County to set up wolf compensation committee

Baker County Commissioners are planning for a seven-member wolf depredation compensation committee to begin work early next year to help area ranchers.

The committee will consist of one county commissioner, two people representing the livestock industry, two people supportive of wolf conservation or coexistence, and two people from the wider business community.

The five other members, once selected, will pick the two business community representatives.

The county will begin seeking volunteers for the four non-commissioner seats soon, said Fred Warner Jr., county commission chairman, during Wednesday’s meeting.

Local committees allow people dealing with wolves to “come to them with problems and apply for compensation,” Warner said.

Oregon House Bill 3560, the compensation bill signed into law by Gov. John Kitzhaber earlier this year, provides counties with directions about setting up these local committees to allocate money from the state to ranchers whose livestock and working dogs are injured or killed by wolves.

The legislation also creates a grant award system for those who seek financing for methods that would keep wolves and livestock apart without harming the wolves. Local committees will be highly involved with this funding aspect as well.

The statewide budget for all compensation and grants is $100,000. The state Department of Agriculture expects the money to run out before the end of 2012 and urges counties to form these groups quickly so the funding system would be set up before a wolf attack occurs.

There hasn’t been any confirmed cases of wolves killing livestock in Baker County since 2009.

All the confirmed wolf depredation since then has happened in Wallowa County, home to the majority of Oregon’s estimated population of about two dozen wolves.

Agreement with Baker City

The commissioners on Wednesday also approved entry into a memorandum of understanding with Baker City regarding improvements to Resort Street and Best Frontage Road.

The city will be the lead agency in contracting for construction of both projects. This is because Resort Street is within city boundaries and Best Frontage is located within the city’s Urban Growth Boundary, Warner said.

The county is a partner on both projects.

The Oregon Jobs and Transportation Act provides the county with $4.5 million to complete the two projects and considered it the lead agency.

The MOU allows the city to receive state reimbursements directly and expedites the process.

In other business, Wednesday, commissioners:

• Postponed a vote on the Baker County Law Enforcement Labor Agreement. Employees from the Sheriff’s Office hadn’t voted on it when the commissioners met on Wednesday morning. The commissioners will consider it after the workers ratify it.

• OK’d a change in the composition of the Transient Lodging Tax Committee to allow seven members instead of five. Baker City officials gave support to the change in October. More members will allow a wider variety of opinions to be expressed and make it more likely that a quorum will be able to attend meetings.

• Accepted terms of an intergovernmental agreement with the state Department of Corrections. The county will receive $50,000 for treatment of people on parole or probation who require drug treatment and have committed certain drug trafficking and thefts that come under Measure 57.

• Allowed distribution of $30,000 over two years for bus transportation service aimed at seniors and disabled riders. Community Connections estimates that nearly 53,000 one-way bus trips were taken by these types of rider during the past year and that the number will remain constant during the next two years. The money from the Oregon Department of Transportation will help offset higher operating costs and helps keep routes from being cut. The trolley bus isn’t included in this allocation.

• Renewed an agreement with Intermountain Mobile Service to conduct alcohol and drug testing on employees who drive vehicles for the county’s Road Department. The testing has cost the county varying amounts during the years. During the 2007-08 fiscal year it was $1,600 but in the 2010-11 fiscal year was just $775.50.

• Opted to reduce the number of meetings held by the Baker County Commission on Children and Families to once every two months. The commission had been scheduled to meet monthly.

• Approved the final reading of a franchise agreement for the City of Unity with Oregon Telephone Corp. The commissioners are the acting members of a Unity City Council. The utility provider will provide the city with two percent of its yearly gross local basic service receipts.

• Avoided consideration of a nuisance ordinance because the commissioners said they don’t want to make rules that should be created by people who live in Unity. They hope not taking action will motivate people there to run for city council.

• Named Steve Bogart to the Baker County Museum Commission.