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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-09-21 Work Session Minutes Deschutes County Board of Commissioners 1300 NW Wall St., Suite 200, Bend, OR 97701-1960 (541) 388-6570 - Fax (541) 385-3202 - www.deschutes.org MINUTES OF WORK SESSION DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009 ___________________________ Present were Commissioners Tammy Baney, Dennis R. Luke and Alan Unger. Also present were Dave Kanner, County Administrator; Erik Kropp, Deputy County Administrator; David Givans, Internal Auditor; Teresa Rozic, Property & Facilities; Dave Inbody, Assistant to the Administrator; Joe Stutler, Information Technology; and two other citizens. No representatives of the media were in attendance. 1. Discussion regarding Upgrade of Countywide Intranet Web Site “Express”. Joe Sadony gave an overview, through a PowerPoint presentation, of the proposed revised website intranet. ‘Sharepoint’ is a much more business- focused product. For instance, the annual budget can be updated by certain individuals instead of having it all go through one person. Forms can also be completed and handled on-line. The plan is to require less manual input and printing of documents. They are looking at rolling out “Inside DC” the end of September. In October, it will become the default website. Most of the internal services departments have provided input and have received training. Commissioner Luke asked if the classified ads would be included. Mr. Sadony said they have not been at this point, but will be able to include them if desired. Chair Baney asked if or what the departments have to pay for this work. Mr. Sadony said they will be charged and it is a total of $7,000 to $10,000. Dave Kanner added that the legacy system now in place would be phased out, with this replacing it. Chair Baney asked if the “stellar employee” form could be put on line as well. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, September 21, 2009 Page 1 of 6 Pages Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, September 21, 2009 Page 2 of 6 Pages 2. Continued Discussion of Economic Development Grant Requests. Chair Baney asked if any of the groups requesting economic development grants had previously asked for community grants. Dave Inbody said that Healthy Beginnings’ request was the same. Commissioner Unger said he is very involved with the Deschutes Water Alliance and would like to fund a portion of that, and will be requesting funding from the cities and water districts. Mr. Inbody said the entire amount from the State would be $400,000, with large amounts going to EDCO and other service partners. There is not that much for the Commissioners’ discretionary grants. Two County individuals will attend Leadership Redmond, including one that the Sheriff’s Office is covering. CRAFT – Cat Rescue, Adoption & Foster Team, which supports the efforts of the local shelters to prevent animal euthanasia, was granted $500 by Commissioner Baney, and $300 each by Commissioners Unger and Luke. Volunteer Insights brought forth a new proposal to help all groups with their volunteer efforts. Commissioners Baney and Unger granted $1,250 each. Healthy Beginnings asked for funds to sponsor a child. Commissioners Baney and Unger granted $875 each. Commissioner Luke noted that they already receive community grant funding. Commissioner Baney said that it was hard for her to link “Girls on the Run” with other groups collaboratively. No funding was granted without a link to another agency, such as Juvenile or the Commission on Children & Families. In regard to La Pine Frontier Days, Commissioner Luke asked that they apply when it gets closer to their event. Citizen Ann Gawitz, in the audience asked to speak. She said that La Pine Frontier Days’ request has no bearing on operations, but relates to a permanent structure that was built for them and others to use. They paid for the structure because it had to be done right away for Frontier Days. Park and Recreation will benefit since it is on their property. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, September 21, 2009 Page 3 of 6 Pages She added that La Pine Rodeo Association has its own 501(3(c), as does Frontier Days. Commissioner Unger noted that La Pine Park & Recreation now has its own tax base. Ms. Gawitz said that they have a lot of things to take care of. They could perhaps approach them next year but it is unknown what kind of funding they will have available. The groups do work together and they all will benefit from these improvements. Commissioner Unger encouraged them to work with Park & Recreation on this. Ms. Gawitz said that Frontier Days has not asked for much help over the years. They lost a lot of sponsorships over the past year. They now owe about $5,000. Commissioner Baney granted $500. Commissioner Unger asked that they revisit this after talking with Park & Recreation, which is expecting perhaps $165,000 through their new tax base. Commissioner Luke asked that the application for the La Pine Rodeo come back in the spring. Commissioner Unger also wanted to wait, since with land swap proceeds the budget might be different. Commissioner Luke said that the Nature of Words is a good program, but he wants to help groups that help other groups. Each Commissioner granted $200 to Leadership Redmond. The Sheriff’s Office is sponsoring another. The same amount was granted to Leadership Bend, $200 from each Commissioner. The Sisters Quilt Show received $500 from Commissioner Baney for donor tracking software. St. Vincent de Paul, Redmond asked for funding for outreach. Commissioner Luke said there was a community grant for $10,000 for the emergency food program last year. They did not get a community grant this year. Commissioner Baney said she would like more specifics about the exact use of the funds. Commissioner Luke noted that the document says 100% of the funding goes towards their clients’ rent and utilities. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, September 21, 2009 Page 4 of 6 Pages Commissioner Baney stated that NeighborImpact has federal funding for this in Redmond. Commissioner Unger said that it is sometimes hard to work with NeighborImpact. He and Commissioner Luke asked for more specifics for the Board to consider, and whether they are working with other agencies. Commissioner Unger said that he would grant funding to the Deschutes Water Alliance when he becomes aware of any partnership money. 3. Update Commissioners’ Meetings and Schedules. Congressman Walden is visiting on October 12 for a ribbon cutting ceremony. ___________________________ Commissioner Baney will be gone the week of October 12 to attend the Pacific Program. ___________________________ Commissioners Baney and Unger will attend the AOC District meeting at Brasada Ranch this Thursday. ___________________________ The Commissioners will be part of the “Talk of the Town” television show being taped at 7 p.m. today. Possible discussion points are: ƒ Noxious weeds, including why there is no penalty if people do not remove them. Other counties have this in place. Commissioner Luke noted that the BLM and U.S. Forest Service do nothing in this regard, and they have a lot of land in this area. ƒ Bethlehem Inn, which needs to have its fundamental money in place to get CDGB funding. Mr. Kropp said that Klamath County was able to get a bank loan for the first money and then got $800,000 for a project. Commissioner Luke stated that there are no agreements in place with Bethlehem Inn and they are using the property rent-free. The agreement is between the City of Bend and the County. They have to show they have a debt to be able to get the grant. This was brought up at a recent meeting with the City, but they did not appear concerned about it. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, September 21, 2009 Page 5 of 6 Pages 4. Other Items. Commissioner Luke said that a recent settlement conference went well, and Erik Kropp and Mark Pilliod both did outstanding work on that issue. 5. Executive Session, called under ORS 192.660(2)(d) - Property & Facilities. ƒ Sisters Rodeo Property Exchange ƒ Red Cross Property ƒ St. Vincent de Paul Property Purchase, La Pine ___________________________ In regular session: ƒ Request for Temporary Relief on Two Real Property Loans Susan Ross said that the real property loans are for the purchase of real property. The one in the La Pine Industrial Park only has 20 months left on the note. The purchaser operates a business out of there, but the economy has become a factor. The total loan was $123,000, and the balance is now $37,000. They are asking to rewrite the note, which is now past due by about $10,000. The cost is $1.566 per month, and he is paying as he can. It is a ten-year note, and he has paid more than 8 years of it. He wants to rewrite the note for 60 months; the interest rate would be the same, 9%. Commissioner Baney said she is in favor of doing this, as were Commissioners Luke and Unger as it is in the public’s interest. ___________________________ The other situation is a property that was a land sale in the Lower Bridge area. The loan was for $95,000 over twenty years, at an interest rate of 8.4%. They are asking that the loan be rewritten to ask for interest only payments for 12 months. There is $75,000 now owed. Ms. Ross recommended this temporary relief, which could be wrapped up in the remaining term for a year. This brings the payment down to $529 from $818 a month. They are not behind on payments, but are asking for short-term relief. Commissioner Luke asked how to verify the need. Ms. Ross said the loan has been active for 7.5 years and is owned by Four Winds, a nonprofit foundation. Commissioner Luke said he would consider this but wants more information. Commissioner Unger noted that it sounds like it has been a good loan, and it is best to protect it to avoid any potential need to use staff time. Commissioner Baney stated that she appreciates it that they are not in arrears and are not asking for an interest rate adjustment.