BAKER CITY HERALD • TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2022 A3
LOCAL
Local Briefing
Weed control workshop
scheduled for April 8
S. John Collins/Baker City Herald, File
A Union Pacific freight train passing by South Baker Intermediate School.
Zone
Continued from Page A1
Dixon, along with Mayor Kerry
McQuisten and Councilor Johnny
Waggoner Sr., voted against the mo-
tion to apply for a quiet zone.
Councilors Dean Guyer, Shane
Alderson, Heather Sells and Jason
Spriet voted for the motion.
Dixon, who along with McQuis-
ten and Waggoner has argued that
city voters should decide whether to
pursue a quiet zone, initially said she
hoped to ask voters to change the
city charter in the May 17, 2022, pri-
mary, in effect overriding the Jan. 25
vote before the city had qualified for
a quiet zone.
But City Manager Jonathan Can-
non said on Monday, March 28, that
the city’s attorney, Dan Van Thiel,
rejected both of the proposed char-
ter changes Dixon submitted.
In an email to the city, Van Thiel
wrote that because the Council’s
Jan. 25 vote to pursue a quiet zone
was administrative rather than leg-
islative, an initiative petition such
as Dixon’s proposed charter change
“does not meet the requirements of
the Oregon Statutes.”
Although Cannon said he can’t
completely rule out the possibility of
an initiative petition regarding the
quiet zone qualifying for the ballot,
it would be much more likely if the
Council itself, rather than a citizen,
sought the change.
Since the Jan. 25 vote, there has
been one change on the Council, as
Sells, who supported the quiet zone
application, resigned because she is
moving outside the city.
She was replaced by Kenyon Dam-
schen, who will be sworn in April 12.
Quiet zone fundraising
To qualify for a quiet zone, the
city would need to upgrade the
physical barriers at crossings to
make it more difficult for vehicles
to reach the tracks while a train is
passing.
A citizens group has offered to
raise the estimated $150,000 to up-
grade five crossings in the city.
The proposal that councilors
passed 4-3 on Jan. 25 states that
the city would install those safety
measures “when sufficient exter-
nal funds are available to improve
each crossing.” The motion doesn’t
commit any city dollars to the quiet
zone.
In an email to the Herald, Em-
ily Simko, a member of the group
promoting the quiet zone, wrote
that as of March 15 they had raised
$65,774 for crossing improve-
ments.
That includes $25,000 from the
Baker 5J School District. The Baker
School Board approved the contri-
bution due to concerns about how
the train whistles affect students
and staff at South Baker Intermedi-
ate School, which is near the tracks,
said Lindsey McDowell, public in-
formation and communications co-
ordinator for the school district.
The plan that the Council ap-
proved Jan. 25 states that city ad-
ministrators can “spend the time
necessary to support the Quiet
Zone as part of their City work,
understanding that their time is al-
ready budgeted and need not draw
on externally raised funds.”
During the City Council’s Oct.
12, 2021, meeting, a motion to put
the quiet zone issue on the May
2022 primary election ballot failed
by a 3-3 vote, with Dixon, McQuis-
ten and Waggoner voting in favor,
and Alderson, Spriet and Sells vot-
ing no.
A second motion during that
meeting — to apply for a quiet zone
— also failed by a 3-3 vote, with the
same trios on opposite sides.
The voting balance tilted on Dec.
14, 2021, when the six councilors
appointed Guyer to fill a vacancy
created in August 2021 when Ly-
nette Perry resigned due to health
issues.
Guyer voted in favor of the city
applying for a quiet zone.
lected by the contractor and stored
until Nov. 1, 2022. Items that con-
form to the city’s cemetery rules can
NORTH POWDER — A weed
be placed on graves starting April 16.
control workshop for interested
A copy of the rules is available on the
landowners is planned April 8 from city’s website, www.bakercity.com.
1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the North Pow-
More information is available by
der Fire Station, 320 E. St.
calling the city at 541-524-2047.
The open forum is for landown-
‘Human Library’ program
ers in Baker and Union counties
who are interested in learning how April 9 at Baker library
to control broadleaf noxious weeds
and invasive annual grasses. More
A “Human Library” program
information is available by call-
will be held Saturday, April 9, from
ing Jeffrey Pettingill at the Baker
4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Baker
County Weed Control District,
County Public Library, 2400 Resort
541-519-0240, or Brian Clapp at the St. This event is organized through
Union County Weed Control Dis-
a partnership between Neighbors
trict, 541-805-5539.
of Baker and Baker County Library
District. The library will be open
Baker City preparing for
after regular Saturday hours exclu-
sively for participants of this special
cemetery clean up
program, said Perry Stokes, library
Baker City’s cemetery and parks
director.
contractor, HnT Lawn Care Inc., will
The Human Library is an event
soon be doing the spring clean up at where readers can “borrow” hu-
Mount Hope Cemetery.
man books and have open conver-
That includes removing deterio-
sations about topics they usually do
rated decorations, flowers and floral not have an opportunity to discuss.
designs, as well as thatching, edg-
The goal of the program is to chal-
ing, fertilizing, and weed spraying,
lenge preconceived biases and en-
weather permitting. This work is
courage honest and respectful dia-
scheduled for April 1-15.
log. Each “Book” is a volunteer who
The city is asking residents to re-
has unique experiences to share.
move decorative items from graves
Through a 30-minute conversa-
and headstones prior to April 1.
tion with readers, the human books
Items that aren’t removed will be col- challenge stigmas and stereotypes
in a safe, supportive environment.
Book topics may include ethnicity,
religion, physical/mental health, so-
cial status, occupation, LGBTQ+,
immigration status, violence/abuse
survivor, and past drug and alcohol
addiction.
To participate in one or all three
sessions, call the library to register at
541-523-6419. Advance registration
is required since sessions are limited.
For more details, visit www.bakerlib.
org/news-events/lib-cal/human-li-
brary-program.
Talks
supervisor, wrote that extensions
would complicate street sweep-
ing and snowplowing, leading to
taller snow berms in the center of
10th Street.
Waggoner also talked about
the gravel road that leads from
Hughes Lane to the soccer fields at
the north end of the Baker Sports
Complex.
“Everybody’s just been quiet be-
cause you don’t want to talk about
that because then somebody wants
to close it off and restrict access. It’s
just like when they put the bridge
across D Street. That took a lot of
traffic off of Campbell,” Waggoner
said.
Waggoner said he agrees with
Dixon about the need to encourage
more businesses to locate along 10th
Street, since it is a commercial area.
Dixon said she had clarified that
ODOT will be replacing the side-
walks all the way along 10th Street
from Broadway to Pocahontas/
Hughes, to ensure there’s a safe
place for pedestrians.
However, Ingram noted during
the Council’s March 8 meeting that
a one-time payment wouldn’t com-
Continued from Page A1
pensate him for the future loss of
productivity from his field.
Alderson said he has been con-
McQuisten pointed out during
cerned about the city losing any con-
the March 22 work session that In-
trol over aspects of the plan.
McQuisten said the state hasn’t allo- gram’s irrigation pipeline is along
cated money for all possible projects. his fence, so using any of the land
for a redesigned intersection would
Dixon said there is money for
require that he move the pipeline.
changes along 10th Street, and
Ingram suggested during the
along Cedar Street.
As for Hughes Lane, Dixon men- March 8 meeting that the state, if it
needs additional land, take it from
tioned the possibility of widening
the other side of Hughes Lane,
the street to incorporate a bicycle/
pedestrian path, rather than a sepa- property that the state already owns.
Councilor Johnny Waggoner Sr.
rate pathway.
asked about ODOT proposals to
Councilor Dean Guyer said the
10th Street/Pocahontas-Hughes inter- build concrete curb extensions at
some corners on 10th Street inter-
section remains a major concern.
He said he wants to prevent the state sections to shorten the distance pe-
destrians have to cross.
from using eminent domain to take
Michelle Owen, the city’s public
some of Ingram’s property.
works director, told councilors the
Under eminent domain, the gov-
ernment can take public property for city doesn’t support that proposal.
In a report to the Baker County
projects such as streets or highways,
Planning Commissioner this win-
provided it pays the landowner for
ter, Tom Fisk, the city’s operations
the land.
Baker Rural Fire District
plans open house
The Baker Rural Fire District will
have an open house on Saturday,
April 9, at its new station, 3855 23rd
St., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The event features tours of the
building, information about dis-
trict services, tax levy information,
and booths by LifeFlight, FireWise
Community and Charlie’s Angels
Car Club. Representatives will be on
hand from OTEC, Baker City Fire
Department, Oregon Department of
Forestry, BLM, Baker County Emer-
gency Management, and the Ore-
gon State Fire Marshal. Snacks will
be provided by Elkhorn Grills and
Campbell Vanderwiele.
For information, call Collin Kase-
berg at 541-519-7257.
Ambulance
for the fire department staff,
who are trained to handle both
Continued from Page A1
types of emergencies. Over the
past four years, ambulance runs
The city, as has been the
have accounted for about 84%
case for decades, spends more of the department’s total calls.
money to operate its ambu-
The biggest problem, Can-
lances than it collects from am- non said, is that about 80% of
bulance bills.
the ambulance bills go to peo-
In calendar year 2019 the
ple who are covered by Medi-
city collected about 32.7% of
care or Medicaid, and those
the amount it billed. That per- federal programs pay only
centage rose to 50.8% in 2021, about 20% of what the city bills.
but Cannon said last week that
Yet although billing doesn’t
without a new, sustainable rev- come close to covering the
enue source, the city can’t con- city’s costs, ambulance runs
tinue to operate as it has.
do bring in enough revenue
Ambulance runs are far
— about $1.1 million in calen-
more common than fire calls
dar 2021 — to allow the city to
have a much larger department
than it would have without am-
bulance revenue.
If the city ceases ambulance
service, that revenue would go
away, and the city could no lon-
ger afford the approximately
$2.3 million annual budget for
the fire department.
Cannon acknowledged last
week that ending ambulance
operations would inevitably
require layoffs in the fire de-
partment.
And now, after the Mon-
day morning meeting with
Cannon, Johnson said he and
other fire staff know the ex-
tent of those cuts.
“Catastrophic,” Johnson said.
He predicts that if the city
does shut down its ambulance
service, some fire department
employees — himself included
— will move rather than work
under the constricted scenario
that Cannon described.
“It would be a huge loss to
the community, just in experi-
ence,” Johnson said.
He said he believes the re-
duction in staffing would
boost homeowner insurance
rates, since the department’s
rating would drop.
Johnson urges city and
county officials to try to reach
an agreement that would allow
the fire department to maintain
its ambulance service for at least
one more fiscal year, through
June 30, 2023.
In the meantime, he said the
union’s position is that Baker
County officials should take
the matter directly to voters, in
the form of a levy that would
increase property taxes to help
cover the shortfall in ambulance
revenue compared with cost.
Now, owners of property
within the Baker City limits
contribute to that service with
their property taxes, which
comprise part of the city’s gen-
eral fund, which in turn sup-
plies more than half the fire de-
partment budget.
The county over the past
four years has contributed
$199,000 to the city for ambu-
lance operations, but there is
no dedicated revenue source
from the county.
Ultimately, Johnson said, the
issue is what property owners
are willing to pay for in terms
of emergency response.
“Fire departments are inher-
ently expensive operations,” he
said. “You will never pay for it
with ambulance bills, but it’s a
service. And we care about the
level of service in our commu-
nity. We want to be able to pro-
vide that service to people.”
Hearing
public hearing to collect com-
ments about the potential des-
ignation of the road as public,
said Heidi Martin, the commis-
sioners’ executive assistant.
The hearing has been set for
Tuesday, April 19, at 9 a.m. at
the Baker Community Events
Center, 2600 East St.
Written testimony can be
emailed by 4 p.m. on April 15
to hmartin@bakercounty.org
or mailed to Baker County
Commissioners, 1995 Third
St., Baker City, OR 97814.
Martin said commissioners
will consider comments from
the public hearing, as well as a
packet of material that County
Roadmaster Noodle Perkins
has compiled, in deciding
whether to designate the road
as a public right-of-way.
Lawsuit against county
continues
In the meantime, McCarty’s
lawsuit is pending in Baker
County Circuit Court.
He is asking for either a
declaration that the disputed
section of the Pine Creek
Road crossing his property
is not a public right-of-way,
or, if a jury concludes there
is legal public access, that the
limits of that access be de-
fined and that the county pay
him $730,000 to compensate
for the lost value of the land
based on the legal public ac-
cess and for other costs he
has incurred as a result of the
county’s actions.
In his lawsuit, McCarty says
that before buying the tim-
bered property through which
the road runs, he reviewed the
title report and other docu-
ments, none of which showed
a public road through the
land.
The existing road is steep
and rough, but people have
historically used it to access
Pine Creek Reservoir, which is
on the Wallowa-Whitman Na-
tional Forest. The road, which
is mainly traveled by ATVs
and hikers, continues beyond
the reservoir, and an unoffi-
cial trail crosses a ridge and
drops to Rock Creek Lake.
In an Oct. 14, 2021, hear-
ing, retired County Roadmas-
ter Ken Helgerson testified
that although the county does
not have a deeded easement
for sections of the Pine Creek
Road that cross McCarty’s
property, Helgerson believes
the road is a public road un-
der RS 2477, an 18th century
federal law that has been su-
perseded but is sometimes
cited as proof of public access
for a historic route.
In a motion filed Feb. 4,
2022, McCarty’s attorney,
Janet K. Larsen of Portland,
asked a judge for a sum-
mary judgment requiring the
county to pay attorney fees
and other costs due to what
Larsen contends is the coun-
ty’s failure to supply records
that McCarty has requested
under Oregon’s Public Re-
cords Law.
A hearing on Larsen’s mo-
tion on that matter has been
scheduled for April 7 at
10 a.m. in Circuit Court.
were trespassing and having
campfires despite the high
fire danger.
Continued from Page A1
On July 29, 2021, Senior
County commissioners
Judge Stephen P. Forte granted
McCarty a temporary restrain-
started that process in June
2021, passing a resolution “de- ing order that prohibited the
claring the necessity for the le- county from continuing its
galization of Pine Creek Lane.” effort to “legalize” the road
through McCarty’s property
In response, McCarty, who
and secure access to the public.
in September 2020 bought a
The county contested that
1,560-acre property through
which the road runs for about ruling, and on Nov. 5, 2021,
2½ miles, sought a preliminary Senior Judge Russell B. West
injunction blocking the county dissolved the restraining order.
from proceeding with its effort West also ruled that the county
to designate the road as public. can survey the portions of Mc-
The month he bought the Carty’s property that the Pine
Creek Road crosses.
property, McCarty installed
The county had the road
a locked gate across the road
at his property boundary, cit- surveyed last fall.
The next step is to have a
ing his concern that people
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