Grant County Court minutes from March 24, 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, Planning Director Shannon Springer, Economic Development Director Tory Stinnett, Reporter Steven Mitchell, Reporter Logan Bagett, and Pastor Cockrell. A Pledge of Allegiance was given to the United States Flag. The invocation was given by Pastor Gary Cockrell.

CLAIMS. The court approved claims & Extension Warrants #202-203.

AGENDA. MSP: Myers/Palmer– to accept the agenda as presented.

ANNOUNCEMENTS. Judge Myers and Human Resources Manager Laurie Cates participated in a Risk Survey with City County Insurance Services (CIS) via phone. He attended a Board meeting with Northeast Oregon Housing Authority (NEOHA). On the 16th he went to a Safety Meeting at the Pavilion.

Commissioner Palmer has continued having weekly calls with Kimberly Lindsay regarding updates on vaccines and the Corona Virus status, and he participated in the weekly Eastern Oregon Caucus call with State Senators, Representatives, and the Eastern Oregon County Commissioners. Palmer drafted a letter in support of a work session and vote on Senate Bill 21. The letter was signed by the Court and sent to several Senators who sit on the Committee. On the 18th he had a Blues Intergovernmental Council (BIC) Forest Health Subcommittee meeting that he co-chairs to finish up the last piece of it before it goes out for review. On the 19th he met with Mike McManus and Rhiana Bauman regarding Recovery and Transitional Housing for the County.

Commissioner Hamsher had phone meetings with Senator Merkley discussing Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) and Secure Rural Schools (SRS) funding and spoke with Kathleen Cathey from Senator Wyden’s office regarding Broadband and PILT and SRS funding. He took part in several meetings with Kimberly Lindsay regarding vaccines. Hamsher participated in meetings via phone with the following: Eastern Oregon Economic Recovery Council, Blues Intergovernmental Council (BIC) Grazing, Eastern Oregon Caucus, the Governor’s office, League of Oregon Cities, and had a legislative briefing with Eastern Oregon Counties Association (EOCA). He met with a few Department Heads to discuss ways the new funds might be-able to help their departments. On the 23rd he helped at the vaccine clinic.

MINUTES. MSP: Myers/Palmer– to approve the March 10th minutes as presented.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. Tory Stinnett, Economic Development Director, discussed with the Court the renewal of the contract with Lake Creek Youth Camp (LCYC). She said they have been helping write grants and facilitating in other ways to assist them in getting back on track. Shannon Springer, LCYC representative and board member stated that it has been significantly helpful being able to get grants secured for specific projects for the camp. The camp is a volunteer ran organization and Springer said it is extremely beneficial for Lake Creek to have the assistance MSP: Palmer/Hamsher–to approve and sign the contract.

Hailey Hughes and Eric Julsrud entered at 9:21am.

WATERMASTER. Eric Julsrud & Hailey Hughes discussed with the Court the decommissioning of the Canyon Creek at Thissel’s Ranch Bridge Gaging Station. MSP: Palmer/Myers–to allow water resources to decommission and take back the equipment for Thissel’s Ranch.

CRF GRANT BUSINESS RELIEF AMENDMENT #2533. The court reviewed State of Oregon Grant Agreement No. 2533, Amendment No. 1 that extends the time for reporting to July 6th, 2021. MSP: Myers/Hamsher–to approve and authorize Judge Myers to sign Amendment No. 1.

HANDBOOK POLICIES. The court reviewed the County Employee Handbook, Equal Employment Opportunity Policies updates. MSP: Myers/Hamsher–to approve the changes to the Employee Handbook from CIS and circulate to the Department Heads to share with employees.

COMMUNICATION SITES RENEWAL. The court reviewed the list of Communication Sites Inventory lease list. Increasing the lease rates for 2022 was discussed. MSP: Myers/Palmer–to approve increasing the lease rates from $600 to $750 upon renewal.

BUDGET RESOLUTIONS. The court reviewed Resolution #21-06, In the Matter of Intrafund Transfers, General Fund Veteran’s Department From: Materials & Services $235.00 To: Capital Outlay $235.00 MSP: Myers/Hamsher –to approve and sign budget Resolution #21-06.

ROAD DEPARTMENT. Alan Hickerson, Roadmaster, requested court permission to bid on a small roller, this can accommodate small patch work. MSP: Myers/Hamsher–to allow the Road Department to bid at their own discretion on the roller.

PUBLIC COMMENT. The court accepted public comment.

9:47am– 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 ***