The minutes from the Grant County Court meeting July 6, 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, Administrative Assistant Laurie Wright, Jim Spell, Rick Minster, Linda Gingrich, Jim Sproul, Mike Cosgrove, Judy Kerr, Logan Bagett, 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 as presented.

ANNOUNCEMENTS. Commissioner Britton will be attending an ACT meeting either in person or via telephone where the STIP Projects will be finalized. On Monday Britton was honored to be the pyrotech and set off the fireworks in Prairie City and said it is unbelievable what the volunteers do to make these events happen. Britton said he needed to correct his announcement from last week about attending the joint transportation meeting and wanted it added that Commissioner-Elect Jim Hamsher traveled with him and also attended the meeting. Last week Britton attended a retirement party at the health department for Karen Triplett.

Judge Myers reported he attended a memorial in Dayville last Saturday for Jake Streeter and it was very well attended. This upcoming Friday Myers will assist with interviews at the Sheriff’s Department for a Road Deputy position. Myers announced his granddaughter, Merit Scott Waley, was born on July 1st and Scott is a long standing family name in his family so she will be carrying it on. On Saturday he will perform a wedding at Holiday Park. Myers attended a retirement party at John Day Fire Hall for Peggy Gray last Friday.

Commissioner Labhart said he visited with Greg Wolf, AOC Director Oregon County Solutions Center and discussed the possibility of bringing a specialist to Grant County to conduct a public meeting to prioritize the Counties needs and wants for the future. Items discussed were: School District No. 3 Bond Levy, John Day Sewer Plant, Canyon Creek Restoration Project – Phase 2, Recreation/Wellness Facility, Canyon City Sewer Plant and Commercial Air Service to Grant County. Tonight Labhart will be attending the solar eclipse meeting in Canyon City and next Tuesday he will drive a group of veterans to the Boise VA hospital. Labhart would like to see a representative from our law enforcement at the solar eclipse meetings.

MINUTES. MSP: Labhart/Myers — to approve the June 27th minutes as presented.

COMMITTEE VOLUNTEER APPLICATIONS. The court reviewed volunteer applications for the Library Advisory Board and Southeast Regional Alliance/Area Commission on Transportation (SEACT).

Library Board: Scotta Callister and Roberta Gilmore termed out of the Library Board on June 30th, 2016. MSP: Britton/Myers — to appoint Kathy Smith and Sherry Feiger to serve on the Library Board with terms ending on June 30, 2020. Letters thanking Callister and Gilmore for their service were signed by the court members.

Southeast Area Commission on Transportation: Peggy Gray resigned from the SEACT Board on June 27th, 2016, and there is a vacant position for an alternate. MSP: Britton/Myers — to appoint new John Day City Manager Nick Green to replace Gray with a term ending on December 31, 2016. MSP: Britton/Myers — to appoint Rick Minster to serve in the alternate position with a term ending on December 31, 2018. A letter of thanks to Gray for her service was signed by the court members.

RESOLUTION 16-20. Resolution 16-20 was reviewed by the court. The general fund previously loaned money to the domestic violence fund. This resolution transfers money from the domestic violence fund back to the general fund to repay the cash loan. MSP: Myers/Britton — to approve Resolution 16-20 transferring funds from the domestic violence fund to the general fund in the amount of $16,000.

9:18 am Hilary McNary entered.

CLAIMS. The court members reviewed claims for payment of the county’s liability insurance to CIS and the workman’s compensation policy to SAIF. MSP: Myers/Labhart – to approve the claims as presented and circulate for signatures.

SENATE BILL 1513. The City of John Day had sent a request to the court asking the county to adopt a measure in support of Senate Bill 1513. The Senate Bill allows for a property tax exemption for families of first responders who have lost their lives in the line of duty. The Oregon Legislature put this bill into motion, but each local county must approve it in order for it to be in effect. The bill gives a property tax exemption of up to $250,000 to the survivor of an emergency responder. The exemption requires the residence to be the primary residence of the survivor. Britton would like clarification from Ron Yockim on whether this also covers volunteer fire fighters. Britton would like to table this issue until next week so Yockim can review the bill. The court agreed by consensus to postpone discussion until next week.

9:29 am – MSP: Myers/Britton — to re-open the public hearing regarding ZC-16-01.

PLANNING APPLICATION HEARING. The planning hearing from June 15th was continued to today regarding the Oregon Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) request for a significant aggregate site at the Meadow Brook Quarry. Planning Director Hilary McNary read the title of the order to those in attendance and said this application was previously denied. McNary explained what calling the site significant meant to the court and said she isn’t sure if ODOT will attempt to reapply for approval for this site. The court members signed the order. MSP: Britton/Labhart – to close the hearing.

PUBLIC COMMENT. Mike Cosgrove said he went to the Wickiup road closure area and said he found out permittees have keys to the gate and can access the road, but the road is still dangerous and it is a temporary closure. Ken Holliday is one of the permittees and his pickup was damaged by a falling tree after the fire. Jim Sproul stated the public forest commission will be meeting tonight and deciding which members will travel to the road closure to view it and invited court members to attend if they are interested. Labhart would like permission to attend an AOC Summit regarding rural Oregon development and prosperity on August 8th and 9th. Myers doesn’t believe Labhart needs permission for this as he is on the AOC legislative committee representing Grant County.

9:41 am The court recessed until 10:30 am. 10:25 am Kimberly Lindsay, Kathleen Johnson, Linda Watson and Steve Beverlin entered.

10:31 am The court returned to open session.

COMMUNITY COUNSELING SOLUTIONS. Director Kimberly Lindsay introduced Kathleen Johnson, who is a Program Manager for public health. Lindsay requested Johnson attend a court meeting and update the court on the health modernization process. Johnson explained about four years ago legislation was attempted to try to regionalize public health across the state. The legislation met with resistance and ended up being turned into a task force to ascertain the needs in Oregon for public health services. Johnson explained the framework of House Bill 3100 and the different programs written into the bill. The reason for restructuring the public health program is because of the stringent federal funding that is very restrictive. This bill would allow for more state funding from the general fund. Oregon currently ranks 42nd in the nation for the amount of state funding received for public health. The goal of the new model is to provide a foundational level of service across the state. Britton is concerned this bill would create an unfunded mandate. Johnson explained the bill only requires the proposed model to be followed if an entity receives new state funding. This is a 10 year plan that will be implemented in stages. Johnson told the court about the amount of funding being requested and gave examples of how the plan might work. Lindsay stated if this bill gets approved in 2017 and moves forward the court will need to be more involved and meet with other counties and health department administrators regarding employee sharing for things like environmental health services. Labhart asked if this model would require more buy in from the county and Johnson said it would. Lindsay stated Grant County is currently where it should be based on the per capita in the area. Discussion followed about the difference between services and funding with other counties. Labhart is very satisfied with the services we have in Grant County. Britton believes Community Counseling Solutions (CCS) has done a wonderful job utilizing the funding the county provides and obtaining other funding sources. Johnson believes the new model will maintain the level of the services already in place here along with adding additional services. Discussion followed about possible gaps in the services currently offered and examples were given of what additional services might be available. The work the Local Community Advisory Council (LCAC) has been doing was also discussed. Johnson said in the fall regional meetings will be scheduled for local county leaders to meet and discuss what is being proposed.

Lindsay reported CCS is moving forward with EPIC, which is an electronic health report. Karen Triplett retired last week, but will be contracting with CCS to work out of the school based health center. They are actively recruiting to fill the position Triplett vacated. Lindsay said they are far along in becoming an accredited health department. Lindsay advised the court Health Department Manager Jessica Winegar has been doing an excellent job for the health department. Lindsay reported on the new fence installed at Juniper Ridge and the stalled litigation with the contractor for the Juniper Ridge building due to his filing of bankruptcy. Lindsay submitted an application for Grant County to be a pilot site for behavioral health. She explained the funding sources to the court and the benefits of becoming a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC). 30 clinics have applied for this federal funding in Oregon and 8 will be selected. CCS has a new website at communitycounselingservices.org.

11:39 am — Adjourned

Respectfully Submitted,

Laurie Wright

Administrative Assistant