Local News

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners this morning decided against passing an ordinance that deals with the time, place and manner of its weekly business sessions.

During a public hearing on the second reading of the ordinance, Legal Counsel Wally Hicks read the entire script and noted that weekly business session dates and times would be determined and adjusted by the Board of Commissioners.

Several citizens spoke in favor of scrapping the ordinance and starting over, calling for consistency in the scheduling and location of the meetings. For many years, the Board held its business sessions on Wednesdays at 9 a.m., with an evening meeting held once each month. The current Commissioners initially moved the meetings to Fridays at 10 a.m. before deciding that Thursdays at 10 a.m. was a better time slot.

In other business, the Board approved a request for a fee waiver from the Illinois Valley Fire District. Two IVFD representatives testified that the district is building a new facility in Selma and they asked for the waiver of traditional planning and development fees. The vote was 2-0, with Board Vice-Chair Chris Barnett absent while attending the statewide Commissioners College.

During the public comment period, one citizen requested that meeting agendas be made available to the public five days in advance. Another citizen asked the Board to work with the Grants Pass City Council to help remedy the current homeless situation. He said there will be a peaceful rally at the Courthouse on Saturday.

Other comments heard by the Board included complaints about a security guard at the May 1st protest event, a complaint about the Board moving its monthly radio show off KAJO to a station in Medford, a claim that Commissioner Chris Barnett bused in and paid people to support him at last week's meeting, a question about Barnett's integrity and a call for the entire Board of Commissioners to resign.