Grant County Court minutes from May 9, 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 Boyd Britton, Administrative Assistant Laurie Wright, Judy Kerr, Reporter Logan Bagett, Dan Becker, Reporter Rick Hanners, Jim Spell, Charlene Morris, John Morris, Archie Osburn, Sherry Nehl, Kathy Stinnett, Sally Bartlett, Allison Field, Eva Harris, Vicki Thompson, Marc Hormer, Dave Traylor, Katy Nelson and Pastor Flora Cheadle. A Pledge of Allegiance was given to the United States Flag. The invocation was given by Pastor Cheadle.

HAND CHECK. The court approved a hand check on April 30th, for Keerins Hall roof replacement and another hand check on May 4th for Medicaid claiming.

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

9:05 am Haley Walker entered.

ANNOUNCEMENTS. Commissioner Britton attended Senator Wyden’s town hall meeting in Prairie City last week. Britton said the students in Prairie City asked very good questions. He is continuing negotiations for sale of the mental health building. Britton reported Regional Forest Supervisor Jim Pena has announced his retirement.

Judge Myers conducted a performance review for the Roadmaster on April 26th and then attended a courthouse security meeting. On April 30th he attended the candidate’s forum in Long Creek and also went to Senator Wyden’s town hall in Prairie City and a Community Assessment meeting at Blue Mountain Hospital on May 1st. Myers performed a wedding on May 2nd and on Monday, May 7th, Myers went to a 911 dispatch meeting. He conducted a performance review for the Airport Manager on May 10th. Myers will travel to Salem on May 14th for an AOC meeting where he will present his request for assistance with roof repair for the courthouse. Next Thursday Myers will attend a wedding in Prairie City and then on May 22nd he will travel to Ontario for an EOCA meeting. Myers has begun discussions with a representative from Oregon State University about the possibility of sharing a Natural Resource/Ag Specialist.

Commissioner Hamsher attended a “Darkness to Light” training at the Canyon City Community Center regarding how to identify sexual abuse victims. Hamsher went to the candidate’s forum in Long Creek on April 30th. Hamsher spoke with Scott Fairley from Business Oregon about getting funding assistance for Prairie City’s master water plan and also to re-new Prairie City’s planning documents. Hamsher went to the Elks Club for an Oregon Vulnerable Population fundraiser and to the Kentucky Derby fundraiser at the Fairgrounds last weekend. Last Friday Hamsher participated in Prairie City’s clean-up day. Hamsher reported Prairie City held their last budget meeting a couple of days ago and the budget is ready to present to the city council. Hamsher was unable to attend Senator Wydens’ town hall because he was participating in a telephone conference regarding the Prairie City cell tower.

MINUTES. MSP: Hamsher/Myers — to approve the April 25th minutes as amended.

RFP WEBSITE DESIGN. RFP Website Committee members presented their recommendation to the court for award of a contract for a new county website design. Economic Development Director Sally Bartlett advised the court the committee members are herself, Allison Field & Sherry Nehl from Economic Development, Administrative Assistant Laurie Wright, Justice of the Peace Kathy Stinnett, Fair Manager Mindy Winegar, Airport Manager Haley Walker, and Extension & 4H Secretary Carol Waggoner.

9:19 am Jim Sproul entered. 9:20 am Gordon Larson entered.

Bartlett explained 4 proposals were submitted and the committee initially eliminated two of the proposals and then selected a proposal to recommend for the award. Wright pointed out that the proposal includes a redesign in 48 months at no cost if needed. Some of the future features were discussed, including being able to receive payments online.

9:21 am Elaine Smith entered. 9:25 am David Thunell entered.

The committee recommended awarding the project to Civic Plus in the amount of $18,600 (which includes the website design and first year’s maintenance) and also recommended approving $4,000 per year beginning in year two for maintenance of the site. MSP: Myers/Hamsher — to award the website design to Civic Plus and authorize the committee to move forward with contract preparation.

ASSESSOR – PROPERTY FORECLOSURES. Assessor David Thunell requested the court remove three low value properties from the upcoming tax foreclosure auction. Thunell explained there are 31 properties on the sale list for next Thursday. Thunell said statutes allow for removal of properties valued at less than $15,000 that are not buildable. The properties to be removed were #9 – Acct. # 8757, Map & Tax Lot 13S2601DB-999 (narrow strip of land in Dayville), #10 – Acct. # 39167, Map & Tax Lot 13S27-1702 (limited value lot), and #23 – Acct. # 8549, Map & Tax Lot 13S3311BA-1999 (narrow strip of land in Prairie City).

9:32 am Mary Walker entered.

County Counsel Ron Yockim had prepared an Amended Order of Sale removing these three properties upon signature by the court members. MSP: Myers/Hamsher — to approve removal of the three properties from the foreclosure auction and to approve and circulate the Amended Order of Sale for signatures.

VETERAN SERVICES OFFICE. Veteran Services Officer Kathleen Hoffman presented a written request and quotes to the court for a new laptop computer and i-Pad to the court for approval. The quotes for the laptop were from ESD (Lenova Thinkpad $814), High Desert Office Equipment (Acer TravelMate $799 and Acer Aspire $759). The cost of the i-Pad was quoted by ESD at $309. Hoffman requested the i-Pad so she could use it when she does outreach activities as this would be smaller and easier to travel with. Hoffman would prefer the Acer Aspire for $759 along with a 3 year warranty at a cost of $80. Britton would like Hoffman to visit with Robert Waltenburg about the best selection for the laptop.

MSP: Hamsher/Myers — to approve purchase of a laptop and i-Pad to be paid from the Veteran Services budget after she meets with Waltenburg.

JAIL ELECTRONIC FINGERPRINTING MACHINE. The court members reviewed an Intergovernmental Agreement with Oregon State Police to accept grant funds for the purchase of an electronic fingerprinting machine for the Grant County Jail. Wolf was presented this grant opportunity last year and it was recently approved by the State. The new system would update the current system and bring it up to speed with the rest of the state. It also allows immediate identification and generates state identification numbers which are needed by Circuit Court. The grant requires Grant County to purchase equipment up to $24,000 after which the state will reimburse 90% of the cost. The fingerprint system cost is $17,271. The initial cost will be paid from the 2018-19 budget – jail capital outlay. MSP: Hamsher/Myers — to approve purchase of the fingerprint system to be paid from the 18-19 jail budget – capital outlay, and to approve the IGA and circulate for signatures.

EXTENSION & 4H BUDGET COMMITTEE. Lenny Dowdy volunteered to serve on the Extension & 4H Budget Committee in place of Sally Bartlett. MSP: Myers/Hamsher — to appoint Lenny Dowdy to the Extension & 4-H Budget Committee with a term to expire on December 31, 2018.

9:40 am Nick Green entered.

BUDGET RESOLUTION 18-11. Treasurer Julie Ellison prepared and submitted Resolution 18-11 to the court for approval. This resolution created a capital outlay item for the election fund and transfers $300 from the election supply line to elections capital outlay. Myers read the resolution to those in attendance. MSP: Myers/Hamsher — to approve Resolution 18-11 and circulate for signatures.

FORECLOSED MOBILE HOMES. The court reviewed paperwork to transfer title for two mobile homes that were foreclosed in the property tax foreclosure. Both of these mobile homes are attached to real property foreclosed upon and ordered for sale in the upcoming tax foreclosure auction, but title transfers need to be completed to place the mobile homes in the name of Grant County. MSP: Myers/Britton — to approve of the title transfers for the two mobile homes and authorize Judge Myers to sign.

TELEPHONE INTERPRETER SERVICES. The court reviewed information regarding telephonic interpreter services. The county currently does not have interpreters available. This service provides for over 80 different language interpreters and would be available to all county departments. The service is only paid for when it is used. MSP: Myers/Hamsher — to approve the contract with Language Line Services, Inc. and circulate for signatures.

CITY OF JOHN DAY URBAN RENEWAL. John Day City Manager Nick Green updated the court on the John Day Urban Renewal Area. Myers reminded everyone that this is a presentation to the court and comments regarding the plan should be presented at John Day City Council meetings. Green explained current issues facing the city including population decline and limited housing. Green discussed the different ideas the council looked at to increase housing in John Day. The City Council is proposing a plan to offer financial incentives to the private sector for those willing to invest in John Day. The property must be located in the urban renewal area to qualify. Green explained the plan in more detail, the incentives that would be offered and how property taxes would be distributed. The plan offers incentives for new home construction and remodel of existing homes in the urban renewal area. Green said the hope is that the plan will encourage new construction and remodels. The projection is that the incentive’s provided to property owners would be paid back in approximately 7 years. Green pointed out that the county would still receive the same amount of tax revenue and once the incentives were paid back to the city the tax revenue would increase because of the increase in the property value. Green said if no one participates then there will be no cost to the city. The City of John Day will be holding two public meetings to receive public input on the proposal (May 24th and June 12th). Green said tiny homes and manufactured homes are not included in the plan because the council wants to encourage the use of local builders for new construction. If the program succeeds with the goal of 100 new homes constructed and 100 homes remodeled over the next 20 years the estimated tax revenue increase to the county would be $721,420. Green advised the plan was developed with the John Day City Advisory Committee.

VICTIM ASSISTANCE. Victim Assistance Director Andrea Officer sent a written request to the court for training approval for herself and Treasurer Julie Ellison. The training would be paid from the VOCA grant and is to attend financial management training in Pendleton July 17th and 18th. This is a mandatory Federal Financial training which Officer believes would be beneficial to the Treasurer to assist with understanding of what accounting practices should be for grants. MSP: Myers/Hamsher — to approve the training & travel for Officer and Ellison to be paid from the VOCA grant.

AIRPORT GRANT. The court reviewed a grant application submitted by Airport Manager Haley Walker. This grant application is to apply for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funding for the upcoming Apron Reconstruction Project in the amount of $250,000. The FFA grant provides 90% of the funding for the airport apron and fuel tank projects. MSP: Hamsher/Myers — to approve the grant application and authorize Judge Myers to sign.

10:24 am The court took a short break. 10:39 am The court returned to session.

PUBLIC HEARING – ORDINANCE 2018-01. 10:39 am MSP: Myers/Britton – to open the public hearing. This second hearing was necessary because the Ordinance could not be passed as an emergency since there was not a unanimous vote of the court members during the March 28, 2018 court meeting. The only change to Ordinance 2018-01 was paragraph 9 which changed to reflect the Ordinance taking effect 90 days after passage instead of taking effect as an emergency. Myers read Ordinance 2018-01 in its entirety to those in attendance. MSP: Britton/Myers — to amend Ordinance 2018-01 to change the effective date of the Ordinance to 90 days after passage. MSP: Myers/Britton — to adopt Ordinance 2018-01 as amended. Myers and Britton voted yes, Hamsher voted no because he still has unresolved questions. After the vote Nick Green explained the status of the broadband project including partnering with Ortelco to provide internet service.

10:56 am – 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 ****