Heppner gazette-times., July 17, 2019, Page 4, Image 4

FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, July 17, 2019
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“Card of Thanks” at a cost of $10.
Business receives
violation letter from
city manager
To the editor:
It has been a long time
since I have attended a city
council meeting. On July
8, I attended the meeting
to address a letter that my
son, Marty Brannon, had re-
ceived from the city manag-
er, Kraig Cutsforth regard-
ing his business, Brannon’s
Auto Repairs. The letter
states that his business is in
violation of the Downtown
District Zoning Ordinance,
therefore Mr. Cutsforth’s
letter indicated that Marty
needs to clean up his repair
business on these premises
or he could be fined $435
per day. This business has
operated as an automotive
repair business since 1948.
Why is it now a violation of
a city ordinance?
When Marty brought
this letter up to the council
for discussion, Mr. Cuts-
forth asked why Marty
didn’t walk across the
street and discuss this sit-
uation with him instead of
bringing it to the council.
Marty countered to Mr.
Cutsforth, “Why didn’t
you walk across the street
and talk to me?” What I
found so troubling was the
whole council sat there
with no communication
or comments from any of
its members. At elections
I voted for several of these
people and I felt they were
not responding to the issue.
(Marty has since been in-
formed that the council did
not know about the letter
sent to him and Patterson’s
Auto Parts regarding this
violation. Also, that the
council was not aware of
this ordinance).
Therefore, I now under-
stand the lack of response
from the council, but do
not understand why Mr.
Cutsforth feels he has the
authority to send threat-
ening communications to
businesses without coun-
cil approval. The business
in question was built in
1948 to serve as an auto
dealership and auto repair
and should be allowed to
continue to do so.
Addressing the com-
ments about complaints of
the appearance of Bran-
non’s Auto Repair, I agree
that it needs to be cleaned
up, however, Mr. Cutsforth
used the wrong method to
reach out to Marty, giving
him just 15 days to get
the cleanup done before
enforcing the daily fine.
Following a discussion at
the meeting in regard to
Marty starting the process
of cleanup, Mr. Cutsforth
said he would not enforce
the penalty. Marty is in the
process of getting this done.
I have several ques-
tions:
1. Who authorized
the renovation of the Gil-
liam-Bisbee building with-
out providing for parking?
(Having worked in the G-B
building for many years,
county employees had to
park in the Elks parking
lot. So parking is not a new
issue here.)
2. Is this whole issue
because the renovation of
the Gilliam-Bisbee building
needs a parking lot?
3. Why was the coun-
cil not aware of the letters
being sent to businesses in
Heppner by City Manager
Kraig Cutsforth?
4. Why does City Man-
ager Mr. Kraig Cutsforth,
who has been on the job
for a couple of months, just
happen to find an ordinance
that will benefit a renova-
tion project that his sister
Kim Cutsforth is the project
manager?
5. Wasn’t Kim Cuts-
forth the acting city man-
ager when Kraig Cutsforth
was hired to fill the city
manager position?
6. Do we have a nepo-
tism problem here?
I, along with many oth-
er citizens, am concerned
regarding the direction our
city is headed if this situa-
tion is any indication of our
future.
Sincerely,
Arletha Brannon
Heppner
Where there’s blame, there’s enough to go
around
To the editor:
Yep, me again. I’m
beginning to long for the
day when I will sudden-
ly have nothing to write
about. However, today is
not that day, so buckle up
buttercups. It’s gonna be a
bumpy ride.
Most of you are aware
that Mayor Marcia Kemp
closed the town of Lex-
ington as of July 1, after
a failed meeting to pass
its budget for the 2019-20
fiscal year. The event has
made newspapers across the
state and even made a news-
paper and TV station in
Idaho. I know what you’re
thinking – What? How in
the H-E-double hockey
sticks? Mayor Kemp said
she was told to notify the
local papers.
Though I didn’t see the
coverage in all the papers,
the article about the closure
in the July 3 edition of the
Heppner Gazette-Times
was fair and balanced. The
Eastern Oregonian, a little
less so.
“Due to failure of Lex-
ington council members
not fulfilling their council
duties by not attending the
advertised budget hearing
to approve the operating
budget for 2019-2020, the
town of Lexington is offi-
cially closed. The town’s
employees have been laid
off. The state of Oregon
has been contacted and is
offering aid,” Kemp said
in an email to the Heppner
Gazette-Times.
In the Eastern Ore-
gonian, Kemp said “she
doesn’t know why three
of the four city councilors
failed to show up at a bud-
get hearing scheduled for
Thursday evening June 27)
but their absence cost the
city the quorum it needed
to pass a budget.”
First, in reply to her
email to the G-T, I will
simply reply with a mag-
nificent quote by Simon
Sinck: “Great leaders don’t
blame the tools they are giv-
en. They work to sharpen
them.” Translation for Ms.
Kemp’s benefit: Rather than
blaming the council the
voters gave you, how about
working together as the
team you were elected to
be in order to be the sharp-
est tools for Lexington’s
progress, improvements
and future?
Of the three who
“failed” to show up at the
meeting, Ms. Kemp did
know why one of them,
Bobbi Gordon, wasn’t there
as Ms. Gordon told Ms.
Kemp at the June council
meeting that she would
not be able to attend due
to a previously scheduled
vacation. Of the two re-
maining council members
who were there, Bill Beard
and Curtis Thompson, there
are a plethora of notewor-
thy points which did not
make it into the mayor’s
press release, statements
to the press and commu-
nity. Incidentally, most of
the following points were
brought up to the mayor
at the “emergency budget
meeting turned community
meeting” on Monday, July
8. Her responses are cited.
A. Mr. Thompson was
only just sworn in, after a
hotly contentious debate at
the same meeting in which
the budget hearing meeting
so A) he would have no
knowledge of the proposed
budget and B) it’s highly
likely and understandable
that he wouldn’t have even
heard the date the meeting
was scheduled for.
B. Mayor Kemp failed
to extend the courtesy of
a phone call to either Mr.
Thompson or Mr. Beard,
who could and would have
been there in less than five
minutes with their apol-
ogies, thus avoiding all
this drama and the town’s
closure. Furthermore, she
failed, when Lexington
fire chief Charlie Sumner
asked her to call them,
she refused. (At the July 8
meeting, she stated it was
because she didn’t have
Mr. Beard’s number, which
is not only listed on the
town’s website, but posted
on the front of the town
hall building. Not to men-
tion the Eastern Oregonian
managed to obtain it.) Mr.
Sumner then volunteered
to call them himself. An
offer flatly refused again by
Ms. Kemp, which ushers in
point C.
C. When asked at the
July 8 meeting how long
she waited for the council-
ors to show up before can-
celing the meeting, Mayor
Kemp refused to answer.
However, most of us al-
ready knew the answer…
less than four minutes. She
had adjourned the meeting,
turned out the lights and
locked up the building by
7:04 p.m. Heck, even most
doctors give you a 15-min-
ute window to be late and
still be seen.
D. When asked why
she closed the town with-
out consulting her council,
and more importantly, had
she had any communica-
tion with any of the three
members since the closure,
things became decidedly
heated. In response to the
first part of the question she
said, “Because I was told
to. I have the authority to
and didn’t need to consult
them.” The second and in
my, and many others, opin-
ion, more important part
of the question, Ms. Kemp
tried to avoid answering.
After continued pressure
and demands to answer the
question if she had been
in contact with any of the
three councilors since the
closure of the town, she
finally admitted, “No! I
haven’t. OK?” No, Mayor
Kemp, not OK. None of
this is OK. In fact, she
hadn’t even notified them
of the emergency budget
meeting turned community
meeting being held on July
8. They found out through
the grapevine. Imagine
the scenario if they hadn’t
found out and subsequently
hadn’t attended.
In short, rather than al-
lowing a volunteer to make
two quick courtesy phone
calls, Ms. Kemp elected to
throw three council mem-
bers, two town employees
and community members
in Lexington under the bus.
And why? To what end?
What was she thinking she
would possibly accom-
plish? How was this choice
in any way in the best in-
terest of, or service to, the
Lexington community?
Moreover, at the July
8 meeting, with its rather
large and amazing turnout
(I wish that many would
show interest in the regu-
lar council meetings), Ms.
Kemp humbly sat at a small
table on the floor with the
rest of the gallery, while
Ms. Gordon, Mr. Thomp-
son and Mr. Beard chose
their regular seats on the
platform, front and center,
quiet and at the ready for
what they undoubtedly pre-
sumed would be a torrent of
insults, blame bombs and
scolding. Ms. Kemp stated,
“This is a community meet-
ing, not a council meeting,
which is why I’m sitting
down here and not up there
with them. I could ask them
to leave, but I won’t.” Um
no, actually, you can’t ask
them to leave. The fact that
they are town council mem-
bers denotes definitively
members of the community
and thus entitled to be there.
Anyway, in reality, the
anticipated torrent turned
out to be more of a sprinkle
for the three on the plat-
form with the majority of
the scolding aimed at Ms.
Kemp. She is the leader, is
she not? It should also be
mentioned for those of you
who missed it, Mr. Beard
published a public apology
for his forgetfulness in the
July 3 edition of the Ga-
zette-Times, for which we
thank him.
The point of all this is
simple… This whole mess
could and should have been
avoided. Should the council
members have remembered
and attended the meeting?
Of course, but they are
human and made an hon-
est mistake. Ms. Kemp’s
actions were deliberate.
There’s the distinction.
None of these theatrics and
histrionics have benefitted
the town of Lexington.
Quite the opposite. No bud-
get, two employees out of
work and the tax levy/town
incorporation in jeopardy.
Not one member of the
council nor the mayor put
him or herself in those seats,
the voters did (with the
exception of Mr. Thomp-
son.) It’s long past time for
Lexington’s leaders to start
acting and working like the
team they were elected to
be. So what if they don’t
like each other. That wasn’t
a consideration the voters
were given. Perhaps if they
took the time and respect
to get to know one another
that would change. So what
if they have differing views
and opinions? We all do,
that’s what makes us all the
uniquely wonderful, messy
humans we are. It should be
embraced for the different
talents and perspectives
each brings to the table.
The longer the process
of learning to value and
respect one another takes,
the slower the progress and
longer the community of
Lexington suffers.
In closing, I’d like to
offer two quotes to moti-
vate Mayor Kemp and her
council: “Alone we can do
so little; together we can
do so much.” Helen Keller.
“The way the team plays
as a whole determines the
success.” Babe Ruth.
I implore Mayor Kemp
– choose success. Choose
the community over per-
sonal feelings and issues.
The results would be much
more appreciated. And… I
would have a lot less writ-
er’s cramp.
Cheyenne Rogers,
Heppner
To the Editor:
My family came to
Heppner in the mid 1950’s.
Farley Motors was an es-
tablished auto repair and
sales facility at 126 E. May
Avenue in Heppner. Today,
almost 75 years later, Marty
Brannon owns and operates
an ASE Certified repair fa-
cility on the property.
Marty has custom-
ers who come to him for
their repairs from Portland,
Spray, John Day, Condon,
Hermiston and Umatilla as
well as the Heppner area
residents who rely on him
to keep their vehicles run-
ning. When people from out
of town come to him, they
have nothing to do except
walk around Heppner and
purchase items from oth-
er businesses while they
wait for their vehicle to
be repaired. This is very
good for other merchants in
Heppner. Brannon Auto Re-
pair has served over 3,000
different customers during
the last 10 years. Many of
the farmers and ranchers
in our area depend on him
for repairs in order to keep
their businesses running as
smoothly as possible.
City Administrator
Kraig Cutsforth, who is ap-
pointed by the city council,
and as all other elected or
appointed officials should
be, is expected to think
of the welfare of the citi-
zens they are supposed to
serve. When Mr. Cutsforth
lists the zoning change that
created what is known as
the downtown district and
sends Mr. Brannon a letter
stating he could be fined
up to $425 per day, he fails
to realize that Les Schwab,
located across the street,
performs alignments, brake
and suspension work on
cars and trucks, as well as
their tire sales and repairs.
The city also has two vehi-
cle repair facilities in the
downtown district we found
out last week, but nothing
is being done about that. It
looks like Mr. Brannon is
being targeted specifically.
The betterment of our com-
munity should not involve
running the only public
auto repair business out of
Heppner.
This entire situation
should have been handled
differently. It leaves me
with several questions: 1.
Is Brannon being targeted
because he is located next
to the new hotel? 2. When
did these zoning changes
take place and who was on
the planning commission at
the time? 3. Are we, the cit-
izens of Heppner, supposed
to have our vehicles towed
to Hermiston every time we
break down?
In conclusion: I believe
Mr. Brannon is grandfa-
thered in because the build-
ing, which I believe was
built in 1954, has always
included a repair facility.
I also believe he deserves
an apology for the way this
whole thing was handled. I
greatly appreciate the fact
that Marty Brannon works
extremely hard to provide
for the needs of Heppner
residents and all others
he serves. I also greatly
appreciate the fact that we
have a local weekly news-
paper in this small commu-
nity where we can voice
our views when strongly
moved.
I urge everyone who
is a customer of Brannon’s
Auto Repair to attend the
next city council meeting
which is August 12 at 7
p.m. at city hall. If you
cannot attend please send
a representative to speak in
your place.
Thank you,
Kathy Melby Turner
Heppner
Planning
Repair facility still operates on property
commission to hold 75 years later
hearing
The next Morrow
County Planning Commis-
sion public hearing will be
held on July 30 in Heppner
at the Bartholomew Build-
ing where they will consid-
er a land partition to parti-
tion one parcel into three
parcels for the purposes of
estate planning. Following
the hearing a joint work
session with the Board of
Commissioners will be held
to review and discuss the
Housing Strategies Report.
This report evaluates the
current state of housing in
Morrow County and all five
communities. It outlines
current and future steps
that can be taken to address
needed housing in Morrow
County.
At the Planning Com-
mission meetings held in
May and June there were
approvals for three land
partitions. Two of these
land partitions also con-
tained a replat.
Also during the months
of May and June, Morrow
County Planning Depart-
ment staff issued eleven
developmental approvals
that will allow one new
home, multiple shipping
containers, tower upgrades,
several grain bins, an addi-
tion to a house, a garage and
a security building.
The Morrow County
Planning Department en-
courages the public to visit
our website for information
on the Planning Commis-
sion, Code Enforcement,
Transportation and much
more. You can find the
website at https://www.
co.morrow.or.us/planning.
Have a news story or photo for the Gazette? E-mail editor@rapidserve.net
call 541-676-9228 or stop by the office on Willow St., Heppner Today