Judge Grasty meets with USFWS about wind project

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

Tom Andrade of the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) attended the Harney County Court meeting on Wednesday, May 16, to talk about the state’s Forestland-Urban Interface Fire Protection Act of 1997 or SB 360.

Andrade said that he had looked at maps of the county and planned to visit properties north of Burns to talk with residents about the program. He explained that it’s not a government program, but rather a voluntary effort by landowners to protect their property from wildfires. “It could be moving a woodpile that’s next to a house, clearing leaves from under a deck, or removing organic material on the roof,” Andrade said.

The court was asked to sign a cooperative agreement to appoint three residents to a classification committee, one of which is subject to the interface rules. The committee inspects and classifies properties and the landowner then mails the certification card to ODF. A property must be certified every five years.

Andrade added that it is a $100,000 liability program.

“There have been significant fire events in this county,” Andrade said. “And this is a fire prevention program, pure and simple.”

The court voted to sign the agreement.
•••
Judge Steve Grasty reported that he had gone to Portland on May 3 to meet with Paul Henson of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service regarding the Echanis Wind Farm project and the North Steens transmission line.

Grasty said they met for about seven hours and the outcome was the drafting of a letter by the Fish and Wildlife Service stating that they concur with the county on the Habitat Mitigation Plan (HMP) approved by the county court.

Grasty said the agreement allows the projects to move ahead. He added that two environmental groups responded by saying the projects can’t move ahead, but the letter trumps those responses. “It was a great meeting and it was an important outcome,” Grasty said.

•••
The court discussed the work being done on Blue Mountain Forest Plan and their concerns. Grasty said the U.S. Forest Service had continued working on the plan for the past year without having met with the affected counties for their input.

Grasty said there were several alternatives included in the plan, but they all included a greatly reduced amount of logging. He pointed out that the proposed logging levels wouldn’t support the seven existing mills.

The affected counties have spent $100,000 collectively toward the plan, but are now being left out of the process, Grasty said.

It was suggested that maybe the whole plan be scrapped and everyone start over from scratch.

Grasty said a public meeting to discuss the plan is being held on June 15, and it’s important that the public be there to give their input.

•••
Judge Grasty asked Barb Cannady, who was in attendance, to address some misinformation she had posted on her blog.

Cannady had written, “Members of the Harney County Court have taken it upon themselves to identify all roads within the County, ‘whether two track trail or boulevard.’They began this process with the employment of Howard Palmer and former Judge Dale White to extract records from former Commissioner Journals. They are now reviewing all deeds of record for any justification of access roads.”

Grasty explained that it wasn’t the court that initiated the process, but rather the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association that had asked them to identify the road system. “And the court didn’t hire White or Palmer to do this,” Grasty said.

The court has asked people to take county maps, mark on them where roads are located and return them to the court to get an inventory of the county’s road system.

Grasty asked Cannady to post a clarification on her blog. Cannady asked Grasty if he wanted to write the clarification himself, and he said he would do so.

•••
In other business:

• the court voted to sign the Oregon Department of Transportation grant agreement that provides the funding for the Dial-A-Ride program;

• Teri Cain, director of the Harney County Commission on Children and Families, asked the court to sign contract renewals to continue state funding for ESD, CASA, Kids Club of Harney County and Training and Employment Consortium (TEC). The court agreed to sign the renewals;

• regarding the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program, Judge Grasty said that several Eastern Oregon counties had agreed to hire a lobbyist, and five of the six counties had contributed $15,000 while one, Harney County, contributed $10,000. Grasty said the county would be getting $1 million this year from PILT and suggested the county match the other counties’ contributions. Grasty said he would be in favor of putting in the extra $5,000 this year, but he doesn’t see any need to continue funding a lobbyist. “We’ve got NACo (National Association of Counties) and AOC (Association of Oregon Counties) working on this, so I don’t see a need to spend any money on it,” Grasty said. The court voted to give the additional $5,000 this year to match the other counties’ contributions;

• Tom Sharp, county emergency preparedness coordinator, presented the court with the final draft of the county’s Emergency Operations Plan for review. Sharp said the plan does meet state and federal requirements. He added that county emergency exercises were completed May 10-11 and an emergency management performance grant application had been submitted to Oregon Emergency Management (OEM). The court agreed to set June 25 as the date for National Incident Management and Incident Command System training;

• the court appointed Debra Raymond to the Harney County Library Advisory Board.

The next county court meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 6, at the courthouse.

Nichols wins commissioner race

By Jennifer Jenks
Burns Times-Herald

Dorothy Peterson and Donna Thomas will be vying for the position of justice of the peace in Harney  County in the November general election. Peterson received 769 votes in the primary election held Tuesday, May 15, and Thomas received 643.

The results for the other five justice of the peace candidates are as follows: David P. McDonald, 248, Valri Purdy, 65, Jon Burri, 192, Jennifer Jenks, 232, and Kelly Edmondson, 121. There were also 15 write-ins.

Dan Nichols won the primary for county commissioner, receiving 827 votes, with Herb Vloedman receiving 568. There were five write-in votes. On the Democrat ballots, Nichols received 115 write-in votes and Vloedman received 85.

There were no other contested Harney County positions.

Harney County had a 58.01 percent turnout for the primary, with 2,368 total ballots counted, 1,455 of those Republican, 598 Democrat and 315 non-partisan.

To view more election results, statewide and locally, visit: www.co.harney.or.us/current_election_results.html

Hopeful that bids go to locals

By Jennifer Jenks
Burns Times-Herald

Biomass will soon be available due to fuels management projects the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is currently working on. BLM District Forester John Reponen and District Wildlife Technician Nick Miller were in attendance at the May 2 Harney County Court meeting to update the court on the projects.

The BLM is currently working on several projects encompassing more than 50,000 acres in areas around Silver Creek, Emigrant, Silvies, Otis Mountain, Moffit, Slickear and Claw Creek.

Treatment of the areas will include prescribed burns, thinning, cut and pile and burn piles. Biomass will be available on a case by case basis, Miller explained. Reponen added that all biomass will be put up for contract, but some may not be easily accessible and will go unused. “It’s a waste to not try to use it,” Reponen said, “but the contractor has to be able to make money, too.” He added that he would prefer the bids go to local contractors.

Reponen told the court the BLM was working closely with landowners and permittees in the areas because of the prescribed burns and that none of the areas are in sage grouse habitat, although one of the units has leks just on the outside edge of the project area.

•••
The court received a request from the Department of State Lands (DSL) and landowner Tim Clemens to improve what is now a seasonally accessible road off Crane-Buchanan Road, called Lane 9, to be accessible year round.

Judge Steve Grasty explained the DSL partnered with Clemens to install several pivots on land Clemens owns to do sharecropping approximately two miles off Crane-Buchanan Road on Lane 9. Clemens and DSL stated in their respective letters that if the county would do the road improvements, Clemens and DSL would help with the costs and maintenance. The improvements would include building up the road and installing culverts.

“If Rye Grass Lane [which is what Lane 9 would run into if it kept going to Highway 78] was improved, it could open up quite a bit of land for development,” Grasty said. “There would be 60,000 to 70,000 acres opened up that we couldn’t otherwise get to most of the year.”

DSL and Clemens are only requesting for 2.8 miles of the road to be improved, and the county owns the right of way. Commissioner Dan Nichols noted that Penny Road is only four miles off Crane-Buchanan Road and suggested if they agreed to the road improvements, they should consider just extending it all the way to Penny Road to make it even more practical and accessible to landowners.

Grasty suggested the court take a trip out to look at the road and then make their decision, and the court agreed.

•••
Forest Supervisor Teresa Raaf and Emigrant Creek District Ranger Doug Jones were in attendance to update the court on the Forest Management Plan and the Travel Management Plan.

Raaf announced the Forest Service would be investing money on projects in Emigrant Creek Ranger District because of some Title II funding they received and that they would do their best to use local contractors for the projects.

Raaf said they would be creating a map to show open and closed roads in the forest, and Judge Grasty expressed concern that roads keep closing and the community can’t keep up with it. He said he hoped the Forest Service would involve the public more on decisions for future road closures.

In addition, Grasty told Raaf and Jones that he would like to see an ATV trail starting in Harney County and going through the BLM and Forest Service to connect with other trails. The trail could be maintained by ATV groups.

•••
In other court news:

• Representative Cliff Bentz was in attendance with a legislative update. Bentz spoke about everything accomplished in this year’s session and goals for next year. When asked if the court had any comments or suggestions for him, Judge Grasty told Bentz the county would like to buy the archive center for $1. “Let’s make use of that thing,” he urged. “It’s been sitting there unused for two decades.” Nichols said he would like to get the Department of Environmental Quality back here to reanalyze stream temperatures as the year they came and took this data was an abnormally warm year.

The court expressed other concerns, as well, including cuts to programs, regulations and better communication;

• Randall Lewis was appointed to the Harney County Mental Health Advisory Board on a recommendation from Symmetry Care;

• After much discussion, the court agreed to award the bid for the replacement phone system to CenturyLink for $44,338.74. Judge Grasty explained this was the highest bid they received, but he made the recommendation to accept this based on the entire package offered. CenturyLink was also the only bidder that was willing to remove and dispose of the old system. He said they have a good track record of local response to county problems and also will offer savings on their phone bill that will be significant over time;

The next Harney County Court meeting will be held today, May 16, at 10 a.m. in Judge Grasty’s office at the Harney County Courthouse, 420 N. Buena Vista Ave. in Burns.

Candidates for the justice of the peace position fielded questions from the public on a variety of topics on Tuesday, May 1. From left: Valri Purdy, Donna Thomas, Dorothy Peterson, David McDonald, Jon Burri, Kelly Edmondson and Jennifer Jenks. (Photo by RANDY PARKS)

Ballots need to be returned by 8 p.m. on May 15

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

More than 70 residents attended Candidates Night hosted by the Harney County Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, May 1, at the Community Center.

The event featured the candidates for county commissioner — Dan Nichols, the incumbent who has served several terms, and Herb Vloedman — as well as the seven justice of the peace (JOP) candidates — Kelly Edmondson, Jennifer Jenks, Dorothy Peterson, David McDonald, Donna Thomas, Valri Purdy and Jon Burri.

State Representative Cliff Bentz gave a brief talk at the beginning of the event, welcoming those in attendance and informing the audience about his re-election campaign. Bentz noted that he is running unopposed this year, which allows him more time to work on the issues rather than the campaign trail.

Opening statements by the commissioner candidates included some of their history and past public service.

There were no striking differences between the replies by the candidates to questions ranging from highway turnoffs to access to property.

Herb Vloedman (right) and Dan Nichols are vying for the Harney County commissioner position.

One audience member asked about the county court making the commissioner position full-time. “That’s news to me,” Nichols said. He said that the amount of time the job requires has tripled or quadrupled in recent years, and that he is putting in about 30 hours a week at the present time. He added that he’d like to put more time into the position as well as into spending with his family. “But no, we’re not discussing full time,” he said.

Vloedman stated that he’d been attending county court meetings for the past several months and hadn’t heard any discussion about making the position full time. “If it takes more time, I don’t disagree with looking into it,” Vloedman said.

In closing, the candidates agreed that Harney County and the people who live here are special and they would be honored to serve as commissioner.

The seven JOP candidates have varying backgrounds and different levels of work experience, but their answers to questions were pretty much in concurrence:

Q: “Who is your boss?”
A: The voters.
Q: “Hardest part of the job?”
A: Somebody’s not going to be happy with the decision.
Q: “If you had a concealed weapon permit, would you pack a gun into the courthouse?”
A: No, I don’t believe so.

In closing, the candidates stated if elected they would strive to do a good job for the citizens of Harney County.

Final EIS released by BLM

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Burns District announced the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the proposed expansion of a Celatom mine, located approximately 50 miles east of Burns and 60 miles west of Vale.

The Celatom Complex is a diatomaceous mine currently consisting of three open-pit mines called Beede Desert (on private land), Kelly Field (on BLM-administered land) and Section 36 (on state-administered land) in Harney and Malheur counties.

The FEIS analyzes proposed activities on BLM-administered land and cumulative effects from proposed activities on state-administered and private land, all within the project boundary.  Proposed activities include expanded mining operations, new mining operations, and exploratory drilling, development drilling, sampling, trenching and bulk sampling within the project boundary.

Interested parties may ask for Oregon State Director review of the decision or appeal the decision to the Office of Hearings and Appeals within 30 days of the Federal Register publication date, which was scheduled for May 4.   Compact disks containing the FEIS are available at the BLM Burns District Office.  The document is also available online at:
www.blm.gov/or/districts/burns/plans/index.php

For further information about the FEIS or to have your name added to the project mailing list, contact the Celatom Mine Expansion project lead at 541-573-4400.

City Manager Don Munkers reads letter at meeting

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

At the Burns City Council meeting on Wednesday, April 25, City Manager (CM) Don Munkers read aloud a letter he drafted regarding the decision by the City of Hines to terminate the contract between the two cities for police chief services.

Munkers’ letter read:

I have read, heard and seen many activities over the last month addressing the issue of the police chief contract between Burns and Hines.  While I do not believe in using the news media as a battleground, after all it is news media  not an avenue for implacable activities, I feel compelled to address this particular issue from the Burns side of the equation.

Burns did suggest three options that were listed in the last issue of the paper and proceeded to draft an agreement to provide police chief services to Hines based upon the third option. Six months and $8,000 in attorney fees later we signed an agreement with Hines that was drafted by Burns legal counsel and, according to Hines reviewed by its legal counsel. The liability and indemnification language included in the agreement was that language suggested by Hines. It is therefore difficult to understand why after three months into the contract an insurance and legal review by Hines found, in their words, “the liability and indemnification sections of the agreement confusing and potentially problematic.” They were after all their words as requested by them. In fact, the indemnification and liability sections as originally proposed by Burns were almost identical to the concept that Hines received from the insurance company three months after the contract initiation date. The very sections Hines requested Burns change.

In addition, and before the agreement was signed Hines was advised that it could not contract away its liability. In that light the words of Benjamin Franklin in his historical review of Pennsylvania come to mind, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

It has been said that the liability issue was “for both Burns and Hines.”  Burns accepted its liability as the cost of providing the best police service available for both communities. It therefore, had no issue with the agreement of the liability clause contained in the overall agreement.

It was stated, “Nothing has really changed except for the loss of a chief in Hines.” I respectfully disagree.

Burns will experience an increase in on-call time for officers of approximately 260 percent.
Burns has seen an increase in criminal activity from an average 6.8 incidents the first 15 weeks of this year to 17 incidents  in the last week. This suggests an awareness of the reduction in coverage for both cities.
Police coverage for both cities was at 258 man-hours per week. Burns now has 132 man-hours of coverage and Hines has 84 man-hours per week. Because there is not a bi-city coordinated schedule, Burns has dropped 126 man-hours of coverage and Hines has lost 174 man-hours of coverage.

The decreases described affect both cities, at a time of budget reduction concerns that could have been avoided. Once again, the citizens of each city suffer.

The reality is as I stated in a prior city council meeting, Hines lost three officers and Burns lost two because of the decision by Hines to cancel the agreement.

The relationship between the two cities is strained. One can only wonder if the cooperative relationship between the fire department and the public works department is next. The liability issue for fire or public works, when either city responds to the other, may not differ from the liability expressed with the police departments.

These are tough times that call for tough decisions that benefit the whole of the communities and county. It is necessary for all government entities to work together for economy of scale.   It is my understanding that there are individuals that are discussing the combining of the cities. I applaud those discussions; wish those persons success. For if these types of tough decisions are not made, neither city will survive in a manner the citizens of both deserve.   Over a long distance, you learn about the strength of your horse. Let us hope our horses are proven strong and willing to pull in the same direction.

Best Regards,
Don Munkers, city manager

•••
Councilor Laura Nichols reported they had received two bids for fencing around Washington Park, one from Mac Runnels in the amount of $12,747 and the other from Gerard LaBrecque in the amount of $9,566.73.

The council voted to accept the bid from LaBrecque pending budget review.

Nichols also stated that rubber curbing, shavings and mats will be installed in the swing-set area of the park.

•••
In other business:

• Tod Gahley, owner of A Parts Store, asked permission to close a portion of North Diamond next to his store for a special sales event on May 10. The council agreed to allow the request;

• CM Munkers stated that part of the cemetery plan was to replace the cyclone fence in front of the cemetery along Highway 20. Munkers said he will be drafting a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the fence and installation separately. He also was going to ask the county court to participate in the funding as it is a beautification project.

The next council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 9, at city hall.

Both races are contested, but just what do these jobs entail?

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

This year there are two contested races in the primary election for Harney County officials: Dan Nichols and Herb Vloedman are running for county commissioner, while seven are in the race for justice of the peace, including Kelly Edmondson, Jennifer Jenks, Dorothy Peterson, Donna Thomas, Dave McDonald, Valri Purdy and Jon Burri.

To get an idea of what each position entails, the Burns Times-Herald visited with Harney County Judge Steve Grasty and former Justice of the Peace Dewey Newton.

Grasty noted right off that elected officials don’t have job descriptions, and added that the county court is unique because it deals with all three branches of a governing body: legislative, judicial and administrative.

One of the main functions of the county court is the administration branch or running the business side of the county, including the appropriation of funds.

Per a decision made by an earlier county court, commissioners are paid one-third of the judge’s salary and that, along with all other elected positions, is reviewed by a citizens group on a regular basis.

Grasty said the court makes sure all state-mandated services are delivered, and they are available to citizens like no other elected officials in the state. The court also works to defend the county from state and federal decisions that would undo our culture and economics, Grasty said.

While all Oregon counties began with county courts, Harney County is one of only seven left with a court as the county’s governing body.

•••
Newton said that since misdemeanor crimes were moved to circuit court jurisdiction, justice court is now primarily a traffic court.

The justice of the peace also handles small claims cases, up to $7,500, landlord/tenant disputes and marriages.
Cases heard in justice court would include, but are not limited to, speeding and other traffic violations, weighmaster violations and possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

Newton said the duty of the justice of the peace is to listen to both sides of a case and make a determination based on the situation and interpretation of the statutes.

Commissioners don’t feel ONDA is listening to the community

By Jennifer Jenks
Burns Times-Herald

A challenge has been issued to representatives and board members of the Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) and the Audubon Society to drop the lawsuit against Secretary of State Ken Salazar and the Bureau of Land Management protesting the Record of Decision issued by Salazar regarding the Steens wind project and come talk to the Harney County community.

Harney County Judge Steve Grasty announced the challenge at last Wednesday’s meeting of the Harney County Court, adding, “We need to figure out the right strategy with the folks creating this and those directly impacted by it — landowners, the developer, the county.” They also need to come up with additional plans, depending on whether this strategy works or not, he said. Grasty spoke with representatives from both groups already to ask them if they had talked to anyone in the community and was told they had talked to the developer. “That’s not the community,” he said. “They just don’t get it.”

Commissioner Dan Nichols stated, from conversations he had with the groups, he felt that although to some degree they understand they are harming this community, they don’t understand the full impact. “They’re idealists and want to look 200 years in the future, and that doesn’t work,” he said. “People here have been using and working on the Steens for a hundred years, and it’s still beautiful. How do you talk to a brick wall?”

Commissioner Pete Runnels offered to talk to ONDA’s board, but Grasty said he had already tried that, and not only did hardly any of the board show up, but one of the members walked out in the middle of the meeting.

Frustration continued throughout the discussion, with Nichols expressing dismay at the inequality of the judicial process when it came to lawsuits by environmental groups and Grasty acknowledging he had received a call from a Steens landowner who is so sick of all of this, he wants to start selling off his property. Those landowners need some money coming in, he said, and this would have provided that. “One of the worst things we can do environmentally is start selling off blocks of land up there,” he stated emphatically, “and ONDA and Audubon are pushing landowners to this now.”

Vice President of Project Development and Construction Marl Kane with Columbia Energy Partners stopped by at the court’s invitation to explain that the transmission line that crosses a small part of the CMPA does not cross one inch of public land within the CMPA. Grasty noted the lawsuit makes the statement that the line cuts the CMPA in half, which, he said, was technically true, but that it does not violate the CMPA at all.

The court agreed that Grasty should push aggressively for a meeting with the groups and try to get them to drop the lawsuit so they can have a “real conversation.”

“Other environmental groups working with the CCP have come together to make things work,” Nichols said, “and some of them have called ONDA and told them, ‘Hey, back off, you’re making us all look bad.’ “

•••
The process has been started to map all the roads the county recognizes in an attempt to get ahead of conservationists trying to lock up 5,000-acre blocks that don’t have any roads by designating them wilderness areas. The goal of the project is not to declare these as county roads, Judge Grasty said, but merely to recognize all roads, access or otherwise, on public and private land.

Grasty said he thought the court should set a standard on where roadless areas start if they find one as it makes a dramatic difference depending on whether they start the boundaries in the middle of an outlying road or at the edge of the right of way.

The court decided to recruit help with the project by contacting other groups, such as the snowmobile club, to help hold meetings in outlying areas so residents can help with the mapping process.

•••
There was some discussion and explanation of a right of way transfer from The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) the county considered accepting. The right of way in question is off Highway 20 near the western limit of Hines. The right of way became an issue after a situation in which an ambulance on an emergency call had a hard time finding the access road and getting to a residence. There was a question as to why the road wasn’t named, and it was discovered that it had been built so ODOT could access a gravel pit, which can no longer be located. In order for the City of Hines to accept it as a road, they would have to maintain it at a huge cost to the city, and they decided against it.

Judge Grasty explained that the county can recognize it, not as a road, but as an access point, and won’t be required to maintain it at all. He said the landowners who live off the access point are in agreement with the decision. “My goal is simply to make sure there’s a sign on the road, and there’s no other maintenance costs,” he stated.

Herb Vloedman, in attendance, expressed concern that the road would not be maintained, noting that there was a lot of rutting on the road, and it would need to be bladed off in winter in order for the ambulance to use it. “That will be the next issue,” he said.

The resolution to accept the right of way passed unanimously.

•••
In other business:

• Harney County Planning Director Brandon McMullen reported both cities had signed the 2012 Silvies Watershed Risk MAP Partnership Agreement with FEMA. There was some discussion, and concerns were once again expressed, but in the end the court unanimously agreed to sign the agreement;

• Weed Control Coordinator Jesse Barnes discussed the Certification of Inspection fee schedule. Judge Grasty asked about liability if something was certified weed-free, to which Barnes explained it would be certified as “weed-inspected” not weed-free, and would be used for educational purposes. The fee schedule was somewhat instigated by the Bureau of Land Management, Barnes explained, so they could obtain certified material. She said Harney County is the first in the state to do this, and a standardized process was being worked on in case other counties wanted to get involved;

• Judge Grasty expressed support for the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, noting that it was the Corps of Engineers that wanted the Tern Island project done, and the refuge had no choice in the matter;

• Resolution #2012-05 in the Matter of a Wildlife Mitigation Plan that was approved at the last court meeting passed unanimously;

• the court appointed two producers, Bill Wilber and Ken Bentz Jr., two wolf advocates, Suzanne Settle and Herbert Gray, and Commissioner Nichols to the Wolf Plan Committee. The committee will meet next to select two business members for inclusion;

• Commissioner Nichols noted the Early Learning Council would be meeting in Harney County in May. He noted Harney County has a great model, which makes him wonder why no one east of the Cascades was appointed to the Early Learning Council;

• it was noted that ONDA was pushing for the certification of old growth groves of juniper. Dr. Tony Svejcar with the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service and others have identified areas of juniper that were in Harney County pre-settlement, and their study was backed by science. Judge Grasty urged the court to be proactive, name the old growth stands themselves and make sure those areas are protected.

The next Harney County Court meeting will be held Wednesday, May 2, at 10 a.m. in Judge Grasty’s office at the Harney County Courthouse, 420 N. Buena Vista Ave. in Burns. An additional work session was scheduled for Tuesday, May 1, beginning at 1 p.m.

Mayor Nikki Morgan provides summary of council decision

By Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

At the Hines Common Council meeting on April 10, two citizens asked that the council provide an explanation of the liability issues that led to the termination of the contract between Hines and Burns for police chief services.

In response to that request, Hines Mayor Nikki Morgan wrote:

This is a summarized statement of Hines’ position in ending the contract:

In May 2011, Hines contacted Burns about the police contract that had been in effect for several years, but had not been renewed annually, as it was designed to be. At that point, Burns indicated they preferred to not renew that arrangement and gave Hines three options to consider: (1) end the split police chief agreement and each city have their own chief; (2) one of the cities completely absorb the chief and all the officers; or (3) one city employ the chief and the other city contract for his supervisory services.

After more than six months of consideration, research and legal advice, Hines signed the contract for Burns to employ the chief on a full time basis, and Hines to contract only for his supervisory services for the Hines’ officers, effective January 1, 2012. Keeping the Hines officers was a decision made in response to Hines residents expressing a strong priority for maintaining a police force in Hines.

Both cities entered the agreement with good intentions. Following a review by the city’s insurance carrier’s attorneys, however, and according to our legal advisors:

Because of the way the contract was written, the liability and indemnification parts of the agreement were confusing and potentially problematic.

While the chief was directing/supervising Hines officers, (even though he was an “employee of Burns”, technically), he would have been an officer, and possibly an agent, for Hines. Under the law, public bodies are subject to civil action for acts of the body and those of its officers, employees, and agents acting within the scope of their employment or duties.

Accordingly, Hines would be responsible for liability arising out of the chief’s acts or omissions while he was directing Hines officers. Hines had contractually agreed to indemnify (insure) Burns against that risk, and Burns had agreed to protect Hines against that risk. With the indemnification applicable both ways, though, it potentially created a never-ending circle of blame and responsibility.

As to third party liability, such as, for example, a civil rights violation related to the Burns chief’s acts in his capacity as the Hines chief, and/or directing Hines officers, Hines could be sued and could be liable. Hines could have asked Burns to protect them from the harm, as the contract provided, but if Burns then argued that their employee was acting on behalf of Hines at the time of the incident, it could have triggered the circular argument that Hines had to indemnify Burns.

Unfortunately, the mutual aid agreement was included in the services contract, and must end on June 30, but that does not mean that officers will not be backing up each other. Local law enforcement has historically provided inter-agency backup, without written agreements. Hines plans to continue that support.

County Judge states ‘I’m of the opinion that we be as aggressive as we can’

By Jennifer Jenks
Burns Times-Herald

The public hearing process, exaggerations and private property were some of the topics that came up when the Harney County Court discussed the litigation filed by the Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) and the Audubon Society against the Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on the North Steens Transmission Line Project.

Judge Steve Grasty told the court he had had considerable conversation with legal counsel of all parties involved on the defendants’ side of the suit and suggested they meet to discuss legal strategy. “I’m of the opinion that we be as aggressive as we can,” he said.

Commissioner Dan Nichols expressed concern for the rights of the landowners, stating they should be able to continue in their business enterprises, according to the Cooperative Management Plan Agreement (CMPA). “That’s more important than anything else,” he commented.

The lawsuit is full of exaggerations at a minimum, Grasty said, and maybe even worse. “Not one of these folks were with these organizations when the CMPA was written,” he stated.

One of the landowners involved in the wind project, Charlie Otley, was in attendance and expressed frustration over the different treatment of projects on public lands versus private property. He noted that no public hearings were held about the island that was put in on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, and that gravel pits were put in up on the Steens with no hearings, as well.

Grasty concurred, noting the refuge was able to put an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) together in less than 30 days for their island project, yet it took the county two and a half years and many studies to get their EIS done for the Steens project.

Nichols noted he had looked into the issue and, from what he understood, the project was compatible within that agency’s guidelines, and that was why there were no public meetings or comment periods.

•••
The court decided to wait to sign the 2012 Silvies Watershed Risk MAP Partnership Agreement with FEMA to see if both cities are on board first.

Commissioner Nichols urged any residents who have had any work done on their homes that includes a survey and elevation data, to get that information to the planning department so they can, in turn, get it to DOGAMI, the company FEMA hired to update the flood maps.

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After lengthy discussion, the court adopted the final Wildlife and Habitat Mitigation Plan for the Echanis Wind Project and will prepare a resolution for the next county court meeting.

The plan states specific mitigation sites must be identified within six months, and Columbia Energy Partners (CEP) needs to clearly identify what they are doing and where they are doing it and provide that information to the court.

“This is a voluntary action by CEP,” Judge Grasty stated, “to let Harney County impose additional mitigation practices on them.”

The court recognized the comments from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and thanked them for their participation.

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In other business:

• Larry Hammond was in attendance and expressed concern that the court was trying to limit public comments. Judge Grasty explained the court was concerned about being able to get through all their business during the meetings when they were constantly being interrupted by the public. He noted they were going to have to schedule one or two work sessions this month as it was just to go over everything they haven’t had time to cover in their regular meetings. This was the reason the court reminded the public to limit their comments to the specified public comment period on the meeting agenda. “We are certainly not trying to shut down public comment or opinion,” Commissioner Nichols added;

• Harney County Weed Coordinator Jesse Barnes explained the ordinance regarding transporting hay with noxious weeds and cleaning haying equipment. Machinery must be cleaned thoroughly before being moved to another pasture if it has been in an area infected with noxious weeds. All hay, straw, etc., coming from a noxious-weed-infested area may not be moved unless reasonable efforts have been made to contain it, such as tarping. Anyone with questions about the ordinance can contact Barnes at 541-573-8385;

• the court awarded the bid for the purchase of new general ledger software to Tyler Technology Inc. for $30,823. Judge Grasty explained the current system is 30 years old and badly in need of an update. They are hoping to get the system set up sometime in January and be completely converted to the new system by June 2013;

• bids for a new telephone system were opened. The court received six bids. Judge Grasty will review the bids and come back to the court with a recommendation;

• The court signed and adopted Resolution #2012-04 In the Matter of Supporting Proposed Federal Forests County Revenue, Schools and Jobs Act of 2012.

The next Harney County Court meeting will be held today, April 18, at 10 a.m. in Judge Grasty’s office at the Harney County Courthouse, 420 N. Buena Vista Ave. in Burns.