Lori Bailey, Christy Cheyne, and Melissa Ward of the U.S. Forest Service attended the regular meeting of the Harney County Court on June 6 to discuss the Emigrant Creek Ranger District Danger Tree Removal Project.

Bailey, who is the National Environmental Policy Act coordinator, explained that the purpose of the project is twofold.

“One is to provide for worker and public health and safety by removing danger trees, basically along the two- and four-digit roads, our main roads, and campgrounds, and wherever there are any improvements or structures on our district,” Bailey said. “And then the second part of the purpose is to recover the economic value of the danger trees as rapidly as possible to maximize the potential economic benefits.”

She explained that a danger tree is defined as, “A standing tree that presents a hazard to people or improvements due to conditions such as, but not limited to, deterioration or physical damage or damage to the root system, the trunks, the stem, the limbs, and then the direction or lean of the tree.”

Bailey said the need for action is based on widespread tree mortality throughout the district caused by the 2012 pine butterfly outbreak, subsequent years of drought, and then a beetle infestation.

She noted that the project was designed to protect road surfaces and shoulders and other resources such as allocated/dedicated old growth areas, research natural areas (RNAs) or proposed RNAs, inventoried roadless areas, riparian habitat conservation areas (RHCAs), heritage sites, and sensitive plant sites.

“In a lot of these, we may just cut the tree down and leave it,” Bailey said.

Of the estimated 695 miles of two- and four-digit roads, 183 miles are known to be in RHCAs, nine miles are in old growth, and one mile is in an RNA.

“That’s the mileage that most likely we would drop and leave the trees,” she said, noting that trees will be taken if they fall on the road and can be taken if they are above the road in an RHCA.

Bailey said the environmental assessment (EA) can be used for multiple years, and roads will be prioritized every year. Cheyne, who is the Emigrant Creek district ranger, said the proposed project will begin by focusing on the 17, 43, and 1601 roads.

Comments can be submitted to Lori Bailey at 265 Hwy. 20 S. Hines, OR 97738. They can also be submitted verbally by calling 541-573-4300. The deadline for submitting comments is Friday, June 22.

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Harney County Assessor/Tax Collector Ted Tiller reported that the county was approached by a developer who is entering into agreements with private landowners to lease their property to install solar panels. Tiller said a bill passed in 2015 discusses the potential of an agreement between the county and the developer that would allow the solar company to pay the county $7,000 per megawatt of nameplate capacity in lieu of the property tax, explaining that nameplate capacity “is just kind of a fancy name for how much power they’re going to be producing.”

He said, “That could be a little or a lot,” explaining that projects can produce as little as 2 megawatts, but the standard is usually around 10.

Tiller stressed that entering into an agreement is optional, and the court can weigh the pros and cons. He noted that several counties opted to enter into agreements, and several opted not to.

“As far as an economic boon to the county, job creation, there really isn’t any,” Tiller said. “I’m not saying that’s a good or bad thing, I’m just saying that they usually bring in their own people.”

Harney County Commissioner Mark Owens said, “I don’t mind trading property tax for jobs, but if we’re not getting jobs, I don’t want to give away property tax. So in order for me to make that decision, I would have to know what your recommendation would be on what would bring more money to the county.”

Tiller replied that a 10 megawatt facility is typically valued at $20 million and would garner about $250,000 in property taxes, but only $70,000 under the agreement.

Owens asked about depreciation, and Tiller said solar facilities depreciate at a rate of about 3 to 5 percent annually.

Tiller said solar companies can also apply for three-year enterprise zone exemptions, which have job requirements.

In any case, the land would be assessed separately. The agreement or the exemption would only apply to improvements on the land.

The court will obtain additional information from Tiller and Harney County Counsel Tim Colahan and resume this discussion later.

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Tiller also presented a court order in the matter of canceling personal property taxes, explaining that Oregon Revised Statute 311.790 allows the court to write off personal property tax that’s deemed uncollectible.

“To leave them on the tax roll is really kind of an exercise in futility,” he said.

Tiller explained that the order applies to a manufactured structure that was repossessed by the bank and moved out of state and an inactive business. However, it only applies to stuff inside the business (such as fixtures, computers, and desks), not the building that housed the business or the land that it sits on.

The court approved the court order.

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In other business, the court:

• discussed whether to declare a state of emergency for the storm that occurred on May 25. The court will revisit the matter during its next meeting;

• approved Resolution 2018-08 in the matter of assigning Harney District Emergency Medical Services as ambulance service provider for the Harney County Ambulance Service Area, effective Jan. 1, 2018 until Dec. 31, 2022, subject to the provisions for suspension or revocation as set forth in Section 9 of Harney County Ordinance 29;

• recognized Angela Muilenburg of the Harney County Sheriff’s Office for her five years of service to the county;

• discussed the ongoing Federal Emergency Management Agency flood issues during an afternoon work session with Harney County Planning Director Brandon McMullen.

Owens reported that he participated in two phone calls to discuss mapping, flow rates, and grant funding;

• learned from Harney County Commissioner Patty Dorroh that the court’s recommendations were accepted, and Forrest Keady and Terri Hellbusch were approved and appointed to the Eastern Oregon Workforce Board.

Dorroh said she is inviting the board’s director to come to Harney County next month, possibly in conjunction with the Community Response Team meeting;

• upon recommendation from Harney County Roads Supervisor Eric Drushella, approved applications from Cody Williams and Sabrina Maki to install a culvert and/or approach from a county road;

• opened bids from Vantage Point, CCG Consulting, and Televate for the Broadband Strategic Plan. The court will review the bids and make a decision during its next meeting;

• received letters from Karen Moon and Angie Ketscher announcing their resignation from the Harney County Fair Board. The court expressed appreciation for their service to the board;

• approved a court order in the matter of distributing Sale of County Land Fund 687 to the tax districts;

• discussed water use requests;

• received correspondence from the Burns Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regarding a categorical exclusion and decision for Griffin Creek Enclosures. Categorical exclusions are categories of actions that don’t require an EA nor environmental impact statement;

• received correspondence from the Burns BLM regarding an EA that would analyze the environmental effects of a proposed research project involving spaying wild horse mares and assessing their behavioral outcomes after collaring and returning them to the range with untreated horses;

• received correspondence regarding timber sales on the Prairie City Ranger District;

• reviewed the recent Harney County Wolf Advisory Committee meeting. The next meeting will be held July 17 at 6 p.m. at the courthouse;

• learned from Dorroh that she was appointed to the Oregon Construction Contractors Board;

• was addressed by Paul Hyland who reported that the replacement bridge was installed on Embree Lane. Hyland said the bridge is “pretty nice,” but they are still figuring out how to get water to his pasture;

• held a budget hearing June 6 at 1:30 p.m.

The next meeting of the Harney County Court will be held Wednesday, June 20, at 10 a.m. in Runnels’ office at the courthouse.

Next month’s county court meetings are scheduled for July 5 and 18.