[0:01] It's Wednesday, September 2nd, at 9 a.m., what would you leave us in the pleasurable regions?

[0:12] The legal supply of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands when

[0:19] ladies shun our God and into the assault with the liberty and justice for all.

[0:24] And this morning we have Chris Cookston from Prime Vogue Community Church for our morning prayer.

[0:28] It come on up, will we pass on the mic?

[0:37] I just have to say this, this looks very familiar, everyone's in the back.

[0:45] Let's put together and my friend this morning just reminded me of the hopefulness that

[0:51] we have of rain.

[0:52] So let's ask the Lord to bring rain to our community as well.

[0:56] Our gracious Father in heaven, you alone are God.

[1:00] You alone are all powerful.

[1:03] You alone are holy.

[1:04] We thank you for sending your only begotten son, the Lord Jesus, into this world to rescue

[1:12] us from our sins and from ourselves.

[1:15] We thank you so much for Crick County.

[1:17] I thank you for every individual who is here today.

[1:20] We thank you for our County Manager and these commissioners and the others who labor diligently

[1:25] to serve the community.

[1:28] I thank you for every citizen here.

[1:29] They care enough to be here, and I pray that you give us all wisdom this morning for this meeting.

[1:38] We pray, Father, that you would protect and make just goodness in the lives of all of our first responders,

[1:46] Prando PD, Craig County Sheriff's Department, Craig County Fire.

[1:50] And Father, lastly, we ask that you bring rain.

[1:53] We praise you for stopping the fires, and we pray that you bring us a very, very good rain.

[1:58] We need it Lord. And so we look to you the God of creation and we ask Father that you would bless us this day in Jesus's name. Amen

[2:20] Like there's a couple seats back there if you want to follow the herd

[2:25] You got to stand out there

[2:28] All right

[2:29] We'll kick it off with public comment anybody in the crowd have any public comment

[2:34] So I would like to bring up that we are going to be talking about the horse racing thing and if we could have that public comment go with that section.

[2:45] Sure, so you're just saying you would like.

[2:47] I think there's people that would like to speak about it and I would like to have them speak during that period of time.

[2:54] That's okay with you.

[2:55] Yeah, Mr. Chair.

[2:57] Yeah.

[2:57] Otherwise, I'll kick you.

[2:58] No, I won't.

[2:59] Okay.

[3:00] Thank you.

[3:01] Anybody online?

[3:02] Have anything they want to weigh in on?

[3:10] Okay.

[3:11] We'll move on to our consent agenda.

[3:17] Is there any.

[3:19] Can you entertain a motion?

[3:21] I make a motion to accept the consent agenda as presented.

[3:25] No second.

[3:26] Any discussion?

[3:27] No discussion.

[3:28] All those in favor?

[3:29] I'm Ray Kaye.

[3:30] Properly.

[3:31] Morning, aye.

[3:32] All right.

[3:33] Kim, you're up.

[3:35] Very exciting month.

[3:40] I have that to read.

[3:46] Good morning, commissioners.

[3:47] For the record, Kim Veils, Library Manager.

[3:52] This month we'd like to have a proclamation for library card sign-up month.

[3:58] With a library card, you can do more than checkout books.

[4:01] from free classes and job resources to homework help streaming media and cultural events.

[4:08] Today's libraries connect communities to information, inspiration, and each other.

[4:14] An initiative of the American Library Association.

[4:17] Library Card Sign-up Month has been held each September since 1987 to mark the beginning of the school year.

[4:24] Combat illiteracy and encourage communities everywhere to explore all the offerings

[4:28] that having a library card unlocks.

[4:31] Today, thousands of public libraries and schools nationwide

[4:34] participate in the month-long celebration each fall.

[4:38] This year's theme, a library card hits all the right notes

[4:41] as a reminder that libraries offer something for everyone,

[4:44] no matter your age, background, or goals.

[4:48] Whether you're checking out a classic story

[4:49] or trying something new, finding harmony at the library's programs,

[4:54] finding your focus in a study room

[4:55] or vibing out Nicosi Nook or composing your future with new skills, there's a front row

[5:01] seat at the library for you and your library card is the ticket.

[5:06] So we'd like to ask that you make September National Library Card Sign-up Month here

[5:11] in Crick County.

[5:13] Sounds like a great idea.

[5:16] I will now read a proclamation declaring September 2026 to be Library Card Sign-up Month,

[5:22] Whereas libraries are foundational to education, imagination, and opportunity offering everything

[5:31] from early literacy programs to digital tools that support lifelong learning and personal

[5:38] growth.

[5:39] Whereas libraries welcome all people serving as inclusive and accessible community hubs that

[5:46] Connect individuals across cultures, generations, and experiences, whereas libraries curate collections and design programs that reflect the diversity of the population they serve ensuring equitable access to information technology and culture for all.

[6:04] whereas libraries help individuals navigate life challenges by providing trusted information,

[6:11] digital access, job search, support, and connections to essential services, whereas libraries contribute

[6:18] to a thriving local economy by equipping job seekers, entrepreneurs, students, and creators with

[6:27] tools and trainings to succeed, whereas in times of both crisis and calm libraries and their staff

[6:34] remain steadfast in supporting and strengthening their communities, whereas library resources help households save money, reduce waste, and make sustainable choices all through the simple power of shared public good.

[6:49] Whereas a library card offers a front row seat to everything the library offers from books to technology to lifelong learning and imagination.

[6:59] where as libraries, librarians, and library workers across the county

[7:03] country are joining together to celebrate library card sign-up month

[7:09] under the theme, a library card hits all the right notes.

[7:15] Now therefore, be it resolved that the Crook County Board of Commissioners

[7:20] does hereby proclaim September 2026 as library card sign-up month in Crook County

[7:26] We encourage all residents to be sharp and sign up for the library card.

[7:36] You come on down.

[7:38] We have a swag bag that you can get if you get a library card.

[7:42] We also have-

[7:43] What if I already have one?

[7:44] Can I just show my card and get the swag bag?

[7:46] Yes.

[7:47] Okay.

[7:48] I'll let you.

[7:50] And then we have a big, I was going to bring it, a big library card that you're going to

[7:55] get your picture taken with and we're trying to reach a goal of 125 sign-ups.

[8:00] How many current library card holders do you have? Do you know that kid?

[8:04] Oh boy. Yes.

[8:08] Okay. I want to say 3,500.

[8:12] Wow. Strong. We'd like to get a lot more though.

[8:16] Yeah.

[8:16] So.

[8:17] And for the last several days I have been at the library quite a bit and I want to

[8:23] thank the library not just for their books, but for your compassion and your helping or citizens

[8:29] and everything that you do. And also even the atmosphere there. It's just a very nice place to be.

[8:35] Thank you. I want to try and and I want to thank you for I know you did a special project for someone

[8:40] for me and that was very beyond the call of duty. Thank you. You're welcome. We do something like that

[8:46] all the time. Thank you. All right. Do we need emotion? I guess to adopt

[8:52] this, uh, this, uh, proclamation? Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay. Are you ready, Brian? I'm ready.

[9:03] Do you want to make it or not? I think I think you need to make the proclamation. Oh, I make a motion to

[9:09] approve the proclamation declaring September 2026 to be library card month sign up.

[9:22] And I very

[9:22] All those, all those in favor?

[9:24] No, we're okay.

[9:25] Prof. Dye, learning, aye.

[9:27] Thank you very much.

[9:34] All right, Susie.

[9:36] Well, I'm Mona.

[9:37] What would you say?

[9:38] I'm not quite sure why I'm presented because.

[9:41] Well, she's not, you're not,

[9:42] Mona, the presenter.

[9:43] You're the requester.

[9:46] Yes.

[9:46] Oh, yeah.

[9:47] Your number two, Mona.

[9:49] Well, really number one.

[9:51] Yes, you're all number one.

[9:53] Good

[10:02] morning.

[10:03] Morning.

[10:05] I'm really out of my wheelhouse, so here we go.

[10:09] I'm here to represent the 25th anniversary of the 9-11 Memorial

[10:15] display that my husband and I, excuse me,

[10:20] that we put up every year here in prime bill.

[10:23] This is actually our 50 year that we're doing this.

[10:26] It's the third year that we'll have it here at the town

[10:28] Plaza and on the courthouse lawn.

[10:33] First of all, I'd like to thank, or mention, best

[10:38] short here of Ladybug Creations in Lakeview every year. She makes shirts for us so we can

[10:46] wear it during the display. So she does a really nice dog. We appreciate that.

[10:55] I should

[10:58] It's a community opportunity to remember, honor,

[11:02] and reflect, especially this year,

[11:06] being the 25th anniversary.

[11:08] It's so important that we don't forget

[11:11] about what happened to us on our land

[11:15] and those lives that were lost because of it.

[11:19] We honor, remember, those who lost their lives

[11:22] on September 11th, 2001.

[11:24] one, we recognize the first responders and military personnel who served in the aftermath.

[11:31] We reflect on the events that changed our nation literally, and we bring our community

[11:37] together in remembrance.

[11:41] A side note that one of the pleasures and blessings that we get is listening to people's

[11:48] stories.

[11:53] They're very personal. Everybody knows exactly where they were that day and what

[11:59] they were doing and what they experienced. It doesn't matter if you were in our country

[12:05] or not, if you're American, you felt it. So we had two firefighters from New York that were

[12:14] firefighters then and now. And they came last year. They were here visiting

[12:19] friends. It probably took them over an hour to go through our display. It was so

[12:24] emotionally draining for them, but they were so glad to be a part of it and to

[12:30] see that there's somebody out there doing what we do. So we were all in tears. It

[12:37] It was nice though, it was very emotional.

[12:42] The event information, like I said, it's at the town plaza right beside this building,

[12:49] and when we place 2,977 flags in the courthouse lawn, which you've graciously allowed us to

[12:57] do, we appreciate that.

[12:59] We illuminate everything so that at night it's all lit up and it's quite beautiful at night.

[13:05] You have the opportunity to come by then, it's worth seeing.

[13:12] It's throughout the event, like I said, it's 24 hours a day.

[13:17] We have night security, family members, and Roland and I are there every day.

[13:24] So it's interesting to watch the cars drive by and then slow down and then turn around and park

[13:33] and just to even take pictures, especially of the flags and our beautiful courthouse, it's quite impressive.

[13:42] We'll begin setting up Thursday, the 10th, approximately 8 o'clock, and we have civic organizations help us with that,

[13:51] and we're very pleased about that.

[13:55] We don't open that up generally to the public to help because it's our personal property,

[14:00] and so we like to make sure that it's well taken care of at the time.

[14:09] We will be tearing down the event on Sunday the 13th at 3pm

[14:15] and it usually takes us four to five hours to tear everything down

[14:21] and we have the same or different civic organizations that help us with that.

[14:27] The NJROTC is really awesome to come and help with that tear down.

[14:33] And we really appreciate them.

[14:36] This whole thing is a community effort.

[14:40] Obviously, we have your blessing from the Board of Commissioners.

[14:46] The City of Primeville, Primeville Police Department,

[14:50] Kirk County Sheriff's Office, Kirk County Fire and Rescue,

[14:53] Kirk County Search and Rescue,

[14:55] you, local civic organizations and community volunteers.

[15:00] The police and fire, police fire and sheriff's office graciously bring over a vehicle. At least for 9-11, they keep them up all day long. The fire department comes over for about an hour due to their schedules. So we appreciate that.

[15:22] It helps draw attention.

[15:25] When we're going 25 years later, the 25th anniversary memorial display is an opportunity for

[15:32] our community to pause, reflect, and honor the lives and sacrifices connected with 9-11.

[15:40] This originally was designed, created, and made by Chuck Poe out of Lakeview.

[15:48] he was a deputy sheriff at the time. He was a very close friend of ours. It was his image

[15:55] and he created it and we are very blessed to be able to carry on his vision. He passed away

[16:05] six years ago on his 65th birthday and so we have under one of our canopies we have a display

[16:12] specifically for him in his honor.

[16:23] I think that's all I have to say. If there's any questions

[16:26] No, just I just want to make sure you still have people watching it at night so that there's

[16:33] not nobody can come and analyze it or anything like that I really appreciate you guys doing that.

[16:39] Yeah, we have actually this year I had two of my brothers two out of five.

[16:46] Two have come over and they're staying at our place and sipping during the day so they can

[16:52] be out all night and watch it. Perfect. We've only had no problem and the police department

[16:57] is wonderful. They drive by a few times. State police, they always drive by and shine

[17:03] their light in and let us know they're there. So. Perfect. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, thank

[17:08] you so much for doing this. Thank you very much. And thank you for a nice presentation

[17:12] to do. Well, thank you. Good job. And thanks to Brianna. This is a very nice presentation.

[17:18] I appreciate you.

[17:21] I appreciate you.

[17:22] Thank you.

[17:23] I don't think so.

[17:27] Motion to approve this or anything.

[17:29] We've already agreed to it.

[17:32] Okay.

[17:34] Now you're the presenter and requester.

[17:36] No, I am the presenter.

[17:38] So, so back with the legislature last year.

[17:42] They passed at the very last moment.

[17:44] an authorization on the Christmas tree bill of $5 million that went to grant Josephine Union

[17:51] crook and I say Union County is already I'm not sure. Yeah. Anyway and so obviously we were very

[18:02] excited a million dollars to a fair that doesn't have a lot of money and needs a lot of infrastructure

[18:07] things so it ended up being a very interesting grant and we first met with

[18:15] Crooked River who is our entity that runs on horse races to kind of see where

[18:19] we were at what we thought we wanted to do and I'm not going to lie I wanted

[18:24] restrooms and I think the rodeo people here can attest to that and so it became very

[18:29] evident that we needed to find more information and so Doug very graciously put

[18:34] in contact with Connie Wynn, who is our executive racing council director executive director of the Oregon Racing Commission.

[18:46] Okay, and that was when we found some even more interesting things because on section three paragraph A, it says no restrooms, no bridges, no whatever, there's no administrative fees written into this grant at all.

[19:01] There is a thing that says solely for horse safety.

[19:06] So if you look at the packet, I put kind of a popery of the information that we've received

[19:10] on it.

[19:12] All the counties except Union and Crook have accepted the grant.

[19:17] Josephine did something interesting is that they put in an addendum that they are going

[19:22] to build restrooms.

[19:24] With the grant we were told that the grant could not be changed by any means and that it

[19:29] would have a legislative punishment if we did.

[19:33] So I find that Josephine, I concluded that in here.

[19:36] I find that a very interesting thing.

[19:38] We have a list of the projects

[19:41] that Crooked River has suggested.

[19:45] And even Crooked River, if you look here on this,

[19:49] some of the things that they suggested

[19:51] are not what we consider for horse safety.

[19:55] One of those was, well, painting the rail, that makes sense, obviously a starting gate

[20:01] obviously makes sense, but like in real storage and the paramutual building, I was very

[20:07] surprised to see that they weren't affirmative on that.

[20:10] So there's quite a lot of aspects to this grant.

[20:14] And through the meetings with Connie, we understood that we needed to get a hold of this cat wall

[20:19] care from Department of Administrative Services which we had two meetings with her and the

[20:28] first meeting she wasn't even really sure about the grant and from there we kind of

[20:32] discussed more things and so it became very evident and I'm going to use a water truck

[20:39] for example. If Kirk County were to take this grant and the County were to buy this water

[20:46] truck, we would have to ensure it, we would own it whatever, but it would only be able

[20:51] to be used for the five days of the racing. That was what was said, administrative services.

[20:57] If we built a barn, it would have to be chained up. And so it became very interesting the way

[21:06] this grant had come down. If we were to charge administrative services, we were to come

[21:11] up with a reasonable amount that we thought we could charge. No percentage was ever given out.

[21:18] So here we are with this grant and God knows I don't want to give up a million dollars because

[21:25] a million dollars is a lot but there is a lot of, I don't know how to say it, there's a lot of

[21:31] fingers in this pie, a lot of strings and the fact that we do have the crooked river, they are

[21:39] our private entity. They do come in and run this. We are in a unique situation that we could be

[21:46] like Union County and I just talked to Matt Scarfow at Union and they are going to go for a

[21:52] legislative where they're going to ask to alter the grant to be placed not on their fairgrounds

[21:59] but on the place where they actually run the races which is Eastern Oregon probably know.

[22:05] And in our case, I feel that we would be best served by having our private entity, Crook

[22:12] and River manage and run this grant.

[22:16] There's four times a year reporting that has to be done.

[22:20] And so there's just a lot of, like you say, strings attached to this grant and how do we

[22:26] as a county manage it.

[22:28] One of the things that was interesting was purses.

[22:31] So if you look at the list that Doug has done, they want purses 80,000 a year for three years, which is $240,000 of it.

[22:42] I have a problem with, what do I want to say, not encouraging, but in a way it's the county promoting gambling.

[22:51] And so in this packet, you will also see where Coney has written out why they feel that

[22:58] by adding money for purses, it actually increases the safety of the horses.

[23:04] I'm not exactly sure that I follow her reasoning, but this is what has come down from the racing

[23:09] council so that it says why we could also be able to use it for purses.

[23:15] and Doug, do you want to come up and say anything as far as your basis of the crooked river and us kind of together?

[23:25] You've got to get up and give us your address and all of that stuff.

[23:29] Have I covered it good? There's a lot of factors to this grant. It's so unusual.

[23:35] Well, the record dug snuff cook of the roundup.

[23:42] So there's some mistrus and misconceptions that have been in this hall along.

[23:50] First of all, the money was awarded based on the fact that in the 20, 25 legislative session,

[24:01] There was a grand bargain reached, and the racing industry agreed not to stand in the

[24:12] way of a bill that eliminated wagering on Greyhounds and Oregon.

[24:18] Now, there hasn't been Greyhound racing in Oregon for many, many years.

[24:22] It's illegal to race Greyhounds and Oregon, but the hub which funds most of the horse racing

[24:30] in Oregon as a computer to bank out by the Portland airport in Portland.

[24:36] And what happened was they passed a law in 2025 that eliminated wagering in that hub.

[24:45] So if somebody in Kentucky bets on a horse in Singapore or a dog in Singapore, that bet

[24:51] was placed in Portland.

[24:53] And the tax on it is about a quarter of a percent.

[24:56] But that money split two-thirds to the association to the racing commission to promote racing

[25:05] and one-third to the general fund of the state of Oregon.

[25:11] They eliminated that, which eliminated about $800,000 a year of revenue for the racing entities,

[25:22] which there are five of us in Oregon.

[25:25] As part of that bargain they had agreed to provide some funding to replace that money from the lottery.

[25:34] In the short session last year that bill made it through committee, got two ways and means and the person that was involved in that grand bargain re-nig done what he wanted to do.

[25:50] So, at the end of the legislative session, there was a big push to come up with about $385 million to fund the notice and a remodel.

[26:03] Were Democrats and Republicans stood up and said, you're going to do something for rural Aryan, and that's where the million dollars came from.

[26:14] And it was done at the last minute on the last day of the legislature just before they

[26:23] did their send-by.

[26:24] So that's where the money came from.

[26:27] It was dedicated to racetrack safety.

[26:31] Every one of the other counties is going to use, so we don't rule or now have lost the 800,000

[26:40] a year that was funding part of the purses.

[26:45] So all the other tracks were advised early on in the process to set aside some of the money

[26:52] for purses, and that's where our purses came from.

[26:55] The other thing I want to caution you about is talking about how you don't want to promote

[27:01] gambling, but you love spending the lottery money.

[27:05] And I will tell you that our little four day race track has a lot fewer problem gamblers

[27:12] at it than the probably you see in a video lottery room on a daily basis.

[27:20] We are not a big gambling deal.

[27:23] The average patron that our track spends about $25 a day, right?

[27:30] I mean, it's it's smog potatoes and it's four days a year and we want to keep it that way.

[27:34] we don't intend to change it. We're not promoting gambling, we're promoting

[27:39] Primal, we're promoting our community, and we're promoting the fact that Primal

[27:46] has grown now to be the largest racetrack in the state of Oregon. We had a

[27:51] more money, more money in our handle in four days and grants passed as in their

[27:55] or 10-day thigh meat, or their seven-day summer meat, or double what stomach handles, probably

[28:05] five times what they handle in union.

[28:09] And it was interesting to see through this that the only entity that couldn't come up

[28:14] with an agreement with the racing entity was Kirk County.

[28:20] Okay, all the others had no problem.

[28:22] They didn't need to change the wording of the law.

[28:26] I know that legal counsel for your board called every legal counsel in the other places

[28:33] because I'm connected enough that I was getting that feedback as we were talking about

[28:37] it.

[28:38] And they were laughing at us because we're the ones that are telling that they're calling

[28:44] me asking me for ideas on how to spend their money.

[28:47] And yet we have people calling them trying to change what the money is for.

[28:54] And, you know, we have serious, and I brought a picture of the corner of a racetrack.

[29:01] And if you've ever been to the Cricket River Roundup, you can watch the horses run around

[29:05] the South corner and almost every race they try to blow that corner.

[29:09] The number one thing on my list to fix is to redo that corner so a horse can actually run

[29:15] around it. What happens now is the inside horse runs straight and carries all the other

[29:20] horses wide on that corner, every time they go around it. And it's a danger.

[29:28] What I

[29:28] would have loved to have seen was Cook County take the same loading, type of the grant,

[29:35] take the same loading.

[29:38] In the original note from DAS, they said either the county or the

[29:42] the cricket river roundup could be responsible for the reporting, or the cricket river roundup

[29:48] was willing to take that, if Crick County had signed for that grant and reassigned it

[29:57] Yes, he's under the same wording, same...

[30:00] Ditions that DAS has, we could have administrative the grant, reported back to Kirk County on a quarterly basis, as well as DAS and the Racing Commission. And we could have had this money six months ago and been and had the safety things done and in the work so that they're in place in 2027 for a roundup. But that wasn't the direction that the process went. It was, well, how do we change?

[30:29] it to use it for something else.

[30:35] I'd be happy to answer any questions. What do I really want

[30:39] to see you do is I'd really love you see you say, okay, we accept the grant we're going to give

[30:44] it to the cryptic river roundup under the same conditions that DAS gave it to us. If you don't do that,

[30:52] then at least do what unions doing, which is put the money back so that it can be and we can go

[30:58] through the possibility that the legislature will re-assign it.

[31:06] There's also, anytime, as you know, when you go to the legislature, there's always the possibility

[31:11] that what you want done is what's going to happen.

[31:15] So I think it would be best for Kirk County if we did it under the concept.

[31:23] I, the first meeting I went to, I brought a list and I was expecting us to talk about

[31:27] the list.

[31:29] We've never had a discussion about the list.

[31:32] It's always been about, I guess, the disappointment that we couldn't build restrooms because, you

[31:38] know, even when we first started with our first list, it was in a parametral room with restrooms

[31:43] in it.

[31:44] and every time I've proposed it, it's been turned down by DAS.

[31:53] The million-dollar list that Susie has now is shorted by $152,000

[32:00] because they turned down 80,000 for their mutual room and the storage facility.

[32:08] So,

[32:12] I am going to say in talking to DAS, your idea of us transferring it, that wasn't

[32:18] the, and I'm going to ask Will here too, that wasn't the impression we got, we got that

[32:23] we did need to go ahead and legislatively re-re-give it to the Crooked River that we couldn't

[32:32] do what you're saying is just say we're taking it and giving it that, that's the impression

[32:38] I always got we couldn't we needed to go back to the legislature to go ahead to give it to you.

[32:45] That's my understanding as well that ultimately we'd always

[32:49] be responsible for how the money spent based on how the legislation

[32:56] proved to be true. If you gave a grant to us we would be responsible for how the money spent

[33:02] had been reporting back to you, and we would report to DAS, but yes, Crook County would

[33:11] be in the tunic band on how it spent. But in the original, the very first communication

[33:17] I had between myself, Commissioner Hendrick and was, who do you want to be the signer

[33:28] on the grant and who would be the reporter, and at that time I was told that the Crooked

[33:34] River Roundup could do the reporting.

[33:41] That wasn't my impression.

[33:43] From DAS, that wasn't my impression.

[33:46] So that's why I have come up with the idea that I think it would be better to go ahead and

[33:51] to assign it to Crooked River because they are private entity.

[33:55] They do run that.

[33:57] you in turn would have to get permission from a fair board because you don't own the property,

[34:04] you know, so therefore you can't just go over and feel you can build something without their

[34:08] permission without our procurement rules. But again, that was the way it was laid out to me that

[34:15] was the best opportunity was to go ahead and bypass the grant as far as the county and to give you

[34:21] the discretion on how to use it. And I've been kind of surprised. I was kind of surprised about the

[34:27] paramutual building that they said no because obviously it needs repairs. I mean, there's certain things and I'm not going to lie to you. I wanted restrooms out of it, but then section three paragraph A specifically said no, so it was a reorientation

[34:42] of what we felt in a way what the grant was because everything comes down to safety for the horses.

[34:50] courses and writers.

[34:52] Well, yeah, obviously the writers, yeah.

[34:55] So when I agree with you on painting the rail,

[34:57] I agree with you.

[34:58] I agree with you.

[34:58] I was needing on the starting gate because it's old.

[35:02] There's 500,000 of that grant just taken up right there.

[35:06] In painting the rail, a starting gate and your purses.

[35:12] So I hear Doug saying they would like the money.

[35:17] We're saying we're giving you the money.

[35:19] Yes.

[35:20] Is that work?

[35:22] That's fine.

[35:23] If that's the way the commission wants to go, that's fine.

[35:26] I just feel there is risk when we go back.

[35:28] If we go back to the legislature and have them reassign the money, there is risk.

[35:34] I don't think that's fair.

[35:35] Are we saying we're going to go back to the legislature and reassign the committee?

[35:38] Well, what we would have to do is write a letter of support that we would like.

[35:43] It's exactly what Eastern, our Union County is doing with theirs.

[35:47] their grant says it goes to the fairgrounds. That isn't where they run the races.

[35:52] So what Matt Scarfo told me is they're going to go back and say we would like you

[35:57] to change that and go there. But that doesn't mean Union County isn't taking it.

[36:02] They are. In our case, basically we have to look at the fact do we want to take this money

[36:08] and depend on Crooked River or is it best just to let Crooked River take over

[36:12] because they're the private entity that runs the races?

[36:16] And in my opinion, probably better to not be saying yes, no, whatever, and let crooked

[36:23] river take the lead on it.

[36:26] I have asked numerous times if there was a possibility of losing this money and I've

[36:31] been told no, but I still were dealing with an entity that is a legislature.

[36:37] So I'm not going to say that that possibility does not.

[36:42] You can never say never.

[36:43] let's just put it that way. Again, and this is a lot of money and how do we best use it?

[36:50] And in my opinion, it's not the fair board that makes the decision on the safety of the

[36:54] horses. It's the Crooked River. So therefore by us supporting the Crooked River, doing that,

[37:00] us having an MOU that they understand they have to go to the fair board for any capital

[37:04] improvements, they have to use our county rules because it's on county ground. I think

[37:10] that that is the way to go, in my opinion, because that gives you full authority.

[37:15] And also, if something were to happen, if you were to use 10,000 of it to buy T-shirts

[37:22] or something, that they don't approve of, that is on their back, not our back.

[37:27] I'm trying because I'm constantly being told that we're going to have a legislative, I don't

[37:33] know what I want to call it, punishment, or something, and so that, to me, that seems

[37:38] like the best use of the money the best safety for the county of the money and that is my

[37:46] opinion and I just because that gives you the driver's seat you're holding this steering with

[37:54] rather than coming back to us all the time. But how long is that going to take?

[38:01] Well when the legislature opens up this it would go it would go immediately on and Mike McLean

[38:06] knows about it and so does Vicki, Reese Iverson. They both know that that is kind of a direction

[38:13] that we think would be the best way to go for our county.

[38:22] You guys have, you know, it's

[38:24] just like this Jackson County addendum. I don't think this is worth the paper that it's written.

[38:30] That's that's what I've been told. I think it's a nice effort, but I don't think it's worth it.

[38:35] And I agree with you, Doug. I agree with you. Like I say, starting gate versus

[38:40] rail, where you go from there, water truck, you talked about a horse ambulance.

[38:45] One of the questions that I brought up to DAS and to Connie was, if you have a

[38:50] horse ambulance, can we use it, God forbid, I don't ever want to use a horse

[38:54] ambulance, but can we use it for the rodeo, can we use it for high school, can we use

[38:59] it for pee-wee, and I was told no. It can only be used for racehorses. And so to

[39:06] me why have a county thing that is sitting there for five days and you saw I put

[39:12] specifically in here the thing about the barn where she says recipient

[39:18] she'll use the grant solely for supporting racing events and then it says

[39:23] none and then it goes in about bathrooms roads bridges but she has a paragraph in

[39:28] here that if you build a barn that it can it's chained up the rest of the time

[39:33] and this comes from Connie Win. It's in that packet that it has to be chained up the rest of the

[39:38] time. Why would we use square footage on a county fairgrounds? It's limited in square footage

[39:43] for a barn that can only be used for five days. Yeah and that's not that's not how it how real life

[39:51] is going to work at all. I haven't read I haven't been privy to your to that document but I can tell

[39:58] you that tell them what his building does and those stalls will be used for a lot of

[40:04] things during the year. And they should be. I agree. They should be. It's just like

[40:09] a horse ambulance. It should never be used. I hope it has cobwebs on it, but if it had

[40:15] to be used, it should be used. But if that's what we can't just say, well, I hope they're

[40:20] not going to come after a start. Well, I can tell you that I have again, I have not read

[40:28] that document, right? That I was not partying to it, but I can tell you that they fully understand,

[40:35] and I'll just give you an example, is that we have received safety grants before,

[40:41] direct from the state that we have bought pieces of equipment worth that are used for every

[40:47] event that the cricket river roundup puts on, and we've also used, for instance, the rock picker

[40:53] in the arena and on the track, and I've actually offered to pick the rocks out of the 4-H arena with it.

[41:05] So this stuff, it's very commonly used for other things, and I don't...

[41:10] Yeah, I can't speak to those other contracts.

[41:12] In this contract, it clearly says that you will not use it for anything else.

[41:17] And so until that could change...

[41:18] In contract, Seth, as we have assigned the contract, are we?

[41:22] Well, we have the grant agreement here that cannot be changed by any means, and then we've been asking about different things, and here you have in here that, you know, it's

[41:35] I specifically asked about the ambulance. I specifically asked about the water truck, and those are the answers that I got.

[41:42] I specifically asked about the purses, she said that enhanced for safety, I said write

[41:47] me a document which is in this packet of how this helps horses.

[41:51] That way that if a constituent came to me and said you're giving $240,000 for purses,

[41:57] I had a document that came from the racing council that said this is why we need this money

[42:03] for purses.

[42:04] I specifically have tried to hone in on this and these are the answers that I have gotten

[42:10] back, that's why I feel that it's better that you, as a private entity, have control of

[42:18] this money, report on this money, and kind of, you're still getting the money, but you're

[42:25] using it for the things that are equitable for the two of you, because you have to, you

[42:30] have to respect the Racing Council, or you're not going to be running horse races. So therefore,

[42:35] or I feel you have a better working relationship than we do.

[42:39] So I have a question.

[42:41] I like the, you know, going to the legislature

[42:44] and getting it for sure,

[42:45] but are there any other avenues that we could go

[42:48] to accept the money and then hold the

[42:52] Vancouver accountable internally?

[42:55] That's up to our legal opinion.

[42:57] I mean, that seems like that might be a good middle ground

[43:03] where we get the money right now.

[43:04] we can start working and fixing things and getting ready for the quicker round up next year instead of

[43:09] waiting another full year to get the money. So I guess the question to you is given the fact that

[43:17] DAS has told us that this grant agreement will not be changed. Are you willing to abide by the terms?

[43:26] And if the answer to that question is no then I think Susan's idea makes a lot of sense. If the

[43:31] The answer is yes, you are willing to abide by the terms and if something goes wrong it

[43:35] is the county taxpayers were responsible for it.

[43:38] There might be some potential ways that a subcontract might be possible.

[43:46] I would need to refresh my memory as to the terms of the grant.

[43:50] I think ultimately yes, it is the county signing agreement with the state so something does

[43:57] not happen.

[43:58] and it is the county taxpayers who are responsible.

[44:01] We will not be able to say,

[44:04] or we had a subcontract go after them instead.

[44:08] We might be able to go after them.

[44:09] The contract hold them accountable if they screwed up.

[44:12] Potentially.

[44:13] I will need to refresh my memory as to the exact terms

[44:16] of the grant, so I don't wanna sell it forth

[44:17] with the answer right now.

[44:20] But that would be a case where the county,

[44:23] the sole blue means possible.

[44:24] That would be a case where the county would have to go

[44:26] after its subcontractor.

[44:27] And it does not excuse that the county is responsible to the state.

[44:37] You want to weigh in it on?

[44:42] I'm happy to share a couple of thoughts.

[44:45] So in thinking about Susie's recommendation, I do think it makes some sense for

[44:52] the community for a couple of reasons.

[44:54] One, Doug and the Roundup are the subject matter experts on the

[45:00] They know what needs to be done to improve the race track. They know what needs to be done to make it safer for the riders and the horses. Second reason is, as Doug noted, the county is in the chain of command as it's set up right now. We are going to have, as a result, administrative costs associated with that. And one option would be we recover those from the roundup.

[45:29] which limits the total amount of money that the round-up can use on these.

[45:35] 10-15% was what Christina predicted, so there's 100-150,000.

[45:41] Or we wave them and then the taxpayers are paying for those administrative costs.

[45:46] So from my perspective, there is a benefit to getting the money into the experts,

[45:52] the folks who know what they're doing, getting the money into their hands,

[45:56] and making sure the taxpayers aren't having to support this on the back end through administrative

[46:01] class one way or another. So, I think that makes sense.

[46:07] And then, you know, certainly there

[46:09] may be an option to, to, to, to assess suggestion about the subcontractor. There may be, certainly

[46:15] benefit to doing that. You eliminate the risk of whatever might happen with the legislature

[46:19] sure, and you get the money here quicker. But you do, you run the risk of the

[46:27] administrative fees. Yeah, so you run that, you run that risk. You have that

[46:31] haircut on administrative fees, you run the risk for the county and the taxpayers,

[46:35] you run the risk that something does go wrong, and then you're trying to enforce

[46:39] a contract, and those disputes may or may not turn out the way you think they

[46:44] will, regardless of how well the subcontract may be maybe drafted. So risk

[46:49] there but to Doug's point there is you know certainly risking going to the legislature and asking them to

[46:56] fix it like Union County's doing so yeah I mean I see the value of giving you getting you the

[47:03] entire money even if it takes a little bit longer it just seems like you're in the driver's seat

[47:09] we're not and again what if something goes wrong are we going to come after you for a million

[47:15] in-box? I mean.

[47:18] So the idea that you're going to lose a million dollars is pretty ridiculous, because we know

[47:24] that we're going to buy a starting gate and it's $128,000 and once you spend it, it's $128,000

[47:30] worth of starting gate that's here, right? It's been approved, we know that. The questions

[47:38] you have and I would go back once you get the list approved and we figure out what we can

[47:43] and cannot do, which is a constant negotiation between when $152,000 drops off the list,

[47:51] you have to add $152,000 to the bottom of the list, and then you go out and you start

[47:57] negotiating with, and so one of the things I was talking about is a viewing platform for

[48:03] the races, because what we have is insufficient. It's been approved. It's on the DAS list.

[48:09] it's on the ORC list, but it needs to be engineered and it needs to be agreed to from the county

[48:14] court or county fairgrounds, right? And now you go through the process of what will the county,

[48:22] what will Casey and the Fair Board agree to versus how much is it going to cost to build it and

[48:29] engineer it and everything else? And of course we can't spend any money because we don't have any money.

[48:34] So basically when we say we're going to wait till January, we're waiting till January to even start really coming up with concrete ideas because I can't spend money on engineering until I have the money.

[48:49] I'm just, this whole thing is getting drug quite a ways and I'll just throw another one

[48:56] out as if we are a year late getting the money, then an interest is 5% without compounding.

[49:04] You've left $50,000 laying on the table, that based on the terms of the grant, as the

[49:15] third bounce. 50,000 is a big deal. 5,000 is a big deal. I totally understand.

[49:23] I totally agree with you on that. I can try to look out for the whole county and the rest of the

[49:30] tech. You know, it's just like what we'll say. I'm trying to look out for the whole. Not everyone

[49:35] thinks horse racing is wonderful. I mean, and that's that's not my opinion, but that's other people's

[49:41] opinion and I'm trying to look out for the county and every taxpayer here and it just seems like

[49:47] more control would go to you and yes you're going to have to go to the fair board to do.

[49:53] It's just like your idea of a viewing thing is going to be really in trouble when you get into your

[49:58] ADA requirements. I don't know that you'll be able to pull that off. Hopefully you can't but I'm

[50:04] just throwing that out there and that's something we're going to have to face. So there's certain things

[50:09] on here that are going to be back and forth and it will be between you and the fair board.

[50:16] I don't know.

[50:16] Yeah.

[50:18] I'm in huge support of the races and I think the vast majority of our community is huge

[50:24] support of our races.

[50:25] That's not at all what's slowing me down.

[50:28] What's slowing me down is the process and I want every dollar to go to the races.

[50:35] I don't want to have administrative additional costs, because we do have time and effort.

[50:42] And Christina is very sharp and very conservative, so she would not, we're not trying to

[50:47] build you for money.

[50:48] That would be actual time and effort that our finance department would be working on this.

[50:53] And so I see the value of waiting a little bit to get you, maybe if you say 50,000, but

[50:59] you know, if the economy goes down, maybe you get more paying for your buck.

[51:04] I think you can say either way on that, but yeah, no, I got to say I'm huge

[51:11] supporter of this more traces. I think our vast majority of our community is

[51:15] as well. I think it brings a ton of things into our economy, but I see the

[51:21] value of waiting to make sure you get the entire amount.

[51:26] Can it also work through the process? I've seen that there's some way that we can

[51:30] legally have them indemnify the county for their actions and the way they spend

[51:35] their money. I've added it to the list. Yeah, I mean, is there a parallel? We can be going at the

[51:41] same time. So my understanding from my discussions with Senator McLean and Senator Broadman is we do

[51:51] need to make a decision really, really soon because the bill has to be introduced so that it can be

[51:59] addressed in the early part of the legislative session, right, which starts in January.

[52:05] And then we've got to make sure that whoever's the governor will sign it.

[52:11] Yeah, so I guess to Brian's point, can we do this on a parallel process?

[52:17] If we between now and that we say right now, we're going to look for legislative fix,

[52:21] but if between now and then we find a way that the counties

[52:26] and demnified from giving the money to the horse races that we just say, okay, we're good, let's roll.

[52:34] Yeah, I think Commissioner Heimrich and we'll have done the line share of the work on the matter of the legislation.

[52:42] And so this is really just, the parallel track will be refueling the terms of the grant agreement in order to allow

[52:50] to see under what circumstances and under what conditions might the county have,

[52:55] some sort of some contract for lack of a better word,

[52:58] and what sort of protections the county might put in.

[53:01] Possibilities to explore, like you said, require insurance coverage.

[53:06] Insurance generally does not include contract disputes.

[53:10] Perhaps some bond.

[53:12] So there's a third party, surety, guaranteeing performance.

[53:17] So there are a lot of different possibilities we'll look into, some of them may be good ideas, some of them may be bad ideas.

[53:24] But we can see we can find out and bring it back at a future meeting.

[53:27] I would like to see the lowest cost to no cost option.

[53:32] Well, I mean, you're going to have to balance two things. You're going to have to balance the risk to the county versus the lowest cost to the parties.

[53:40] And maybe those two things are in alignment or maybe they're in conflict.

[53:44] No, I agree. I would just say I would like to see what that would be my optimal outcome

[53:50] is the lower to no cost and get things going as soon as possible. But that will take

[53:57] a little time. But we can do both things by making a decision to move forward with the legislation.

[54:04] That doesn't change the fact that if we found a good option between now and then we could

[54:09] change your mind and accept the money?

[54:11] So here's what I think I've heard, is there's interest in having some legal research done

[54:17] regarding the matter of whether, for lack of a better word, a subcontract is even feasible

[54:22] and under what terms would be appropriate.

[54:25] I think we can research that in the meanwhile, what I understand is that the county can go

[54:31] to its local legislators and say we're interested in this, but we're not at a place yet where

[54:39] we want to say, yes, let's pull the trigger.

[54:42] I think we all understand that there is a ticking clock.

[54:48] So hopefully we will get an answer soon.

[54:52] But what I hear today is that the board

[54:55] is not necessarily committed to the legislation

[54:58] for the next session.

[55:01] So what I'm saying is, what's the harm in getting them

[55:05] working on legislation?

[55:06] And if we find another plan in between now and then that legislation is now obsolete.

[55:13] Yeah, given working on the legislation, if they're willing to do that, I don't think there is any harm.

[55:22] But then at a certain juncture, the draft bill, the legislative concept has to be submitted to the legislature for the next session.

[55:30] I don't know exactly when that deadline is.

[55:34] And it may be that the local lunch sliders do not want to start working on this unless

[55:40] they have firm commitment from the county.

[55:42] So I'll probably need to defer to Commissioner Hermrack about reaching out to Ms. Bruce

[55:48] Iverson and Mr. McLean.

[55:51] I mean, I did drop Liz's solution all the time.

[55:54] I agree, but I don't want to volunteer their time if they're going to say this is not worth

[55:59] the effort. Okay,

[56:06] did you entertain a motion? Or is there any more public input? Yeah, I mean, yeah, I could ask if there's anyone else in the audience that wants to give public. Laura, do you like to say anything or Dale as fair as fair board? Would you like to?

[56:20] No, I just came to learn what was going on.

[56:24] Okay.

[56:27] Well, I've given you guys everything that I can give you that, you know, that was

[56:32] public that we found out. I know in my mind, I would like to see all the money go to

[56:39] Perkett River so that they could use it. I think they could do it cheaper and whatever.

[56:45] That's my opinion. But that, you know, again, I don't have any problem with him working side

[56:50] by side to see if a subcontract can be done, but what would you think a motion would be good

[56:56] right now? Well, because you've read all this with me. Well, based on our biggest risk is

[57:06] violation of the grant agreement?

[57:10] Well, so I mean, I did in the spot, but there are a lot of potential

[57:15] risks. So as Susan has highlighted the legislative grant for the million dollars for horse racing

[57:25] at county fairgrounds said one thing, the grant agreement said something else. And part of

[57:34] the discussion today has been, is the county in a position where it is willing to sign the grant

[57:41] agreement and abide by the terms bearing a meaning that DAS has advised us they absolutely

[57:48] positively will not modify the terms no matter what. So if the county signs the grant agreement

[57:55] and is not able to live up to those obligations then the county taxpayers need to get out their

[58:01] checkbook and pay the Department of Administrative Services a million dollars.

[58:08] As Susan noted

[58:09] that there are a variety of different reports that need to be submitted.

[58:15] I think, if I remember, quite a little reports.

[58:18] Thank you.

[58:19] Yes, so there will be some staff time limit.

[58:23] As you guys know, there's an opportunity cost to performing any of those administrative services.

[58:28] That's not like the county has no abundance of free time.

[58:32] So the time spent on performing those reports may ultimately be a trade-off for

[58:37] to invest in, but it is a trade-off.

[58:42] Yeah, I understand the expenses of them.

[58:44] I mean, this was kind of touching base

[58:47] on what our real threats were.

[58:49] And not the economics of them.

[58:52] I've come in here real quick.

[58:54] Doug, do you think you could get a letter from...

[58:57] You said at the beginning of your conversation,

[58:59] you said that you thought that you could go to the county

[59:02] or the racing commission.

[59:05] I mean, I mean, I mean, I think if we could get a letter from them saying it could go to crooked river, uh, that that might alleviate a lot of years.

[59:16] So that early on in this, I received a letter when I first found out about the grant and was trying to find out about it.

[59:24] And I will say the county already knew about it already had a committee appointed to out to spend the money before the roundup even found out that the money had actually been allocated.

[59:33] We didn't have a committee appointed.

[59:35] We were just talking, but go ahead.

[59:36] Well, I was told by management at the Fairgrounds

[59:40] that there was a committee appointed,

[59:41] and who was on the committee.

[59:43] So we went through this,

[59:48] I sat down and sent Susie a note that said,

[1:00:00] Who would be doing the reporting? And in that note, to Susie, I said, they told me that the

[1:00:06] criteria around it could do the reporting. And also keep in mind, like I tried to impress

[1:00:15] earlier, that the county is not going to be on the blind for a million dollars in any way

[1:00:23] shape performed because there are 20 probably 20 different projects and if one doesn't, one doesn't

[1:00:33] happen, the county is not going to be responsible for the other 19. So you're talking about if we, if

[1:00:39] we do a bad job painting the rail or something and somebody says, oh, the rail doesn't qualify,

[1:00:45] that's a $5,000 project, that's what's on the line if we don't use the grant funds to

[1:00:53] paint the rail. I can tell you that either the cricket rate of roundup is going to have to paint the rail,

[1:00:58] or the county fairground is going to have to paint the rail because it needs to paint it. So,

[1:01:02] I mean, we're sitting here talking about things that we're going to, you know, there's $22,000 in this,

[1:01:10] and if you go down and look at the white fencing on the outside of the racetrack that was put in by,

[1:01:16] I think, when Larry Smith was on the the fairboard, well, it's sunrotted and it's starting to fall

[1:01:22] apart and fold over and it's no longer protecting the wires on the top, something simple, it's

[1:01:29] $22,000 to replace it.

[1:01:32] So I mean there's a lot of this that are things that one are going to be quick, two aren't

[1:01:38] going to require a lot of work, and three, the odds of somebody being held responsible for

[1:01:46] non-performance are pretty nil.

[1:01:49] So I think we're trying to make a mountain out of a moral hill on the reporting side.

[1:01:54] So along those lines though, are if the county will, if county accepts the money,

[1:02:01] is it then does it all have to be done at prevailing wage?

[1:02:06] Eric, I'm going to have to lean in here.

[1:02:09] Sorry.

[1:02:10] Yeah, short answer is that we should assume that public improvements at the fairgrounds property

[1:02:18] will be subject to prevailing wage if they otherwise meet the requirements for prevailing

[1:02:22] wage. So for instance, relatively small projects probably wouldn't, but you all, that the

[1:02:31] definition of what meets the prevailing wage requirements is expansive. So the assumption

[1:02:40] and we should work with is particularly for large

[1:02:45] items, large value items.

[1:02:47] Yes, it would be required that the county would pay

[1:02:51] preparing wage.

[1:02:52] Well, that has to go through the procurement process.

[1:02:55] All that stuff, it's better we can just get the money out of the

[1:02:57] county and see that's the problem, Doug, if we were in a

[1:03:01] perfect world where we just got this money and we got

[1:03:04] suspended and we didn't live in the state of

[1:03:06] Oregon with all the rules and all the regulations that we

[1:03:08] we deal with. Then we wouldn't be having this conversation. But you start diving into

[1:03:13] the rules and regulations that Salem puts on the entire state, including us. Then it gets

[1:03:19] real tricky. And you start screwing with those things. And then there are fines. And then there are

[1:03:25] issues. And the job may end up being done perfectly right. But it doesn't check all the boxes that

[1:03:33] were required to follow. And then now we're on the hook and you guys go up, we got, we

[1:03:40] got our band advance, you know, we're great. So, so I will tell you that I had that discussion

[1:03:46] with the S and because I was wondering what kind of state, if we got the grant, what do we have

[1:03:52] to follow? State procurement rules and the answer was no. Did you put that in writing? No, it wasn't

[1:03:59] and writing. Okay. So those are the members. And that's the thing. So you want a water truck.

[1:04:06] Crock County goes out and there's a process we have to do to get that water truck. You want

[1:04:11] a water truck. You go out and you ask Yale to sell or your water truck and it's totally that was

[1:04:19] the things that to me made it way more difficult way more costly. Now in turn you can't store that

[1:04:27] water truck on the fairgrounds, you'd have to put it in a yard somewhere, but again those were

[1:04:32] the sort of things, it's just like the horse ambulance. All of that, that was what I felt.

[1:04:37] You could get more bang for your buck. If you take administrative services and you take,

[1:04:44] it's you're not following. If they're telling you, you don't have to follow those rules,

[1:04:48] that takes a lot off the top. So again, my thought was, is that if the

[1:04:53] the state can write a contract that says you don't have to bring state purchasing rules forward.

[1:04:58] Then the county should be able to write the same contract that says you don't have to bring county purchasing rules through.

[1:05:03] But that's not in the contract that we've received, which they've told us we can't change.

[1:05:08] I haven't seen your contract.

[1:05:10] Well, we're happy to-

[1:05:10] The grant. It's the grant agreement.

[1:05:12] You've seen the grant.

[1:05:13] I've not seen the grant agreement.

[1:05:15] I've seen the grant.

[1:05:16] I've seen all the rules.

[1:05:20] But I have not seen the agreement. I have to say that you have to sign. I think she sent that to you

[1:05:25] Well, I think we're happy to share that with you. Well, it's in the packet

[1:05:29] It's not in the packet right now. It's so quickly out there

[1:05:32] So I think we there there's a potential path here because it sounds like sorry

[1:05:35] It sounds like the people that you're talking to are telling you things that we're not hearing and if we can get those things in writing

[1:05:44] They've told Susie things that they aren't telling me to yeah, well, that's the thing

[1:05:48] That's the state of Oregon for you so get that stuff in writing and that will streamline this entire process

[1:05:55] If you can get a writing that we can give you the money and that you do with the recording and we're not on the hook for it

[1:06:02] That's a huge step if you can get in writing that if you guys get the money through that process

[1:06:07] You don't have to go through state processes and it's not on the county's back

[1:06:12] Perfect, let's go

[1:06:13] But those are the things that are making me very concerned about doing this when you're

[1:06:20] getting the information that you don't have to follow certain rules, but then the information

[1:06:25] we're receiving is that we do.

[1:06:28] And then when we get the money, it's not on our backs, it's on the entire taxpayers' backs,

[1:06:35] and we can't put them in jeopardy.

[1:06:38] I think you understand that as a taxpayer.

[1:06:40] there. Well, I totally understand that you can't, but I don't see it. I mean, to be honest

[1:06:46] with the I seen a risk, I can't see, you know, I can't see anything that you can't write

[1:06:53] a contract and transfer that risk to us. Well, let's, I think, let's move forward with

[1:06:59] the legislation just so we've got that opinion that we're moving forward and we're ready to

[1:07:04] role, but I think we've got a lot of good things. A lot of it is on your side of it to

[1:07:11] talk to the people you're talking about and get it right and it has to be the people,

[1:07:15] the decision makers in that office. But if we, my crazy Eric, if I say that if we get

[1:07:21] decision makers in that office to give us those things in writing, that we're very comfortable

[1:07:26] moving forward. That would go a long way to swaging some of the county's concerns. We'll

[1:07:33] have to, of course, try to reconcile the written documents once we get them. So I don't want to say it's a silver bullet, but

[1:07:40] just exactly, as you said, if somebody is seeing something to one person,

[1:07:45] saying something different to a different person, very hard to

[1:07:49] rely on that, particularly when we're talking about a million dollars of taxpayer money.

[1:07:55] So I don't think it's a perfect fix, but I think we have some paths here, and at least we're being proactive

[1:08:01] to move something in the right direction is how I see it.

[1:08:05] I just see you getting more value for the money

[1:08:09] by transferring it to you.

[1:08:11] In my opinion, that's just the way I see it.

[1:08:14] Because like I say, we just have all these rules

[1:08:16] that we have to follow and you wouldn't have to do that.

[1:08:19] And I am concerned because the first meeting we had

[1:08:24] and Will can attest to this, cat was like a deer in the headlight.

[1:08:28] But she had no answers for anything, and she had to call in her boss who we never did

[1:08:33] get to meet.

[1:08:34] And then she had specific answers.

[1:08:36] So I am a little cautious about what they tell you in a way.

[1:08:41] But again, it would go a long ways if you could get them to say, you don't have to follow

[1:08:46] any of our procurement rules, you don't have to, whatever.

[1:08:49] If it was built on the fairgrounds, now that's my question to you.

[1:08:54] So now they want to alter the grandstands in that.

[1:08:56] They can't just go and do that without it being prevailing wage and going under our procurement in that case, right?

[1:09:04] That would, yeah, that's something that I'd like to just make sure I can quote

[1:09:07] chapter and verse rather than speaking extemporaneously on. So that's something that will add to the list and see if

[1:09:14] you can get a firm answer. I don't want to say something that turns out to be 90% right and then therefore 100% wrong.

[1:09:21] But if it's a capital improvement on the fairgrounds, it has to follow in my opinion the rules

[1:09:27] That we have to follow

[1:09:28] The infrastructure. Yeah, no, I think we need to double check all this

[1:09:34] But if we got

[1:09:36] Assurances by the the state of this grant and these are the rules

[1:09:40] Yeah, then then it's out of our hands now like I said, I just want to use the money as best as we can and

[1:09:47] and how do we get more money for 100 to 150,000 coming to Kirk County I'm

[1:09:53] trying to avoid but I also and when I when you sent me that thing about who was

[1:09:58] going to sign for the grant I sent it to our finance department because that

[1:10:03] would have been who would have been in charge of it so that information was

[1:10:07] correct at the time but we hadn't even seen the grant yet was when the grant came

[1:10:13] out the questions arose.

[1:10:16] Okay.

[1:10:17] So I think we're going to, what I'd like to see is, let's move forward with the legislation.

[1:10:22] Give you the, what the information we're going off of.

[1:10:26] You can use that to call your contacts and explain to them what the hiccups are and if they can

[1:10:32] give us assurances that those are problems, we'll have to see who that is and that they're

[1:10:37] the right person.

[1:10:38] But I think there's opportunity here.

[1:10:43] I think I heard you say earlier that to go the legislative route, they needed a letter of support from the county.

[1:10:50] We need to do a letter of support that we are supporting that we would, and because of the private entity, that we would be turning it over to you totally, basically.

[1:10:59] Yes, that would be what we would be.

[1:11:01] We need a motion to do that.

[1:11:04] So one thing I would recommend is that before any letters signed, or we move forward with that, that we confirm that by sending that letter of support, we're not interfering with the alternative route that we've been discussing, right, like if we give them affirmative, go ahead with the legislation, I don't want that money to disappear, and then too much now being like, we got this great contract solution, but you can't get the money.

[1:11:32] So I just want to make sure we confirm that so I'd recommend we bring that letter back

[1:11:35] and maybe just have another quick discussion about any of the issues that we've kind of

[1:11:40] discussed today that we can get answers to.

[1:11:43] How long will it take you to get answers?

[1:11:47] I hate that question because it's going to take how long it takes but I do know that this

[1:11:51] is a high priority so my target will be to have something prepared for you guys by the

[1:11:58] work session next week.

[1:11:59] and part of what I might present is I have found the answers to some of the questions haven't

[1:12:08] got to a position where I'm comfortable with others or maybe I just say still working on it.

[1:12:13] Then Doug, do you think you could find from administrative services the answers that, you know,

[1:12:18] that they would write down that by next week?

[1:12:24] Like you said that they told you you weren't

[1:12:26] liable for our county. So they haven't assigned anything or provide anything and writing to me while

[1:12:31] They're still negotiating with Kirk County and have an agreement out with Kirk County.

[1:12:36] So your letter is going to probably open the doors for meaty start getting things in writing other than other than I do have

[1:12:44] the you had it on the screen, the rejection on on several of the pieces.

[1:12:51] Okay. So we can't we can't go that direction.

[1:12:56] You know, I don't know there's any reason not to reach out to them.

[1:13:00] And maybe they will say we're not going to commit to anything yet, but I'd encourage

[1:13:05] you to reach out to them and see if you can queue that up.

[1:13:09] If they have any sort of reservations, they might address that or that maybe they can

[1:13:12] say, yeah, we're happy to put it in a memo, put it in an email, have it in writing, in

[1:13:17] which case, so much better.

[1:13:19] I'm guessing likely they want to get this software played as much as we do.

[1:13:24] So I think there's value to calling them and saying, here's our couple roadblocks.

[1:13:28] that we're trying to work through.

[1:13:31] If we can get through these, we're ready to roll, let's go.

[1:13:34] And so maybe that might get them going.

[1:13:39] Okay, well I have a meeting on the 12th with the other tracks to talk about how,

[1:13:44] and the Racing Commission to talk about how they're proceeding, and we sit here

[1:13:53] and talk about the concept of a million dollars.

[1:13:56] are you counting hasn't ran in four years?

[1:13:59] No.

[1:14:00] Doesn't own a starting gate,

[1:14:02] doesn't even have a rail on the racetrack.

[1:14:04] They have a little bit of work to do,

[1:14:06] so the twelfth is on a Saturday.

[1:14:08] They put the risk, they're taking,

[1:14:09] that they have to run in,

[1:14:11] and

[1:14:15] we're sitting here worried about what if.

[1:14:22] You know, the thing that I found very interesting

[1:14:24] is in talking to the commissioners of the other counties,

[1:14:27] the lack of knowledge they even have about this grant.

[1:14:29] But tell them, look, three commissioners, two of them going to be upcoming, along with

[1:14:36] the other, what are you talking about?

[1:14:39] That's kind of some of the questions that I found was very interesting and going around.

[1:14:44] And anyway, but you're meeting with them on the 12th on a Saturday then?

[1:14:49] It's the Tuesday before the commission meeting, and I thought, so you're talking about the

[1:14:56] 8th then?

[1:14:56] Now the Commission meeting at Beathin.

[1:15:00] You're talking a racing commission, not a commission. I want a commission. Okay. And so they're meeting on the 15th. Okay.

[1:15:10] The commission meets on the 7th. Well, if we can have those answers by next week, then I think we could go ahead and form a little bit more of a plan.

[1:15:21] Can you call them between now and next Wednesday? I talked to them on a regular basis. Yeah. And just get an idea. Like I say, I just want you to have the more.

[1:15:29] I think giving you control and giving you that gives you more money in my opinion and it also

[1:15:36] relieves us of taxpayers. And understand I've quit doing working on this thing for the most part

[1:15:43] because I can't proceed with engineering, I can't hire a surveyor, I can't know. There's not a

[1:15:49] project that we can proceed with other than what we have already proceeded with. And so just think

[1:15:56] about just that you can hire a survey or you can't do this but if the money was in your

[1:16:01] possession. That's why I asked for the county to find a way to do it now instead of January because

[1:16:10] I can then you can start giving. I can I could hire a survey or have the stakes in place right in

[1:16:15] RFP have somebody that's a fence builder come fix that rail so it's in place for 2027 instead of

[1:16:22] being hung up where I am now with the possibility that in 2027 I'm still going to have horses that

[1:16:28] can't run around that corner. Which is what I want for you, Doug, really? I'm just trying to get

[1:16:33] the most in again. That's my question. Is there a way that we can take it and pass it on, which is

[1:16:40] what I think Eric is going to find out? So next Wednesday, since you won't know where we're going to

[1:16:45] be, we're going to be over at the Brown Building at the next to the sandwich factory where our offices

[1:16:50] is used to be in that back conference room. Can you come and and be there?

[1:16:56] Well, I should be able to have to look at look at my calendar. It's not very busy, but

[1:17:01] okay, tell the staff. Tell the cows they can go out and grace one day. You don't have to come.

[1:17:05] You, uh, it's my frustration. I have two things that involved the county. This one is now

[1:17:14] every or what March, April or June, July, August, September. We're five months four months into it.

[1:17:22] I've got a building permit for my son.

[1:17:25] I've been out two years now trying to get a building permit that got held up over action.

[1:17:32] The commission needed to do and yesterday I got this I'm a farmer.

[1:17:36] I've got about 110 acres in that parcel and I had to sign under duress a non-remonstrous agreement

[1:17:46] that says I as a farmer won't sue myself and I got to pay the county clerk $99.

[1:17:52] $99 to re-record it, and I'm sitting here watching Crit County saying, okay, well, here we are five months into this and we still can't make a decision.

[1:18:04] Well, I'd like to talk to you. I mean, we can talk right now about those things, but that seems ridiculous.

[1:18:10] I'm getting frustrated.

[1:18:12] I did away through this.

[1:18:13] I had, I kept running into comments from Josephine County,

[1:18:18] from Harnie County, from Tellama County,

[1:18:21] that Eric was calling them,

[1:18:23] trying to talk them into supporting,

[1:18:25] changing, going back to the legislature

[1:18:27] and changing the law so it would allow restrooms.

[1:18:30] There was some back room stuff going on on this

[1:18:35] that has just been frustrating.

[1:18:37] And I'm sitting here today saying,

[1:18:38] okay, make a decision.

[1:18:39] Let's get it going one way or the other, sure, but I think we have I think we have a good path on this part of it

[1:18:46] But I would like to talk to you about your permit and other issues

[1:18:49] So because I don't that that seems like a one-off to me. That's not something I hear. Oh, it's not one of I

[1:18:56] Then that's even more important. This has been going on for a while for with Doug and there's certain parts that I

[1:19:02] So I will. But that's that's not except that is a different. I know just trying to get you the

[1:19:09] value. And how do I see with Prick County is as we're sitting here where management is doing

[1:19:15] one thing and the commissioners are thinking something else is getting done. Okay. Great.

[1:19:23] Oh, taken. Okay. So there is no motion right now other than that you were going to pursue these

[1:19:29] questions and we are going to probably rule on it next Wednesday then.

[1:19:33] Yeah, I don't think that you need a motion to give that direction.

[1:19:36] I think I have my March mortars and then we'll put a placeholder agenda item on the agenda

[1:19:42] for next Wednesday. We might word Smith what exactly the title of that is but what's going to be to

[1:19:49] revisit this potentially have a letter of support drafted and hopefully I will be able to give

[1:19:56] of everybody, all the good news that you want?

[1:19:59] Perfect.

[1:20:00] Again, this is just trying to get you the most that we can.

[1:20:04] It's not picking on horse racing at all.

[1:20:08] And then, hopefully, we'll also hear whether the Oregon

[1:20:11] Racing Commission, or DAS, or whoever,

[1:20:13] is willing to put into writing that they

[1:20:16] would allow this grant agreement to be directly

[1:20:19] awarded over to the Cricket River Roundup at that meeting

[1:20:23] on Wednesday, and that will inform

[1:20:25] on what it is that the county wants to do?

[1:20:28] Yeah, as soon as you get any information

[1:20:30] that you're going to get, would you send it to us?

[1:20:32] So we can go through it and make sure we're ready

[1:20:35] at Wednesday.

[1:20:37] Thank you.

[1:20:38] I guess my question would be back to Doug asking me

[1:20:41] at the beginning, who would, if we do sign this

[1:20:45] over to Crooked River, then we would be changing

[1:20:48] who actually would accept this money.

[1:20:50] Like the money's here.

[1:20:51] Money's in a wagon outside.

[1:20:53] Would it go straight to Crooked River?

[1:20:55] and they're unloading it, or would it have to be,

[1:20:58] you could understand kind of my question there.

[1:21:00] Yes, and that would depend on what it is that DAS

[1:21:03] or Oregon Racing Commissioner, whoever the decision-maker is,

[1:21:06] actually says, if they say that the county does not need

[1:21:10] to be the intermediary, we can just give this grant

[1:21:13] to Cricket River Roundup, then they would be the signer

[1:21:17] and the county would not be involved, except as you noticed,

[1:21:20] the Fairboard would be involved if there's any sort of improvements

[1:21:23] at the fair grounds, because that's their statutory responsibility.

[1:21:27] So that's one possibility.

[1:21:29] If what DAS says is, well, they can be involved, but the county still has to be the signer

[1:21:35] of the grant agreement and ultimately responsible for non-performance, well, then the county

[1:21:40] would sign and there would have to be some sort of connective tissue to the cricket river

[1:21:45] roundup.

[1:21:46] So a lot's going to depend on what it is that DAS actually says to Mr. Smith and, again,

[1:21:53] and hopefully we'll get that answer in writing very soon.

[1:21:55] And you note those two questions,

[1:21:58] because those are really important differences

[1:22:00] in what the answer is.

[1:22:02] That will be an amen.

[1:22:04] Perfect.

[1:22:05] And I have been told that cannot,

[1:22:09] we can't do that without a legislative fix,

[1:22:11] because that's why Union County is going back

[1:22:14] for a legislative fix to take fair grounds out of it

[1:22:18] and put it into whatever they call that other place.

[1:22:22] Eastern Oregon, yes. Okay. That and that here is where I hang my hook on is that I've

[1:22:28] been told no. Yeah, and I hope the answer would be yes because I would sign it tomorrow,

[1:22:33] but. And if we get the answer that the FDA asks is willing to do that for approach county,

[1:22:39] then there's no harm in letting you can count, you know, because you know, as you guys have

[1:22:46] I've observed sometimes with the institution of the state of Oregon, the left hand does

[1:22:51] not know what the left hand is even doing, let alone the right hand.

[1:22:54] And my information is from last Tuesday, were we in Ontario last Tuesday?

[1:22:59] Yeah, last Tuesday sitting across from one of their commissioners that they still were having

[1:23:06] to go for a legislative change to change the location.

[1:23:10] So that's why I'm not, you know, I've asked about it again, and that's why I'm concerned

[1:23:15] I can't believe they told you that because that isn't the way I've been told.

[1:23:23] So there's a significant difference between union and a grant.

[1:23:28] So the Union County Fairgrounds is in a grant.

[1:23:31] Yes.

[1:23:32] The grant was written to Union County for work on the fairgrounds.

[1:23:37] The problem is they aren't going to do any work on the fairgrounds.

[1:23:41] They're going to get over where the race is on the Easter Lord.

[1:23:44] Yes, stock show grounds, which is owned by the Eastern organ livestock show. So there is no county ownership in the facilities in our situation for county owns the ground.

[1:23:58] Sure, the private entity.

[1:24:00] We're moving to see.

[1:24:01] But what are the people that put on the horse racing?

[1:24:05] Maybe if that was made more apparent to I thought we made that apparent.

[1:24:09] but maybe that would be out of cat under cat understands that the racing

[1:24:14] commission totally understands that okay and we totally understand that we

[1:24:20] have to work through the fairgrounds okay right we've done that for quite a

[1:24:25] few that's 1972 and we gave the fairgrounds to the county we've had to work

[1:24:30] through the fairgrounds in order to do physical improvements we understand it okay

[1:24:35] Okay.

[1:24:36] Perfect.

[1:24:37] That's helpful.

[1:24:38] Thank you.

[1:24:39] Okay.

[1:24:42] Thank you, Doug.

[1:24:45] Thank you, Laura, for being here.

[1:24:47] So is there any action that we need to make?

[1:24:49] No.

[1:24:49] I think we need to wait till Eric finds the answers to these questions.

[1:24:52] And then, hopefully, we just move forward and get this offer plate.

[1:24:56] Yeah.

[1:24:56] I think the only action is to add something to the agenda for next week, which will be some

[1:25:01] sort of update for me.

[1:25:03] Hopefully, I'll give you good news.

[1:25:04] And also in the meanwhile, we can work on some sort of letter of support, which if at that meeting the county wants to move forward with that, then you can review the terms and decide to approve it then.

[1:25:20] Okay. Okay, we have Brianna here, so she's already noting this on agenda. Okay, perfect. Okay.

[1:25:26] Well, manager's report.

[1:25:29] Just a quick note.

[1:25:32] Mostly for the public.

[1:25:34] Our GIS department has moved to the courthouse.

[1:25:37] This welcome.

[1:25:39] Lord and public to know that this will allow GIS to go more

[1:25:43] centrally located.

[1:25:45] closer to their customers, including the development department.

[1:25:50] It seems to find out better.

[1:25:52] Also gives them a better work and space.

[1:25:54] So where are they?

[1:25:55] They're on the second floor.

[1:25:58] Very by the bathrooms.

[1:26:00] By the way.

[1:26:01] Okay.

[1:26:02] The whole it goes back in there.

[1:26:03] Okay.

[1:26:04] Second floor to courthouse.

[1:26:07] And I think that's all I have for you this morning.

[1:26:11] I don't think you can.

[1:26:13] Yes, Labor Day.

[1:26:15] On Mondays for County offices will be closed.

[1:26:18] In honor of Labor Day.

[1:26:21] Thank you.

[1:26:22] Okay, also I show back when we were having fun.

[1:26:25] hopefully they're all out now. Stephanie Kale, who is Director of Talent Management for

[1:26:31] Cascade, Hastin, so the Bee's International Reality called me and they wanted to do something

[1:26:38] for basically the firefighters, local, or whatever. So I gave her Shawna Holland's number

[1:26:44] because she's the one that kind of works with our community and they decided to go ahead

[1:26:50] and to support the post-Polina range land fire protection agency.

[1:26:59] And they got a hold of Melissa Hartzel, who's a vice president out there,

[1:27:03] and they went ahead and they donated body wipes and all kinds of things.

[1:27:08] There's a picture of the stuff which was very, very gracious of them to do.

[1:27:13] They felt that that way they were helping us.

[1:27:15] And in these last two fires, Coyote and Henry, there was only really 20 of us

[1:27:20] and we had to split because we had two fires, which hopefully we don't have that again.

[1:27:25] And so it was very well appreciated and I want to thank them for their support of our

[1:27:30] agency.

[1:27:33] Right.

[1:27:35] So I've been working with Mark once, the Commissioner and Jefferson County with all these fires

[1:27:40] coming through.

[1:27:42] I think we need to start looking at some letters of support to reduce regulations and rules

[1:27:48] on private landowners to be able to get their properties cleaned out to cut trees working

[1:27:59] with the tax code and rules are for tree removal. I want to throw out there that my family

[1:28:06] does have property, but this is something that will help all of the entire state of Oregon

[1:28:12] that was affected by the fires, and so I just think that's something we can do for our citizens

[1:28:19] is talk with the legislature and work to get some kind of carve-outs for major events like this

[1:28:27] to not to expedite the process and be able to get the wood off the forest as soon as possible.

[1:28:33] So more to come.

[1:28:37] And on a personal level, we definitely need to work out a little bit more smoother land use agreements for property owners that are affected during the fire and afterwards for stuff that is went on with their property.

[1:28:50] I don't think that that should be a big fight. So that's a that's on a personal level, but yes.

[1:28:56] All right. Any public comment to wrap it up?

[1:29:05] Anybody online? Want to weigh in?

[1:29:16] Okay, we're going to go to executive session.

[1:29:21] Pretty quick one, right?

[1:29:26] Do you mind sticking around ducks so I can hear your issues with the planning department? Sure, probably be 10, 15 minutes.

[1:29:34] You guys stay in here. You're going to have to go.

[1:29:36] So thank you, guys, for coming today.

[1:29:41] What have you done?

[1:29:45] The County Board of Commissioners will now meet an executive session under ORS192-6602-E

[1:29:50] to conduct deliberations with persons designated by the government body to negotiate real

[1:29:54] property transactions.

[1:29:56] Representing the news media designated staff shall be allowed to attend the executive session.

[1:30:00] Local members of the IHS live in the room. Representatives in the news meetings specifically are specifically directing

[1:30:05] not to report any deliberations during the executive session except the state, the general

[1:30:09] subject, the session is previously announced. No decision may be made in the executive

[1:30:14] session. At the end of the executive session, we returned to open session, walking the

[1:30:17] audience back in the room.

[1:30:20] The correct county board of commissioners will now leave

[1:30:22] executive session on ORS19266 or 2E to conduct deliberations with persons designated by the

[1:30:32] We're allowed to attend the executive session.

[1:30:34] All the members of the audience are absolutely

[1:30:35] representative.

[1:30:36] The news media are specifically directed

[1:30:37] not to report any deliberations during the executive session.

[1:30:40] It's set up to state the general subject

[1:30:41] of the session's previously announced.

[1:30:43] No decision was made in the executive session.

[1:30:46] We will now return to open session work

[1:30:47] and the audience back in the room.

[1:30:50] Hey audience, come back in the room.

[1:30:52] No, dear.

[1:30:53] I didn't realize it.

[1:30:55] Okay. I would like to make a motion

[1:30:56] that we approve preparation of what is it we're approving the listing agreement.

[1:31:07] Second, any discussion? No. All those in favor?

[1:31:10] Henry Kai.

[1:31:11] Crawford Eye.

[1:31:12] Martin Ann.

[1:31:13] I entertain a motion adjourn.

[1:31:15] I make a motion to adjourn.

[1:31:16] Second, the discussion?

[1:31:18] No. All those in favor?

[1:31:19] Aye.

[1:31:20] Henry Kai.

[1:31:21] Crawford Eye.

Board of Commissioners Regular Session Meeting

Transcript