by Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

Harney County Judge Pete Runnels and Lori Cheek attended the Burns City Council meeting on Wednesday, May 23, to talk about the franchise agreement High Desert Biomass Cooperative (HDBC) has with the city.

Cheek said that HDBC had bought the system from Harney Community Energy (HCE), the developer, and HCE had signed a franchise agreement that paid the city $500 a month.

“We had not negotiated that, but I’m here, we’re here to ask for some clemency from you guys because we are in infancy,” Cheek said. “We’ve only got three people that are actually paying bills, and we bought this from them. In addition to that, we have also taken on some financial obligations that we are honoring, but it has hit us right in the pocketbook. On the other hand, we have between 40 and 60 percent more energy that we are producing right now that we’re not selling, and so we are actively seeking expansion.”

Cheek noted the expansion plans would fit in nicely with the city’s planned paving projects.

“The reason that we feel we’re not too ashamed to come and ask you guys for some clemency here is this: We had six blocks paved and completely done as part of this project through an ODOT grant. It was approximately $216,000 that we brought to the table in 2016. Those are the roads you won’t have to fix,” Cheek said. “We tore them up, but nonetheless, we also arranged that grant. That’s equal to about five years of us paying if we negotiated the same exact franchise fee that was established back in 2015.”

Cheek explained that they are now working with a $30,000 grant to explore the feasibility of expanding into Hines, as there is a real need in the city. She added that expansion could change the co-op’s financial situation in a couple years.

Runnels said the co-op also got hit with an unexpected state tax bill of about $52,000, which they are in the process of appealing.

Cheek said the co-op is a nonprofit and offered to share its financial information with the council.

The council agreed to look into the matter further before making a decision on whether to put a moratorium on the franchise agreement payments or not.

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City Manager Dauna Wensenk began her report by thanking residents for cleaning up their lots, the public works department for helping to clean up a county lot on Railroad Ave., painting the tower on city hall, and for clearing a tree that fell on S. Diamond Ave. during a wind storm. She also thanked Rod and Karen Dinsmore of C&B Sanitary Service for having the dump open on May 5 for yard debris and appliances.

Wensenk said she attended a meeting with representatives from the city of Hines, the county and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regarding flood plain mapping, and they continue to make headway, but there are still some issues to work out including the western drainage and the levee. The new map has been accepted and it takes about 47 residences out of the flood plain.

A representative from the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development was in town to answer questions about FEMA and the high cost of flood insurance.

Wensenk stated that a Firewise Day is scheduled for June 14 at Big R to educate home owners about keeping their properties safe from wildfires.

She reported that the city had received $10,000 from the county to go toward a new fuel tank at the airport, and an additional $65,000 for city streets. The extra money came from the Secure Rural Schools funds, and the city will have about $300,000 in next year’s budget to put toward improving the streets.

Wensenk also wanted to remind residents that per the city’s nuisance ordinance, weeds, grass, brush, and other forms of nuisance vegetation exceeding 10 inches in height after June 1 need to be cut to avoid citations or penalties.

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In other business:

• the council approved a 4th of July fireworks show to be set off at the ponds behind the fairgrounds as in past years;

• the council approved a request from the Harney County Cultural Coalition to close a portion of Washington Street to vehicle traffic from 5 p.m. June 29 to 5 p.m. June 30 for The Cultural Crawl. The event will feature local musicians, food vendors, art activities, and traditional artisans;

• the council approved a request to close a portion of E. Jefferson St. from 7 a.m. July 7 to 8 a.m. July 8 for a patriotic block party, including several bands;

• the city received three bids for a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system upgrade. Following Public Works Director Pedro Zabala’s recommendation, the council voted to accept the bid from Powers of Automation in the amount of $22,657.

The next council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 13, at city hall.