COUNTY COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON
IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF GRANT
APRIL 14, 2010
Pursuant to notice made to the newspaper of general circulation throughout Grant County, the radio station in Grant County and e-mail distribution list, a regular meeting of the County Court was held at the County Courthouse in Canyon City OR.
8:10 am -- Call to Order. Present were Judge Mark R. Webb, Commissioners Scott W. Myers and Boyd Britton, Secretary Mary Ferrioli, Pastor Dan Wiese and Commissioner Candidate Nancy Nickel. The Pledge of Allegiance was given to the US flag. An opening prayer was given by Pastor Wiese.
PROGRAM. MSP: Britton/Myers -- to approve the program with the addition of a Flagging Contract for the Road Department and discussion with personnel about an Interview Panel.
8:11 am – Kathy Smith entered
ANNOUNCEMENTS.
Webb planned to attend a meeting at Blue Mountain Hospital today at 10:30 am with CCS Director Kimberly Lindsey to discuss the mental disabilities Acute Care Facility that is being proposed for the hospital to consider. He added that this facility would serve rural counties within the Greater Oregon Behavioral Health region and could take the place of Sageview in Bend. The proposed facility would be operated by the hospital, with a contract for some services to be provided by Community Counseling Solutions.
Webb said he would be leaving for Washington DC from Portland on Saturday April 17th for the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition lobbying trip. He would be gone most of next week.
Webb planned to meet with Matt Marheine of Oregon Emergency Management on April 15th about a grant opportunity to assist the county in updating its Emergency Management Plan. He also would attend a Blue Mountain Forest Partners meeting tomorrow afternoon concerning the Blue Mountain Forest Plan revision.
8:15 am – Commissioner Candidate Jim Sproul and Sally Bartlett entered
Britton reported on the April 12th Airport Commission meeting where discussion took place about progress on the terminal facility project which is about three weeks behind.
Myers said he was the hearing officer at a Northeast Oregon Housing Authority eviction hearing on April 9th. He planned to attend NEOHA’s annual meeting all day on April 20th in La Grande.
Britton reported on the Oregon Department of Forestry award banquet and the annual meeting for the Grant Soil & Water Conservation District that was held last week.
Webb reported on the Grant County Stock Growers Association meeting that he attended on April 8th. State Representative Cliff Bentz had given an overview of the last legislative session and its challenges.
COMMUNITY COUNSELING SOLUTIONS. Webb announced that former Center for Human Development employee Thad Labhart has been hired to replace Gary Lewis as Site Manager for Community Counseling Solutions, Inc. in John Day. Labhart is to start work on April 19th.
MINUTES. MSP: Britton/Webb -- to approve the April 7 as corrected. MSP: Myers/Webb -- to approve the April 12 as amended.
GRANT PROPOSALS / DENTAL CLINIC. Economic Development Coordinator Sally Bartlett updated the court about proposed applications for a USDA Farmers Market Promotional Grant and a Ford Family Foundation Grant to support the Dental Clinic. Bartlett reported that all questions have been answered about the final items on the Ford Family Foundation Grant. She planned to submit it electronically today. She reported that the USDA Farmers Market Promotion Grant would be discontinued because she didn’t feel it served our purposes. Reasons include: match funding can’t be used for the RARE volunteer next year, the farmer’s market group said they do not need administrative assistance from the county this year, and the food stamp equipment the group needs is already available through a state process. Bartlett added that the group has partnered with GREAT to be the 501C3 organization this year. Britton asked about Prairie City’s budget contribution this year for economic development, but Bartlett had not participated in any of those discussions with the city. Discussion followed about the cities meeting with GREAT in connection with the Enterprise Zone and contributions toward support of the Economic Development Coordinator position. Treasurer Kathy Smith reported that, so far, she hasn’t heard from three cities, in response to the county’s budgetary notice about this year’s economic development contribution. Smith added that one of the smaller cities inquired about the potential impact, if it is unable to make a contribution this year.
8:45 am – Brenda Percy entered
LIBRARIAN INTERVIEW PANEL. Personnel Manager Brenda Percy reported that she confirmed Karla Averett would be available to serve on the Interview Panel. She added that interview questions and websites were received from Library Advisory Board rep Carol Faulkner. Percy expressed concern about making sure the entire panel is completely unbiased and without preconceived notions about applicants. She felt it might not be appropriate for a court member to be on the panel because of so much involvement with issues at the Library. She stated that Commission on Children & Families Director Dana Brooks was willing to be on the panel. Percy pointed out that the court would make the hiring decision after the panel meets. Webb felt this would be the case with any position hired by the County Court. He asked if non-participation by the court would set a precedent for hiring other Department Head positions. Discussion followed about Percy’s feelings about this particular situation. Britton agreed with Webb, in that this could almost establish a precedent. Britton added, and others agreed, that Myers is a clear thinker who is unbiased on Interview Panels. Myers said he was willing and happy to serve, but could step aside if that is what’s decided. Panel participants would be discussed further at a later date.
EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK. The court considered adding new wording to the Employee Handbook Hiring Section: Intra-department Transfer, “except for a department head or an elected official.” The issue came to light when a Department Head recently retired. Then, it was pointed out that an intra-department transfer to the Department Head position wasn’t possible because all non-elected Department Heads are hired by the County Court. MSP: Britton/Webb -- to approve additional wording to the Hiring: Intra-Departmental Transfer section of the Employee Handbook.
9:50 am – Mark Cerney entered
BUDGET RESOLUTIONS. The court reviewed and signed Resolution 10-06 Making Transfer from Contingency / Maternal & Child Health Fund in the amount of $11,000 for increased hours for the Dental Coordinator to complete the paperwork for the H1N1 program; Resolution 10-07 Making
Budgeted Transfers from Road to Road Reserve / $9,000,000 and to School Forest / $459,300 and to City-Streets-Bridges / $243,000; Resolution 10-08 Making Budgeted Transfers to Maternal & Child Health from WIC / $6,808, from Bioterrorism / $1,082, and from Sanitarian / $2,934.
9:55 am – News Reporter Scotta Callister and Rick Page entered
PLANNING COMMISSION. The court considered a request from Planning Director Hilary McNary to appoint a volunteer to the Planning Commission before the regularly scheduled appointments in July. Zach Williams had recently submitted a letter expressing interest in serving on the Planning Commission. MSP: Myers/Webb -- to honor the recommendation of Planning Director Hilary McNary, to assist with obtaining a quorum, and make an out-of-sequence appointment of Zach Williams to fill the vacancy expiring December 31, 2010 .
PUBLIC HEARING. At 9:00 am the court held the second public hearing on a proposed Ordinance Adopting Grant County Code to Prohibit Taking Property for Private Use. Commissioner Candidate Jim Sproul and local citizen Mark Cerney were present. Webb reported that there had been some additional correspondence about details of the revisions discussed at the first hearing. He noted that Shaun Robertson had worked with legal counsel to reformat language and change the order of presentation. Webb provided an overview of the stricken words and updated language. He indicated that legal counsel expressed concern about the need for a more lengthy process to make changes to amend the county’s Land Development Code. Myers pointed out that those amendments would require a separate public hearing process. Sproul said he was fine with the changes, but preferred using the words “in the best interest of Grant County,” rather than for “the public good.” Commissioner Candidate Nancy Nickel pointed out that “public good” is statutory language incorporated in the Oregon Constitution and is appropriate for this purpose.
Webb preferred waiting to finalize the document for signature because a number of people that appeared at the first hearing were not present today. He added that Idaho Power recently informed him that it would be early June before Idaho Power could begin the federal permitting process. Therefore, the county has additional time to further prepare the final Ordinance.
Sproul asked for the Ordinance to be signed next week. He remarked on Idaho Power’s filing of a Trust Deed for $2 billion in March which represents its interest in the area, in case the transmission line is eventually place in Grant County.
Nickel pointed out that the finalized document for proposed adoption is required to be available for public review for at least 7 days before adoption. Webb recommended that the final Ordinance be prepared before scheduling an adoption hearing.
9:25 am – Zach Williams entered
For Williams’ benefit, Webb reviewed formatting and wording changes that had been made to the proposed Ordinance.
Cerney hoped that the words “public good” could somehow be tied more explicitly so as to benefit “Grant County citizens.” Webb thought that another “WHEREAS” might be possible that stipulates that state statutes do not define “public good.” He planned to ask legal counsel about making this addition.
CIRCUIT COURT. The court reviewed and discussed a draft Invitation to Bid for the installation of an effective cooling system in the Circuit Courtroom. The purpose is to provide a better cooling system that meets the unique needs of the Circuit Courtroom, in particular operationally quiet to prevent interference with the digital recording system used during court proceedings. MSP: Britton/Webb – to place the Invitation to Bid in the Blue Mountain Eagle and East Oregonian and send invitations to contractors in Baker City, Ontario, La Grande and Burns.
9:45 am – Kathy Smith entered
LIBRARY PORCH ROOF. The court was scheduled to open bids according to the public notice published in the March 24 and 31 editions of the Blue Mountain Eagle. However, none were received. Myers reported that he was contacted by several local contractors who inspected the work site. He felt that some contractors lacked interest because it is a small project. Myers noted that it was suggested that trusses be placed on the roof. Britton suggested that, with the court’s permission, he could contact Central Oregon Roofing to ask if they could look at the project. Myers thought that perhaps they were the only eastern Oregon contractor that treats these particular roofing problems. There was consensus on contacting Central Oregon Roofing.
FLAGGING CONTRACT. Court members reviewed and approved a proposed contract with Certified Personnel Service Agency, Inc. for 2010 Traffic Control and Flaggers as recommended by Roadmaster Mark Hensley. Webb noted that this would cost the county considerably less than hiring temporary employees. Myers confirmed that this work would be done on an on call and
as needed basis. MSP: Webb/Myers -- to authorize Judge Webb to sign the Contract for Traffic Control and Flaggers with Certified Personnel Services, Inc. Webb added that the Roadmaster was told the company would use local individuals. Britton voted no because he did not like the hourly rates listed in the contract. But, Britton withdrew his no vote when he learned the company would cost less than having the county perform this work.
EXTENSION DISTRICT. Court members considered a previous request by Extension & 4H Service District Director Maxine Day for reduced rent in the district’s future location at 530 E. Main Street, Suite 10 in John Day. The established rental rate for the space is 80 cents per square foot or $735 per month / $8,820 per year. However, due to budget constraints, the district would like to cut its overall expense to about $11,000 per year, including water / electricity / garbage / cleaning.
Treasurer Kathy Smith pointed out that it is going to cost the county $2,197 less in revenue due to the district’s move. Webb noted that an investment of over $60,000 is being made to the property with Title III funds to suit the district’s office needs. Smith and the court talked about her suggestion to wait on making the decision until the Extension District’s budget committee meets.
Extension District Warrant Nos. 104 through 111 had been signed.
10:00 am -- Adjourned
Respectfully Submitted,
Mary R. Ferrioli
County Court Secretary
MINUTES OF THE GRANT COUNTY COURT APRIL 14, 2010 1 APPROVED