County and Sackos
Land Company, Ltd., for
real property commonly
known as the Pocahontas
Medical Office Building,
located at 3330 Pocahontas
Road, was approved, with
a motion from Bennett,
and a second from Nichols.
The new lease agreement
covers the period of July
1, 2017, through June 30,
2018.
A Baker Heritage Mu-
seum drywall repair and
replace bid, from Baker-
based Damschen Interiors,
Inc., for a total of $13,843,
was approved, with a
motion from Bennett, and
a second from Nichols.
The sole bid received was
from Damschen, to address
interior water damage dur-
ing last winter, McQuisten
explained.
A County Facilities
purchase, for a John Deere
1023E Sub-Compact Util-
ity Tractor, for a total of
$21,450, was approved,
with a motion from Har-
vey, and a second from
Nichols.
As McQuisten ex-
plained, the tractor is being
purchased to replace a
Grasshopper lawn ma-
chine, purchased in 1995,
and primarily used for
cleaning ice and snow
from sidewalks, that has
since become inoperable,
without available parts.
A Professional Services
Agreement, between the
County, and Doni Bru-
land, for the services of
researching and applying
for funding opportunities,
through local, state, and
federal agencies, for the
prevention and treatment
of invasive weed species in
the County, was approved,
with a motion from Nich-
ols, and a second from
Bennett.
The agreement covers
the period of July 1, 2017,
through June 30, 2018,
and the County will pay
Bruland up to $3,000.
The Board discussed the
City’s proposed acceptance
of a SAFER grant (Staff-
ing for Adequate Fire and
Emergency Response),
with Warner.
As detailed in the Friday,
October 13, 2017 issue
of The Baker County
Press, acceptance of the
grant, which would add
three positions to the Fire
Department, would require
a substantial funding
match from the City, funds
it doesn’t have, which
prompted the discussion
with the County.
Warner suggested earlier
that an open position at
the Police Department,
which the newly imple-
mented public safety fee
was meant in large part to
help fund and save, be left
unfilled in order to find
funding.
During discussion of the
issue, Harvey asked what
the City’s shortfall would
be, with acceptance of the
grant, and Warner said
$33,000 per year, for the
next three years.
Bennett and Nichols em-
phasized the need to assist
the City with the funding
shortfall, and Bennett said
there isn’t much choice.
Nichols said he likes a
previously suggested idea,
to first use a one-time
payment of tax money col-
lected from the legal sales
of marijuana, which could
be around $30,000 each,
for the City and the County
(both entities had opted out
of allowing dispensaries),
but this funding has yet to
be received.
Harvey stressed that
ideas for the three-year
period would amount to a
“band-aid,” (those discuss-
ing the topic agreed) and a
short-term fix, and that not
all funding is guaranteed.
Ultimately, up to $99,000
was approved to be paid to
the City, over the course of
four budget periods, with
any cost savings shared,
with further details to be
worked out between Cook
and the City, with a motion
from Nichols, a second
from Bennett, and Harvey
abstaining (he said he
was not opposed, but just
abstaining).
The Board held a public
hearing in the matter of
Ordinance No. 2017-05,
Baker County Mineral
Leasing Rules; Declaring
An Emergency.
The purpose of the
ordinance, as stated in the
document, “...is to pre-
scribe uniform procedures
for obtaining and conduct-
ing operations under and
mining leases covering
County-owned lands and
mineral rights under the
jurisdiction of the County
of Baker.”
Kerns provided some
maps for the Board to
review, in regard to acre-
age and parcel locations,
related to potential mining
(mining of the Sumpter
Dredge tailings was dis-
cussed specifically during
previous sessions).
After some discussion,
Bennett said he, Kerns,
and Yencopal will travel
to the locations to com-
plete further research, to
clarify access, among other
details.
The Board discussed
some changes to the ordi-
nance, which Kerns then
made, returning later dur-
ing the session, with copies
of the amended document.
SEE COUNTY
PAGE 10
Thursday, October 12th, Senator Ron Wyden held his
second Baker City town hall meeting this year. In the
meeting, Wyden welcomed questions and statements from
those attending and answered questions regarding local
concerns, health care, war and several other topics.
The first question for the night was concern about war
between the U.S and North Korea.
Wyden said he is also concerned about the situation
with North Korea and discussed non-military tools that
could open conversations between the U.S and North
Korea. He discussed his support of sanctions, increasing
trade with North Korea.
“I do think that members of Congress on both sides of
the aisle, Democrats and Republicans, based on that sanc-
tions vote right before the summer recess is a very strong
signal that, what has traditionally been Democrat or
Republican deference to the Executive Branch, the Com-
mander in Chief, members are now saying there’s going
to have to be a lot more oversight and a lot more done to
try to deal with these challenges,” explained Wyden.
For the second question, they talked about the Afford-
able Care Act, and asked why Wyden thought it was so
hard for congress to figure out how to do that for every-
body.
“First, I am very much for universal coverage,” ex-
plained Wyden.
He discussed that money is being spent but not in the
right places and controlling health care prices and pre-
scription medication costs.
“There are going to be a lot of approaches on the
table,” explained Wyden. “But if you share my view,
both for moral and economic reasons, we’ve got to get all
Americans good quality affordable coverage and for the
amount we are spending today, we can do it. This is going
to be priority business.”
One member of the audience brought up having her
television through Blue Mountain Translator District and
T-Mobile is “somehow coming in and causing all sorts of
chaos.” She asked if there was anything he could do to
stop it.
Wyden explained that he is very concerned about TV
monopolies coming in and changing local agreements.
“One of the biggest areas we’re going to have to push
back on involves communications and the monopolies,”
said Wyden.
He went on to discuss Net Neutrality, which is people
paying their internet access fee and people can go where
they want, when they want, and how they want. He
explained the “big guys are coming in and they don’t like
Net Neutrality.”
“What I do when an industry wants to do something
that’s going to charge people a lot more than they’re be-
ing charged today, I say it’s my job to unpack that and to
make an independent judgment about what’s needed to
protect the consumer,” said Wyden.
An audience member thanked Wyden for his wildfire
funding efforts and asked for comments on them. Wyden
explained that the fires that Oregon had this year were
“not your grandfather’s fires—they’re bigger, they’re hot-
ter, they’re more powerful.”
“If you had told me when first came to Oregon in 1971
that we’d see a fire that could jump the Columbia River,
you know cause it’s been Forestry 101 that a river works
as a break on fires and we had it literally leap the river,”
said Wyden. “Southern Oregon, the Brookings Fire, Wil-
lamette Valley, the Gorge, and all over the state, we saw
these extraordinary fires and it just seems to me the single
most important priority has to be finding smarter and
more effective way to prevent these huge fires in the first
place. That’s the most important thing.”
Wyden then discussed the Dreamers or the DACA kids
and explained that they are college students, trying to be
college students, or working and often came to the U.S
with their parents when they were two months old and
have not been back to Mexico.
SEE WYDEN PAGE 9