Grant County Court minutes from Sept. 26, 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, Administrative Assistant Laurie Wright, Ted Williams, Judy Kerr, Jim Sproul, Reporter Rick Hanners, Jim Spell, Beth Spell, John Morris, Gordon Larson, Katy Nelson, Didgette McCracken, Haley Walker, and Pastor Mark Majors. A Pledge of Allegiance was given to the United States Flag. The invocation was given by Pastor Majors.

CLAIMS. The court had reviewed and approved claims and extension district warrants #38-46 on September 19, 2018.

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

ANNOUNCEMENTS. Judge Myers met with Rep. Lynn Findlay on September 13th and also performed a wedding. September 18th attended a Community Development Block Grant meeting at Economic Development with Scott Fairley of Oregon Solutions and others concerning a domestic violence shelter. Myers traveled to Baker City on the 19th for an EOCA meeting where concerns and objections were discussed with Representative Walden about the Forest Plan Revision. Myers attended a LPSCC meeting on September 20th and also met with Frances Preston. On the 21st he traveled to the Cant Ranch and met the new Superintendent of the Fossil Beds.

9:03 am Dan Becker entered.

Myers met with Jessica Keys from Senator Merkley’s office on the 24th of September. Yesterday at 2 pm Myers went to the Road Advisory meeting and last night attended a fundraiser for Graham McKosker. Myers advised he was invited by the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to a meeting at the White House on October 11th and he will be traveling to Washington, DC for this meeting.

Commissioner Hamsher traveled to Baker City to meet with Congressman Walden and other commissioners. Hamsher also went to Ontario on Monday to attend a SEACT meeting and reported Doug Ferguson was kind enough to fly him to the meeting and thanked Ferguson for this. Hamsher spoke with Senator Wyden’s Aid while at the SEACT meeting and also spoke with Scott Fairley during the last week. Hamsher had several phone calls with Senator Wyden’s office leading up to the meeting. He attended a Senior Board meeting in Prairie City. Hamsher continues to apply for water system funding for Prairie City and a USDA grant. Hamsher received a message this morning to set up a meeting with ODOT on October 15th to view the proposed animal composting site near Prairie City and said the process is moving forward.

Commissioner Raschio attended the EOCA meeting in Baker City with Representative Walden as well where the Forest Plan and ongoing objections were discussed. Raschio said he appreciated Judge Myers work to condense the court concerns. Raschio went to the Color Run and Walk last Saturday and said it was a nice fundraiser and well attended. Raschio went to the AOC District 1 meeting in Ontario and advised both Commissioner candidates of the New Commissioners College in November. Raschio shared the packet from this meeting with Myers and Hamsher. He advised the AOC is requesting payment from all counties for the AOC road fund and would like to have this discussion during a future court session. Raschio attended a second meeting yesterday about developing a new pool for Grant County. Raschio also went to Graham McKosker’s benefit dinner last night.

MINUTES. MSP: Myers/Hamsher — to approve the September 12th minutes as amended.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. COOP Plan: Emergency Management Ted Williams requested court approval and adoption of the Continuity of Operations Plan. Williams explained this is a fairly simple plan to address where vital county offices and records would be moved in case of a disaster and also how damaged records would be restored. Williams will continue to work on the plan and believes this plan will reduce insurance costs to the county as well.

9:21 am Reporter Logan Bagett entered.

Jim Sproul asked if records were still stored in the basement. Myers advised there are some, but most have been moved to the bullpen on the third floor or on the main floor.

9:23 am Sharon Livingston entered.

Williams said he has identified areas for long term storage of records and is working to put a process in place to determine what records could be destroyed and how this process would work. Williams gave examples of different types of storage such as flash drives and cloud based storage. He said different offices are using various types of records storage and this plan would create a more uniform process.

9:27 am Nick Lulay, Dan Driscoll, Patrick Smith and Jim Dovenburg entered.

MSP: Myers/Hamsher — to approve and adopt the Continuity of Operations Plan for Grant County.

Myers said one thing that must be considered is how quickly offices can be moved and being organized to handle this. Myers commended Williams on his work on the plan.

Department Head Update: Williams updated the court on activities in his department over the last 12 months. The Emergency Management Office is located at 530 E. Main Street, Suite 4 in John Day. Williams presented a PowerPoint to those in attendance showing the responsibilities of the Emergency Management Program including items such as organizing volunteers, planning, and training. Williams explained the different types of plans he has developed and also plans he will be updating over the next year. He said the emergency plans must all be interoperable and work together to avoid confusion between different agencies. Employee training will be provided for different plans. Williams also summarized trainings for the incident management team and amateur ham radio operators (ARES). Myers advised an amateur radio operator reported a fire last weekend in a location with no cell service and saved vital minutes of response time to the fire. Williams reported he is currently searching for a used box van type vehicle to install mobile radio equipment in for ARES operators. Raschio suggested Williams talk with Airport Manager Haley Walker about what she discovered when looking for a vehicle from State Surplus.

9:48 am Eva Harris entered.

9:49 am Shaun Robertson and Rick Hensley entered.

APHIS PREDATOR CONTROL. Dan Driscoll said a year and a half ago the county approved funding to assist with the predat0r control position and the court at that time requested a yearly update on the program. Driscoll introduced Predator Control Agent Nick Lulay, Supervisor Patrick Smith and rancher Dan Dovenburg. Patrick Smith provided an update to the court regarding the predator control program. Smith summarized the document provided to the court by Driscoll. The document summarized the work conducted in the county and the variety of animals causing issues within the county. Smith said Lulay provides services to other entities such as ODOT when the work is available to supplement the cost of the position. Sharon Livingston asked who Smith worked for and he advised the (USDA) United States Department of Agriculture. Hamsher said he has been hearing good things about Lulay’s performance and thanked him. Raschio asked how much of Lulay’s funding the county was providing and Smith advised approximately a third to a half. Dan Dovenburg gave an overview of the program funding to date and said they have been able to get contributions of around $12,000 from other sources. Dovenburg said Lulay is a gunner for another program so his time here is actually around three quarter time. The estimated cost for a three quarter position is around $75,000 and with all of the current funding there will still be an estimated $21,000 short fall; with the $12,000 in other contributions this leaves the program short for this fiscal year in the amount of $9,100. He said last year there was $10,400 left over and he would ask the court to possibly roll this amount over or to contribute additional funding for the next fiscal year. Myers said the current county policy does not allow money to be rolled over from one fiscal year to another and urged billings to be submitted so there isn’t money left over when the fiscal year ends. Hamsher asked if grant funding had been looked into. Dovenburg said they have not at this time. He has been speaking with hunting associations to try to locate additional funding. John Morris asked where the county money came from for this. Myers advised it comes from the general fund.

10:08 am Elaine Eisenbraun entered.

Raschio suggested to Dovenburg that they present next year’s budget request to the budget committee to allow them to decide on the amount of funding that might be awarded. Shaun Robertson said he used to work with the previous predator control agent and he has requested the court implement this program at least four times in the past. He thanked the current court for implementing the program again. Robertson said this is a landowner issue and not an agricultural issue and Lulay provides predator control services in all different types of environments. Robertson believes a program such as this should have county support.

10:17 am Jeff Thomas entered.

Hamsher suggested instead of rolling money over; a resolution transferring money could possibly be done. Eva Harris said she had a problem with squirrels and Lulay has been working to eradicate the problem. She expressed her appreciation for this position. Raschio asked when the additional $9,100 would be needed and Dovenburg advised it would be during this fiscal year. Judy Kerr said Lulay provides services within the cities as well and asked if the cities had been approached to assist with funding. Myers suggested Dovenburg speak to the cities as well for potential funding. Driscoll said the wild game numbers have radically declined since the county had a predator control agent in 1999.

10:24 am The court took a short break. 10:29 am The court returned to session.

POTENTIAL WATER RESOURCE COMMITTEE. Myers said the county has had a Riparian/Water Committee in the past that appears to be created in 1992. Myers advised since he has been in office this committee has not been active. Elaine Eisenbraun said she wanted to create a citizen advisory group regarding water and Shaun Robertson suggested bringing this to the county level. Robertson said Myers attended a meeting at the Airport last year with regard to different ideas for utilizing existing water within the county. He believes outside interests have made decisions for too many years here. Robertson said water impoundments and other ideas have been discussed in the county for years and believes an advisory group to the county court would be beneficial. Robertson reported there are numerous new technologies available that should be looked at. Raschio reported he met with Eisenbraun and Robertson and believes they have innovative ideas on water use within our county. Livingston supports Robertson 100% and believes we should not be letting outside interests make decisions for us. Hamsher thanked Livingston for her comments and read a portion of 1992 Resolution 92-52 to the audience. Hamsher believes water issues are just as important, if not more important, than they were in 1992. Hamsher fully supports having a water resource committee. Raschio also read paragraphs from the 1992 Resolution and says he can hear items in it being requested today. Robertson reported he was involved in the creation of the 1992 Resolution. He would like the county court to state the current intent of a created water resource committee and laws should be reviewed prior to creation as well. Raschio suggested appointing volunteers to this already existing committee to get it started and structural issues can be addressed as necessary. Raschio said this would be an advisory board and would like this to get started. Eisenbraun is concerned that the title mentions riparian and what they really want to focus on is water. Gordon Larson would like to see the document. MSP: Raschio/Hamsher — to advertise for volunteers for this board and appoint prior to November.

Raschio wants to ensure that when the board gets started Judge Myers attend the first meeting to advise them about the requirements for meeting agendas and minutes. Raschio said this board will have no policing powers and will only be advisory in nature to the county court. Morris suggested reaching out to other counties to potentially include them in this board since the John Day Basin encompasses many counties.

10:55 am Hilary McNary and Shannon Springer entered.

TREASURER. MSP: Myers/Raschio – to approve opening of a new account at US Bank.

BUDGET RESOLUTIONS 18-26 and 18-27. Resolution 18-26 creates new revenue and expense budget lines for the Health Department for tacking of pass-through funds received. Myers read a portion of the Resolution to those in attendance. The funds received were $100,000 for substance abuse prevention and $286 for the Farmer’s Market. MSP: Myers/Raschio — to approve Resolution 18-26 and circulate for signatures.

10:57 am Hailey Olson entered.

The Veteran’s Services Office did not spend all of the funding received for Fiscal Year 2017-18. Resolution 18-27 transfers excess Veteran’s Department funding from FY 2017-18 into expenditure lines for FY 2018-19. Myers read a portion of the Resolution to those in attendance. The fund transfers were from non-departmental contingency in the amount of $24,924 to Veteran’s Service personnel services in the amount of $11,533 and materials and services in the amount of $13,391. MSP: Myers/Raschio — to approve Resolution 18-27 and circulate for signatures. Raschio asked why money is being rolled over when county policy doesn’t allow this. Myers said this is a state requirement and they are requiring this money be rolled over.

JUSTICE OF THE PEACE PRO-TEM. Justice of the Peace Kathy Stinnett send a written request to the court for approval of a Justice of the Peace Pro-Tem. Riccola Voigt was the Pro-Tem for this office, but has taken a temporary position with the District Attorney’s office and this creates a conflict with Justice Court. Wheeler County Justice of the Peace Robin Ordway has agreed to Pro-Tem for the remainder of 2018 in the Grant County Justice Court. The court reviewed Resolution 18-28 which would appoint Robin Ordway as Justice of the Peace Pro-Tem. Raschio would prefer that Stinnett select a JP that is closer to Grant County. MSP: Raschio/Hamsher — to table this discussion until Stinnett can reach out to other Justices of the Peace that are closer geographically. Raschio and Hamsher voted yes, Myers voted no because he believes Stinnett can select who she wants.

11:01 am Steve Smartt entered.

PUBLIC HEARING – PLANNING DEPARTMENT – ORDINANCE 2018-04. Judge Myers moved to open the public hearing at 11:02 am. Raschio seconded, motion passed. Planning Director Hilary McNary offered to conduct the hearing. McNary advised there is a quorum of the governing body in attendance and asked if there were any abstentions. All court members indicated no. McNary said the vote in May now allows for marijuana sales, production and cultivation in Grant County and Ordinance 2018-04 is titled An Ordinance Providing for Amendments to the Grant County Land Development, To Provide for Time, Place and Manner Regulations Related to Marijuana Businesses; Declaring an Emergency. McNary read the Ordinance to those in attendance by title. Jim Spell asked why this is declared an emergency. McNary explained there is currently nothing in place for land development codes related to marijuana and if this isn’t declared an emergency it would not go into effect for 90 days. There are numerous applicants requesting permits and no guidance in place for the Planning Department to follow. McNary summarized portions of the ordinance.

McNary opened the floor to testimony:

Proponent testimony: Eva Harris is in favor of the concept, but has not read the details.

11:07 am Valerie Maynard and Chantal DesJardin entered.

Opponent testimony: Hailey Olson asked where the ventilation and lighting requirements came from. McNary said it came from other counties such as Deschutes and Jefferson. Olson is here to object on behalf of Sharon Meech and said some growers open large portions of their greenhouses for ventilation and they would not be able to meet the ventilation requirements of the ordinance. McNary said when creating a document such as this she has to plan for everyone. McNary added that variances can be requested for different circumstances. Olson said she is in favor of the rules for those living around others, but not for those in the middle of nowhere.

Myers read Sharon Meech’s objection into the record and advised the court doesn’t read public comment into the record, but because this is a hearing and objection to the ordinance he is going to read it. Myers read the entire objection letter received to those in attendance. Meech objected to the ventilation requirement for greenhouses contained in the ordinance and believes the new rules violate private property rights.

Judy Kerr has no objection. Jim Spell has no objection, but said it would be nice to have more information prior to court. McNary said two weeks prior to the public hearing it is advertised in the newspaper and then the documents can be viewed by contacting the planning department. McNary said they can start bringing additional copies of proposed ordinances to court. Raschio suggested placing all agenda materials (except for executive sessions) on the new website once it is launched.

Haley Walker asked who a citizen would contact if they had a neighbor who was not complying with the rules in place. McNary said there are different entities to file complaints with and it could be the OLCC or Planning Department. Olson said the biggest avenue the public has is to complain to an OLCC Inspector.

Neutral testimony: None received.

Proponent rebuttal: None received.

Opponent rebuttal: None received.

Neutral rebuttal: None received.

Raschio suggested some amendments: adding Code to the title, page 3 paragraph D – remove federal language, Raschio would like the court to remove any references to federal law in the ordinance, and page 7 section G viii – suggested adding abatement language to allow for different ventilation requirements based on property location. McNary said the court could direct her to make the changes to the ordinance and she would present it at the next court meeting. Harris believes placing the word federal in the ordinance could cause issues.

11:34 am Kenny Delano entered.

MSP: Hamsher/Myers – to continue this hearing to October 17, 2018 at 11 am.

LETTER OF SUPPORT. The court had received a request from the Vietnam War Memorial Fund to write a letter supporting establishment of a Vietnam War Memorial on the Oregon State Capitol Grounds. Judge Myers read the letter of support to those in attendance. MSP: Myers/Hamsher — to approve the letter of support as amended and circulate for signatures. Raschio would like to add additional language to the letter regarding local Vietnam Veterans.

RESCHEDULING TWO COURT MEETINGS. The court members discussed rescheduling the October 10th court meeting and the November 14th court meeting. Myers and Raschio will both be gone on October 10th and Myers and Hamsher will be gone on November 14th attending the AOC Conference. MSP: Myers/Hamsher – to change the October 10th meeting to October 17th. MSP: Myers/Raschio — to change the November 14th meeting to November 7th.

POSTAGE MACHINE. The lease for postage machine located in the Clerk’s office for countywide use is going to expire. If the lease is allowed to expire the rental becomes month to month and there is no price guarantee, maintenance guarantee or replacement guarantee. The quoted lease rate for a new machine similar to the current one is $929.67 quarterly which is the state government rate. The new lease would be for a 60 month term and would include the price guarantee, maintenance and replacement guarantees. The cost for the machine is paid from the general fund, although special funds pay for their own postage. MSP: Myers/Raschio — to approve a lease for a new postage machine and to authorize Judge Myers to sign the lease agreement.

AIRPORT. Airport Manager Haley Walker sent a written request to the court for approval to purchase a used pickup for the airport to replace the current one which is experiencing major maintenance issues. Walker would like to purchase a surplus pickup from the State of Oregon Surplus Property Program, ODOT, or the USFS surplus sale with a maximum price of $5,000. The airport contingency has the funding for this purchase and the funds would need to be transferred to the airport capitol line item. The Airport Commission is in favor of the purchase of a replacement pickup. MSP: Myers/Raschio — to approve purchase of a replacement pickup with a maximum cost of $5,000.

PLANNING DEPARTMENT. The court members reviewed a Facility and Use Application for the Planning Department to rent the old gym at Grant Union High School for a community meeting related to updating the flood maps. McNary also requested permission to provide some refreshments for citizens at the meeting in the amount of $200. MSP: Myers/Raschio – to approve the Facility Use Agreement and refreshments for the meeting in the amount of $200.

PUBLIC HEARING – ORDINANCE 2018-03. Myers moved to open the public hearing at 11:45 am for Ordinance 2018-03 – In the Matter of Ratifying Creation of the Grant County Emergency Communications Agency, Raschio seconded, motion passed. Myers advised this is the second meeting regarding the ordinance. Myers asked if anyone had any questions regarding the ordinance. Raschio said changes can be made to the ordinance and agreement as necessary and the county could also decide to not participate in the future. Raschio believes this is important and needs to be put into place. Hamsher understands that the costs can be reviewed each year. Valerie Maynard said entities would begin to pay their portions in July of 2019. Hamsher is very much in favor of keeping 911 local, but is concerned with the way the costs are distributed. Myers reported the original IGC from the early 1990’s is basically the same agreement with most of the same users. He said the costs are similar to what the county has been paying for the last several years. Myers agreed with Raschio that this needs to move forward and changes can be made as necessary as this process moves forward. Maynard said the numbers in the proposal are estimates of the total budget costs. Rachio suggested filing a resolution with the AOC in November demanding AOC assistance with an increase in the state 911 tax. Kerr asked if each city had to sign the agreement as well. Myers said they do. Kenny Delano said the User Board has not received any opposition that he is aware of and the old agreement exists whether or not this ordinance is passed. MSP: Myers/Raschio – to close the hearing at 11:58 am. MSP: Myers/Raschio — to approve and adopt Ordinance 2018-03 and circulate for signatures.

11:58 am The court took a short break. 12:15 pm The court returned to session.

SURVEYOR. Surveyor Mike explained he had called his office when he was in Heppner and thought the plat map had arrived and it hadn’t so he doesn’t have a map for signature today. Springer said statute allows for the county to pass an ordinance allowing re-plats of maps to be signed by one court member, but it does not address if this can be outside of court. The benefit to this would allow maps to be signed in a much more timely fashion. Springer said he would not ask for the court to make decisions on new subdivisions outside of county court and would only request this procedure for items such as re-plats. Springer has researched this and some counties do delegate this authority to one individual. Springer presented a printed copy of the map that is on the way for court approval of signatures when it arrives. MSP: Myers/Hamsher — to approve the re-plat map and sign individually once it arrives. Raschio suggested asking County Counsel to draft an ordinance pursuant to ORS 92.100. MSP: Raschio/Myers – to request County Counsel draft an ordinance pursuant to ORS 92.100.

RODEO. Hamsher announced the Grant County Rodeo received the best independent rodeo award from the NPRA for the third year in a row.

AOC. Raschio said at the AOC meeting a Resolution from District 1 (Wallowa Co.) was discussed to allow for more cooperation between landowners and ODFW for harvest of elk damaging crops.

PUBLIC COMMENT. Dan Becker advised Representative Walden had told Commissioner Hamsher he would hold a public meeting open to everyone over 593 days ago, but he has still not held a public meeting. Hamsher said he will contact Walden’s Office and again make a request for a public meeting.

12:26 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 ****