County Court minutes 01-27-16

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

January 27, 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 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, Kenny Delano, Road Master Alan Hickerson, Judy Kerr, Ron Phillips, Zach Williams, Dennis Flippence, Sharon Livingston, Jim Sproul, and Pastor Mark Majors. A Pledge of Allegiance was given to the United States Flag. The invocation was given by Pastor Majors.

AGENDA. MSP: Myers/Labhart — to accept the agenda with the addition of the announcement of the recommendation of the proposal award for the Canyon Creek Berm Project.

ANNOUNCEMENTS. Judge Myers announced this week and last week have been crazy. He attended a Community Connections quarterly meeting yesterday in Baker City and is Vice Chair on this board. Myers said he went to the public meeting last night at the Senior Center. Myers stated he will be meeting with the Forest Service on Friday to discuss the agreement between the FS and county regarding the shared airport space and lease agreement. He said he would like to attend a roast for Wallowa County Commissioner Mike Hayward on Friday evening, but he doesn’t think he will have time. Hayward has resigned to take a position with the grain growers. Myers also attended a GREAT meeting last Monday at Economic Development Coordinator Sally Bartlett’s office.

Commissioner Labhart said he had a Local Community Advisory Meeting (LCAC) meeting last Wednesday at the airport. He convened a wellness and health facility meeting in Grant County and said they are looking into possibly putting a facility in the county. Labhart drove the VA van to Boise last Friday and said he just received word they may cut the van and he said they are going to try to fight to keep this service. Labhart added this is a vital service to our local veterans and it is very difficult, if not impossible, for them to travel to VA appointments on their own. Labhart stated tonight he is meeting with the Depot Museum and RV Park people in Prairie City to discuss the contract the county has with them. He may attend the AOC meeting next Monday to discuss the legislative session, but isn’t sure if he will go. Labhart said the AOC people met with the Governor this past week to discuss what they would like to have accomplished in this short session. He has another LCAC meeting next Tuesday. Labhart also attended the public meeting last night at the Senior Center.

Commissioner Britton attended the Governor’s Transportation Vision Panel meeting at the airport on Monday. The meeting was to give a vision statement on where they wanted to go and wanted to get the SEAC and NEAC’s opinions. He reported they gave them their opinions and he believes they were a little surprised, but very happy they were engaged as much as they were. Britton said a plaque was given to Monty Grove who is retiring as the District 5 Director. He added Grove is a good man and he has worked well with him over the years. After this a meeting a SEAC/NEAC meeting was held regarding 2018-2020 STIP projects and there is less money this year and reports and so they need to figure out how the money should be distributed. He said an unusual thing about Eastern Oregon is the willingness to share the money and take turns on projects. Doug Ferguson agreed with Britton.

9:15 am Shannon Springer entered

Britton reported two proposed projects are for sidewalks in downtown John Day. One is the sidewalk extension heading south and the other one is heading west. He said he feels one of the best projects is the one out of the City of Irrigon. Britton stated the City of John Day will probably not get both projects and Peggy Gray shared which one the City would prefer. Britton said he met with Scott Fairley of Oregon Solutions and Fairley has been working with Doug Ferguson to come up with solutions for the water impoundment and prepare the application for a feasibility study. He said Fairley is amazing and really does come up with solutions. Britton stated he always complains about the airport, but he had some members of the GEODC staff and staff of Java Jungle approach him and tell him how helpful Airport employee Mark Henderson was when they were there and this was a good thing. He thanked the SEAC/NEAC group for our airport as well. Britton also attended the public meeting last night at the Senior Center.

AWARD OF CANYON CREEK BERM PROJECT PROPOSALS. Doug Ferguson (Ferguson Surveying & Engineering) said they only received three proposals that addressed each of the items in the project. Ferguson said they used a point system to rate each contractor and based on the scores, they are recommending Lil Buddy Construction, LLC. Ferguson added they checked references on this company and received good recommendations from Grant Soil and Water Conservation. Ferguson added he was very impressed with Todd Smith and his crew when he met him. Ferguson said the flexibility of the company is also impressive. Ferguson said this is a unit cost contract, so the contractor will only be paid for the work completed. Kenny Delano explained how the unit cost contract worked in more detail and added they are hoping with the Hesco bags they will be able to reduce the number of sandbags needed.

Ferguson said they prepared the proposal specifications prior to finding out they can borrow Hesco bags from the National Guard and just need to go pick them up in Seattle. They intend to pick up 100 of these bags and that will treat 1500 feet. Doug feels the Hesco bags may be more efficient in some areas. The contract states that changes and cost negotiations will happen as needed throughout the project. Ferguson is recommending the court accept the proposal from Lil Buddy Construction, LLC. MSP: Labhart/Myers — to award the Canyon Creek Temporary Emergency berm project to Lil Buddy Construction, LLC, in the amount of $173,290.40, to be negotiated.

Ferguson said Lil Buddy told him they can have the bonding they need in place very quickly and he is hopeful they will start working on the project next week. Delano explained the time period for getting each phase of the project completed and the fact that if the contractor goes over the allotted time there would be penalties. Discussion followed regarding provisions of the contract and the fact the contractor would not be penalized for acts of God that are out of their control. Labhart told Ferguson he appreciated the transparency of the spreadsheet they prepared for the public’s information. The spreadsheet is attached as Exhibit A.

CANYON CREEK CHANNEL REHAB PROJECT. Mitch Ferguson said they have hit a couple of small hang-ups in locating a couple of owners for easement signing. Mitch feels confident they can get these issues solved. One issue is with the Boring property that is in behind Grant Soil and Water and the Elkhorn Motel. Delano said the owner is receptive to the project and they just need to take him to the site and show him what they can and can’t accomplish on the property. Britton asked what type of project would be on the Boring project and Mitch said possibly earth and berm or sandbags, but they aren’t sure what to do about two old sheds on the property that are in the way. Doug said if they have to they will place Hesco bags on the left side of 6th Street to keep water off the highway to protect everyone else if they can’t do anything about the sheds. Delano said they are going to write another easement with Old West Federal Credit Union for the property next to the high school and behind the old meat packing plant. The credit union easement will be unique in that they will allow this area to be used as a staging and equipment storage area. Labhart asked if this property had sold yet and Delano said not yet. Mitch is working with ODOT for the permits for the highway and should have those taken care of shortly. Delano said there hasn’t been any push back from agencies and safety has been the main concern for everyone. Myers asked if anyone had seen the steel rack above the new culvert at Sheep’s Creek and Doug said it is a debris catcher. Myers feels the steel rack could cause problems.

Doug said he has located three potential pond sites near Izee and presented maps to the court. He hasn’t spoken to the two ranches yet near the largest option. The site Doug prefers is the larger one and would have a volume of almost 4500 acre feet and to put this into perspective Canyon Meadows had 280 acre feet. Doug said this water impoundment would be bigger than a pond and would be about a mile or so long and about 1000 feet wide. It would have enough storage to affect the downstream water quality by cooling the water and has a lot of irrigation possibilities. Labhart asked about the public recreation potential. Doug explained right now he is focusing on the benefits of water quality, irrigation and recreation. He has been working with Shaun Robertson regarding fish issues. Doug said it was very frustrating to locate an impoundment site that might work and he almost gave up before he found this area. Doug has not contacted any landowners about the project yet. The stream this potential project would be on is in the South Fork Watershed. Doug doesn’t like bringing this information to court without talking to the landowners, but he just hasn’t had time. He said if permission isn’t given the project won’t happen. Doug said he has been working on the paperwork for the grant that is due February 1st.

9:45 am Kathy Smith entered 9:48 am King Williams entered

Britton asked Doug about Grub Creek. Doug said he did look at this site and the bottom of the creek is too steep and there wouldn’t be enough storage. Doug is moving forward on the application process and said the application requires a go-to signature and Judge Myers said he would be willing to be this person. The court agreed to allow Judge Myers to be the signer on the application and in the event of an emergency Doug Ferguson has permission to sign the application. Dennis Flippence said he has a neighbor who is immobile and he wants to know if there is any hard copy information he can provide to his neighbor about the flood mitigation project. Flippence said he thinks his neighbor would really like to visit with Doug. Doug said he, Mitch or Kenny could go visit the neighbor, and Judge Myers said he would also go with whoever decided to visit him if needed.

9:57 am Nate Hughes entered

COURTHOUSE FLOOR TILE REPLACEMENT BIDS. Judge Myers explained where the tile would be replaced. Myers opened the only bid received for the tile floor replacement in the courthouse common areas. Myers stated the upstairs floor project cost about $39,000 and this included the asbestos abatement, floor preparation and placing of the new tile. The asbestos abatement was completed in the common areas of the courthouse in January and cost around $9,500. The bid was from The Floor Store in John Day in the amount of $10,586.76. The bid includes floor preparation, placing of new tile and cove moldings. MSP: Myers/Britton — to accept the bid from The Floor Store in the amount of $10,586.76. Myers added scheduling for the installation will need to be discussed with The Floor Store to keep disruptions down as much as possible.

PUBLIC COMMENT. Sharon Livingston said she had two items to address. Livingston said she presented an article to the court a few months ago regarding how the county could take back the Malheur National Forest and operate it under a county proposition. She believes it is in the county’s best interest to take care of its own land and resources we have here. Livingston is concerned with the decline in our economy and said new buildings aren’t being built by businesses, they are being built by agencies. She said agencies are ruling us, 60% or so of the income in this county comes from federal, state, county, city or schools. Livingston stated Grant County is on the brink of becoming a socialist county. Eastern Oregon is still her home, but she doesn’t claim Oregon and it’s not the Oregon she grew up in. Livingston would like to maintain Eastern Oregon as a resource based community. She does her business locally and said she supports Grant County 100%. Livingston said her second issue is the current legislative session and the potential increase in minimum wage and the carbon fuel tax. She stated the grocery store and restaurant in Long Creek has been extremely beneficial to the community and employs local people. The minimum wage increase would hurt businesses like this. She can understand the cost of living is much higher on the west side of the state. Livingston said we are not a one size fit all state even though it is extremely difficult to be heard on the other side. Livingston said the government is not being honest about the carbon fuel tax. She testified on the carbon fuel tax and Representative Bentz was the only one on the 10 member legislative committee that even asked questions relating to our side of the state. Livingston challenged the court members to write testimony and go to Salem to testify about this issue and represent the community. She went on to discuss a meeting she attended in Salem and said it is normal when you live over 100 miles from Salem you are allowed to testify first. A gentleman from California was allowed to speak for a full hour and every environmental group that was there was allowed to testify. She said a man who owned a trucking company that employs 165 people was only allowed 2 minutes to testify and Livingston was only allowed 2 minutes to testify. Livingston said it is time we stood up and worked for our people here and managed our own natural resources. She stressed we need to have a voice in Salem. Myers said he agrees the minimum wage increase could be devastating to small businesses here and they wouldn’t be able to afford the increase.

Jim Sproul said a terrible thing happened last night and there was an attack on the first amendment right here in Grant County. Freedom of speech was trying to be exercised and it wasn’t allowed and this was shameful and terrible. Judge Myers asked him to clarify how this was not allowed. Sproul said what happened last night with the people being stopped on their way here to speak and one person dying. Myers stated it was tragic what happened. Sproul said he supports everyone’s right to free speech.

Britton said he wanted to address Sharon Livingston’s concerns with the carbon fuel tax and he said he agrees with her the carbon fuel tax was horribly thought out and presented. He explained Representative Bentz asked if the county commissioner’s would support a fuel tax with a caveat containing a formula that would change drastically how things are allocated. The new formula would actually benefit smaller counties. Britton said he told Representative Bentz he would support this if he did everything he could to get rid of the carbon fuel tax. Britton added he is not supportive of the minimum wage increase and he knows people who work at Chester’s are scared to death they will lose their jobs. Livingston stated she is not opposed to people earning a fair livable wage, she is concerned with the one size fits all mentality of Oregon. She added people need to do something and not just sit in coffee shops and bitch about it. Livingston said she calls Senator Merkley and Senator Wyden on a weekly basis and she has tried to call Governor Kate Brown’s office but has had no luck. Livingston reported she hasn’t had a grazing permit with the Malheur Forest for 35 years and she won’t have another. She again urged the court members to go to Salem to testify and to write letters to the legislature. Labhart reported he is on the AOC legislative committee and said the carbon fuel tax and minimum wage will probably not be handled in the short legislative session; it will probably come up next year.

Ron Phillips asked what Labhart’s sign said last night? Labhart stated his sign read “America is a Nation of Laws“. Phillips said he feels this is unethical behavior for a county commissioner and he personally feels Labhart should resign. Labhart said he was exercising his first amendment rights. Phillips doesn’t feel this is ethical because he is an elected county commissioner and paid by the county. Phillips said he defends people’s right to protest, but he doesn’t support an elected official doing this. Phillips again asked for his resignation. Labhart said he is not going to get it.

Judy Kerr stood up and stated she acknowledges the court members rights, outside of the court, to say whatever they want; however, comments made within the courtroom indicate the support of the court and elected officials. Kerr said as elected officials they are representing her. Kerr said she resents the minutes of January 13th, minute 8.40 on the audio recording in which Commissioner Britton stated he called Judge Grasty and offered “our” support. Kerr said Britton did not offer her support to Grasty and did not ask her permission as a citizen of this county to support someone who she considers a co-conspirator to murder. Kerr said last week when the bids were opened it was said Iron Triangle’s work needed to be taken into consideration and she said Iron Triangle’s work doesn’t make any damn difference. Britton said you are not going to address this court using curse words anymore and this is inappropriate behavior and the court does not have to listen to this. Myers asked everyone to please try to remain congenial. Kerr said she was pretty much quoted verbatim in the previous minutes and every curse word she said was included but the part where she said all she heard from Britton was “I” from him instead of “we” was omitted. Kerr said anything discussed in this court that displays an opinion of the court that does not support the majority of the people should not be mentioned in court. Myers advised Kerr that it is impossible for the court to represent every member of the county at once, especially on contentious issues. He said personally he attempts to not take a side on issues and tries to constructively listen. Myers said he respects the political and local pressure Judge Grasty faces in Burns and the issues he deals with are as big, or bigger, than ours here. Myers respects the job Judge Grasty does in Burns even though he doesn’t always agree with him. Myers asked the audience to please not judge the court members for the relationship they have with their counterparts. Kerr said she understands this and she applauds the Judge and understands how much pressure he is under. She doesn’t care what the court members do outside of the courtroom, but she feels they should stay on the fence when they are in court, especially during a volatile situation that ended so terribly. Myers said he can’t support how things turned out last night either. Kerr said what happened was outside of our county. Myers stated as American Citizens what happened last night is everyone’s problem.

ASSISTANT PLANNER JOB DESCRIPTION. Myers said a couple of weeks ago Planning Director Hilary McNary brought a proposed job description to the court for the Planning Secretary to better reflect what she actually does and it was sent to LPGI for placement review. MSP: Myers/Britton – to accept the ranking of LPGI at grade 5 and adopt the new Assistant Planner job description.

OHA 3RD AMENDMENT TO IGA #147789. The court reviewed the 3rd Amendment to the Intergovernmental Agreement between the Oregon Health Authority and Grant County for a financial assistance award in the amount of $5,440 for Community Addictions and Mental Health services. MSP: Myers/Britton – to allow Judge Myers to sign the agreement.

COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL. The court reviewed and approved the volunteer application submitted for the Community Advisory Council from Nancy Jimenez. MSP: Myers/Labhart – to appoint Nancy Jimenez to the Community Advisory Council.

FALL MTN. COMMUNICATION SITE. The court reviewed and signed the Fall Mountain Communication Site Agreement with Oregon Public Broadcasting. MSP: Myers/Labhart – to circulate the agreement for signature.

MINUTES. MSP: Myers/Britton — to approve the January 20th, 2016 minutes as amended.

Labhart advised the audience of the messages the court had received regarding Sheriff Palmer’s statements. Myers said the messages would be available to anyone who wanted to view them.

Labhart said an initiative petition (12-57) was filed by a Grant County citizen and was challenged and Judge Cramer denied the petition saying it wasn’t legal the way he interpreted it.

Sharon Livingston thanked the court for allowing her to speak.

10:38 am — Adjourned

Respectfully Submitted,

Laurie Wright

County Court Secretary