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Commissioners note Oct. 30 courthouse drill, LPSCC deflection workgroup and review of local public‑health authority
Summary
Commissioner Coker on Aug. 19 briefed the board on a courthouse emergency drill scheduled for Oct. 30, LPSCC's decision to form a local deflection working group rather than accept a state grant, and preliminary discussions about county patrol support and a community resource officer with the City of Brookings.
Commissioner Coker used the Aug. 19 meeting to provide several administrative updates relevant to public safety and behavioral‑health planning.
Civic safety drill: Coker said Curry State Courts will run a campus security drill on Oct. 30 called a "run, hide, fight" exercise; a tabletop run‑through was scheduled for noon the day before. He asked county offices to consider whether the courts could extend training to other county properties and said he had asked the courts' administrative staff to explore that option.
Behavioral health deflection: Coker summarized recent work by the Local Public Safety Coordinating Council (LPSCC). Members considered applying for a state Behavioral Health Deflection Program grant but declined because the state funding carried unfunded mandates that would require sizable county resources to meet reporting and operational requirements. Instead, LPSCC formed a sub working group to design a Curry County version of a deflection approach to divert low‑level offenders toward behavioral‑health services earlier in the justice process.
Local health authority status: Coker reminded the board that the county returned its local mental health authority and local public health authority to the Oregon Health Authority about four years earlier and that the current arrangement was a four‑year agreement. He said county staff should consider whether the county wants to take back oversight of local behavioral‑health and public‑health authority when the agreement comes up for review; he reported Oregon Health Authority is trying to identify providers and had recently hired someone for environmental inspections in Curry County.
Brookings patrol talks and community resource officer: Coker offered an update on a workshop with the City of Brookings about possible county patrol services for portions of the city's urban growth boundary. He said the sheriff did not provide requested patrol data to the city, which left the city unable to move forward with a cost estimate. The sheriff also did not attend the workshop. Coker said the discussion produced a productive thread about a potential community resource officer (CRO) to address transient issues; he said county and city staff will draft an agreement and that opioid‑funding sources were proposed to help pay for CRO services.
LPSCC letter and upcoming budget presentation: Coker said LPSCC registered support for the Community Corrections biennial plan and budget and that Lieutenant Denny will present that plan to the board at the Sept. 3 meeting.
Coker said the LPSCC sub working group will assemble volunteers from the sheriff's office and other organizations to define a roadmap for a county deflection effort. No formal board actions were recorded on these briefing items at the meeting.
