Of, By and For

In a reversal, given that the grant to develop a federal Habitat Conservation Plan for Yamhill County was reportedly already in the commissioner-approved draft 2010 - 2011 Yamhill County budget,

Yamhill County has turned down, on a 2-1 vote by its commissioners, a $391,000 federal grant that would have paid for development over the next three years of a plan to protect endangered species like the rare Fender’s blue butterfly.

...Expecting approval, Public Works Director John Phelan had already factored about $250,000 of the grant money into his approximately $10 million 2010-11 budget, with the rest to follow in his budgets for the following two years. With the May 26 board vote, he will have to pull that money back out prior to final approval of a county budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

via www.newsregister.com, "County spurns $391,000 federal grant"

And the accusations went flying:

[Yamhill County Commissioner Leslie] Lewis went so far as to accuse federal wildlife biologist Mikki Collins of having lied to the board to get her way. And the sharply worded accusation provoked a heated exchange between her and [Yamhill County Commissioner Mary] Stern prior to the vote.

via www.newsregister.com

And one commissioner, after 18 months of working with this sizable grant application and acceptance, revealed a general lack of attention to the issue,

[Yamhill County Commission Chair Kathy] George said she had not read the grant requirements as thoroughly as she should have originally. 

She has now done that, she said, and discovered requirements that worry her. She said she felt she had been pressured to make up her mind before she had done her research.

via www.newsregister.com

A News Register editorial opines:

 

The county’s in-kind match amounts to about $12,000 a year in a department budget of $10.5 million — that’s $36,000 out of more than $30 million over three years, and the $30 million consists entirely of state and federal infusions rather than local property tax revenue.

In other words, about 1 penny out of $10.00.

 

The county has legitimate concerns about ongoing management and mitigation obligations, but its local partners have pledged to pick up much of that burden. In a worst-case scenario, which the feds raised in the letter triggering this week’s headlines, environmental forces would sue, alleging non-compliance with the federal Endangered Species Act. That would create a vastly larger fiscal and management drain for the county, and a very real cost to local taxpayers without any compensating benefit.

The county may have "concerns" about the mitigation work, but it isn't really optional: they need to figure out how they are going to do it, not whether. The only question on "whether" is whether the county accepts the grant or pays for it out of its own pocket (assuming they aren’t going to fight it in court).

But yes, the conclusion is entirely correct for the county: "[non compliance by the county] would create a vastly larger fiscal and management drain for the county, and a very real cost to local taxpayers without any compensating benefit."

It irritated federal Fish & Wildlife officials that they have awarded the county $391,000 to develop a Habitat Conservation Plan designed to prevent just this kind of incident, but the three-year project won’t start until July 1. Even then, as they are well aware, it will happen only if reluctant Commissioners Leslie Lewis and Kathy George agree.

It also irritated the officials that they now are facing yet another incident after having documented previous incidents in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. To their way of thinking, enough is enough.

Commissioner Mary Stern is in full support, saying, “I think the plan is the right way to go. Legally, morally, ethically, it’s the right way to go.”

However, both Lewis and George are harboring doubts.

...George said the county isn’t required to have a habitat plan, and the county already takes steps to protect Fender’s blue habitat. So she isn’t sure it should be a high priority right now, she said.

The bottom line is, neither of them is committed to voting against the project, but neither is committed to voting for it at this point either.

This is completely disingenuous of Kathy George, current Chair of the Commissioners. The law requires the county to have it. The US Fish & Wildlife Service has been working cooperatively with the county to get the money, develop a plan, etc. What Kathy is saying is that the US government hasn't yet sued the county to force it to develop the plan.  That is not leadership, that is putting off the inevitable to avoid decisions.

Both the commissioners and Phelan need to sign off on the contract by June 21, and whether that will happen or not seems very much in the air.

[Yamhill Soil and Water Conservation District Director Tim] Stieber said all three commissioners were supportive when he embarked on the application process originally. He expressed concern to learn doubts were now surfacing.

via www.newsregister.com

The US Fish & Wildlife Service recently sent this letter to the Yamhill County Public Works and Board of Commissioners chair, Kathy George, outlining their concerns about the failure to take advantage of the grant for $390,000 to develop a Habitat Conservation Plan to address the county's "takings" of federally endangered species.

Yamhill County, OR has been for many years in violation of federal law for destroying small amounts of federally endangered species along county roads.  But in 2008, with the assistance of the Yamhill Soil & Water Conservation District, the County discussed and then applied for a grant of about $390,000 to prepare a Habitat Conservation Plan that would allow the county to get a permit for “taking” endangered species coupled with a plan for mitigating those takings by enhancing other habitat for the endangered species, such as the Benton County Habitat Conservation Plan that Benton County, OR completed in 2009.

But despite further discussion by the commissioners in 2009, Yamhill County has not completed the work to accept the grant.

The county is required to have such a permit and to have a mitigation plan.  The state/federal grant would pay for the work.  Other county’s would like to take advantage of the program and if the county is not timely, Yamhill County will likely lose the opportunity for the grant.

But if the county loses the funding, Yamhill County will still have to get the permit and produce a Habitat Conservation Plan, just without external funding, so the county would instead have to pay out of the county's taxpayer general fund instead of from outside sources.

Will the Commissioners be in violation of Federal law and face fines or federal mandates or try and fight it in court?  Or will the Commissioners make the county taxpayers foot the nearly $400,000 cost instead?  Or will they quickly take advantage of the expiring grant opportunity to assist the county in coming into compliance with the law?