News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
A3
Expanded state program provides more funding for city streets
Council mulls
project priorities
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
An expanded program for
small cities could mean four
times as much funding for
city streets, City Manager
Nick Green told the John Day
City Council at their July 10
meeting.
The Special City Allot-
ment Grant Program from
the Oregon Department of
Transportation
increased
from a maximum of $50,000
per city per year to $200,000
for two projects, Green said.
The deadline to submit grant
applications has been moved
up to Aug. 1, Green told the
Eagle.
An increase in revenue
from fuel taxes will further
boost street funds for the city,
he said. Both provisions were
contained in the 2017 state
transportation package.
Green said a large number
of street projects could bene-
fit from the additional money,
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
Extending Seventh Street through city property toward Patterson Bridge Road is one of
the options the John Day City Council is considering for using Special City Allotment
grant funds.
and he cited several from the
41 listed in the April 2009
John Day Local Street Net-
work Plan.
Councilor Dave Holland,
the former John Day public
works director, noted that
$100,000 per project might
not be enough to complete
some of the larger projects
Crews engaging
small forest fires
Southern forest
implements
Phase A public
use restrictions
Blue Mountain Eagle
Fire crews spent Mon-
day afternoon and evening
locating and fighting fires
sparked by two days of
thunderstorms and are ex-
pecting additional fires to
emerge over the next few
days.
Efforts by responding
crews on the Malheur Na-
tional Forest have kept the
lightning caused fires to
less than an acre in size, ac-
cording to a Forest Service
press release.
Crews will continue to
staff and carry out suppres-
sion and mop-up efforts
on existing fires and initial
attack any new fires. Hot
spots from lightning strikes
can smolder for days before
flaring up.
Reconnaissance flights
were being conducted over
the area Tuesday, watching
for any new smokes or fires
that may flare up as daytime
heating sets in.
Continued hot and dry
conditions forecast for this
area will elevate fire dan-
ger, which is already high
enough across the region
that fire starts from light or
moderate amounts of light-
ning or human sources will
challenge initial attack re-
sources.
The public’s awareness
of the increasing fire danger
and assistance is essential
to a safe fire season. Recre-
ationists, firewood cutters,
hunters and other forest
users can all help by close-
ly adhering to restrictions,
operating safely and cau-
tiously and keeping up-to-
date on the latest orders and
regulations.
Seasonal
restrictions
are in effect annually from
June 1 to Oct. 31 across
the forest. Campfires are
only allowed in fire pits
surrounded by dirt, rock
or commercial rings clear
of all flammable material
at least three feet from the
edge of the pit. Campers
must have a shovel and
gallon of water. Portable
stoves are also regulated.
On the southern half of
the forest, the Emigrant
Creek Ranger District,
Phase A public use restric-
tions are also in effect. Op-
erating a chainsaw is pro-
hibited except between 8
p.m. and 1 p.m., and a one-
hour fire watch is required
after operations cease. Op-
erators must possess an ax,
shovel and fire extinguish-
er.
Smoking is only allowed
in enclosed vehicles or
buildings or areas cleared of
flammable material with at
least 3 feet clearance. Oper-
ating a vehicle off-road, on
a closed road or where veg-
etation comes into contact
with the vehicle’s undercar-
riage is prohibited.
For more information,
call 541-575-3000, or visit
fs.usda.gov/malheur.
suggested by Green.
Extending the Ironwood
Estates Phase 2 street network
or Valley View Drive west to
Patterson Bridge Road would
provide access to 40 acres of
land for house construction,
Green said.
The Ironwood extension
was ranked medium priority
and medium term in the 2009
plan, and the Valley View
Drive extension was ranked
low priority and long term.
Holland noted that de-
veloping the 40 acres would
require expensive infrastruc-
ture improvements, such as
water and sewer, which the
city could not afford. Green
agreed but noted that spend-
ing $100,000 on a street ex-
tension would be a step in
the right direction. Councilor
Shannon Adair said she’d like
to see a commitment from the
landowners to develop the
land.
Extending Seventh Street
west to Patterson Bridge Road
was another option, but Green
said he was concerned con-
struction vehicles working on
the new sewer treatment plant
and the Innovation Gateway
project could damage the new
roadway.
Reconfiguring and im-
proving the complex intersec-
tion at Charolais Drive, Valley
View Drive and Bridge Street
was another option. Holland
noted that engineering work
for that project has already
been completed, and Grant
County had agreed to assist
with that project.
Holland
noted
that
$100,000 also could pay for
a lot of chip-sealing work on
city streets. With three coun-
cilors absent that night, he
suggested holding off a de-
cision on street projects until
the next council meeting.
Green said he would work
up some cost estimates for
four options and bring them
back to the council July 24.
The council also approved
two resolutions at their meet-
ing related to construction of
a 5,000- to 6,000-square-foot
commercial greenhouse at
the Innovation Gateway proj-
ect. A decision to award a bid
proposal for the greenhouse
was delayed to the council’s
July 24 meeting because of
the technical nature of the two
highest-ranked proposals.
A special public works
fund loan of up to $350,000
from the Infrastructure Fi-
nance Authority of the Ore-
gon Business Development
Department was approved to
pay for the greenhouse. The
25-year loan carries a 3.43
percent interest rate.
The estimated total cost
for the greenhouse is about
$400,000, including engineer-
ing, design, construction, con-
tingency and legal costs. The
city expects to make the loan
payments from the sale of
produce from the greenhouse.
Prairie City officials violated
executive session law
Employee salary
discussion not
allowed behind
closed doors
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
The Oregon Government
Ethics Commission recent-
ly found that the Prairie City
Council violated the state’s
public meetings law when it
went into executive session
Aug. 9 to discuss an employ-
ee’s salary.
In a preliminary finding
to a citizen complaint, the
commission concluded that
sufficient information exists
to indicate that a topic not
authorized for consideration
during executive session had
been discussed by the coun-
cil.
The council had discussed
compensation for the city’s
public works director, Chris
Camarena, during the execu-
tive session, which was closed
to the public other than news
media, of which none were
present that night.
The commission did not
suggest a remedy for the vi-
olation, but in a Jan. 2 let-
ter provided to the Eagle by
Mayor Jim Hamsher, com-
mission investigator Michael
Thornicroft said his recom-
mendation to the commis-
sion, based on his preliminary
review of the matter, was that
the matter “be settled with a
Letter of Education and not a
fine.”
Jim Hamsher
The meeting
Governing bodies can go
into a closed-to-the-public ex-
ecutive session if the subject
matter fits within a narrow list
of exclusions allowed in the
state’s open meetings law. No
executive session was on the
agenda for Prairie City’s Aug.
9 meeting.
According to the official
minutes for the meeting, Ca-
marena requested the execu-
tive session at 7:41 p.m. and
handed his request to City
Recorder/Treasurer Taci Phil-
brook.
The commission learned
from an audio recording of
the executive session that
Hamsher read the required
script used to announce an
executive session, stating that
the purpose of the meeting
was to consider employment
of an employee or individual
agent and to conduct labor ne-
gotiations.
According to the record-
ing, Camarena told the coun-
cil during the executive ses-
sion that he had been offered
a higher-paying job by the
city of Joseph, and they need-
ed an answer in two days. No
decision was made during the
executive session, the com-
mission learned from the re-
cording.
When the council recon-
vened in open session about
20 minutes later, the official
minutes state, a motion was
made to increase Camarena’s
annual salary to $72,000 in
2017 and to $75,000 in 2018
as long as he agreed to stay
with Prairie City for five years
without taking any offers
from other cities. The motion
passed unanimously.
The complaint
Prairie City resident Dan
Becker’s complaint about
the executive session was
received Nov. 9. He later ex-
plained that he wanted to get
the attention of the council
without causing a financial
hardship and get them to obey
the state’s open meeting laws.
Attending the executive
session were Hamsher and
Councilors Carole Garri-
son, Georgia Patterson, Les
Church, Frank Primozic and
Joe Phippen. They respond-
ed to Becker’s complaint in
a Nov. 29 signed statement to
the commission.
In their statement, the
mayor and councilors said
Attention Grant County Veterans:
Philbrook notified Hamsher
less than 30 minutes before
the council meeting began
“that she had arranged for an
executive session to negotiate
the employee’s new contract.”
“The mayor trusted that
the recorder/treasurer had act-
ed with due diligence on our
behalf and that her informa-
tion was correct,” the state-
ment reads.
The commission did not
address Becker’s complaint
that proper notice was not
given for the executive ses-
sion, noting that the commis-
sion had no jurisdiction over
that matter.
Citing the Oregon Attor-
ney General’s Public Records
and Meeting Manual, the
commission found the Prairie
City executive session was
not authorized as a labor ne-
gotiation because those “take
place only between employee
representatives, such as labor
organizations, and employ-
ers” and that discussion about
an employee’s salary is not
authorized under the excep-
tion for considering a person
for employment.
“We have no other defense
except to say that in the future
we will make every effort to
be better informed and con-
sult the city attorney prior to
future executive sessions,”
the statement from the Prairie
City officials concludes.
Monday - Thursday
7am- 6pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
Did you know Grant County Veterans
Services Officer is available to assist
YOU in applying for all VA benefits
you may be entitled to?
Mendy Sharpe FNP
Apppointments
available
Katee
Hoffman
66170
See your Grant County Veteran Services
Officer today for more information,
located at Grant County Court House.
10am-4pm Monday-Friday • 541-620-8057
530 E. Main, Ste. 5, John Day, OR
65198
66167
The City of Prairie City and the Parade Committee
would like to give a special thank you for all the
people who volunteered and helped to make the
parade a success this year! Nice job!
Anna Smith, Andrea Moles, Glenda Harvey,
Hannah Wall, Pat Amling, Taci Philbrook, Tori Lake,
Kathy Moss, Riley Emmel, and Melanie Dejong.
The City of Prairie City would like to thank the
following people who helped put on and clean up after
the Grant County 4 th of July fireworks and event.
Awesome job!
Josh Zeigler, Mayor Jim Hamsher, Prairie City Public
Works, Undersheriff Zach Mobley and Grant County
Sheriff’s Deputies, Grant County Search and Rescue,
Chief Marvin Rynearson, Prairie City Volunteer Fire
Department, Jay Burril and the Oxbow Ranch.
Thank You All!
541-523-6377
68843
541-963-6577
541-573-6377
541-576-2160
66164