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

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

June 8, 2016

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, Administrative Assistant Laurie Wright, Jim Spell, Beth Spell, Hank Lissman, Gregg Smith, John Morris, Linda Gingrich, Mike Cosgrove, Dan Driscoll, Jim Dovenberg, Bob Chouinard, Jeff Thomas, Shaun Robertson, and Pastor Flora Cheadle. A Pledge of Allegiance was given to the United States flag. The invocation was given by Pastor Cheadle.

CLAIMS. The court had reviewed and approved claims and Extension District Warrants #148-157.

AGENDA. MSP: Myers/Britton — to accept the agenda as presented.

ANNOUNCEMENTS. Commissioner Britton announced he will be absent from next week’s court meeting as he will be at the NEACT/SEACT hearing in Portland. Last week he went to Baker City for the TEC budget meeting. Britton will participate in a conference call tomorrow regarding STEP (Statewide Transportation Enhancement Projects) for NEACT/SEACT. Yesterday Britton was honored to participate in a panel with the Oregon Department of Agriculture and other local residents to discuss issues in Grant County.

9:05 am Ryan Torland and Ken Holliday entered.

Commissioner Labhart will be in Portland Friday and Saturday for a Veterans Committee meeting. Labhart participated in a Community Health meeting assessment evaluation program at the hospital yesterday.

9:06 am Logan Bagett entered.

Judge Myers attended the open house for the new fire hall last Saturday as did Labhart. Myers said it was very well attended and is a very impressive building. On Monday Myers went to the fairgrounds where they were having serious plumbing issues with the sewer lines. The problem was located Monday afternoon and Myers authorized the repair and he believes it should be completed by now. On Monday Myers also went with Road Master Alan Hickerson to Dixie to view the lookout but they were unable to get to the lookout because of the snow still remaining. Tuesday Myers traveled to Monument to visit with a landowner about a new agreement for county access to the county’s radio equipment on Lookout Mountain and to view some future bridge projects. Myers will be meeting with DEQ today to view the progress up Canyon Creek with clean up and rebuilding. Tomorrow afternoon he will meet with Kim Hilton to discuss quotes for the county’s medical insurance carrier.

MINUTES. MSP: Britton/Labhart — to approve the June 1st minutes as presented.

GRANT COUNTY FARM BUREAU. Dan Driscoll of the Grant County Farm Bureau presented a proposal to the court for a county predator control agent. Driscoll said a county control agent was in the county in the past and was very successful. Driscoll owns a fish farm and advised he loses over 4000 fish a year from predators which costs him about $15,000 a year. Ranchers Jim Dovenberg and Bob Chouinard told the court how predators have affected wildlife, livestock and birds on their land and both strongly support creating this position. Rancher Ken Holliday explained his problems with predators and killing of his livestock to the court along with the economic impact to his ranch. Holliday is concerned with the cougar population and what it has done to our deer population as well. Holliday is very supportive of having a predator agent here.

9:24 am Kathy Stinnett and King Williams entered.

Jeff Thomas, President of the Grant County Farm Bureau, said the farm bureau has been in support of this proposal for a couple of years. Thomas owns an orchard in Kimberly where crows and ravens damage his crops and probably cost him around $15,000 to $20,000 per year. John Morris supports this position but would like the term predator defined because to him the elk in the fields on his property are predators as well. Shaun Robertson would like to know how much revenue the county gets from landowners versus how much service is provided back to the landowner. Robertson wants to see the landowners get their fair share of what they pay in. Robertson stated this proposal has been presented to the court numerous times and he would like to see it followed through this time. Ryan Torland from Oregon Fish & Wildlife attended to answer questions if needed. Britton asked Torland what values the state placed on a deer or elk. Torland said approximately $400 for a deer and $800 for an elk, but he wasn’t positive about the figures without looking it up. Driscoll said the Farm Bureau, Cattlemen, Stock Growers, Oregon Fish & Wildlife, individual ranchers, and Wildlife Services are all in support of this proposal and want the county to assist with funding. Driscoll explained how the funding might work and the benefits of working with Wildlife Services. This position would not be a county employee; they would be a Wildlife Service’s employee. Driscoll feels the logical choice for oversight of this position would be the county Wildlife Committee. Thomas said some private landowners have indicated they will also provide contributions to support this proposal. Driscoll asked the court to allocate $35,000 and to direct the Wildlife Committee to work with Wildlife Services on a services agreement. Driscoll added this proposal could be reviewed in two years to see how successful it is, make corrections if necessary, and request federal funding. Torland wanted to clarify the ODFW access and habitat grant money is proposed grant money and has not been finalized yet. Britton stated he hasn’t supported this proposal in the past, but he feels very good about this now. Myers said having a two year program seemed like a good idea but doesn’t feel the county could commit to more than a year at a time right now.

9:58 am Sean Hart entered.

Treasurer Kathy Smith asked if the intent of this program was to carry it on into the future or just for the two years and if the funding needed to be in place by July. Driscoll said the hope is to carry the program into the future. Torland advised the ODFW money won’t be available until probably August. Smith suggested waiting to see if the state money comes through before writing a check. Labhart won’t vote on this issue unless the motion is contingent upon receipt of other funding sources. MSP: Britton/Labhart — to commit $35,000 in FY 2016/17 to assist with funding of a predator control agent contingent on receipt of other funding sources.

10:11 am Dan Becker, Ryan Nehl, Steve Beverlin, Christy Cheyne, Lori Bailey, Melissa Ward, and Joshua Giles entered.

10:13 am Terry Brandsma and John Ealey entered.

EMIGRANT CREEK RANGER DISTRICT. District Ranger Christy Cheyne presented the Malheur National Forest Dove Project to the court. Cheyne said the draft Environmental Assessment (EA) is out and the public comment period is June 1 to July 1. A portion of this project is in Grant County. Cheyne advised they have presented the project to the Harney County Court already and collaborated with the Harney County Restoration Collaborative on the project. This project is a result of the collaboration.

10:27 am Greg Bremner entered.

Cheyne stated when this project was initially started some local individuals from Grant County worked with them, including Jim Sproul. A power point presentation was presented to the court. Lori Bailey explained the different purposes and needs of the project as she went through the power point presentation as well as the treatment options such as harvesting, prescribed burns, aspen treatments and juniper removal. A roads committee was formed including Jim Sproul, Brooks Smith and Jack Southworth who then went and looked at a variety of roads with the Forest Service. The roads committee and Forest Service didn’t agree on all road closures, but did reach a consensus. Discussion was held regarding the two different project alternatives and the amount of road closures. Depending on which alternative is selected between 140 and 142 miles or road will remain open to the public and the majority of the roads being closed or decommissioned are already overgrown and effectively closed. Melissa Ward explained the interactive map that is available online showing all of the proposed treatments along with photographs. Ward presented hard copies of the project to the court. Britton asked if the Harney County Restoration Collaborative approved of this project and Bailey said they did and also helped develop it. Joshua Giles estimates around 15 to 18 million board feet of timber will be harvested from this project.

11:01 am Doug Ferguson, Alan Hickerson and Kathy Gillam entered.

FAIRGROUNDS RV PARK. Fair Manager Mary Weaver requested court approval to increase the RV Park fees. The transient room tax has increased along with other expenses. Weaver said she wants to raise the fee from $27 to $30 per night. Labhart is concerned this is still too low. Weaver agreed but stated she was concerned that Depot Park and Clyde Holiday Park had cheaper rates and so she felt a $3 increase was all that should be done at this time. Labhart asked if the RV Park had internet and Weaver stated they just got it last month. Britton told Weaver she should have requested court approval prior to the installation of the internet. Myers reminded her that the county court is the governing body over the Fair/RV Park. Weaver said her fair board approved this and Myers told her the county court is the contracting authority, not the fair board. MSP: Britton/Myers — to approve the increase of the RV Park fees to $30 per night.

11:11 am Todd McKinley entered.

POLICY WAIVER REQUEST. Todd McKinley, Community Corrections Director, requested court approval for a policy waiver for the cost of a hotel room. McKinley said he went to a conference in Madras and was unable to get a room and had to travel to Redmond to find one. McKinley later found out there was a large horse event in Madras which is why no rooms were available. MSP: Myers/Labhart — to approve the policy waiver request and authorize payment of the claim. Labhart feels the hotel policy needs to be reviewed at the next department head meeting and that the current allowed rate is too low.

CANYON CREEK FLOOD MITIGATION PROJECT. Doug Ferguson, Ferguson Surveying & Engineering updated the court on the large flood mitigation project. Ferguson said he and EMC Ted Williams met with School District Superintendent Curt Shelley, representatives of FEMA, Oregon Emergency Management and Regional Solutions Director Scott Fairley (via telephone) to discuss a possible FEMA Grant of roughly $400,000. The grant cannot be used for planning, but could be used for items like rehabilitation on the creek, building bridges, and buying out property that may be in jeopardy. The representatives viewed the creek and both advised Ferguson not to attempt to get federal funding. The FEMA representative also told Ferguson that this large project could not go forward without millions of dollars of environmental studies. Ferguson stated he needs some sort of contract solidified with the county before moving forward. Labhart asked if this contract would be for phase two of the flood project and what this contract would contain. Ferguson would propose an agreement like what has been done in the past. John Ealey of the Road Advisory Board reported the road department does not need a full time engineer under contract for at least the next two years and if an engineer was necessary a request for proposals could be completed. Ferguson said he only charges when work is completed and believes having an engineer under contract is a good idea in the event of an emergency. Ealey advised according to Oregon law the county must solicit for projects. Road Master Alan Hickerson said there are other resources available to the road department. Britton disagreed with Ealey and Hickerson and stated he thinks having an engineer under contract is extremely important. Ealey reiterated you go out for quick requests for proposals for engineering services when necessary for a project. Britton again disagreed and still thinks an engineer should be under contract. Discussion followed regarding the need to separate the flood project engineering from the possible road department engineering. Kathy Smith stated if the large flood project was going to move forward a funding source would need to be identified, but it wouldn’t be a road department project. One option would be a water district bond, but Myers doesn’t think a bond would pass in the community or that the large project could be completed without federal funds. Myers stated spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a feasibility study doesn’t make sense because he doesn’t believe an environmental study would allow for dredging of Canyon Creek. Ferguson believes it can be done and estimates it would cost around $300,000 to complete approximately 60% of the project engineering. Britton said he wants a request for proposals completed by the road department for a contract engineer. Road Safety Risk Manager Greg Bremner believes everyone should step back and review what is going on. Bremner said last week he had the opportunity to work with engineers from Oregon State University and it didn’t cost anything. Bremner doesn’t want to insult Ferguson; he just wants the court to be aware of the other resources available. Labhart is concerned the large flood project could bankrupt the county and it isn’t the road departments responsibility to pay for this project, but added Ferguson has done an excellent job for the county in the past. On June 22nd the court will discuss the reality of moving forward on the large flood mitigation project with Scott Fairley.

FERGUSON SURVEYING INVOICE. The court discussed payment of invoice # 3539 in the amount of $1,185.40 from Ferguson Surveying & Engineering for work on the possible large flood mitigation project. MSP: Myers/Britton — to approve payment of Ferguson Invoice #3539 in the amount of $1,185.40 to be paid from general fund other line. Kathy Smith wanted to know if this would be the final invoice or if there will be others. Ferguson said there may be others, but they won’t be large and he will work to keep costs down. Britton feels that as long as the bills don’t get out of line we should continue to move forward.

VICTIM ASSISTANCE GRANT. District Attorney Jim Carpenter and Victim Assistance Director Andrea Officer updated the court on the VOCA grant application and requested a letter from the court. Officer gave the court members information on the Competitive VOCA Grant she received permission to apply for. Officer said the grant requires in kind match of 25% and would be $43,571.25 and if the court isn’t willing to match this she needs a letter from the court requesting a waiver of the in kind match. MSP: Labart/Myers — to draft a letter requesting a full waiver of $43,571.25.

CIS INSURANCE RENEWEL. The court reviewed the insurance renewal with City County Insurance Services. This is for general liability and automobile liability. A decision on whether to renew this policy must be done prior to July 1. The cost of the policy is $209,213.41 and last year was around $196,000. Labhart would like to see this tabled until June 22nd. The consensus was to table this until June 22nd.

FAIRGROUNDS CONTRACT. The court reviewed and approved a professional service contract between the fairgrounds and Justin James dba The Hypnosis Company for entertainment at this year’s fair in the amount of $3,600. MSP: Myers/Britton — to approve the professional service contract and circulate for signatures pending receipt of Exhibit A.

RESOLUTION 16-17. Treasurer Kathy Smith presented Resolution 16-17 to the court to transfer funds from contingency to clerk ($500) and planning ($5,000) for a total of $5,500. MSP: Labhart/Myers — to approve Resolution 16-17 and circulate for signatures.

GEOGRAPHIC NAMES BOARD. The court again reviewed letters to the Secretary of the Interior and Inspector General. Ron Yockim has not yet provided his opinion on the content of the letters. The court signed the letters and will send them out after Yockim’s review.

12:36 pm– Adjourned

Respectfully Submitted,

Laurie Wright

Administrative Assistant