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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2018)
A7 THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2018 Lee: ‘I didn’t go out and start any of the struggles’ Continued from Page A1 ple haven’t followed that.” that the county is in good shape, we’re working on providing services.” Lee, a progressive and environmentalist, pointed to major environmental decisions as some of his most memorable moments . Top of mind for him are choices to reject a liquefi ed natural gas pipeline and ter- minal in Warrenton and to withdraw from a class-ac- tion timber lawsuit against the state. “The LNG controversy really brought the commu- nity together,” Lee said. “I think protecting the diverse value of our forests was a really important position we made.” County Manager Cam- eron Moore has been with the county since 2016 and is retiring in January . Moore said he tends not to focus on the past and did not offer many refl ections on his tenure. “That’s sort of not the way I approach my thought process,” Moore said. “It’s just more my philosophy. You just have to go in and earn it.” But he did speak a lit- tle bit about his time work- ing with Lee. Moore and Lee would meet ahead of county commission meet- ings to review agendas. “I think it was fairly easy to work with Scott because I respected his position as chair and he respected my position as county man- ager, and that allowed us to have a positive working relationship,” Moore said. Commissioner Sarah Nebeker — the board’s vice chairwoman, who has served since 2013 — incoming Commissioner Mark Kujala — a former Warrenton mayor — and Thompson have all expressed interest in replac- ing Lee as chair. Lee, who has served as chairman for the past fi ve years, has endorsed Nebeker. “She’d be the obvious choice based on experience and skills leading the board,” Lee said. “I think she has a great personality to lead the board.” The new chair will l ead the commission’s search for a new county manager. Mon- ica Steele, the county’s bud- get and fi nance director, as well as the interim county manager, has said she would likely apply. Moore had had discus- sions with Steele about the job for more than two years. “I think if she decided she wanted to apply, given my opportunity to work closely with her in my time here, she is certainly someone I support based on what I know about her and her ability,” Moore said. Lee, who owns Bikes and Beyond in Astoria, said he will remain involved in local politics. He will volunteer with a local environmental group, but is waiting to show his hand until the new com- mission is in place. “You never know where I’ll pop up,” Lee said. “You never know which next fi ght is going to come that I’m not going to invite.” ‘Obvious choice’ Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Commissioner Sarah Nebeker, left, recognizes Scott Lee for his service as chairman of the Clatsop County commission at a meeting in December. ‘Don’t go looking for a fi ght’ Lee’s relationships with other county commissioners were not always positive. He did not shy away from fi ghts, but the chairman insists he never picked them. “My philosophy is, ‘Don’t go looking for a fi ght. Wait until it comes to you,’” Lee said. “I didn’t go out and start any of the struggles I dealt with in my time on the board.” One of the most nota- ble strains was between Lee and Commissioner Lianne Thompson. Since she was elected in 2014, Lee has crit- icized her on multiple fronts, and the arguments have often boiled over at commission meetings. “The only comment I have is that his record speaks for itself,” Thompson said. Lee put the sticking points with Thompson and oth- ers into a historical perspec- tive. While recent interactions have been stressful, problems on the commission in the 2000s — including several recalls — were far more dam- aging, Lee said. “I think the issues I’ve had to confront don’t come close to what happened in the 2000s. It was a disaster,” Lee said. “There are still echoes of that era, but I don’t think what I’ve dealt with rose to that level.” Both Lee and Moore emphasized that commis- sioners should adhere to the county charter to avoid future friction. The charter delegates the responsibility for carrying out board policies and hiring and fi ring employees to the county manager. Heated discussions have taken place about what that means , including whether commissioners have the right to sit in on interviews during the hiring process for department directors . Moore and Lee have said the char- ter, which voters approved, removes commissioners from any role in day-to-day county operations. “I think one of the most important things commis- sioners can do is follow the rule and the letter of the home rule charter,” Lee said. “Every time a commissioner has gone astray, it’s because peo- Wildfi res: Cost of fi ghting wildfi res Wauna: ‘By estimated to be about $500M this year banking them, we legitimize these businesses’ Continued from Page A1 Forest practices likely won’t be part of council’s review, but could become a consideration. Brown also wants the state to hire a consultant to analyze budgeting for fi res. Oregon’s byzantine array of reimbursements, borrowing and insurance burdens the state’s general fund. Expensive to fi ght From 2008 to 2012, annual fi re costs in the state hovered at $20 million or less, according to state data. Costs spiked to $122 million in 2013, as fi res in the Rogue Valley per- sisted. While expenses hav- en’t reached that point again, they continue to stay above pre-2012 levels. The Department of For- estry had to bump up its bor- rowing from the state trea- sury to pay this year’s bills while waiting for the federal money. “Payments to contrac- tors and vendors must be made by on a timely basis,” state analysts wrote in a recent report on the fi re sea- son. “Many people and busi- nesses assisting with fi ghting large fi res are self-employed or own small businesses and cannot wait to be paid until the department receives reimbursements.” And fi re-induced cash fl ow issues aren’t limited to the Department of Forestry. The Oregon State Police feels the impact too. The state fi re marshal’s offi ce, part of the state police, incurred about $32 million in unbudgeted expenses in 2017 and 2018 due to wild- fi res, according to legislative documents. When fi res threaten peo- ple and homes, the governor can call on the fi re marshal to dispatch local fi refi ght- ers to action and cover their costs. This year, about 1,000 fi refi ghters protected 7,600 homes that were threatened by fi res. The federal government will cover about two-thirds of those costs, but not before next summer, when the state’s two-year budget ends. The cost of fi ghting all wildfi res, including feder- ally-managed fi res, is esti- mated to be about $500 mil- lion this year. The Legislature has appropriated about $3 mil- lion to help with projects on federal lands in Oregon. These include thinning and other measures that could reduce the risk of fi res. Travel Oregon, which promotes tourism, said in August that the state lost an estimated $51 million in tourism due to fi res last year. Fire danger Fires are worsening in the West — a combination of decades of postwar for- est management policy and conditions exacerbated by climate change — and came into the spotlight last month as California dealt with the deadly Camp Fire, which resulted in at least 85 deaths. “Forest management practices are at the center of all of our thoughts right now,” said state Sen. Jackie Winters, R-Salem, during a recent legislative hearing to vet the Department of For- estry’s request for funds to pay for the fi re season. Meanwhile, the land use group 1 000 Friends of Ore- gon released a report this month calling for the state to map wildfi re risk across the state and avoid development in high-risk areas. In 2015, about 107,000 homes were at high risk of being damaged by wild- fi res, according to a report that year from the Union of Concerned Scientists. More development in wild- fi re-prone areas means the risk of fi re damage grows. “Federal, state, local bud- gets have been woefully inadequate to cover fi refi ght- ing costs, not to mention the costs of lost lives, homes and businesses,” Russ Hoe- fl ich, the executive director of 1 000 Friends of Oregon, said in a prepared statement. “We hope to see that change in 2019.” The Oregon Capital Bureau is a collaboration of EO Media Group, Pam- plin Media Group and Salem Reporter. Continued from Page A1 the time of a memorandum by then-Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole directing federal resources away from legal state can- nabis programs. Nine states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana for people 21 and older. Medi- cal marijuana is legal in 30 states. Wauna is required to have an exit strategy in which it would liquidate assets in the Cannabis Business Solutions pro- gram if mandated to to so, Smiley said. Marijuana banking slipped nationwide in the fi rst couple of months after then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole m emo in Janu- ary, according to a report by Forbes, but has kept growing since clarifi ca- tion that the guidelines are still in place. More than 400 fi nancial institutions nationwide take marijuana accounts. “We felt with the Cole memo and the FinCEN guidelines … we’re not breaking the law,” Blum- berg said. Wauna hired two staff- ers to monitor the trans- actions of marijuana busi- nesses, inspect properties and review permits. That helps the state ensure transactions from seed to sale are legal, Blumberg said. “They have all this cash they don’t know what to do with, so they operate under the radar,” Blumberg said. “By banking them, we legitimize these busi- nesses,” Blumberg said. Jesus is the Reason for the Season
