Official minutes available once approved by board
Storage land-use amendment
The board
adopted an ordinance amending county land-use rules to allow emergency storage
shelters on forest-zoned lands. The amendment accommodates a project of the
City of Cannon Beach, which plans to install metal storage containers for use
by residents to store emergency supplies for use following a tsunami or other
disaster. Current land-use rules do not allow the structures in forest-zoned
land.
Hellberg Award presentation
The board
recognized former Public Health staff members Belinda Kruger and Christie
Larson for their service to Clatsop County with the Katherine Hellberg
Distinguished Service Award. Kruger, who joined the county in 1977, headed the
department’s family-planning and reproductive health services, while Larson,
who joined in 1981, led the communicable disease office.
The
Hellberg Award is named for former Public Health Director Katherine “Kay”
Hellberg, and recognizes Clatsop County employees “whose careers and actions
demonstrate a commitment to the highest ideals and values of public service.”
Ethics claim reimbursement
The board
adopted a policy authorizing the county to pay for the legal costs of defending
claims against county commissioners and members of county boards and committees
brought before the Oregon Government Ethics Commission.
The county’s
insurance provider, Citycounty Insurance Services, pays a maximum of $2,500
toward the cost of defending individual Ethics Commission complaints. Costs
above that amount have been the responsibility of the individual subject to the
claim. Under the new policy the county could cover costs above the insurance
coverage.
The policy
allows reimbursement only if the individual subject to the complaint acted “in
good faith and in the course of his or her official duties” and “did not act
contrary to the advice of legal counsel,” and if the subject is ultimately
exonerated by the ethics commission. The policy gives discretion to the board
of commissioners to determine if and how much the county will contribute to
defense costs.
Counsel services contracts
The board
directed staff to renew contracts with four attorneys and legal firms providing
legal counsel to the county.
All current
legal counsel contracts expire June 30, and in March the board directed staff
to seek proposals for legal counsel. Four of the firms that currently provide
counsel submitted proposals.
The firms
and areas of focus the new contracts will cover are Heather Reynolds – general
counsel; Bullard Law – labor counsel; Jordan Ramis PC – land use and Supreme
Court and Court of Appeals issues; and Beery Elsner and Hammond LLC – general
counsel, land use and hearings officer services.
Community College presentation
The board
heard a presentation from Clatsop Community College President Larry Galizio,
who spoke of the college’s efforts to maintain programs in the face of
declining state support, which now accounts for only 10 percent of the
college’s revenue. Pending action this year by the Oregon Legislature, the
college is weighing a campaign to win support for the development of a Health
and Wellness Center in partnership with Columbia Memorial Hospital and the City
of Astoria.
Recreation map introduction
Steven
Blakesley, health promotion specialist with the Clatsop County Public Health
Department, introduced the new NW Coast Trail Map and Guide developed by the
local Community Health Advocacy and Resource Team. The map compiles information
from multiple sources to show all local hiking, biking, paddling, equestrian
and wildlife viewing sites.
Other Business
In other
business the board:
-Approved a
new lease agreement with the City of Astoria for use of the pier and adjoining
property at the city-owned Astoria Yacht Club on Youngs Bay for the county’s
Fisheries Project net-pen salmon-rearing program. Under the agreement the
county will pay for routine maintenance and repair of the pier in lieu of rent
payments.
-Approved
an amendment to the contract between the county Juvenile Department and Oregon
Youth Authority increasing the number of beds available to youth under OYA
supervision in the county’s Youth Care Center at the Youngs Bay Juvenile
Detention Center from three to eight.
-Approved a
request to allow the county to continue to administer outside funds disbursed
through the Commission on Children and Families on an interim basis as the
state’s CCF program is phased out and replaced by the new Early Learning
Council.
-Appointed
Doug Harrod to the Human Services Advisory Council.
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