Grant County Court minutes from Sept. 12, 2018:

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 Jim Hamsher and Rob Raschio, Frances Preston, Katy Nelson, Judy Kerr, Jim Sproul, Reporter Rick Hanners, Dave Traylor, Beth Spell, Jim Spell, Dan Becker, Administrative Assistant Laurie Wright, 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 #24-37. Commissioner Raschio declared a conflict on a claim payable to Raschio Law Office of $108.

HAND CHECK. The court had approved a hand check on August 31st to the DMV for transport van registration and title transfer and a hand check on September 6th for Forensic Interview training.

AGENDA. Judge Myers announced Item F needed to be amended to reflect that Andrea Officer would be giving an update on the 2018 OVW grant status instead of asking for permission to apply for a grant. MSP: Myers/Hamsher — to accept the agenda as amended.

ANNOUNCEMENTS. Judge Myers met with the Lake Creek Camp Board on August 30th and said they would like assistance with the administration of camp operations.

9:04 am Gordon Larson entered.

It was suggested to ask Economic Development for assistance with the administration of the camp. Discussions will be ongoing. On August 31st Myers and Laurie Wright discussed with Kimberly Lindsay via telephone the state requirement of having a county employee administer the public health department. On September 5th Myers traveled with Roadmaster Alan Hickerson to Monument to view a potential site for a communication tower. Myers attended an Airport Commission meeting on the 10th and then went to the John Day Fire Hall for an IGC meeting regarding 911. September 13th Myers will meet with Representative Lynn Findlay in his office and then at 2pm there will be a town hall at Timbers Bistro with Rep. Findlay. He also performed a wedding on the 13th. On August 18th he will attend a block grant meeting at Economic Development regarding domestic violence. Myers will go to the Local Public Safety Committee meeting on the 20th and on the 21st will travel to the Fossil Beds to meet the new Fossil Beds Manager and look at development plans they have. On September 18th one or more of the court members will travel to Baker City to discuss Eastern Oregon Counties Association objections to the Forest Plan Revision and there is also a Department Head meeting on the 18th. September 24th there will be a District 1 meeting in Ontario at 10 am MST. Myers will meet with Jessica Keyes from Senator Wyden’s office on September 24th. Raschio advised he can attend the District 1 meeting and can also attend the EOCA meeting on the 18th.

9:12 am Eric Julsrud entered.

Commissioner Hamsher attended a meeting Monday telephonically with the AOC regarding federal land management. Last night he met with a group of ranchers from Seneca to discuss their grazing concerns. Over the last two weeks Hamsher has talked with Scott Fairley of Business Oregon, Senator Wyden’s office, and the Governor’s office. Hamsher spoke with Congressman Walden’s office last week and will attend the EOCA meeting in Baker on the 18th. Tonight he will attend a Prairie City Council Meeting and give an update on the water situation.

Commissioner Raschio met with some concerned citizens led by Shaun Robertson who would like to create a Water Resource Committee and said they have some interesting ideas. Raschio met with Sheriff Palmer to discuss payment of the Oregonian attorney fees to make sure it wasn’t going to cause difficulties with his budget and said the Sheriff did not express any significant concerns. Raschio believes this was a good decision by the court. Raschio met with the Regional Watermaster regarding ongoing concerns from the local Watermaster and staff and will continue to work on issues surrounding this. Raschio met with John Day City Manager Nick Green to discuss 911. Raschio continues to attend meetings about developing a new swimming pool and feels this is very important for the children in our communities. Raschio will attend the EOCA meeting on September 18th and will meet with Representative Findlay tomorrow at 3 pm. Raschio apologized to Commissioner Candidates Gordon Larson and Sam Palmer for not contacting them prior to today’s meeting. Raschio had told both of them that he would contact them prior to each meeting.

Myers added Senator Bentz and Representative Findlay have sponsored a bill for this legislative session to increase the 911 telephone tax to $1.50 to increase revenue for 911 dispatch funding. Myers said this is something the court requested of both Bentz and Findlay when they were appointed and he appreciates the fact that they are moving forward with this. Raschio asked Judge Myers to send a letter to the AOC to request support for this bill.

9:20 am Julie Ellison entered.

Hamsher would like to ask EOCA to also support this bill and suggested sending a letter to EOCA and also request the cities write letters of support.

MINUTES. MSP: Myers/Raschio — to approve the August 29th minutes as presented.

WATERMASTER. Watermaster Eric Julsrud gave a department head update to the court. Julsrud introduced himself to those in attendance. He reported his office has one county employee and he is a state employee. He said his office is charged with measuring water flows and explained tasks they complete. Raschio asked Julsrud what his perspective was on forming a water resource committee for Grant County. Julsrud said what was presented to him was very out of the box thinking to increase the ability to utilize the existing water within the county. He said there are good ideas, but change can be difficult to implement. Discussion followed about why the levels of Canyon Creek and the John Day River appear to be higher than normal. Judy Ker asked if not having the Canyon Creek Dam was causing less water availability. Julsrud said he hasn’t noticed a significant change and suggested contacting the state hydrologist with questions about water flows. Julsrud answered questions from the audience about impounding water and explained a study that was conducted years ago along with some of the requirements of water storage. Hamsher asked Julsrud to explain state water rights versus certified water rights. Julsrud explained the different types and stages of water rights. He has records of water rights in his office that can be viewed and identify the different types of rights. Different technologies were discussed for mapping locations for water storage and water locations. Myers and Hamsher both reported the mapping technology can be very expensive.

9:36 am Tonya Cates entered.

ASSESSOR. The court reviewed offers received to purchase small tax foreclosed parcels. Chief Deputy Assessor Tonya Cates advised the properties were either part of a driveway or yard and only had value to the affected landowners. She said the current landowners have been using these properties for years. These three parcels were removed from the tax foreclosure sale in May because they had limited value and were not buildable parcels (part of a driveway, yard, etc.). ORS 275.225 provides for sale of county land by private sale. The offers received were: Acct. #8757 – Colin MacArthur offered $200, Acct. #39167 – Darlene Cannon offered $100, and Acct. #8549 – Susan Malaney offered $200. MSP: Raschio/Myers — to accept the offers and approve sale of the properties to MacArthur (Acct. #8757 $200); MSP: Raschio/Myers — Cannon (Acct. #39167 $100); MSP: Raschio/Myers – to approve the offer from Malaney pending review of the parcel size (Acct. #8549 $200).

TREASURER. Treasurer Julie Ellison provided a department head update to the court. Ellison introduced herself and said she has been the Treasurer for just less than two years. Ellison has a Deputy Treasurer who works with her for 20 hours per week. Ellison said she is responsible for receiving and disbursing all county funds and distributing money to taxing districts at the end of each month. Ellison writes all checks for the county and invests county funds. Ellison explained the statutory requirements she must follow for investing county funds. She said she is working with the court to change the investment policy for the county to try to increase investment options and rates. The Treasurer’s office is the central supply for county and janitorial supplies. Ellison is also the Budget Officer for the county. Ellison advised the position is getting easier for her as she learns and is not as overwhelming as it once was.

9:48 am Jim Carpenter entered.

Raschio commended Ellison for her work on looking into investment options and asked where the county was on automating payroll. Ellison reported she has been speaking with Chaves (the county software system) to discuss automating payroll and has been working with Clerk Brenda Percy to implement a better system. Hamsher asked what Chaves costs the county per year. Ellison said she knows the Assessor pays per month, but she isn’t sure if the other departments pay monthly or quarterly. Ellison will find this out and let the court members know. Raschio asked Ellison to attempt to locate funding for a Deputy District Attorney position due to the fact that the DA’s office is not going to be receiving grant funding for this position any longer. Raschio believes this will become a public safety issue and Myers agreed. Preston asked if there are any statutes prohibiting hiring of a financial planner for the county. Ellison said there are not, but these type of positions are usually only found in much larger counties. Ellison explained there are only certain things she can invest in and it is manageable for her office to handle the investments. Preston asked if the DA’s office could request assistance from the state for prosecution of cases. Preston believes there are other resources that can assist the District Attorney.

9:58 am Reporter Logan Bagett

District Attorney Jim Carpenter said the state can assist with cases on a case by case basis. Carpenter advised the state will assist with serious cases like Measure 11 cases, but they are not going to be available to assist with smaller cases. Carpenter reported the state resources are also stretched thin.

Hamsher would like to review the contract the county has with Chaves. Ellison will research possible funding sources for a Deputy DA and will report back to the court. Preston asked how much money was invested and Ellison estimated approximately 30 million. Raschio asked if Ellison could think of anything the court could do to assist in her department. Ellison said she would like to see the county implement a policy requiring direct deposit for all employees. Wright will request sample policies from CIS and Harney County.

10:08 am The court took a short break. 10:15 am The court returned to session.

POTENTIAL TRASH LOAD ORDINANCE. Private Citizen Dave Traylor wanted to speak with the court about a possible ordinance to require coverage of trash loads to the transfer station. Traylor said we are privileged to live in beautiful Grant County. Traylor has been involved in picking up litter in the county for many years and has worked with Community Corrections for the last five years to take people who have community service out to pick up litter. Traylor said some of the litter is unintentional while other people just don’t care about items blowing out of their vehicles. Traylor gave examples of different items he has seen on the highway between John Day and Mt. Vernon over the years, including large items of debris that fall out of vehicles and cause public safety hazards. Traylor said the transfer station currently charges $4 for uncovered loads that some people pay because they just don’t care. Traylor has talked with DA Carpenter and said there are other counties that have ordinances to require loads heading to transfer stations be covered and secured. Hamsher believes this is a good idea and is in favor of an ordinance to this effect. Myers asked Carpenter who would enforce this? Carpenter said any law enforcement agency could cite for this and it would likely be cited to Justice Court. Carpenter said there may be some sort of citizen citation allowed as well. Myers asked if state law regarding littering was being currently enforced. Carpenter said a policeman must actually see the littering in order to enforce it at this time. Carpenter said the county could implement an ordinance with penalties set by the county. Hamsher asked if an ordinance could be implemented with higher fees collected at the transfer station itself, such as $50 for the first time, etc. Myers believes the downside of this would be that people would then dump their trash somewhere else like in the woods. Carpenter advised the downside of something like this would be people may not receive due process. Carpenter is willing to draft an ordinance. Preston suggested working with Clark’s to increase the fee to $10. Hamsher doesn’t believe this would be enough. Gordon Larson said no one likes to see garbage on the road, but there are multiple state laws that deal with this. Larson also said state police officers cannot enforce county ordinances. Hamsher said Prairie City has many ordinances that citizens come to the city and file complaints about. The court agreed by consensus to have Carpenter and Traylor move forward with drafting a proposed ordinance.

PUBLIC HEARING – ORDINANCE 2018-03. Myers opened the public hearing at 10:36 am for Ordinance 2018-03 – In the Matter of Ratifying Creation of the Grant County Emergency Communications Agency. Myers advised this is the first reading of two that will allow the county to be involved in the Intergovernmental Council for 911 dispatch services. The different entities involved pay fees based upon assessed value of property within their boundaries and Hamsher would like clarification on whether assessed values are based on M-50 assessed value and/or farm deferred value. Raschio expressed his concern with the way the governance is set up within the current structure of the IGC. Hamsher suggested working on changes to the agreement and passing this as an emergency if necessary to meet the January 1st deadline. Myers read Ordinance 2018-03 by title and portion of the ordinance to those in attendance. Judy Kerr said she was made aware that there was no adequate representation for the decided location of the 911 center and believes there should be something in the ordinance providing for fair representation. Sproul asked if an Ordinance can impose a tax. Myers asked Carpenter and was directed to contact county counsel. Hamsher asked if there was a provision to eliminate costs to citizens if a new 911 funding package were passed. Raschio believes the burden would go away if the funding were passed. Hamsher thinks this should be in writing in the ordinance. Preston expressed her discomfort with the ordinance and doesn’t think information is being shared with the public. Preston hopes the court isn’t imposing decisions on the citizens of the county by attending meetings regarding this matter and said if the state increases funding the citizens should not have to keep paying. Raschio said the ordinance allocates current funds within the budget to 911 and does not allocate new taxes. Raschio ‘s understanding of Exhibit C that if there is a 911 funding increase in the future then the county would not be required to keep the allocated funding and would be allowed to re-allocate these funds. Hamsher does not have opposition to the ordinance or keeping 911 local, he would just like some questions answered from county counsel. Raschio isn’t looking to re-write the ordinance, but he is still concerned with how the governance structure of the IGC is currently set up. Raschio wanted it noted that if a problem arises from the Intergovernmental Agreement in the future the county would need to re-look at the agreement. Raschio believes Grant County should have a stronger voice in the structure of the IGC due to being the largest stakeholder. Myers advised he ended up as a member of the IGC based upon historical agreements where the County Judge was a member. Hamsher expressed further concerns with the way representatives are listed, or not listed, on Exhibit C of the ordinance. Raschio pointed out that membership is listed in the actual draft Intergovernmental Agreement at paragraph 3.1.1. MSP: Myers/Raschio – to close the hearing.

VICTIM ASSISTANCE. DA Jim Carpenter announced that the District Attorney’s was not awarded the Oregon Violence Against Women (OVW) Grant for fiscal year 2018. This grant has been a three year grant and was received by the county for the last four cycles. This grant provides funding that supports the Deputy District Attorney position, Victim Intervention Specialist position, Special Investigator position and .75 of the Directors salary for Heart of Grant County. Carpenter was advised that the requests for funding to OVW greatly exceeded the funding that was available. He said this is going to cause problems in his office that will need to be addressed. If Carpenter does not have assistance from a Deputy DA then he will be forced to limit the prosecutions in his office and another issue will be providing state mandated victim assistance services. Victim Intervention Specialist Kimberly Neault currently provides the state mandated services to victims. Carpenter advised he isn’t sure what is going to happen in his department in the future. Carpenter said they only found out on Monday that this funding wasn’t going to be renewed. There is money left in the current grant and Victim Assistance Director Andrea Officer is working on a request for an extension of time to spend this funding. Carpenter anticipates returning to court in the future to attempt to address some of the above issues.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY. District Attorney Jim Carpenter sent a written request to the court for approval to hire a special prosecutor to complete the outstanding caseload of Deputy DA Mara Houck. Houck is leaving the office on September 21st. Carpenter advised that VAWA grant funds would be used until the end of September to pay for the special prosecutor and an extension has been requested to allow expenditure of the funds until the end of the year. Attorney Riccola Voigt has agreed to be appointed as special prosecutor at a rate of $30 per hour. Carpenter estimates she would work 15-25 hours per week through approximately November to resolve the outstanding cases. MSP: Myers/Hamsher — to approve appointment of Riccola Voigt as a special prosecutor until VAWA funding runs out.

Sproul suggested looking for a local attorney to assist in the DA’s office as the Deputy DA and to also incorporate this employee as county counsel since Ron Yockim will be retiring. Raschio and Hamsher both agreed this should be looked into further. Myers said Yockim’s fee has been $2,750 per month for quite some time.

11:26 am The court took a short break. 11:34 am The court returned to session.

Judge Myers recited the State Attorney General’s Sample Script to Announce the Start of Executive Session.

EXECUTIVE SESSION. 11:36 am – The court members met in executive session pursuant to ORS 192.660(2)(h) to consult with your attorney regarding your legal rights and duties in regard to litigation or litigation that is more likely than not to be filed. Judge Myers recited the State Attorney General’s Sample Script to Announce the Start of Executive Session. Present were Judge Myers, Commissioner Raschio, Commissioner Hamsher, Administrative Assistant Laurie Wright and Reporter Rick Hanners. The court left executive session at 11:40 am. The court returned to regular session at 11:41 am. MSP: Myers/Raschio — to approve the Mutual Release and Settlement Agreement for Palmer v. Grant County to be paid from the Sheriff’s Department budget – communication line item.

11:43 am Jim Spell and Dan Becker entered.

Jim Spell expressed his frustration with the court decision to pay the Oregonian legal fees and said there is a lot of anger, frustration and confusion over this matter. Spell said he doesn’t understand why the County is paying these fees and rewarding the Sheriff for not complying with the public records request.

11:44 am Kathy Stinnett entered.

Raschio explained the decision to pay the Hostetter legal fees of $14,000 was made because of the future cost of litigation for this matter to continue forward with potential litigation and appeals would far exceed this. Raschio also wanted to get Sally DeFord out of this litigation. Raschio also said the Oregonian fees were court ordered by the Circuit Court and the County was named as a defendant in this matter and the fees were accruing interest at the rate of 9% per annum. Raschio believes this was the most fiscally responsible decision the court could make.

11:46 am Jim Sproul entered.

Raschio wants this matter over with so the healing process can begin. Spell said he hopes the Sheriff does learn from this. Myers advised he has talked with Sheriff Palmer and believes that everyone has learned from this matter. Raschio reported he is the one who really pushed for settlement of these cases.

11:49 am Judy Kerr and Frances Preston entered.

Spell agreed with getting Sally DeFord out of the lawsuit. Raschio said that is where the $14,000 figure came from because that is what Hostetter originally listed as DeFord’s attorney fees. Raschio stated “I had a conversation with the Sheriff and told him that if this kind of aggressive Freedom of Information Act thing happens again with another reporter he needs to talk to county counsel right away, we cannot let this thing get out of control and out of hand, it needs to be something where we are turning to the experts….”. Jim Sproul appreciates the county court finally putting this to bed and feels the court did the right thing. Hamsher advised the court is tasked with making fiscally responsible decisions for the entire county. Dan Becker thinks decisions like this should be listed as an agenda item even though it is not required.

FLAGGER JOB DESCRIPTION. Roadmaster Alan Hickerson requested court approval for a revised Flagger job description. The revised description removed many duties that are no longer requirements of the position. MSP: Raschio/Hamsher — to approve and adopt the revised Flagger job description.

DEPARTMENT ASSISTANT POSITION. The court previously approved a 19 hour per week Department Assistant for the Justice of the Peace. Human Resources Manager Laurie Wright advised the court that since that part time position was approved the current Department Assistant in the Assessor’s Office submitted his resignation. Wright, Assessor David Thunell and Justice of the Peace Kathy Stinnett discussed the possibility of combining the two vacant positions into one full-time benefited position to be shared between the two departments. The Department Assistant wage would be the same for both departments and they would each pay half of the salary. The Assessor’s office currently pays benefits for the Department Assistant in its office and would continue to pay the benefits for this shared position. The departments believe that having a full-time benefited position would greatly increase employee retention. Raschio expressed his discomfort with the wording of the criminal background requirement in the current job description. Wright said the wording could be less specific and suggested “acceptable criminal background”. MSP: Raschio/Hamsher – to revise the JP Department Assistant Job Description to change the criminal background requirement wording to “acceptable criminal background”. MSP: Myers/Hamsher — to approve hiring of a Department Assistant at 40 hours per week to be shared between the Justice of the Peace and Assessor Offices with benefits to be paid from the Assessor’s budget.

BUDGET RESOLUTION 18-25. Ellison had prepared budget resolution 18-25 for court review and approval. Myers read Resolution 18-25 to the audience. This resolution transfers money within the Sheriff’s Department budget to pay for the court ordered Oregonian legal fees of $28,337. The resolution moves money from capital outlay to materials and services. MSP: Raschio/Hamsher — to approve Resolution 18-25 and circulate for signatures.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. Economic Development Director Sally Bartlett sent a written request to the court for approval to submit an intake form/pre-application for CDBG funds on behalf of the Heart of Grant County to build a domestic violence shelter. The intake form is required in order to move forward with the grant application process. Bartlett had included a letter from the Heart of Grant County requesting that the County partner with them on this venture. Raschio would like to speak with county counsel about redacting information regarding the location of a domestic violence shelter. The estimated grant request is $980,000. Raschio expressed concern that losing .75 funding for the Director of the Heart of Grant County would make running a shelter like this very difficult. Raschio would like this to be addressed in this grant if possible. Raschio said the court needs to have a clear understanding of what this grant will cover because if it goes over the $980,000 he isn’t sure where the funding would come from. MSP: Raschio/Myers — to authorize Bartlett to submit the intake/pre-application form.

PLANNING DEPARTMENT. Planning Director Hilary McNary had provided a Memorandum of Understanding to the court for review and approval. The MOU is with the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) and is a no-cost agreement for DLCD to provide assistance in updating economic development plans for local governments in Eastern Oregon. MSP: Raschio/Myers — to approve the MOU with Department of Land Conservation and Development and authorize Judge Myers to sign.

ROAD DEPARTMENT. The court reviewed a written request from Roadmaster Alan Hickerson to approve an Aggregate Materials Storage Lease with Phil St. Clair, Rocking Nine Ranch, LLC. The lease term would be for five years in the amount of $1,800 per year. Myers advised that negotiations for purchase of this pit had been ongoing over the last four years, but never happened. If the purchase would have occurred the yearly lease amount would have been deducted off the purchase price. Since the purchase didn’t happen Hickerson is requesting court approval to pay four years of back lease payments to St. Clair in the amount of $7,200. MSP: Raschio/Myers – to approve back lease payments in the amount of $7,200 to Rocking Nine Ranch, LLC. MSP: Myers/Raschio — to approve the lease with Rocking Nine Ranch, LLC/Phil St. Clair and circulate for signatures.

VETERAN SERVICES. Increased Hours: The Veteran’s budget has funding available to increase the VSO hours from 32 per week to 40. The State has been encouraging more use of the veteran funding provided and Hoffman has been working to find ways to utilize the funding. Increasing Hoffman’s hours would also utilize more of the available funding while better serving our local veterans. Myers advised Hoffman is agreeable to the increase in hours. MSP: Myers/Raschio — to increase Hoffman’s hours to 40 per week. Preston would like to see another person hired to assist Hoffman in her office. Hamsher said he has talked with Hoffman about this and trusts her judgment on whether she needs the assistance.

Visa Card Request: Veteran Services Officer Kathleen Hoffman would like a county issued Visa card for her department. She currently must borrow one from another department to register for conferences, lodging, etc. MSP: Myers/Hamsher — to approve issuance of a Visa card for Veteran Services with the same stipulation of a $2,500 limit as other departments have. Hamsher reported he speaks with veterans at least weekly and he has heard nothing but positive comments on Hoffman’s work performance and the help she has provided to local veterans.

PUBLIC COMMENT. Myers offered an opportunity for public comment. None was received.

12:33 pm – Adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted,

Laurie Wright

Administrative Assistant

**** Please note the court minutes are a summary of the court proceedings. An audio recording of each court session is available, after approval of the minutes, by contacting Laurie Wright at 541-575-0059 or wrightl@grantcounty-or.gov ****