The following are the unapproved minutes from the Hines Common Council meeting held Jan. 14. The minutes have been edited for clarity and length.

Under department heads reports, Hines Police Chief Ryan DeLange reported that the police department has been working on several domestic calls, a continuation of last month. DeLange stated that one call can take up to five days of work, adding that their overtime, as a department, was up quite a bit.

The department also responded to many calls of youth/students vaping at the schools.

DeLange noted that Dan Jenkins took over as interim sheriff for Harney County. DeLange said Jenkins is doing a good job, and he hopes the next 11 months are a positive change for the county and Hines Police Department.

DeLange presented an email that he received earlier that day regarding a proposed ordinance before the county court declaring Harney County will uphold, sustain, and support the Second Amendment. If any state law was to pass that violates or inhibits the Second Amendment, the county would not enforce it.

Councilor Robert Beers asked about the legality of vaping. DeLange confirmed that it is illegal for anyone under the age 18 to vape. If a minor in the school district has been caught vaping, the police are called in. If the student is 18, but still in school, the school district handles it.

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Fire Chief Bob Spence reported that the last month was slow. The department attended to one flue fire.

Spence noted that the department has approximately 25 smoke detectors that it can install throughout the community.

The new thermal-imaging camera arrived. It is twice as small as the previous one, but works very well. Councilor Duane Hutchins asked whether the machine is battery-powered or rechargeable in the truck. Spence confirmed that it charges in the truck. A discussion ensued about what the machine can see and how it can be used.

Hines Fire Department is continuing its ongoing training with Burns Fire Department.

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Acting Public Works Superintendent Jerry Lewellen reported that the department has been moving a lot of snow. ODOT is no longer plowing the snow up onto the sidewalks, but are now slowly going along scraping it into the gutters along the sidewalks. It takes the public works crew a little longer now to remove all the snow from the roads.

The handheld for the water meter readings no longer talks to the computer, so all bills will be averaged until a solution can be implemented.

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City Administrator Kirby Letham told the council that the city of Burns revised an agreement regarding the judicial services that it provides regarding civil matters. The fee Burns charges for judicial services increased from $150 to $300. The city of Hines budgeted for the increase and has no other choice at this time.

The Small City Allotment contract was changed to deal with the ADA compliance legalities. Paving of certain roads that meet Highway 20 must be rewritten in the contract. However, the grant money most likely won’t reach that paving project. Letham will get with Mayor Nikki Morgan to have the contracts resigned. The amount of grant funding will not change, and most will be used for the first project on the list.

A contractor contacted Letham regarding designing and building the park bathroom. He will also be applying for grants through the Oregon Parks Department, and possibly using the money that was raised for the bathrooms and grant money for other areas of the park.

Brian Wall has been in contact with Letham regarding the skate park. There was talk of a committee being put together and working with High Desert Park and Rec to upgrade the park. A discussion ensued regarding grants, private grants, and other avenues of funding.

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During the public comment portion of the meeting, Kerry Boggs announced that he was running for Harney County Sheriff. He gave his personal history and qualifications.

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Under old business:

• Letham provided a breakdown of interest rates and payments from US Bank and Old West Federal Credit Union (OWFCU) for the purchase of a new vehicle for the police department. A discussion ensued about details of each loan and each bank. The council asked Letham to speak with US Bank to see if they would match the terms from OWFCU. The council also asked Letham to speak with OWFCU about opening a savings account specifically for the loan payments and if they would be willing to waive any annual fees;

• the winning bid for the 1992 Ford F250 sold by the city was $1,253 by Justin Hoffman. Beers made a motion to accept the winning bid, and the motion carried.

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Under new business:

• Bettina Bowman asked for donations for building improvements at the Crossroads. There will be an annual fundraising dinner on Feb. 29. They are also asking for donations outside of Harney County to reduce over-asking within the community. Bowman asked whether the city would be a $200 table sponsor (which includes two dinner tickets) or a $100 food sponsor (which includes one dinner ticket). Bowman also asked the Hines Fire Department to donate “a ride to school in a fire truck” as a silent auction item, and Spence agreed. The council voted to donate $200 for a table sponsorship;

• Letham presented an email from Oster Professional Group stating that they have not finished the current audit, and will not be doing audits anymore. The city will need to put out bids for a new auditor before April 2020;

• David Sneddon shared his interest in filling the planning commission vacancy and provided his background and credentials. Following a discussion, Sneddon was appointed to the planning commission.

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In the second public comment portion, Lola Johnson, director of the Harney County Chamber of Commerce, informed the council about upcoming events, including the chamber dinner on Jan. 25, a health fair on Feb. 1, and the bird festival. Johnson also asked the administrator and mayor to speak at the State of the County on Feb. 20, at 6 p.m.

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During councilor comments, Councilor Gary Miller stated that he called Letham regarding the deer and about the city flier that said a dog was stomped. Miller said he did some research with local veterinarians, and there were three dog-stomping incidents on record that all happened in the springtime. Letham said the lady who he talked to said her dog was stomped in September.

Miller also mentioned that the paving of West Hanley needs to be done first, so it doesn’t get behind another year.