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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 4, 2010)
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010 Page 12 Pressure mounts for release of bio-fuels grant documentation (Continued from page 1) Additional information was requested by the county as to “specific expenditures of grant funds,” the letter states. Compliance with that request apparently has been compli- cated by legal issues. “In your letter of Febru- ary 9, 2010, you advise that because of the risk of litigation more information would be unavailable at that time,” the letter states. “Please provide an accounting of the specific ex- penditures of the grant funds. We request that you refund to Josephine County any remain- ing unexpended funds from the grant.” The drafting of the letter came after a series of ex- changes during the commis- sion’s Wednesday, July 21 weekly business session at Anne G. Basker Auditorium in Grants Pass. During part of the meet- ing set aside for comments from citizens, Southern Ore- gon Resource Alliance (SORA) Chairman Jim Frick announced his intention to file a public records request for information regarding the grant and all pertinent docu- ments and correspondence. Frick said that there has been a “lack of accountability” as to how the grant money has been spent. SORA Vice Chairman Jack Swift said that he had presented the commissioners a petition in July asking the board to order DeLashmutt to conduct an audit and account- ing of the grant money. Swift said that the docu- ment he received in response was the “same balance sheet we had back in December.” JSWCD performed an audit and accounting in the third quarter of 2009, Swift said, which led to the termina- tion of its contract with N.W. Seed Crushers. “I don’t understand why we can’t get that,” Swift said. “I think that the audit is impor- tant.” Cassanelli, who voted against the grant allocation, agreed. “I feel we should get an itemization of that money,” she said. “I want the money back.” Swift said that unless there was criminal activity involved, JSWCD has “no excuse” for withholding the documents. Toler responded by invit- ing SORA members to visit Southern Oregon Seed Oil’s facility in Murphy. He said that firm has “very exciting potential,” and that it utilizes many local growers and manu- factures a variety of products. Frick stated that he would like someone to prove the sus- tainability of economic devel- opment projects absent the use of grant money. Cassanelli said that the grants should be limited to between $10,000 and $20,000. If firms need more money County board OKs FAA grant (Continued from page 1) used to construct the facility, according to Lieberman. Characterizing it as an “exceptionally strong pro- posal,” Toler said that the construction jobs could start in the fall. Health care is one of the major fields for family wage jobs in the area, Toler said, and the county is being asked to fund less than 10 percent of the project costs. Cassanelli suggested that the board approve a $20,000 grant and $30,000 loan. She said that granting $50,000 would be “hard to swallow.” She added that the release of county funds should be con- tingent on SOASTC securing its other financial commit- ments. Board Chairman Dwight Ellis asked Rosemary DeLashmutt, county chief financial officer, about the logistics of monitoring a loan. She replied that the county does not have a policy or pro- cedure to do so, but added that a Southern Oregon Re- gional Economic Develop- ment Inc. committee is work- ing on establishing such guidelines. Cassanelli moved to approve a $25,000 grant and a 10-year, zero-percent inter- est loan for $25,000, contin- gent upon SOASTC receiving its other funding streams. Ellis seconded the mo- tion, which passed 3-0. Toward the end of the meeting, Cassanelli asked permission to use the Anne G. Basker Auditorium in Grants Pass for a town hall meeting on the second Friday in August. Cassanelli said that the topic would be the recent report issued by federal offi- cials regarding long-term natural resource plans for the region. She said that a variety of groups could be invited, including miners and preser- vationist groups. Ellis said that he is op- posed to holding town hall meetings until after the Nov. 2 general election. A brief argument ensued between Cassanelli and Ellis. Toler said that he also was against allowing Cassanelli to use the auditorium for the town hall meeting. No motions were voted on by the board regarding Cassanelli’s request. Advocacy Services Barber beyond that, she added, it might be provided in the form of a loan. Ellis, who is board chair- man, said that the county is working on changing its grant- ing criteria, with the help of Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development Inc. The new criteria will in- clude job creation potential, sustainability and the business plan proposed by the firm re- questing the grant, Ellis stated. Besides Frick, the incum- bent also was criticized for the grant debacle by Simon Hare, who is challenging Toler in the Nov. 2 election. Hare, of Cave Junction, said that it is “irresponsible” for the board to not approach agricultural producers in the area before honoring the grant request. For example, Hare said, viticulture and nurseries are “noncontroversial” agricul- tural industries that are strong “There are questions about whether the grantee met the terms of the grant,” Green said. “In our role advising the soil and water district, we are looking into that.” He continued, saying that he could not provide informa- tion covered by the attorney- client privilege between DOJ and JSWCD. “There is a dispute over the performance of the grant,” Green added. “Because of that, there is always the potential for litigation. “Also because of that, it limits how much we can say at this point. Once it’s resolved, I think the soil and water con- servation district will be will- ing to provide whatever infor- mation they can provide. Illinois Valley News was able to verify that Frick has submitted his information re- quest to the county. throughout the state. He then accused Toler of “muddying the water” and “misleading the public” by mentioning Southern Oregon Seed Oil, as that firm received none of the grant money in question. Toler countered that the company would not have started if not for the bio-fuels project and related grant. “If it’s such a great pro- gram, let it stand on its own,” Hare said. Risk is always a part of any business venture, Toler said, adding that there are no guarantees of success. In a telephone interview in March, Oregon Dept. of Justice (DOJ) spokesman Tony Green had little to articu- late about an investigation regarding N.W. Seed Crush- ers. DOJ is providing JSWCD legal advice in the matter, Green said, which limits what can be said. SOREDI committee direction ... (Continued from page 1) will prioritize the issues and projects that they consider most important. Specific action plans will be developed dur- ing September, at which point the subcommittees are set to use the advisers assigned to them for technical support. They also will identify com- munity partners and coordinate with them. Subcommittee members will spend October concentrating on funding the various economic development projects they formulate. Also, estab- lishing performance and progress benchmarks. By the end of November, the subcommittees are scheduled to draft reports and distribute them to the full committee for review. Those reports will be provided to officials from the county and the cities of Grants Pass and Cave Junction by the end of December. Presentations will be given to those officials in January after final adjustments are made by committee members. Smith said that he will facilitate the first few subcommittee meetings, at which point members will pick their own chairmen and vice chairmen. The subcommittees will meet two times per month at the OED building. Members are limited to two subcommittees each so as to avoid scheduling conflicts and burn- out. The full committee will meet again in early October, after all subcommittees have had a chance to meet four times. Members of the governmental subcommittee include Larry West. He serves on the county’s budget committee. Don Dougherty is another member, and he also serves on the county’s land development advisory committee. Technical support for that subcommittee will be provided by Steve Dahl, economic develop- ment director for the city of Grants Pass; and Bill Peterson, an administrator for Copeland Paving & Gravel, who once was Grants Pass city man- ager. The workforce and business support sub- committee will include John Lopez from Rogue Community College, Dahl, Illinois Valley resi- dent Kenny Houck; and Gail Gasso, who man- ages the OED Medford and Grants Pass offices. 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