The Hines Common Council approved two new business licenses at their regular meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 23.

The first license approved was for Hot Shot Pressure Washing Services, owned by Steven Murdock. Murdock told the council his business is a mobile service, offering pressure washing for both commercial and residential customers.

The second license approved was for High Desert Cannabis Co., a medical and recreational marijuana dispensary to be located on Highway 20 in Hines. One of the business owners, Julie Beitzel, told the council that if her numbers from research are correct, they would hire probably four to six people to begin with, and then more if needed.

When asked what got her interested in a cannabis business, Beitzel said she began looking into cannabis and became “super interested” when she heard about the Charlotte’ Web strain of marijuana. Beitzel explained that Charlotte’s Web does not produce a “high” because of a very low level of THC, and is helpful to people who suffer from epilepsy, children in particular. She said as they learned about the medicinal value of cannabis, they visited with people in other dispensaries and found it to be a thriving business.

Councilor Diane Rapaport stated there are a number of veterans in the community who use medicinal marijuana and would benefit from a local dispensary as it would mean they wouldn’t have to make trips to Bend.

Beitzel added they are hoping to be open for business by the end of October, and they have an agreement with a credit union to accept monies from the business, so there wouldn’t be large amounts of cash on the premises.

The council will still have to approve new city ordinances for the business to abide by, but City Administrator Judy Erwin said she is already working on that and doesn’t see any problems moving forward.

Earlier in the meeting Erwin reported she had gone on a tour of the marijuana grow operation and dispensary in Huntington. The dispensary is located in a former service station, is protected by an intricate, state-of-the-art security system, and since it opened in February of this year, there have been no reports of break-ins or a rise in crime. A second dispensary is also expected to open in the town in the near future.

Erwin added the marijuana business has been very generous to the city of Huntington, making donations to pay for things such as a new snow plow that the city couldn’t afford.

She said the state anticipates the revenue sharing from marijuana tax will begin in the first quarter of 2017, the sales have been so large that the state has already received start-up costs, and the state is now predicting that the revenue from marijuana sales will very quickly exceed what timber receipts ever were.

Erwin also read a submission from Eastern Oregon Business Development, which is working on developing a marijuana growing operation in Hines.

The submission reads as follows:

• Eastern Oregon Business Development (EOBD) and the City of Hines are not “bringing drugs into the community just for money” as some have claimed. No EOBD product will be sold in Harney County as has already been publicly announced.

• EOBD will bring jobs and business development opportunities to an economically impoverished and work force deprived community.

• There is no greater fire risk at the growing facility than any other business in the area.

• In regards to water usage, implementation of proprietary closed loop systems will decrease water usage by approximately 80 percent compared to standard grow operations.

• EOBD has already addressed the long list of security concerns associated with the recreational marijuana industry. The security system that will be used cost tens of thousands and is one of the most advanced in the area. It utilizes infrared lighting which can’t be seen by the naked eye so visible lighting isn’t needed.

• Large sums of cash will NOT be kept onsite. A series of secure locations elsewhere have already been identified.

• In Dick Baird’s defense against false allegations, plans for EOBD began AFTER Hines had agreed not to opt out. Processing of the business paperwork did not begin until January 2016.

• Kylee Murphey is not a member of EOBD and has no reliable information on its operations, nor is she up-to-speed with the OLCC rules that govern the industry. Her statements on the fallibility of the operation are completely FALSE.

• 3 percent of all EOBD revenues will be allocated to the City of Hines to be spent at the council’s discretion. As a result: EOBD will aid in the fight against far more significant drug issues like the prevalence of methamphetamine and heroin; Police forces will receive funding from the operation, which ultimately will not be used for incidents related to EOBD operations, but rather the true problems the community faces.

During the public comment period of the meeting, Baird made read a prepared statement to the council that he wanted entered in the record:

“I will not be as callous as to mention anyone by name or try to embarrass them publicly. However, I will not tolerate such an inflammatory outrageous statement to remain without correction.

“At a council meeting in June, a guest in the meeting made a very derogatory and libelous statement stating that I was a stockholder in the Eastern Oregon Business Development marijuana grow business at the time of the council meeting of Dec. 15, 2015.

“I was a member of the council at the time the council decided to “opt out”. The discussion resulted in five members to allow the “opt out” option and one against. Various reasons for the decisions were given by council members.

“To clarify, it was sometime in late January when I was asked if I would like to become an investor. This was approximately one month following the council meeting in December. Because of the opportunity to help create and provide family wage jobs, my wife, Patsy, and I decided to invest.

“My wife and I have decided to forgive this person rather than pursue legal action. However, after all being said, I do believe a person of moral character owes my wife, myself, the Hines Common Council, and the citizens of Hines an apology.”

•••

Police Chief Ryan DeLange reported his department had been busy with a number of calls, including a couple of assaults, one which involved a weapon as well as drugs and alcohol, three stolen vehicles, and battling the methamphetamine problem.

He said more than 200 people attended the Guns and Hoses competition between emergency personnel and everyone seemed to have a good time.

DeLange added that he’s hoping Officer Marc Novak will start academy training on Sept. 12, and that Officer Roxane Ellis has been doing well since she graduated from the academy.

He also told the council he had earned an executive certificate from the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training.

•••

Erwin stated she had been approached by a resident about the possibility of the city taking over the maintenance of the skate park. The council agreed to discuss the matter.

She also brought up the solar eclipse, which will occur in 2017, and suggested the council look at working with the city of Burns, the county, the fairgrounds, and others who may want to capitalize on the opportunity. She said our area is pretty much on the path to watch the total eclipse, and that visitors will be coming for the event as motel rooms are already being booked.

•••

In other business:

• the council approved a conditional use permit for The Tree Service, and a variance for Linda Horn;

• the council approved the agreement with the Harney County Veterinary Clinic (HCVC), setting fees  for impounded animals. Mayor Nikki Morgan explained that the city will pay HCVC, and then the people who have dogs impounded will have to come to city hall, pay the fees, and receive a receipt that will allow them to get their dog out of impound;

• Rapaport gave a brief report on a grant the Harney County Watershed Council received to lead a collaborative water planning effort to address water challenges and plan for a sustainable water future in the county. Rapaport said there are wells in the county that are going dry, the number of pivots is increasing, and arsenic is showing up in wells. She invited the council to a meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, at the Harney County Community Center to learn more about the issues.

Rapaport also suggested the council look at raising the price of business licenses, and expressed concerns about the methamphetamine problem in the community.

She stated that people who are arrested for meth are just let back out on the street, and there is no rehab program for them.

“We have a huge problem here,” she said;

•••

Erwin told the council she attended a meeting with representatives from Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the city of Burns, and others regarding the deer population in the community.

She said the talked about several solutions, including expanding the hunting area near town, increasing the number of tags available, and asking the Burns Paiute Tribe to increase their deer tag numbers.

The next council meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, at city hall.