Wallowa County Chieftain
News
wallowa.com
January 24, 2018
A5
BED TAX DISAGREEMENT
Rental owner Price says county has been heavy-handed
AirBNB owner
appeals denied
By Paul Wahl
Wallowa County Chieftain
When Lynne Price decided
to rent out a room in her Enter-
prise home in 2014, she hoped
to add a few dollars to her bank
account and meet some inter-
esting people.
She never expected to be in
a protracted battle with Wal-
lowa County over payment of
transient lodging taxes.
Price signed up with
AirBNB in 2014. The company
hosts an online marketplace and
hospitality service designed for
people to lease or rent short-
term lodging including vaca-
tion rentals, apartment rentals,
homestays, hostel beds or hotel
rooms.
“They were very profes-
sional, and part of what they
told me was to check with my
city and county to make sure I
was following all of the rules,”
said Price, who resides on Bill-
ings Road.
Price told a hearing of the
Wallowa County Board of
IN BRIEF
Wildfire plan to
be discussed
The Oregon Department of
Forestry and Wallowa County
Emergency Management will
host a public meeting high-
lighting the new edition of the
Community Wildfire Protec-
tion Plan. The meeting will
be 6 p.m. Feb. 7 at the Com-
munity Connections office in
Enterprise, 701 NW 1st Street.
Info: Paul Karvoski, Wal-
lowa County Emergency Man-
ager and County Fire Chief
541-426-4543, ext. 165.
Commissioners sitting as the
Transient Lodging Tax Advi-
sory Board she came by the
courthouse in person and
inquired but was not told of her
responsibility to pay the lodg-
ing tax and was not offered the
requisite forms.
Price has not revealed
exactly who she spoke with
saying she didn’t want to get
anyone into trouble.
Fast-forward to August
2017, the date on which Price
received a letter from the Wal-
lowa County Treasurer’s Office
by certified mail alerting her
she was out of compliance.
Three weeks later, she paid
the $572.70 in back taxes but
refused to pay the penalties and
interest totaling $831.39.
She maintains she cannot
be held responsible for penal-
ties and interest when she was
not made aware of the tax pro-
visions in the first place.
More than 100 similar oper-
ators were identified as part of
a painstaking county crack-
down. Since AirBNB and
most of its competitors do not
list addresses, county staff had
to match photos to addresses
manually to compile the list.
Spectators are welcome.
Proceeds benefit the Wallowa
FFA programs.
Evans is on Fox
deans list for fall
Whitney Evans, a freshman
majoring in biology at George
Fox University in Newberg,
Ore., has been named to the
dean’s list for the fall 2017
semester.
Traditional
undergradu-
ate students must earn a 3.5
grade point average or higher
on 12 or more hours to earn the
honor.
She is the daughter of Petra
and Tyler Evans of Enterprise.
Fundraiser set
Groundhog Day
Fellowship award
applications due
Looking for something
interesting to do on Ground-
hog Day Feb. 1?
Wallowa County Fair
Board has an idea.
The group will hold its din-
ner and bingo to raise funds
for scholarhips 5:30 p.m. at
Cloverleaf Hall on the cam-
pus of the Wallowa County
Fairgrounds.
Enjoy all-you-can-eat pan-
cakes, sausage, coffee and
juice and stay for bingo.
Admission is $5 for youth and
$10 for adults, children under
10 are admitted free.
Wallowa County Soropti-
mists are seeking applicants
for the group’s Fellowship
Award, presented to a woman
who is continuing her educa-
tion with a post graduate (mas-
ter’s or doctorate) program.
Applications are avail-
able at Bookloft in Enter-
prise, Wallowa Public Library
in Wallowa, BeeCrowBee in
Joseph, Soroptimist Thrift
Shop in Enterprise or by con-
tacting Marsha Svendsen,
541-263-0663.
Completed
applications
must be returned by March 1.
Mail applications to Sorop-
timist, P.O. Box 127, Enter-
prise, OR 97828 or return to
the Thrift Shop.
The Fellowship Award will
be awarded to any woman who
resides in Wallowa County, is
established in business or a
profession and conducts her
business or practices her pro-
fession competently and
according to ethical standards.
Applicants must also hold a
bachelor’s or master’s from an
accredited college or univer-
sity, presents a plan of worth-
while post graduate study at
Meat ‘shoot’ will
be held Feb. 18
Wallowa FFA Alumni will
host their sixth-annual meat
shoot 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb.
18, at Wallowa Rod and Gun
Club, 75044 Lower Diamond
Lane, Wallowa.
Breakfast is served first fol-
lowed by shooting for novices,
advanced, buddy and kids.
Nonshooter games including
bingo and scatter board will
also be offered.
MORE BED AND BREAKFAST INNS COMING
Wallowa County Planning
Commission will hold
hearings on four proposals
to designate bed and
breakfast inns. The
commission meets
7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 30 in
the Thornton Conference
Room at Wallowa County
Courthouse.
• 61788 Chief Joseph
Around 20 hosts received non-
compliance notices, including
Price, who was the only one to
file an appeal.
Testimony from the Oct. 23
appeal hearing indicated that
the county considered the onus
to be on the property owner to
be informed and comply and
the county had no responsibil-
ity in that regard. Rental own-
ers are also expected to receive
a conditional use permit from
the county.
Her appeal was denied
and the final documents were
signed in late December.
Price says her treatment
by the county, particularly the
county’s attorney Paige Sully
an accredited college or uni-
versity leading to an advanced
degree or to enhance standing
or competence in her business
or profession and provide such
other information as the selec-
tion committee may deem
necessary.
The Soroptimist club
will provide a cash grant of
$2,000 to its award recipient.
The award will be paid in its
entirety to the college or uni-
versity the recipient attends.
History book
receives $1,500
Pacific Power has pre-
sented a check for $1,500 to
go toward the publishing of
“Wallowa County History ...
A Continuation.” The money
was presented by Lori Wyman,
regional business manager for
the utility, to Gay Fregulia,
president of the Wallowa
County Museum.
The history book is sched-
uled for release this spring.
Order forms are available at
libraries in Joseph, Enterprise
and Wallowa.
Loop Road outside of
Joseph (Roorda)
• 61053 Anderson
Road outside of Joseph
(Dawson)
• 82124 Black Marble
Lane outside of Enterprise
(Christoffersen)
• 77986 Wade Gulch
Lane outside of Lostine
(Bellows)
who handled the hearing pro-
cess, was aimed more at ret-
ribution than assisting a local
business owner.
“I’m not a very big contrib-
utor to the county’s tourism
economy, but I am a contribu-
tor,” Price said.
Price ran afoul of the coun-
ty’s procedure at several junc-
tures, most notably not being
allowed to provide addi-
tional information on her case
after the appeal was denied in
October.
“You cannot submit new
information and details because
you will not be allowed to
use the filing of a Petition of
Waiver in an effort to circum-
vent the board’s ruling that the
record on the appeal has been
closed,” Sully told Price in an
email Dec. 4. “Technically they
are not even required to enter-
tain your petition, but will do
so on the record that has been
established to date.”
Sully went on to say that the
county had no responsibility to
respond to Price’s requests for
information to help her pre-
pare her case and suggested in
the same email she file specific
requests for records and pay the
fees as require.
“I don’t know how much
clearer I can be –– the board
will not take any more infor-
mation of any kind from you
in support of your case in what-
ever format you may use,”
Sully added.
Price said she tried to deter-
mine why she was required
to pay the tax when the coun-
ty’s ordinance, adopted in
June 1994, did not specifi-
cally include “intermediaries,”
which is the term used for orga-
nizations such as AirBNB.
According
to
county
records, the ordinance was
amended only once, in April
2004. State law on the matter,
FOR THE RECORD
Jan. 7
11:30 p.m. –– A 911 caller reported
a verbal domestic in Joseph.
Jan. 8
5:45 a.m. –– Sheriff’s office was
called to dispatch a deer on Hwy.
82 near Wallowa.
8:12 a.m. –– A caller reported that
city streets in Wallowa were being
used as a motocross track.
3:15 p.m. –– A warrant was issued
for the arrest of Josie Jordan Mak-
ens, 28, of Lostine. Charges are
probation violation. Original charge
menacing.
7:33 p.m. –– Report of rocks on
Hwy. 82 in the Minam area ODOT
was advised.
Jan. 9
8:57 a.m. –– A theft was reported
in rural Enterprise.
11:39 a.m. –– A civil dispute was
reported in Wallowa.
3:01 p.m. –– Enterprise PD inves-
tigated a report of telephonic
harassment in the city.
4:07 p.m. –– A civil dispute was
reported in Enterprise.
8:08 p.m. –– A domestic dispute
was reported in Wallowa.
Jan. 11
7:11 a.m. –– A report of a vehicle
that slid off Hwy. 3 was received.
No injuries.
2:48 p.m. –– A domestic dispute
was reported in rural Wallowa.
6:09 p.m. –– Water was reported
running over the bridge at Minam
near Water Canyon.
Jan. 12
7:31 p.m. –– Oregon State Police
requested an ambulance for a
male subject sitting in his vehicle
in Lostine.
9:28 p.m. –– A statewide misde-
meanor warrant was issued for
Noah Joseph Allen, 18, of Wal-
lowa, for failure to appear. Original
charge was contempt of court.
Jan. 13
3:24 a.m. –– Sheriff’s deputies
responded to a domestic in Wal-
lowa and reported arresting Dan
Courtney Elkins, 47, of Washougal,
Wash., on charges of assault and
menacing. He was transported to
Umatilla County Jail.
11:35 a.m. –– Enterprise PD cited
and released Josh Connelly, 24, of
however, was changed in 2014
to include situations such as
Price’s.
Price also said she found
the penalties and interest to
be excessive. The details are
contained in Section 11 of
the county’s Transient Lodg-
ing Tax. The ordinance allows
the county to waive penalties
and interest through a waiver,
which Price filed. It was denied.
The next step could be
the county pursuing a lien on
Price’s property under Sec-
tion 14 of the lodging tax ordi-
nance. Worst case scenario, the
personal property subject to the
lien may be seized and sold at
public auction.
Price said she has consid-
ered hiring legal representation
but found the cost prohibitive.
Meanwhile, Price says she
is getting out of the room rental
business to avoid any further
entanglements.
“I enjoy being a small part
of the tourism industry that sup-
ports many people here in Wal-
lowa County,” Price said. “My
rating is great, I like meeting
new people and to help them
enjoy this beautiful area that I
call home.”
Enterprise, for theft.
5:46 p.m. –– Boulders were
reported having fallen into the
westbound lane of Hwy. 82 at
Water Canyon blocking the road.
Jan. 17
4:52 p.m. –– A 911 caller reported
an injured deer in rural Enterprise.
Jan. 18
9:45 a.m. –– Chelsea Rebecca
Bennett, 33, of Joseph, was
arrested by Portland PD on two
Wallowa County warrants. Both
warrants are for probation viola-
tion, first original change is theft in
the third degree. Original charge is
failure to perform duties of a driver
- property damage.
5:03 p.m. –– 911 call reported an
injured deer in rural Lostine. Dep-
uty was unable to locate.
6:36 p.m. –– Report of an injured
deer in rural Enterprise. Deer was
dispatched.
10:32 p.m. –– Report of a theft in
Joseph.
Jan. 19
3:25 p.m. –– A 911 caller reported
a traffic crash in rural Enterprise.
OSP was notified.
9:56 p.m. –– 911 caller reported a
civil dispute in Wallowa.
BARGAINS OF THE MONTH ®
While supplies last.
Births
A daughter, WillowAnn Ivy
Roberts, was born January
4, 2018 in Enterprise to Misty
Roberts and Shawn Bridges, Jr.
of Enterprise. Grandparents are
Pam Smiley and Larry Renfroe,
and Kimberly Suarez and
Shawn Bridges, Sr.
A daughter, Emery Rae Martin,
was born January 11, 2018
in Enterprise to Ysenia Perez
and Timothy Martin of Joseph.
Grandparents are Maria and
Manuel Perez, and Carol and
Walter Martin.
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Sale Ends 1/31/18
301 W. Main, Enterprise • 541.426.3177
Planning
for those
unexpected
turns!
• Home & Auto
• Farm
• Boats & RVs
• Motorcycles
• Workers Comp
• Business
• Bonds
• Contractors
Enterprise Branch
541-426-3177
www.wheatlandins.com
Independently owned
and operated
Allow us to earn your
business.
