IN THE COUNTY COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF GRANT

Access the court’s weekly Agenda and approved Minutes on the Commissioner’s page at www.gcoregonlive2.com.

FEBRUARY 11, 2015

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

9:00 am — Call to Order. Present were Judge Scott W. Myers, Commissioners Chris B. Labhart and Boyd Britton, Secretary Mary Ferrioli, Jim Sproul, Terry and Billie Joe George, Judy Kerr, Mark Pengelly, Hal Smith, Gary Jacobson, Marlene Greer, Wanda and Tork Ballard, Ron Combs, Rick Combs, Chuck Chase, Ron Phillips, and Red Iler. A Pledge of Allegiance was given to the US flag. The invocation was given by Red Iler.

CLAIMS. The court had reviewed and approved claims and Extension District Warrant Nos. 272-278. A tagged claim was to Boyd Britton Welding for work performed for the Road Department.

AGENDA. MSP: Britton/Myers — to accept the agenda with adding a fairgrounds water leak emergency and a draft letter received yesterday afternoon from the Public Access Advisory Board.

ANNOUNCEMENTS.

Britton will be attending an upcoming Oregon Transportation Commission meeting to represent Region 5. He said he’s had lots of meetings with people at his shop about county issues. He announced the Sage Grouse meeting that was scheduled at the Oregon Zoo in Portland is cancelled.

Myers attended a lengthy Airport Commission meeting Monday evening. Tuesday morning he participated in a BOPTA tax appeal hearing followed by a teleconference with EOCA about SRS funding. Today he plans to travel to Baker City with Labhart for a 1-4 pm Blue Mountain Forest Plan Revision meeting to start the process of how to assist in re-writing / fixing the forest plan.

Labhart attended a Work Source meeting and TEC board training session in La Grande Thursday. Friday he worked at the Clue Dinner and Silent Auction fairgrounds fundraiser. Saturday he took a Defensive Driving course at John Day Senior Center. Monday he attended a special County Court meeting to award the elevator installation contract. Yesterday Labhart participated in an EOCA teleconference and a Rural Fire District Board meeting. This afternoon he will attend aBlue Mountain Forest Plan Revision Re-engagement Group meeting in Baker City. Saturday he will attend the Captain’s Platter Dinner at the Elks Lodge and the Dayville School fundraiser at Snaffle Bit Dinner House on Sunday. Tuesday Labhart will attend Congressman Walden’s town hall meeting at Mt. Vernon Community Center.

MINUTES. MSP: Britton/Labhart– to approve the February 4 minutes as amended.

MSP: Myers/Labhart — to approve the February 9 minutes as presented

9:20 am – Forest Supervisor Steve Beverlin, Audrey Matsumonsi, Howard and Marcia Geiger, and King Williams entered

WATER LEAK. The court discussed an emergency water leak at the fairgrounds in the meter for the outfield, RV restrooms and the Pavilion. The location is not known because each area lacks a shut off valve. Fair Manager Mary Weaver previously suggested we purchase shut off valves for each area, dig where necessary using the county’s small excavator to replace pipe, and approve additional work hours for Dusty Williams to do the work. She also asked that the county pay for the overage difference in water bills for December and January estimated at $784.75. Today, Myers explained he authorized having the city use a locator to see if the leak can be found then sending our Property Maintenance Specialist to work on this problem, allowing Dusty to focus on office remodel work in the Pavilion.

EOCCO. Court members acknowledged the application submitted by Kathy Cancilla to serve on the Eastern Oregon Community Advisory Council Local Community Advisory Council. As chair of the EOCCO, Labhart recommended appointing Kathy Cancilla. MSP: Labhart/Britton — to appoint Kathy Cancilla to serve on the EOCCO LCAC.

ROAD MASTER. The court considered draft in-county and public advertisements to fill the vacant Road Master position. Dates were proposed as February 12-19 (in-county) with public notice starting February 18. Myers explained a change was made to make a Class-A Oregon Driver’s License preferred rather than required. Britton suggested advertising the opening on the Association of Counties website. MSP: Myers/Britton — to approve the proposed in-county and newspaper advertisements and job description change as presented.

9:30 am — Bob Phillips, Zach Williams, Sheri Giffin, and News Reporter Scotta Callister, and Ron and Sally Greb entered

PUBLIC ACCESS ADVISORY BOARD. Board Chair Jim Sproul previously requested a meeting with the court to discuss the need for more information on the Magone Project and on road modifications / closures on the southern portion of the Malheur NF. Based on the PAAB’s recent meeting, Sproul provided a draft letter to the Malheur Forest Supervisor for the court to sign stating the road closure CFR order signed on September 30, 2014 is in violation of Ordinance 2013-01. The letter asks the Malheur NF to rescind the CFR order for all Grant County roads, trails, stock driveways, and by-ways addressed in the CFR order and to respond in writing that proper actions will be taken in the near future. Sproul said the board is still waiting for a review from the Forest Service so we know for sure how many roads were proposed for closure in the southern portion of the forest. He pointed out the importance of keeping these roads open to public access. Sproul also presented an updated list of road closures to help clarify the actual number of roads closures. Myers made it clear this is a “Work in Progress,” at this point, and we all expect the Forest Service will be coming out with a response.

Wanda Ballard thought the number of road closures was a significant previous misstatement on the part of the Forest Service.

Mark Pengelly was surprised at the number of road closures which seem to be clustered in one area around Myrtle Park. He thought the number of roads closed to public access was unacceptable.

Howard Gieger indicated there was no access that he could find from the 31 road and the 34 road.

9:45 – Sharon Livingston, Steve Pereira, and Russ Young entered

Labhart suggested the PAAB hold a public meeting at another location that would provide adequate space for attendance and displaying maps. Sproul said he would be glad to do that. Labhart also noted that additional information from the Forest Service will be coming out for public comment.

Howard Geiger recommended that PAAB’s letter be signed by the court and sent to the Forest Service. Myers recited the draft letter prepared by the PAAB, then pointed out that the county is awaiting a response from Mr. Beverlin as to how they will handle the CFR closures signed last September. At this point, Myers was not willing to sign this letter as presented. He feels it would be premature to sign a letter asking to rescind decisions made on all of those roads, since some roads that were closed many years ago lacked proper documentation.

Steve Beverlin reiterated the Forest Service’s commitment to review the document signed by Teresa Raaf September 30, 2014. To date a review has been completed for Harney County and was presented to the Harney County Court on February 4; they intend to follow the same process with Grant County. Beverlin answered an attendees’ question about the time-line for NEPA. He believed NEPA documents are living documents that exist until some significant change takes place i.e. an endangered species becomes listed.

Britton felt the PAAB had done what the county asked them to do to bring recommendations forward. He also believed Beverlin is doing his job and will be coming to the County Court when their review of Grant County roads has been completed. Britton told Sproul that the PAAB is not driving actions by the court because it is only advisory.

Sproul felt we needed additional information on the Magone Project that includes Maintenance Level 1 roads which were left off the map he just got from the Forest Service. Beverlin explained he specifically stated at the PAAB meeting (earlier this week) that Maintenance Level 1 roads are currently closed to public access. He then asked the public to identify those Level 1 roads they would like the MNF to revisit and reopen. Public meetings on the Magone Project are scheduled for the near future. Billie Jo George wanted to see Level 1 roads on the map. Beverlin felt that would be a good comment.

Steve Pereira asked for and received from Myers information about the county’s process for the proposed closure of a county road.

Labhart restated that it would be appropriate to hold another public meeting in a bigger forum, since these types of public discussions do not work well during a County Court meeting.

10:00 am — Patrick Bentz and Ryan Falk entered

AIRPORT. Airport Manager Patrick Bentz presented additional information about the current fuel dispenser turbine. Bentz had made the following contacts about fixing the corroding contact on the turbine — Red’s Electric (Ron Hasher) could not fix the problem, Triangle Oil (Trent Wright) didn’t have the part, Northwest Pump couldn’t find the part, Wolf Electric (Brian Wolf) recommended replacing the turbine, and S&C Electric (Ty Parsons) did not respond to his phone call. Bentz also spoke with Eastern Oregon Petroleum (Jim Byrnes) who said the turbine is no longer being made so replacement parts do not exist, but he could replace the turbine for $2,557.50. Bentz understood the cost would include mileage to perform the work, but will confirm the total cost. He thought the existing turbine was 20-25 years old, but could be 40 year old. Myers felt it was worthwhile to get other opinions and a second quote for this work. MSP: Britton/Myers — to allow Mr. Bentz to go forward with the turbine replacement work proposed by Eastern Oregon Petroleum.

SNOW PARK. Ron Greb (Burnt River Snowmobile Club) requested a letter of support for the Malheur National Forest’s Blue Mountain Summit Snow Park proposal. The proposal would provide a parking and loading area off Highway 26 to reduce the potential for accidents and increase safety at the Snow Park. Currently, trail users park vehicles and trailers along widened sections on the highway which is causing problems and congestion for Oregon Department of Transportation plows and also blocks access to semi-trailers that use turnouts to install or remove tire chains. He said this process would facilitate incorporating the site into the Snow Park System. Discussion took place about the exact location on Hwy 26 at the summit of the Blue Mountains and distance from the Baker County line. Greb talked about how the Snow Park was first developed. It was noted that other letters of support are being obtained for this proposal. MSP: Britton/Myers – to sign the letter of support as presented. The letter of support was signed by all court members. Labhart expressed his appreciation for the decision by Steve Beverlin to not implement the federal snowmobile trail plan on the Malheur National Forest at this time.

10:35 am — Christy Cheyne, Laurie Bailey, Melissa Ward, and Pete Medina entered

EMIGRANT CREEK RANGER DISTRICT. Malheur NF Emigrant Creek District Ranger Christy Ann Cheyne was accompanied by Laurie Bailey and Melissa Ward to provide information on the district’s Wolf Vegetation Management Project. Malheur Forest Supervisor Steve Beverlin was also present. Project description sheets, area maps, and a copy of the EA were distributed to the court. Information was provided on previous public meetings held on this project. The purposes of the project are to improve native vegetation resistance to insects, disease and wildfire; restore meadow habitat, aspen stands, and riparian hardwoods; enhance sagebrush steppe habitats, reintroduce fire on the landscape as a natural process; reduce road-related impacts to the watershed; and capture the economic value of harvested timber. One No-Action and two Action alternatives were analyzed. Access and travel management activities were described which would include closing about 29 miles and decommissioning about 5 miles of roads within Grant County — 50% of which are naturally closed already. It was noted road access to campsites would continue. The project is currently out for a 30 day comment period that’s due to close March 6; a decision on this project is expected in June. Cheyne noted the upcoming Dove Project will have public information available for review in a few weeks.

PUBLIC COMMENT. Hal Smith expressed his thoughts about a the lack of civility he saw today due to logistics of this room, moving chairs in and out, and (especially) people continuing to make noise in the hallway that has a real negative impact on public meetings. Sharon Livingston talked about a group of rude, unsupervised elementary school kids she saw in the store yesterday. Wanda Ballard felt the Wolf Project was well presented, but is concerned there are road closures being hidden behind the collaborative. King Williams felt we’ve started on the right track having the Forest Service bring projects to the Public Access Advisory Board and the court. Labhart was disappointed by a lack of courtesy and respect with an outburst by an individual, and the level of exterior noise that continued during the meeting today. Forest Supervisor Steve Beverlin reported that three members of the Public Forest Commission will tour the South Fork Fire area with the Forest Service tomorrow to look at potential salvage opportunity.

11:30 am — Adjourned to allow Myers and Labhart to attend a Blue Mountain Forests Plan Revision meeting in Baker City from 1 – 4 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Mary R. Ferrioli

County Court Secretary