News
Blue Mountain Eagle
A3
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Grant received
for housing district
Advisory
committees
appointed
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
The city of John Day was
awarded a $37,800 techni-
cal assistance grant from the
Oregon Department of Land
Conservation and Develop-
ment for help in establish-
ing a Housing Development
District, City Manager Nick A for-sale sign in John Day.
Green told the city council
Grant School Board chair-
Jan. 23.
The city’s goal is to pro- woman and John Day resi-
mote home construction in dent; Jim Klusmier, business
John Day by providing cash owner; Kara Kohfield, John
and tax incentives to prospec- Day resident; Alec Oliver,
tive homebuilders that the Seneca rancher; Levi Manit-
city would recoup through in- sas, John Day pastor; Ashley
creased tax revenue from the Stevick, John Day resident;
new development.
Lindsey Madden, John Day
The city is required to hire Realtor; Brandon Smith,
a professional consultant to John Day business owner;
facilitate public meetings and Haley Walker, school board
to produce an urban renewal trustee and airport manag-
plan and report for the dis- er; Clint Benge, business
trict. The public process also owner; Lisa Weigum, John
calls for establishing commu- Day-Canyon City Parks and
nity and technical advisory Recreation board and Can-
committees to help create the yon City resident; King Wil-
liams, business owner and
housing district.
The Project Advisory Canyon City resident; Elliot
Committee (formerly called Sky, Mt. Vernon resident; Le-
the Community Advisory Anne Gast, business owner
Committee) will meet about and John Day resident; Jer-
once every six to eight weeks emy Field, Prairie City resi-
from Jan. 29 through June dent; Amanda Martino, Blue
2019 to review and provide Mountain Land Trust and Mt.
public feedback on the city’s Vernon resident; Kate Cueno,
proposed Housing Develop- Forest Service and John Day
ment District, as well as the resident; and Shaun Robert-
Transportation and Growth son, business owner.
The council chose 12
Management plan for the In-
novation Gateway and the people for the Technical Ad-
Main Street Revitalization visory Committee: Shannon
projects. The Technical Ad- Adair, business owner and
visory Committee will review city councilor; Angie Jones,
and approve the same proj- Grant County Transportation
ects.
District general manager;
The council chose 18 peo- Shane Griffin, Oregon De-
ple for the Project Adviso- partment of Transportation;
ry Committee: Chris Conin, Ken Boethin, John Day Plan-
Eagle file photo
ning Commission chairman;
Derek Daly, Blue Mountain
Hospital CEO; Curt Shelley,
Grant School District su-
perintendent; Scott Myers,
Grant County judge; Russ
Young, John Day-Canyon
City Parks and Recreation
board; Ryan Nehl, Malheur
National Forest; Brent Smith,
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife; Bruce Ward,
Grant County Chamber of
Commerce president; and
Robert Waltenburg, Grant
County Education Service
District superintendent.
The council also chose
five people to serve on the
source selection committee
for the Transportation and
Growth Management plan
for the Innovation Gateway:
Green; Ron Lundbom, John
Day mayor; Dave Holland,
John Day city councilor;
Monte Legg, John Day pub-
lic works director; and Cheryl
Jarvis-Smith, Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation proj-
ect manager.
Following the appoint-
ments, Green noted that the
committees sometimes will
be led by a professional facil-
itator.
“We hope these appointees
are generally in favor of these
projects, but we also want
critical thinking,” Green said.
Time-keeping equipment for jail approved
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Grant County court
unanimously approved pur-
chasing and installing new
time-keeping hardware and
software at the Grant Coun-
ty Jail during their Jan. 24
meeting. Under the new sys-
tem, guards will log in at dif-
ferent locations as they make
their rounds.
CityCounty
Insurance
Services, which provides li-
ability insurance for Grant
County and recommend-
ed the county purchase the
equipment from Guard1/
plus, will cover some of the
$4,552 cost. The upgrade
will help the county secure
contracts to house inmates
for other jurisdictions, Com-
missioner Jim Hamsher said.
In other court news:
• At Hamsher’s request,
the court approved sending a
letter of support for Connect
Americans Now, an organi-
zation that is lobbying Con-
gress and the Federal Com-
munications Commission to
improve broadband internet
service in rural areas. Ham-
sher noted that the Associ-
ation of Oregon Counties
supports the group, and there
was no obligation on the part
of Grant County by sending
the letter of support.
• Concerned they might
be setting a precedent, Grant
County Judge Scott Myers,
Commissioner Boyd Britton
and Hamsher agreed to put
up $50 each of their own
money to cover a pro tem
justice of the peace’s ex-
penses for a two-day training
session.
Grant County Justice of
the Peace Kathy Stinnett
brought the request to the
court, but Myers noted that
county policy prohibits pay-
ing education expenses for
contract workers. Myers said
he would consult with the
county’s counsel about steps
that could be taken to address
this issue in future budgets.
• The court unanimously
appointed Tanner Elliott, a
Grant Union High School
student, as an alternate on
the Grant County Planning
Commission. Myers said the
appointment was delayed
until the court could deter-
mine if someone under 18
years of age could serve on
the commission.
• The court presented a
recognition award to Burke
O’Brien, a Grant County
resident who served as the
public works director for
Morrow County for three
decades and recently re-
tired. O’Brien is credited for
spearheading the creation of
the 9,000-acre Grant-Mor-
row County OHV Park, a
unique facility with 2,000
acres in Grant County.
• The county received two
bids for re-roofing Keerins
Hall at the Grant County
Fairgrounds. A company
in La Grande that recently
repaired the county library
roof bid $27,500 while a
local company bid $10,500.
Britton recommended ta-
bling the matter so the court
could study the large differ-
ence in the two bids, and the
court agreed. Myers said he
wanted to speak to a licensed
roofer about the matter.
• The court approved a
new 10-year lease for gravel
storage in the Izee area. The
lease increased from $1,931
per year to $2,511.
• The court approved a
contract for the Grant Coun-
ty Fair headliner act, the
country western group Lon-
estar.
• The county court’s next
meeting is Wednesday, Feb.
14.
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