Votes at a glance: board appoints public health administrator, adopts smoke/vape policy, approves energy resilience notice of intent

The Benton County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved three formal items during the Jan. 21 meeting.

1) Appointment — Local public health administrator (Resolution R2025001) Lede: The board appointed Sarah Hartstein as Benton County’s local public health administrator under state statute. April Holland, Health Department director, presented the resolution and said Hartstein had served in the acting role since March 2023. Nut graf: Under state law (ORS cited in the packet), the board’s appointment notifies the Oregon Health Authority that the appointee will act as the county’s agent for public-health planning and stewardship of state public-health funds. Action details: Motion to approve Resolution R2025001 was made on the record and adopted by voice vote, recorded as unanimous. The motion language recorded in the transcript was: "I'll move to approve resolution number r 20 25 days 0 0 1, appointing Sarah Hartstein as the local public health administrator." The motion passed unanimously by voice vote.

2) Policy adoption — County admin policy A102, Smoke, vape and tobacco‑free property (version 3) Lede: Health department staff presented an updated administrative policy expanding the county’s smoke‑free property rules to include vaping and emerging tobacco products and to modernize signage and communications. Nut graf: Staff noted the policy is administrative (educational rather than punitive); no civil fines are part of the county policy and the county will provide education materials to staff and the public. Action details: The board adopted the updated policy by unanimous voice vote. Motion: "I'll move to adopt Benton County policy A102 smoke vape and tobacco free property policy version 3." Vote recorded as unanimous.

3) Notice of intent — Oregon Department of Energy county energy resilience plan ($50,000) Lede: Emergency Management staff presented a noncompetitive $50,000 grant opportunity from the Oregon Department of Energy to develop a county energy resilience assessment and plan focused on rural communities (Monroe and Philomath were proposed targets). Nut graf: Staff said the grant funds would support mapping energy infrastructure, assessing natural‑hazard risks and developing actions to increase resilience; the county intends to use the assessment as a basis for future hazard‑mitigation applications and larger resilience funding. Action details: The board approved a notice of intent to apply for the $50,000 Oregon Department of Energy grant by unanimous voice vote.

Ending: All three motions passed by unanimous voice vote. No aye/no roll-call names were recorded in the transcript; motion language and outcomes are recorded in staff minutes and the meeting audio.