9 July 08 BOCC Board Meeting – Assistant County Manager, Nicole Williams, brought to the Board’s attention that it had inadvertently appointed three applicants who live within incorporated cities to the Planning Commission. The county code allows only two city residents to serve at the same time. Tod Lundy of Astoria, one of the two most recently appointed, indicated to Williams that he was receptive to using the address of the home he owns in Arch Cape as his legal residence to meet the planning commission residency requirement. If he is agreeable to the solution the commissioners also agreed to it however if he chooses not to serve it was suggested that when advertising for the open position that it should be mentioned that emphasis on candidates from the unincorporated areas of district three would be given priority consideration as all other districts had representation on the Board.
The Board approved the sale of plot of land to Lynda Lee that had been put to auction in 2001. Lee had made a bid on it back then, however, the bid amount at that time did not meet the requirements. Subsequently after Richard Lee became a commissioner he was not allowed to purchase County lands, per law. Now that Lee is no longer a commissioner his wife, Lynda Lee, was free to purchase the property. The parcel of land is surrounded on three sides by Lee’s property and has a dike on the fourth side which Lee has been maintaining with his own money.
Clatsop County Human Resources Director Dean Perez, Emergency Services Coordinator Gene Strong and Chief Deputy Paul Williams updated the Board on the proposal for siting the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at Camp Rilea Training Center. The Oregon National Guard is receptive to the project, according to Perez, and is making upgrades to the facilities that will lower the county’s costs for the project which are estimated to be approximately $169,000.
Perez told the Board that the state recognized that the coast was particularly vulnerable to power and communication outages during storms and that the county’s EOC project could be looked at as a model for other coastal communities. Perez stated that staff should have a detailed budget and an intergovernmental agreement ready for the Board to review next month. Strong told the Board that Warrior Hall at Camp Rilea is where the communications center is proposed to be housed. With one centralized place for equipment to be kept touchy electronics would not have to be constantly packed and unpacked, actions which usually guaranteed some vital and costly component getting broke. The hall will provide adequate space for the equipment and provide a separate media briefing room. Commissioner Hazen encouraged the project, voicing his support that the project be treated as an immediate concern for the area. Williams said that the Sheriff’s Department will have $100,000 available for the EOC project.
An Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) was approved by the Board with the city of Warrenton regarding property in the county-owned North Coast Business Park. The city of Warrenton had attached several conditions to a zone change which had been approved for the purchaser, Atlin Investments, Inc. Warrenton’s conditions included wording that required the county to hold Warrenton harmless for third party purchases of the property and required the county to provide public improvements as they were deemed necessary by the City of Warrenton, which included a new fire station and equipment. Assistant County Manager, Nicole Williams, noted for the Board that the language had been changed so that the fire station and equipment would not be required. According to Williams the city agreed to use language that would clearly spell out that the remaining condition merely protects the city from third party claims dealing with the sale of the property. Roberts and Patrick wondered if there was a way to ensure that the issue of a fire department did not arise again but it was decided that it could not be written into the current IGA and would have to be handled if the conditional language arose again in the future. The Board approved the agreement with a 3-0 vote with Commissioner Raichl absent and Commissioner Hazen abstaining from the vote (Hazen’s employer Costco is a development partner at North Coast Business Park).
Williams brought to the Boards attention that annual dues in the amount of $8,500 for the Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association were due. Samuelson reminded the Board that fisheries needed the backing of the County with the proposals of marine reserves off the coast and continued restrictions on fishing. The Board felt it was necessary to take part in the association, but weren’t sure who would have the time to make the two day long, monthly meetings. It was purposed that teleconferencing or speaker phone conferences may be possible. Williams said the board would have the information regarding the details of joining the organization at the next regular meeting.
Commissioner Sam Patrick requested that the board hold a work session with members of the Westport Water District and Wauna regarding the use of money from a Georgia-Pacific tax penalty payment to the county. Patrick said needed improvements in the east-county area include the replacement of a dam for the Westport water association, and in-stream work on Plympton Creek to reduce the threat of flooding, which damaged several homes last year. He asked that the session be scheduled prior to the board’s next regular meeting suggesting that perhaps the water districts of Westport, Taylorville and Wauna could in some way be combined.
The commissioners also approved the consent calendar, which included the following items: – Board of Commissioners meeting minutes for May 28, June 10 and June 11, 2008, and Planning Commission meeting minutes for May 13, 2008; – A contract with iFOCUS Consulting for website administration for 2008-09; – An amendment to the road-striping agreement with Benton County; – A construction contract for paving the John Day County Park parking lot; – Public Health Services Agreement #124823 for 2008-09; – Intergovernmental Agreement for Medicaid Administration for 2008-09.
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