Grant County Court minutes from Jan. 27, 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, Roadmaster Alan Hickerson, Road Department Office Manager Tammy Workman, John Morris, Reporter Logan Bagett, Reporter Steven Mitchell, and Pastor Jim Boethin. A Pledge of Allegiance was given to the United States Flag. The invocation was given by Pastor Jim Boethin.

CLAIMS. The court had approved claims & extension warrant #156 on January 20th. AGENDA. MSP: Myers/Hamsher– to accept the agenda as presented.

ANNOUNCEMENTS. Judge Myers advised on the 14th he read Ordinance #2020-04 by title and will read it again today by title. If passed the County will begin collecting tax for Marijuana sales and start collecting by next quarter. He had a conference call with Kimberly Lindsay from Community Counseling Solutions regarding vaccinations. The Court house was closed on the 18th for Martin Luther King Jr., Day. Myers participated in a conference call with Community Connections to discuss several things, one being the 4 county HUB Food Project and he said that if anyone would be interested in helping out or would like to donate he can get them the information. On the 28th he participated in a webinar with Business Oregon and talked about enterprise zones, Grant County is due for a renewal this year. On the 29th he met with the Forest Service to discuss the joint contract for the use of the Airport facility.

Commissioner Palmer attended the same meeting as Judge Myers with Kimberly Lindsay via phone. He had a pre-meeting phone call with Representative Mark Owens and several Eastern Oregon County Commissioners and a phone call with Chris French who worked under Vicki Christiansen at the Forest Service. French is now acting as the Under Secretary of Agriculture in Washington D.C. They discussed some plans due to the changes in administration. Palmer co-chaired the Forest Health Subcommittee with the Blues Intergovernmental Council (BIC) and then attended a BIC conveners meeting. He continues to be involved with the Tuesday morning calls with many of the State Legislators and Eastern Oregon County Commissioners. On the 26th he said they had a surprise guest, Congressman Cliff Bentz called in and reported his committee of assignments in regarding to the things he is working on. Palmer has been responding to emails and calls over other county business. He also had a meeting at Economic Development with Irene Jerome, Tory Stinnett, and Misty Palmer in regards to a person interested in buying Prairie Wood Products.

Commissioner Hamsher attended the Natural Resources Advisory Committee (NRAC) meeting on Thursday evening. He had a National Association of Counties (NACo) Public Lands Steering Committee meeting. Hamsher participated via phone in the weekly Oregon Health Authority Commissioners weekly informational update regarding Covid-19. He met with several different Department Heads. Hamsher had a meeting with Representative Owens via phone. He attended the Eastern Oregon Leadership call and another briefing call with Kimberly Lindsay. He participated in a BIC Livestock & Grazing meeting a Forest Health Subcommittee meeting, Eastern Oregon Regional Equity & Recovery Council meeting, Eastern Oregon Covid-19 Economic Recovery Team meeting, a BIC Steering Committee meeting, another Oregon Health Authority Covid-19 weekly call, Eastern Oregon Leadership call, and another BIC meeting yesterday. Hamsher said when he leaves court today he will be working on getting other issues resolved on state reported cases.

MINUTES. MSP: Hamsher/Myers– to approve the January 13th & January 14th (Emergency Meeting) minutes as amended.

ROAD DEPARTMENT. Alan Hickerson, Roadmaster asked the Court for approval to purchase land they currently lease and another neighboring parcel. He requested approval to purchase the two leased properties at $20,000 for both and trading 2300 yds. of rock for the property north of the Long Creek Shop. 5-40-0004 Capital Outlay – Land Acquisition – $20,000 for the purchase of the leased property. 5- 20-0011 Gravel Crushing Contract – $22,080 for property trade. MSP: Palmer/Myers –to move forward with the acquisition of the properties.

MARIJUANA TAX ORDINANCE. Judge Myers read aloud for the second time the Marijuana Tax Ordinance #2020-04. He asked for any comments or questions. MSP: Myers /Palmer–to approve and pass Ordinance #2020-04.

TREASURER. Each year Treasurer Julie Ellison calculates the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) from the Consumer Pricing Index report. This year, due to the new contract with the Sheriff’s Department, the County has to use the CPI-U West. Based on the CPI-U West the wage increase is 2.74%. Ellison requested Court approval to present this increase to the Budget Committee. The Sheriff’s union contract requires a minimum of 1% in addition to the CPI-U West, up to maximum of 3%, and the Road union requires the County to follow the actual CPI-W up to 3.5%. MSP: Hamsher/Myers –to approve the 2.74% wage increase for all employees. Judge Myers declared a potential conflict of interest as a county employee who will receive that increase of pay if it is approved by the Budget Committee. Both Commissioners duplicated Judge Myers declaration.

FAIRGROUNDS. Mindy Winegar, Fairgrounds Manager requested approval to hire Louie Fox (Magician), for $800 plus, hotel room cost for February 19th. There is the potential of making $1000+. Winegar said they will make sure to have tables and chairs within the social distancing parameters. Masks will be required if not eating or drinking. Hand sanitizer will be at each table. MSP: Myers/Hamsher –to approve hiring Louie Fox (Magician).

GRANT COUNTY EXTENSION AND 4-H SERVICE DISTRICT. Grant County Extension and 4-H Service District respectfully submitted a corrective action plan in response to deficiencies reported in the audit of the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2020. The audit was completed by the independent auditing firm Solutions, CPA’s PC, John Day, Oregon. MSP: Myers/Hamsher–to approve and sign the corrected audit from Solutions.

ASSOCIATION OF OREGON COUNTIES (AOC). The court discussed payment for dues for 2021. AOC programs and services provide counties with opportunities to engage in innovative and transformational county solutions, enhance the public’s understanding of county government, and support to exercise exemplary leadership in public service. MSP: Palmer/Hamsher –to approve the AOC dues in the amount of $25,458.62 for 2021.

PUBLIC COMMENT. Citizen John Morris asked when and where the Natural Resources Advisory Committee meetings are held since they are open to the public. Commissioner Hamsher replied the third Wednesday of every month at the Courthouse.

9:42 am 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 ***