Pursuant to notice made to the newspaper of general circulation throughout Grant County, the radio station in Grant County, and to interested persons on the Grant County e-mail list, a regular meeting of the County Court was held at the County Courthouse in Canyon City OR.

9:03 am — Called to Order. Present were Judge Mark R. Webb and Commissioners Scott W. Myers and Boyd Britton, and Secretary Mary Ferrioli. The Pledge of Allegiance was given to the US flag.

CLAIMS. The court had reviewed and approved claims previously submitted by the Deputy Clerk-Bookkeeper. A Fairgrounds claim had been tagged because of a missing receipt.

PROGRAM. MSP: Britton/Myers — to accept the program with the addition of an Hours of Operation proposal submitted by the Planning Director.

ANNOUNCEMENTS.

Britton reported on the Grant County Stock Grower’s meeting that he attended earlier this week.

Britton reported on the Farm Bureau meeting that he attended on August 18th.

Webb reported on a Library Board meeting held August 19th and attended by representatives of Libraries of Eastern Oregon Association and the Shelk Foundation. Discussion there was about moving the library to a new location. Webb reiterated that the county isn’t interested in renovating the Blue Mountain Junior High School building to house the library. Webb noted that the Shelk Foundation, which funds project planning, also thought that would be a bad idea.

Myers said that yesterday he observed work being done, by the Grant Soil & Water Conservation District, on a substantial project near the Long Box Ranch.

Webb said he would attend the Oregon Rural Congress meeting in Cascade Locks on August 21st and 22nd.

Webb reported that the Malheur NF Supervisor told him that the Regional Office has pulled $1.6 Million out of their budget. And, if the federal government needs more funds for fires, then Title II funds would be pulled.

Britton reported that US Senator Gordon Smith indicated, at a local meeting earlier this week, that he would work hard to help permitees with grazing issues.

MINUTES. MSP: Myers/Webb– to approve the August 13th Minutes as amended.

9:20 am – Judge Terry Farrell entered.

JP APPOINTMENT AUTHORITY. The court reviewed and discussed a request from Association of Oregon Counties on an inquiry from the Governor’s Office about a possible law change. Judge Terry Farrell was present for discussion. The proposed law would provide that the county governing body (rather than the Governor) would be the appointing authority to fill a vacancy in the position of Justice of the Peace, unless the JP Court is a court of record. If affected counties support the concept, the issue would be brought before the AOC Steering Committee and then the AOC Legislative Committee.

Court members believed that the local governing body is the most appropriate authority for appointment of the Justice of the Peace position.

When asked, Farrell said he felt the county governing body was the obvious choice to appoint the Justice of the Peace, when necessary. He said that he would respond similarly to the Justice of the Peace association’s recent inquiry about this issue.

9:22 am – News Reporter Scotta Callister entered.

HOURS OF OPERATION / PLANNING. Court members considered a recent proposal by Planning Director Hilary McNary concerning the department’s hours of operation. Webb explained his conversation yesterday with McNary about a small problem with the recent change over to Mid-Columbia Building Codes Services for building permits. With the new structure, the Planning Secretary is responsible for depositing money to an account at the Bank of Eastern Oregon several times a week. This task has been accomplished with the night deposit box after 5 pm. McNary did not believe it was appropriate to accrue overtime for banking related to departmental operations. Webb said McNary is suggesting that hours of operation be advertised as 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Monday- Friday, to allow time when needed for bank deposits. However, staffing of the office was to continue until 5:00 pm on any non-banking week day. MSP: Britton/Myers – to adopt the proposal made by Planning Director Hilary McNary.

9:30 am – Personnel Manager Brenda Percy entered.

EXECUTIVE SESSION. At 9:30 am the court met in Executive Session under ORS 192.660(2)(b) to discuss the dismissal or disciplining of a public officer, employee, staff member or individual agent. Judge Webb recited the State Attorney General’s Sample Script to Announce the Start of Executive Session. At 9:45 am the court returned to General Session. No motions were necessary as a result of discussion.

9:48 am – Adjourned

Respectfully Submitted, Mary R. Ferrioli / County Court Secretary