County Commissioner Mark Owens attended the Burns City Council meeting on Wednesday, April 25, to keep the community informed as to what is happening with the flood plain issues in the county.

Owens said the county and cities are now starting to enter into a different stage of the mapping by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“There are options being presented by FEMA, and we’re countering back,” Owens said. “We’re going to need to get all the stakeholders’ agreement to move forward.”

Owens stated the mapping issue with FEMA has been ongoing for several years, with FEMA coming forward with new LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) maps that are not beneficial to Burns and Hines, but are a “home run for the county.” So two years ago, the county court met with the two cities and agreed to work on the issue together.

Owens said FEMA was trying to get the cities and county to adopt the new mapping, but there are still unanswered questions.

“They say the Silvies River has 6,600 cubic feet per second in a 100-year event. We have three other reports that say it is considerably less — 4,200, 4,400 cubic feet per second from Doug Ferguson Engineering, ODOT, and others,” Owens told the council. “So we asked, ‘Where are you coming up with your 100-year flow?’ ”

Owens said that during a flood event around 1892, someone commented that the river must be flowing at 9,000 feet a second, and it’s in their report.

“It’s the highest flood event on record, and there’s no scientific data for it, so we’ve asked for that to be removed,” Owens said.

Another sticking point is that FEMA won’t recognize the levee that runs by the river because it’s not certified, but Owens said the county doesn’t care if it’s certified.

“It’s still a land structure that impedes the water coming into town, and you have to recognize it,” Owens said.

Another question for FEMA is the westerly drainages, as FEMA says the amount of drainage is higher than what the engineering study said.

The county and cities have also asked FEMA for a map that shows how the water inundates into the cities.

“They just show us a map of a flood. They don’t show us actually how it comes in,” Owens said. “So I said, ‘We can’t explain this to ourselves, so we can’t explain it to our constituents, so we can’t approve it.’ We’ve asked for a map that shows how the water inundates into the cities of Burns and Hines.”

Because FEMA couldn’t answer the questions, they agreed to use the mapping done in 1984 until they can come up with answers if the county and cities will adopt the rest. The agreement excludes about 170 county residents from the flood plain that were previously included in the latest LIDAR mapping. The cities will remain with the status quo while conversations are ongoing.

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The council held a public hearing to consider an application by Debra Hoover for a livestock permit to allow her to keep a 31” miniature horse for therapeutic purposes at 180 S. Grand in Burns.

Hoover had been refused a livestock permit earlier because she doesn’t have the acreage stipulated by city ordinance, and she then appealed the decision.

Hoover explained how the horse helps her with her medical condition and provided letters from doctors in support of keeping the horse.

Several of Hoover’s neighbors were also in attendance to voice their support.

The city did receive one letter objecting to allowing Hoover to keep the horse.

After a lengthy discussion about care of the horse, fencing, and the question of whether the horse can be considered a “service animal”, the council voted to grant her a conditional use livestock permit with the stipulations that a fence be put up within a month’s time, that Hoover continue to work getting a “service animal” designation for the horse, and that the approval is strictly for Hoover. The council also agreed to revisit the issue at the end of the year.

The council then held a public hearing regarding a proposal to vacate the end of East Jackson Street between 48 S. Birch Ave. and 115 W. Railroad Ave. to allow the Harney County Senior and Community Services Center to construct a new bus barn and washing station.

Angie Lamborn, executive director at the center, explained that the demand for public transportation is expanding, and there is a need for a new building.

The council voted to approve the street vacation.

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City Manager Dauna Wensenk reported that there will be a free dump day for yard debris and appliances on Saturday, May 5, at C&B Sanitary Service.

C&B will accept yard debris and appliances for free that day.

Other garbage will also be accepted, but will be charged at regular rates.

Wensenk said the security cameras have been installed at city hall; the city is continuing to work on getting a nurse tank for the airport; and the meeting with FEMA will be held May 8.

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During the councilor comments portion of the meeting, Councilor Liz Appelman stated that she was frustrated because the council had brought up concerns in previous meetings and nothing seemed to be getting done. Three topics she mentioned were having a high school student serve as a junior member on the council, setting up a Facebook page for the city, and improving the bathrooms at Washington Park.

Wensenk said Public Works Director Pedro Zabala received two bids for the bathrooms, and is working on getting a third. As for the other two issues, Wensenk said the city was waiting on the Harney County Economic Development Office, as they were to be moving forward on them.

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In other business:

• Chelsea Harrison of the Harney County Chamber of Commerce reported that the American Solar Challenge would be coming to Burns July 21-22. She said between 12 and 20 solar cars would be arriving on July 21, with about 17 people per car.

The American Solar Challenge features collegiate solar car teams traveling more than 1,700 miles, following portions of the Oregon Trail.

She asked the city for permission to close A Street between North Broadway and Alder streets for the two days to allow the cars to park overnight;

• Jake Keady, a senior at Burns High School, was in attendance to ask for a donation to the senior all-night party. The council stated there is no more money left for donations, but Mayor Jerry Woodfin said he would make a $50 donation;

• the council voted to allow the sidewalk on the south side of the Burns Elks Lodge to be closed on May 4 for a Happy Star Wars Day celebration;

• Bev LaFollette, a member of the Flower Pot Project committee, told the council they had come up with new sites to place the flower pots throughout Burns and Hines. She stated that they have sponsors for about 40 pots, and after hearing the new plans, the council voted to allow the committee to move forward with the project;

• Fair Manager Jordon Bennett presented the council with available sponsorship packages that the city could purchase for the fair, and said he would return after July 1 to see if the city would be interested in being a sponsor;

• During his report to the council, Police Chief Newt SkunkCap encouraged residents to record serial numbers off of their property. He stated that the police have recovered stolen items, but there are often problems getting the stolen items, such as iPads, televisions, firearms, etc, back to the owners because there is no record.

The next council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 9, at city hall.