IN THE COUNTY COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF GRANT

Access the County Court Agenda and approved Minutes on the Commissioner’s page at www.gcoregonlive2.com

March 9, 2016

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 the Circuit Courtroom in Canyon City, OR.

9:00 am — Call to Order. Present were Judge Scott W. Myers, Commissioners Chris B. Labhart and Boyd Britton, Secretary Laurie Wright, Doug Ferguson, Mitch Ferguson, Sharon Livingston, Frances Preston, Vicki Thompson, Elaine Mezzo, Judy Kerr, Jim Hamsher, Alan Hickerson, Logan Bagett, Dave Traylor, and Pastor Al Altnow. A Pledge of Allegiance was given to the United States flag. The invocation was given by Pastor Altnow.

CLAIMS. The court had reviewed and approved claims and Extension District Warrants #101-111.

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

ANNOUNCEMENTS. Commissioner Britton traveled to La Grande for SEACT/NEACT meetings last week and he and Doug Ferguson talked with people from ODOT regarding the letter they sent on the flood mitigation project and he believes they have things worked out. Britton stated the last budget meeting was the first time in 38 years that the budget committee has tentatively went through the entire budget in one meeting.

Judge Myers attended the Magone Lake Project open house last night and reported there was a good turnout. Today he will be traveling to the Cant Ranch/John Day Fossil Beds to discuss the possible influx of people for the solar eclipse happening in August of 2017. They will be working on the logistics of handling the potential 50,000 people estimated to attend. This Thursday will be a Grant County Budget Committee meeting from 1 to 4 and next week will be an all-day budget meeting on Tuesday the 15th. Myers added he will attend an Airport Commission meeting on Monday, March 14th.

Commissioner Labhart reported he attended a Grant County Budget Committee meeting on March 2nd and also had a conference call with the EOCCO Board of Directors. On March 4th he attended the Story Time program at the Corner Cup, he had lunch at the John Day Senior Center on March 7th and on March 8th he had lunch at the Monument Senior Center and also attended the Magone Lake Project open house at the Forest Supervisor’s office. Labhart will be absent from the budget meeting tomorrow because he will be traveling to Wilsonville for a meeting. Labhart said this upcoming Monday, March 14th, he will be attending the AOC steering committee meeting in Salem regarding Public Lands & Natural Resource, Veterans, and Legislative Committees. On Tuesday, March 15th, he will be at the Grant County Budget Committee meeting at the courthouse.

MINUTES. MSP: Britton/Myers — to approve the March 2nd minutes as amended.

CANYON CREEK CHANNEL REHAB PROJECT. Doug Ferguson (Ferguson Surveying & Engineering) updated the court on the Canyon Creek Channel Rehabilitation Project. Doug reported he has been in discussions with ODOT regarding the barrier issues along the highway. He believes this is more of a legal issue than a safety issue. Doug said they will remove the barrier in question and replace the other one ODOT had an issue with. Doug stated another issue is the debris clean up and he has been talking with Scott Fairley and Heidi Hartman regarding this. Doug feels as much debris as possible needs to be cleaned up on private lands above the high water line because permits are needed to clean below this line. In the meantime he wants to move forward to get the necessary permits to begin the cleanup below the high water line. Labhart suggested coordinating this with the public to get volunteers to assist with clean up. Doug reported the creek is running well right now and the snowpack is coming off slowly. Doug is going to approach Kenny Delano about getting flow information online for the public to view. Myers sent email addresses for Kelly and Logan at KJDY to Marilyn Lohmann so she would send updates to them as well. Doug said the flow is estimated to be at around 300 to 350 cfps this week. Road Master Alan Hickerson said he talked with Shane at ODOT last week and Shane plans to remove some woody debris from Canyon Creek. Mitch Ferguson reported as of Monday they are considering the project substantially complete although they still need to finish some cleanup and a few more sandbags. Mitch added the public support was amazing on this project. Hickerson stated Lil’ Buddy Construction worked very well on the project and they were good to work with. Britton asked if Ferguson Surveying had a plan for maintenance on the berm considering the flood danger is estimated to last for five years. Doug said he really hasn’t developed one at this time and it will be addressed as issues come up. Doug feels things can be handled internally between his company and the road department. Britton suggested some of the maintenance could possibly be turned over to the cities. Labhart inquired about the staging stations and if locations had been developed. Doug believes EMC Ted Williams is working on this.

9:32 am Jim Spell entered.

VICTIM ASSISTANCE. Victim Assistance Director Andrea Officer presented a request to the court to allow six members of the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) to attend the Child Abuse & Family Violence Summit in Portland in April. Those attending will be DDA Matt Ispon, VIS Kathy Smartt, VAD Andrea Officer, DHS Sarah Hatfield, CASA Tracey Blood, and a member of law enforcement from the John Day Police Department. DHS will fund the person they want to send and the VASA Rural grant, CAMI grant and VOCA grant will pay for the other five. Officer added the classes are excellent and very informative. Officer stated she needs to complete some items for the VOCA Grant she was going to present today and she also needs to ask Treasurer Kathy Smith a budget question before she can finalize the grant request. Officer intends to submit the grant to the court next week. Labhart suggested the training regarding cyber bullying and online exploitation at the Summit should be presented to the schools and Officer said she does present information to the schools when she returns. MSP: Labhart/Myers — to approve the request to attend the Child Abuse & Family Violence Summit and authorize payment of $5,235 from the VASA Grant, CAMI Grant and VOCA Grant.

Myers said meals are very expensive in Portland and if requested the county could possibly waive the per diem meal cap of $40 per day. Officer stated they haven’t had any problem staying under this cap in the past and she doesn’t feel this will be in issue. Britton suggested those ladies attending should take the self- defense class. Britton thanked Officer for her work with victims.

OHA 4TH AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT #147789. The court reviewed the 4th Amendment to Oregon Health Authority (OHA) Agreement #147789 to receive additional funds for community behavioral & substance use disorder services in the amount of $3,462.00. MSP: Myers/Labhart — to authorize Judge Myers to sign the 4th Amendment to OHA Agreement #147789.

GEOGRAPHIC NAMES BOARD LETTER. Commissioner Britton presented a letter to the court written by he and Gregg Smith to the US Geographic Names Board (USGNB). Britton stated the USGNB is on the cusp of making a decision regarding the name changes in Grant County. He advised the USGNB has made a decision in Malheur County already and accepted all of the names as proposed and most of them are not pronounceable. Britton is hopeful the USGNB will follow their own procedures and listen to the citizens of Grant County. Myers stated the court presented names to the Oregon Geographic Names Board (OGNB) and they were ignored. Britton added the court is sending the letter and packet of information to all of the board members in hopes we will be heard. Britton went on to explain issues that have happened in the past with the OGNB and said some members have resigned because of the disrespect the board has shown to people. Britton and Myers advised the audience of the problems the county court has had with the OGNB and the fact that they do not respond to letters from the court. MSP: Britton/Myers – to approve and circulate the letter for signatures.

Frances Preston asked why the USGNB is not using the names proposed by the county. Myers said the letter being sent is requesting the USGNB explain why if they don’t use names proposed by the county and in the past no explanation has been given. Myers added the proposed OGNB names are long and difficult to pronounce and this could cause serious issues for dispatching emergency responders. The court has invited the cultural director of the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla, Roberta Conner, to visit Grant County and see the sites where they are proposing name changes and they have not responded in any way.

Jim Hamsher said if the OGNB doesn’t have any authority can’t they just be told no, we won’t change the names. Myers stated the OGNB doesn’t have the authority, but the USGNB does have the authority.

Sharon Livingston wanted to know who appoints individuals to the boards. Britton wasn’t sure. Livingston said she is going to research this.

PUBLIC COMMENT. Sharon Livingston stated each time she comes to court someone is asking for money to travel and attend meetings. Livingston feels when someone attends a function paid for by tax payer funds they should report back to the court and explain what was learned. She would like to hear what happened at the meetings or trainings, not just that someone had a good time and learned a lot. Livingston would appreciate hearing summaries.

10:01 am — Adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted,

Laurie Wright

County Court Secretary