Changes At The County As Commissioner Jacobson Retires

Last week's board of commissioners meeting was Kaety Jacobson's last and her last day will be Friday the 14th. During her last meeting Jacobson gave special recognition to Allyson West director of the Lincoln County long term recovery group for the Echo Mountain Fire. She was also thanked by her fellow commissioners.

During the segment of the meeting where it came to the consent agenda, common items on the agenda that are usually just approved and moved forward, three items were requested to be moved into discussion. These included to designate Commissioner Hall as the commission liaison to county boards and commissions.

Commissioner Miller asked to take some time with this, review the by-laws and discuss it with the boards and commissions. County Council Yule said she preferred that this be put through right away, so they have guidance. Commissioner Jacobson made a motion that this could go into effect but be reviewed by the BOC in 120 days. This was approved.

The next item up for discussion was to appoint Commissioner Hall as the sole commissioner to county departments. Hall said "Its unusual but I think it's justified given the uncertainty with this transition taking place right now." Commissioner Miller said once again that he would like to bring this to the management team to make sure they were comfortable with the agreement.

Commisioner Jacobson said she felt it was a good temporary solution until a new commissioner could be appointed and their strong suits could be assessed. Miller pointed out that they have a County Administrator and he asked why he couldn't help with some of this until the new commissioner comes on board and can provide input. After more discussion Commissioner Jacobson made a motion to approve with a 50-day limit. This was approved by Hall and Jacobson with Miller abstaining.

It was also being recommended that Commissioner Hall be the only representative to seven cities in the county and to the Confederated Tribe of Siletz Indians. Commissioner Jacobson said she didn't like it. She said she understood that part of this was for transition purposes. She added that she didn't see how only one person could do this. She suggested a committee shuffe freeze until the new commission could get on board. Miller wanted more discussion and to be able to talk with everyone involved and divide things up better when the new commissioner comes on board.

County Council Yule said putting this in place now was necessary as they don't know when the person selected would be able to start and they want policies in place in the meantime. She said that HR, who oversees the management team and the wellness committee requested to be managed by Commissioner Hall. Jacobson made a motion to appoint Commissioner Hall to the wellness committee for 50 days and be reviewed after that time. This was approved by Hall and Jacobson with Miller abstaining

Another item discussed had to do with Lincoln County public comment rule. It was proposed to use the rules taken from the city of Newport's guidelines, with the exception of limiting public comment to a maximum of 10 people. Commissioner Miller pointed out that there are times when things come up, such as the discussion on FEMA rules that drew several people who wanted to share their thaughts on the matter and he strongly disagreed with the 10 person limit.

"I want the community to feel included in the process" Miller said. Commissioner Hall said the community is always welcome to submit comments in writing and expressed concern about safety after some threats were made in previous meetings. Commissioner Jacobson said she liked the rules presented overall and felt that an update was needed, but she too did not like the limit on people to provide comment. She made a motion to approved the public comment rules removing the 10-person limit. This was passed by all three commissioners. .

There are four candidates invited to interview, out of the 16 that applied, for the impending Lincoln County  Commissioner Position 3 vacancy. Those selected to receive an interview include Walter Chuck, who currently serves on the Port of Newport Commission, John Health, who is on the county's budget committee, Ryan Parker, a member of the Newport City Council and Catherine Rigby who is the grant manager for the city of Newport. Walter Chuck and Ryan Parker have run unsuccessfully in past elections for County Commissioner.

Interviews will be conducted during a work session in the Board Chambers at the Lincoln County Courthouse at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12. The public is invited to attend in person or via Zoom however no public comment will be taken.