News
Blue Mountain Eagle
John Day
water and
sewer rates
inch higher
City manager says
an end is in sight
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
A3
Council rejects requests to
support National Parks System
Fossil Beds link not enough
to sway councilors
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
By Richard Hanners
On its first meeting of the new
year, the John Day City Council
approved $1 monthly rate increas-
es each for both water and sewer
service Jan. 9. Mayor Ron Lund-
bom and Councilor Donn Willey
were absent.
The minimum monthly water
and sewer bill for a John Day res-
idence will increase from $81 to
$83 beginning Jan. 1. This includes
the base rates for water and sewer
along with the Community De-
velopment Investment Fund fee,
which will remain at $6.
According to a 2017 water rates
survey conducted by the League
of Oregon Cities, the bill for 5,000
gallons of water delivered to a
3/4-inch service line ranged from
$14.51 in Glendale to $108.80 in
Klamath Falls. John Day was not
included in the survey results.
John Day’s water and sewer
rates have been inching upwards
for several years now, including $1
each in December 2015 and again
in December 2016. The council in
the past discussed the need to raise
the rates in order to qualify for state
grants or loans.
In his memo to the city council,
City Manager Nick Green said the
water rate increase was necessary
to “cover the depreciation of our
capital assets in the water fund and
to pay down the city’s debt obliga-
tions for the West End Water System
Improvements and the Industrial
Park.”
During council discussion,
Councilor Dave Holland asked
Green if the rate increases were suf-
ficient to meet the city’s goals look-
ing forward.
Green replied in the affirmative,
adding that an end was in sight. He
noted that the city’s new geographi-
cal information system software will
enable the city to more accurately
determine asset and depreciation
levels to find the right balance.
“We’re not there yet,” he said.
In the case of the sewer fund,
Green noted that the city will know
even more about its financial posi-
tion once it has a final design cho-
sen for a new treatment plant and
the results become available from a
community income survey.
“There’s not much wiggle
room,” he said.
In a related agenda item, the
council approved $19,000 in bud-
get transfers needed to upgrade the
city’s water metering system. About
$13,000 will be used to replace the
city’s billing software with a new
cloud-based software, acquire a new
handheld computer and replace the
front desk workstation.
The John Day City Council at its Jan. 9 meet-
ing turned down a request by the Pew Charitable
Trusts to pass a resolution encouraging Congress
to address mounting deferred maintenance costs in
the National Parks System.
Pew’s Restore America’s Parks campaign pro-
vided the city with information about the grow-
ing maintenance backlog — about $11.3 billion
nationwide, $105.5 million in Oregon and $1.5
million for the John Day Fossil Beds National
Monument.
John Day City Manager Nick Green explained
that he typically blocked such requests from reach-
ing the council, but he decided to forward this re-
quest to the council because of the proximity of the
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument and the
importance of tourism to the city.
Councilor Dave Holland noted that usually or-
ganizations seeking backing from the city ask for a
letter and not a resolution showing support. Green
said the trust provided the basic language for a res-
olution.
Councilor Gregg Haberly expressed his oppo-
sition right away.
“If it’s a national park, I don’t want anything to
do with it,” he said.
He expressed concerns about the money being
used for other purposes — particularly buying
additional land. Green noted that Pew was clear
about not using the money to buy additional land.
Councilor Shannon Adair had reservations
EO Media Group file photo
A tourist sets up a shot of the Painted Hills in Central Oregon near Mitchell.
about the request being very political and not the
best use of the council’s decision-making efforts.
“We could each support this individually,” she
said, adding that she had been “on the fence about
this.”
Councilor Paul Smith noted that John Day saw
a lot of traffic headed to the fossil beds, but Adair
said she wasn’t sure it was a city issue.
“Maybe we should defer to the county,” he said.
Adair agreed that the maintenance backlog was
an important issue, but approving the suggested
resolution would mean the council also approved
the specific dollar figures Pew cited, she said.
“It seems like they want local governments
to do battle for their money,” Haberly said. “My
problem is that they don’t have enough money to
do maintenance, but they can buy additional land
for national parks.”
None of the councilors spoke in favor of the
resolution.
According to literature provided by the
Pew Charitable Trusts, deferred maintenance
in the National Park System resulted from
aging infrastructure, record visitation caus-
ing wear and tear and unreliable funding for
maintenance.
Court updated on county’s health department
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Representatives from Communi-
ty Counseling Solutions updated the
Grant County Court about the status
of the county’s health department
Jan. 10.
Executive director Kimber-
ly Lindsay said 100-150 children
received free physicals during an
event last year at Grant Union Ju-
nior-Senior High School, and the
annual health fair this spring will
offer free screenings. The depart-
ment would need additional funding
in order to expand the number of
health providers, she said.
Commissioner Boyd Britton
praised CCS’s Warm Line call-in
service (1-800-698-2392), noting
that it had prevented some sui-
cides. Lindsay said the Warm Line
program was a top hit in Google
searches.
Lindsay described CCS’s diffi-
culties in getting grant money and
praised the “wonderful support
from the county court.” She said her
No. 1 need right now was to sup-
port the indigent dental program in
Grant County, noting that it’s not an
expensive program to fund.
Kathy Cancilla, the depart-
ment’s accreditation coordinator,
reported that Grant County has two
health-improvement plans and work
has started on a third plan to address
items not covered by the other two.
Staff will conduct surveys and hold
public meetings to gather informa-
tion for this new plan, she said.
Cancilla said the department’s
Living Well With Chronic Pain
workshops were designed to help
with opioid addictions. When asked
what the department would do if
Ballot Measure 101 failed, Can-
cilla said the tight budget makes it
difficult to offer additional staff and
hours. The court unanimously ap-
proved the department’s 2017-2019
Strategic Plan.
In other county court news:
• The court approved a request
by Andrea Officer, director of the
county’s Victim Assistance Pro-
gram, to submit a Violence Against
Women Act grant application. The
court also approved establishing a
part-time special investigator posi-
tion pending approval by the court’s
legal counsel.
The $610,000 provided by the
three-year grant would complete-
ly fund the deputy district attorney
and victim intervention specialist,
partially fund an advocate with The
Heart of Grant County nonprofit
and pay for training and community
awareness programs.
Existing budget funds could pay
for the special investigator through
most of this year, but new grant
money would be needed after that,
Officer said. The previous three-
year $606,000 grant will run out
Sept. 30, and VAWA grants are com-
petitive, but Officer was optimistic
about receiving the grant.
• The court approved a request
by Emergency Management Coor-
dinator Ted Williams to apply for
a $5,815 Department of Homeland
Security grant. The funds will be
used to purchase emergency radio
communication equipment that can
address blind spots across Grant
County and serve as a backup voice
and digital emergency communica-
tions system.
• The court approved several en-
tertainment and lighting contracts
for this year’s Grant County Fair. It
also approved moving forward with
negotiations for the headliner act,
Lonestar, a country-western group
with more than 20 singles on the
Hot Country Songs chart and the top
country songs of 1999 and 2003 on
Billboard Year-End.
• Britton reported touring the
Malheur Lumber Co. mill in John
Day with a visiting county com-
missioner Jan. 4 and learning about
plans for a future torrefaction facil-
ity. Wood material would be heated
and processed at the facility into en-
ergy-dense pellets or briquettes that
could be sold to Japan as a replace-
ment for coal and nuclear energy, he
said.
• County Judge Scott Myers
spoke about an Oregon Department
of Transportation project that will
take place along Highway 395 south
of Canyon City this summer or fall.
Hazard trees on hillsides above
the highway remaining from the
2015 Canyon Creek Complex fire
would be felled and left laying
along contour lines to prevent ero-
sion.
• The court made the following
board appointments: Cheryl Berry
and Barbara Smith reappointed to
the Airport Commission; Karla
Averett reappointed to the Budget
Committee; Donna Becker reap-
pointed and Didgette McCracken
appointed to the College Advisory
Board; Jody Wildelman and Len-
ny Dowdy appointed to the Ex-
tension and 4-H Service District
Advisory Council, with six vacan-
cies remaining; Shanna Northway
and John Girvin reappointed to the
Fair Board; Robert Raschio and
Kathy Smartt reappointed to the
Mental Health Advisory Board;
Doug Ferguson reappointed to
the Southeast Area Commission
on Transportation; and John Mor-
ris and Kenneth Moore reappoint-
ed and Jim Smith appointed to the
Wildlife Advisory Board.
• The court’s next regularly
scheduled meeting will be Jan. 24.
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