Grant County Court minutes: Jan. 13, 2021

Published 2:00 pm Thursday, January 28, 2021

Grant County Court minutes from Jan. 13, 2021:

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 Sam Palmer, Administrative Assistant Kim Puckett, Reporter Steven Mitchell, Reporter Logan Bagett, and Pastor Deming. A Pledge of Allegiance was given to the United States Flag. The invocation was given by Pastor Justin Deming.

CLAIMS. The court had approved claims & extension warrants#182-189

AGENDA. MSP: Myers/Hamsher– to accept the agenda as amended.

ANNOUNCEMENTS. Judge Myers advised Court on December 30th was out of sequence from December 23rd due to the holidays. He performed a wedding on the 30th at the bridge in Canyon City. January 4th he participated in the swearing in of the Elected Officials. He thanked Brenda Percy and Brooke Griffith for preparing all the paperwork for the ceremony. January 6th he participated in a phone call with Kimberly Lindsay regarding vaccinations. On the 11th he attended several conference calls with the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) and also attended a Coworks meeting at Economic Development. He will attend a meeting on the 14th with the Mental Health Advisory Board. County offices will be closed on Monday the 18th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Commissioner Palmer continued calls with State Senators and Representatives. He had a phone conversation with Mark Owens asking for help on the meat and inspection committee. Palmer also met with Economic Development, the Fairgrounds Manager, and the Sheriff and Undersheriff.

Commissioner Hamsher took part in the Oregon Health Authority weekly Commissioner calls along with the weekly calls with State Senators and Representatives. He had the honor of attending the swearing in ceremony for himself and other Elected Officials. Hamsher attended a joint meeting with the Southeast Area Transportation Committee (SEACT) and the Northeast Area Transportation Committee (NEACT) that is held annually. He attended a Veteran’s Steering Committee meeting for the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC). He participated in a White House briefing call. Hamsher attended a Coworks presentation by Economic Development. He attended a Blues Intergovernmental Council (BIC) Access Subcommittee meeting. He participated in a weekly commissioner call regarding Covid. Hamsher also had an AOC Natural Resource Steering Committee meeting call. He listened in on a Public Safety Steering Committee meeting call and the Legislative Steering Committee call. He participated in the AOC Board of Directors meeting call. Hamsher took part in the Eastern Oregon Leadership call with State Representatives and Senators. He also talked with Mark Owens regarding the vaccine roll out. He had a conference call with Kimberly Lindsay who briefed the Court members on vaccines. Hamsher said he met with several department heads. Hamsher discussed with several residents the plan for the vaccine rollout for seniors over 65. He toured the Pavilion project and announced there will be a vaccine clinic at the Fairgrounds.

MINUTES. MSP: Hamsher/Palmer– to approve the December 30th minutes as presented. Shannon Springer entered 9:10am

PLANNING. Judge Myers called the hearing to order at 9:16 am and reported a quorum with no conflict of interest or ex parte contact. The Court continued the Flood Ordinance Hearing. Shannon Springer, Planning Director, read Ordinance 2020-02 and addressed some concerns from the last hearing and was able to get those questions answered. Commissioner Palmer asked if land owners are not covered by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) agency can the land owner obtain personal insurance and Springer’s reply was they may be able too, but it could be more costly. Palmer asked if the County is not a NFIP member does the requirement for flood insurance go away? Springer’s reply was no it does not. The Court asked if anyone would like to provide testimony. Proponent: None

Opponent: None

Neutral: None

Proponent: None

Opponent: None

Neutral: None

MSP: Myers/Hamsher–to close the hearing at 9:54 am.

MSP: Myers/Palmer–to approve and sign County Flood Ordinance 2020-02 effective March 23rd, 2021.

PLANNING. The Grant County Court held a public hearing to address naming of a road in response to a petition submitted by property owners. Road naming is necessary in order to promote the health, safety, and welfare of the public. Petition number ADD-21-01, was submitted by David Lynn to request the name Barlow Trail Road be assigned to a private road in Grant County. The road is a private road that will serve more than three buildings. It intersects with West Bench Road at Township 13 South, Range 31 East, Section 34, W.M. and proceeds generally to the North. No comments were received from the public. MSP: Myers/ Hamsher –to approve and sign resolution #21-01 naming the road Barlow Trail Road.

Misty Palmer and Tory Stinnett entered 9:45 am, Didgette McCracken, Kim Randleas, Allison Field entered 9:48 am.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. Tory Stinnett, Economic Development Director, Didgette McCracken, and Allison Field, gave the Court a presentation on GC Coworks/currently renamed The Mill MSP: Hamsher/Palmer–the Court is supportive of the idea and will continue to look for the opportunity to help fund it and they will revisit this during a Court meeting in February. Tory Stinnett, Economic Development Director, discussed the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program with Community Connection/Housing Rehabilitation and requested approval to apply for the CDBG. MSP: Myers/Hamsher –to approve moving forward with the grant application for Community/Housing Rehabilitation CDBG.

Maggie Justice entered 10:15am

BOB BAGETT. The court discussed the property adjustment between Rod Johnson and Grant County/Bear Creek Shooting Sports Club. MSP: Palmer/Myers — to approve and sign the application for the property line adjustment and allow Judge Myers to sign all future paperwork related to this property acquisition. The Court thanked Bob Bagett for voluntarily doing all the legal description work to present to legal counsel Dominic Carollo.

ROAD DEPARTMENT. Alan Hickerson, Roadmaster, discussed the purchase of a 2003 Kenworth T-300 truck for $11,000 for the Grant County Road Department. The current shop service truck # 343 is a 1990 International that was a delivery truck before they took ownership. This truck has had the engine overhauled twice and now it needs rebuilt again. This is not advantageous for the road department. It has also had the transmission replaced and will not pass emissions testing. The 2003 Kenworth T-300 they would like to purchase is quite hard to find, very clean and will pass emissions testing. The lead mechanic Joe Bennett has looked into comparable trucks and those sell for $25,000.00 – $30,000.00. MSP: Hamsher /Palmer–to approve the purchase of a 2003 Kenworth T-300 truck for $11,000 after driving it.

Todd McKinley entered 11:35 am

SEARCH & RESCUE. Dave Dobler, Search & Rescue Coordinator discussed the annual 2020 Search & Rescue (SAR) report. Dobler said 2020 has been a busy year. Grant County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) Search and Rescue (SAR) has had 91 SAR missions since he took over as the SAR Coordinator in September 2018, with 46 of those taking place in 2020. Regardless of directives, guidelines or mandates from the Oregon Health Authority or the Governor’s Office (relating to COVID) the SAR missions have kept coming during 2020.Grant County Sheriff Todd McKinley thanked Dobler for his hard work and detailed record keeping. Please find attached in detail the 2020 Annual GCSO SAR Report.

AIRPORT. Haley Walker, Airport Manager, requested approval for DBT Transportation Services to provide Airport Weather Observation System (AWOS) maintenance services for the Grant County Regional Airport. The previous service provider, Summit Power Systems, Inc, is no longer in the AWOS business. DBT Transportation Services has purchased other AWOS maintenance companies, and they are quickly becoming the sole source provider for these services. The airport AWOS is required to have an FAA certified AWOS technician on record. This technician provides two independent maintenance inspections and one additional inspection with a FAA inspector. This is the basic requirement to continue operating the AWOS which is virtually important for pilots flying into and out of the airport. Additional services such as repairs and outage visits would be billed in addition to the basic inspections. The cost of services provided by DBT Transportation Services is $5,250 per year with the National Airspace Data Interchange Network (NADIN) data reporting services costs that are essential to the AWOS at an additional $700 plus an initial installation fee of $625 and shipping price yet to be determined. In summary, the total annual cost of AWOS maintenance and NADIN reporting is $5,950. The AWOS maintenance fees will continue to be paid from budget line 124100-5200007 – maintenance. MSP: Myers/Hamsher –to approve and sign the contract with DBT Transportation Services to provide AWOS maintenance services to the Airport.

JUSTICE COURT. Judge Kathy Stinnett recommended that the Court approve and appoint the following qualified individuals as Grant County Justices of the Peace, Pro-tem for the calendar year 2021: (1.) Hon. Vicky Clemens, Justice of the Peace – Harney County (2.) Hon. Cris Patnode, Justice of the Peace – Gilliam County (Alternate) (3.) Hon. Ron McDermid, Justice of the Peace – Sherman County (Alternative). As a Justice of the Peace Pro-tem, she would ask that these individuals may be asked to serve at her pleasure, in her absence, or when she has a conflict. MSP: Myers/Palmer –to appoint the following individuals as Grant County Justices of the Peace, Pro-tem for 2021 and sign Resolution #21-02.

COMMITTEE VOLUNTEERS. Volunteer applications were reviewed by the court. Budget Committee: Bob Quinton requested re-appointment to this board. Chris Camarena requested appointment to this board. Commissioner Hamsher asked that the letters of interest from Bob Quinton and Chris Camarena be on the record. Please find as an attachment to the minutes. MSP: Myers/Hamsher –to re-appoint Bob Quinton with a term to expire December 31, 2023. Library Board: Caleb Wilson requested appointment to this board. MSP: Myers/Palmer –to appoint Caleb Wilson with a term to expire June 30, 2024.

Planning Committee: Steven Baldwin requested re-appointment to this board. MSP: Myers/Hamsher to re-appoint Steven Baldwin with a term to expire June 30, 2024.

PUBLIC COMMENT. None.

12:00 pm– Adjourned

Respectfully Submitted,

Kim Puckett

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 Kim Puckett at 541-575- 0059 or puckettk@grantcounty-or.gov ***