photo by BRANDON MCMULLEN

From L-R: Members of the Harney County Court include Harney County Commissioner Patty Dorroh, Harney County Judge Bill Hart, and Harney County Commissioner Kristen Shelman.

The following are the unapproved minutes from the Harney County Court meeting held Aug. 16. These minutes were edited for clarity and length.

The Harney County Court discussed Oregon Outback Dark Sky Network’s application to designate a Dark Sky Sanctuary, which would include major portions of Harney, Lake, and Malheur counties and all associated public and private lands therein.

Throughout the discussion, all County Court members expressed their understanding and appreciation of Harney County’s exceptionally dark sky. However, the court expressed concern about formally including Harney County in the sanctuary designation.

Harney County Commissioner Patty Dorroh expressed detailed concerns regarding the unintended consequences that could result from joining the International Dark-Sky Association Dark Sky Sanctuary.

Important areas of concern and consideration from the county and rural/private property perspectives include:
• adequate ordinances;
• impact to private property rights;
• additional regulations and mandates;
• impacts to agriculture;
• jurisdiction;
• having one land manager in charge of lighting;
• litigation; and
• maintaining local decision-making and control.

Dorroh said increased dark-sky-related tourism could pose more risks than benefits, especially to agriculture. She said Harney County supports the broad goals of the Dark Sky movement, without the need to designate sanctuary status.

Dorroh presented the proposal to the Harney County Stockgrowers during their meeting on Aug. 10. The members agreed, voted, and asked Dorroh to relay to the court that they do not support Harney County entering into formal sanctuary status. However, they are very willing to do their part, voluntarily, to retain our county’s dark skies.

Harney County Judge Bill Hart agreed and added his concerns regarding the potential consequences for grazing permits and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. He added that sanctuary status could be misconstrued in the future.

Harney County Commissioner Kristen Shelman said many collaborative efforts are currently in place for land management and preservation of wildlife and migratory bird habitat across Harney County and its public lands. She added that steps are also being taken to maintain private lands in agriculture.
She suggested that Dark Sky advocates work with landowners to encourage voluntary efforts to bring in tourist dollars and events that work well on their lands. She also suggested creating a path for individual property owners to seek designations, if needed.

The court did not see the need to adopt the light-management plan. However, the court agreed to research the two county lights identified in the Dark Sky night light inventory that do not meet the proposed light-management guidelines.

Hart made a motion to support Harney County joining the application to seek Dark Sky Sanctuary Status. Dorroh seconded, and the vote failed with no Aye votes.

•••
In other business:
• Abby Lee of Treasure Valley Community College (TVCC) presented the court with the 2023-2024 Out of District Services Delivery Agreement.

TVCC has a new partnership with Harney District Hospital to offer certified nursing assistant (CNA) classes this fall. They need four to five students to make the program viable. The cost is usually $750 for tuition and $500 for supplies, but they are waving the tuition rate for the fall CNA class.

Hart moved to approve $10,000 for the agreement. Shelman seconded the motion, and it passed;

• the court discussed an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between Grant and Harney counties. Under the agreement, the Grant County Jail will house Harney County’s inmates if the Harney County Jail runs out of space.

Hart made a motion to approve entering into an IGA with Grant County. Shelman seconded the motion, and it passed;

• Hart moved to approve the Harney County 2023-2025 Biennial Plan, which was presented by Harney County Community Corrections Director Lodi Presley. Shelman seconded the motion, and it passed;

• Harney County Assessor Karen Zabala provided an overview of the proposed quitclaim deed regarding the Hamann Family Trust.

She said there was incomplete data on properties from the early 1980s in the aftermath of the Lawen flood and due to school districts merging.

A quitclaim deed would clear up errors and remove the county’s name from the titles, so the heirs can have clear titles.

Shelman moved to approve the statutory quitclaim deed. Dorroh seconded the motion, and it passed;

• Harney County Human Resources Manager Deanna Atwell said the county will offer Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) classes for anyone in Harney County who qualifies for PERS. She added that representatives from Oregon Savings Growth Plan will also be present. The classes will be held Sept. 19-20 at the Harney County Chamber of Commerce.

Citycounty Insurance Services (CIS) will be at the courthouse Oct. 2-3 for Leave Law Training such as Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA). This is mandatory training for all department heads and supervisors;

• Hart made a motion to approve Cleaning Contract 2023-06 to Triple R Janitorial. Shelman seconded the motion, and it passed;

• the court discussed Court Order 2023-19 in the matter of forming a Joint Water and Sanitary Authority in Crane (per Oregon Revised Statute 450.600) and setting a public hearing date.

The court noted that the water needs to be protected and the Crane community needs to be informed about the project.

Shelman made a motion to approve Order 2023-19. Dorroh seconded the motion, and it passed;

• the court received a letter from the Burns Planning Commission, approving a conditional use permit for Kyla and Christa Kaino;

• Hart shared a letter from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regarding the final flood-hazard determination for Harney County and incorporated areas for Phase 1.

Harney County Planning Director Brandon McMullen will be asked to provide a more detailed update during the next county court meeting.

The next meeting of the Harney County Court will be held Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. at the Harney County Courthouse.