Minutes: Board of Commission Meeting, 08/02/2006 COUNTY COMMISSIONER CHAIR FRED WARNER, JR
COUNTY COMMISSIONER TIM L. KERNS COUNTY COMMISSIONER DR. CARL STIFF The Baker County Board of Commissioners met for the August 2, 2006 Commission
Session. Present were Commission Chair Fred Warner, Jr., Commissioner Tim L.
Kerns and Commissioner Carl E. Stiff, M.D.
Citizens' Participation: None
Review/Approval of Minutes: Commissioner Kerns moved to approve the July 12,
2006 Special Session minutes and the July 19, 2006 Commission Session minutes
as presented. Commissioner Stiff seconded the motion. Motion carried
unanimously.
Additions to the Agenda:
*Roadless Area Rule
*Certificate of Funds for OSU Extension Office
Additions to the Agenda:
Roadless Area Rule: Commissioner Warner announced that the Governor was going
to conduct public hearings in regards to the State of Oregon petitioning the
federal government to not relax rules on roadless areas. One of the public
hearings would be held in La Grande on August 10th. Commissioner Warner stated
his belief that roads should only be dedicated based on scientific data.
Commissioner Kerns recommended that the Baker County request that the Natural
Resource Advisory Committee (NRAC) discuss the matter. Commissioner Stiff
stated that he was in favor of relaxing the rules on roadless areas. Consensus
was reached to forward the matter onto the NRAC and to attend the August 10th
public hearing.
Certificate of Funds for OSU Extension: Mr. Cory Parsons was present before the
Board. Mr. Parsons stated that the County had budgeted $97,000, however the
Certificate of Funds was for $84,430. The remainder would be placed in a
special fund with Baker County for incidental expenses. Mr. Parsons stated
that he wanted to keep as much of the funds as he could in Baker County.
Commissioner Stiff moved to adopt the Certification of Appropriation of Funds.
Commissioner Kerns seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.
Documents to be Signed:
Order No. 2006-154: Designating a Newspaper for Annual Foreclosure on Tax Liens
: The Treasurer/Tax Collector had recommended The Record Courier as the
newspaper of record for the 2006 Foreclosure Notice. Commissioner Stiff moved
to approve Order No. 2006-154. Commissioner Kerns seconded the motion. Motion
carried unanimously.
Appointing Members to the Transient Lodging Tax Committee: Commissioner Warner
announced that the City of Baker City had recommended the appointment of
Charles Hofmann as the city representative and had agreed to leave it up to the
County on who the lodging representative would be. Commissioner Warner moved
to appoint Charles Hofmann, Carl Town, Toni Thompson, Carrie Folkman and Phil
Stone. Commissioner Stiff seconded the motion. Discussion: Commissioner Warner
stated that the Ordinance required the members to “draw” for their term
limits. Orders would be signed after this was done. Motion carried unanimously
.
Scheduled Business:
Department Update: District Attorney's Office: District Attorney Matt
Shirtcliff was present before the Board. Mr. Shirtcliff discussed staffing
changes as Ms. Marda Bloom had retired after 16 years of employment. Ms.
Glenda Jensen had moved into that position and Ms. Gina Settlemire was hired
from Justice Court to fill Ms. Jensen’s position.
Mr. Shirtcliff was looking forward to hiring an additional Deputy District
Attorney in the fall, as their office had been very busy. Mr. Shirtcliff
reported that he had closed one murder case and would be working on another. As
far as tracking trends within the D.A’s Office, Mr. Shirtcliff stated that he
had been working with Mr. Bill Lee in Technology. The new programming was
paying off. There had been a real effort to decrease domestic violence and
records were showing a 10% decrease between 2004 and 2005. Additional
statistics showed that the meth lab issue was down significantly from the
previous year and financial crime cases had increased. One item in particular
with financial crimes was with the elderly population. Friends, relatives,
etc. were obtaining power of attorneys and draining bank accounts. The D.A.’s
Office was working diligently to prosecute these cases. Mr. Shirtcliff noted
that his office was also working hard to produce a website that would include
dockets, VINE program information, victims assistance and child support
information, etc. Commissioner Warner questioned the number of parole violators
in the jail and how they were sentenced. Mr. Shirtcliff stated that offenders
who violated parole received 6 months of jail time. The original terms were
taken on a case by case basis due to the fact that Baker County did not have a
large enough jail. Commissioner Kerns thanked Mr. Shirtcliff for the job he was
doing and for reaching out to the communities and educating them on meth abuse.
Cornucopia Jail: Mr. Galen West was present before the Board. Mr. West stated
that Mr. Dale Taylor, President of the Halfway Museum was going to be here,
however he was driving truck for the Forest Service at the local fires. Mr.
West stated that he was present before the Commissioners on behalf of the
Halfway Museum, requesting that the County consider deeding over the historic
jail in Cornucopia to the Halfway Museum. The building would remain in
Cornucopia, however the Halfway Museum would have oversight and tours would be
provided. Mr. West added that significant tipping was occurring on one side of
the building and needed to be shored up before the next winter. Commissioner
Warner questioned the status of the generator being housed in the jail by an
adjacent landowner (DeHaas). Mr. West believed that it was still in there as
there was a lock on the door. Commissioner Warner recommended that a Memorandum
of Understanding, or similar document be drafted, transferring the ownership of
the jail to the Halfway Museum Association. Commissioner Stiff added that he
believed that was the proper thing to do, otherwise the building would
deteriorate. Commissioner Kerns moved to transfer ownership to the Halfway
Museum Association. Commissioner Stiff seconded the motion. Discussion:
Commissioner Warner stated that he would contact Mr. DeHaas and let him know of
what was to take place and that his generator would need to be moved. Motion
carried unanimously.
Contract Review Board:
Commissioner Warner moved into Contract Review Board.
Scenic Byway Agreement #23413 with ODOT: Ms. Lorrie Harvey was present before
the Board. Ms. Harvey stated that the agreement was for the 2006-07 year. The
total project cost was $136,000. A 20% match was required and would come from
the following: $5,000 from timber receipts, $10,956 as in-kind for Ms. Harvey’s
time, $6,230 from EOVA and $10,000 from the Oregon Parks and Recreation
Department. Commissioner Kerns questioned the details of the project. Ms.
Harvey responded that the funds would be used to develop a long-range signage
plan for Bishop Springs, Hole in the Wall, Hells Canyon Information Wayside and
two of the parks. It would also provide funding for the engineering work on
paving Bishop Springs and for a vault toilet at the Hells Canyon Information
Wayside. Commissioner Stiff moved to approve Agreement #23413 with ODOT.
Commissioner Kerns seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.
Local Contract Review Board Order 2006-102: Commissioner Warner stated that the
order would designate Eastern Oregon Visitors Association as a sole source
provider for the grant administration of Agreement #23374 with ODOT.
Commissioner Kerns moved to approve Local Contract Review Board Order 2006-102.
Commissioner Stiff seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.
Professional Services Agreement: Anderson Perry & Associates: Ms. Lorrie Harvey
was present before the Board. Ms. Harvey reported that the Agreement was for
engineering work being done at the Holcomb Park project. The Agreement was not
to exceed $12,000.
This would cover the engineering costs for the septic system. Commissioner
Kerns questioned how the project was coming in, budget wise. Ms. Harvey stated
that only one bid had came in for the Holcomb Park Bid and it was much higher
than anticipated. Everything else was coming right in line. Commissioner
Warner moved to approve the Agreement with Anderson Perry & Associates.
Commissioner Stiff seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.
Intergovernmental Agreement with Baker City for Economic Development:
Commissioner Warner stated that the Agreement was for the 2006-07 fiscal year.
Minor changes had been made since the County had taken over the administration
of the Transient Lodging Tax. The City would still receive $1,000 per month
for office space. The County would contribute $65,000 towards economic
development and of the TRT revenues, $50,000 would go towards economic
development and $15,000 towards economic development staffing at the City of
Baker City. Commissioner Stiff moved to approve the Intergovernmental Agreement
with the City of Baker City. Commissioner Kerns seconded the motion. Motion
carried unanimously.
Commissioner Warner moved out of Contract Review Board.
Other Business
Idaho Power Feasibility Study Report: Commissioner Warner stated that he was
working on setting up a conference call within the next week or two to discuss
the results of the study with Idaho Power and CF Malm. Commissioner Warner
commented that the study reported a cost of $500,000 to upgrade--$200,000 for
the generator interconnection package and $300,000 for the 138kv-line terminal.
Commissioner Warner stated that additional questions needed to be asked during
the conference call, such as what the power line was going to cost.
Commissioner Warner added that he would like to consider hiring a temporary
worker to interface with the agencies and FERC. Commissioner Stiff stated that
he would prefer the person be an employee rather than a contractor so that
costs could be controlled.
Scheduled Business:
Adoption of Health Appendix to Annex G: Ms. Kristi Wheeler-Johnson and Ms.
Becky Sanders were present before the Board. Ms. Wheeler-Johnson stated that
the County’s Emergency Operation Plan contained a Health Annex. The state had
requested that each county create their own appendices for emergency
situations. Ms. Wheeler-Johnson added that the “Concept of Operations” in all
of the specific public health plans were similar to the one in the appendix and
tied in with NIMS requirements. Commissioner Warner stated that he had reviewed
the annex and it seemed self explanatory. Commissioner Warner moved to adopt
Appendix IV to Annex G of the Baker County Emergency Operations Plan.
Commissioner Stiff seconded the motion. Discussion: Commissioner Kerns
questioned why contacting law enforcement was not listed in the appendix. Ms.
Wheeler-Johnson responded that the appendix was focused on what the Health
Department was to do. The involvement and roles of law enforcement were
specifically outlined in each separate plan. Motion carried unanimously.
Other Business:
Comparison of Calendars:
Aug. 2nd: Friends of the Fair BBQ
Aug. 3rd: NEACT Meeting
Aug. 5th: Shrine Game
Aug. 8th: Fuels for Schools Tour of Council School District
Aug. 9th: EO/DH, Work Session
Commission Session was adjourned at 11:30 am.
Respectfully submitted,
Robin Nudd, Executive Assistant
Baker County Board of Commissioners