Klamath County hears proposal to assign single department to manage Spence Mountain

Drew Hansel, representing the Spence Mountain Maintenance Advisory Committee, urged Klamath County commissioners at their Jan. 29 work session to designate a single county department to oversee Spence Mountain, an asset he said was appraised “for something over $6,000,000” when acquired two years ago.

The advisory committee told the board the site receives about 9,200 recreation visits a year and that nonlocal visitors account for roughly $900,000 in spending. Committee members said the panel meets only four times a year and lacks formal authority and a clear county point of contact for emergencies, contracts and grant implementation.

"When it was acquired 2 years ago, I think it was appraised for something over $6,000,000 and that value should only grow as our timber resource grows," Hansel said.

Why it matters: Committee members said recent and anticipated grants require timely procurement and on-the-ground work—forest thinning and repair of forest roads—during a narrow implementation window in late spring and early summer. The committee recommended creating a centralized county point person or assigning oversight to a single department so deadlines and contractor work are not missed during staff transitions.

Options discussed and staff capacity: Hansel described uncertainty over whom outside agencies should contact in an emergency or for work—property management, public works, or another office—and said transitions risk losing institutional knowledge. He cited other Oregon counties that use different models: forestry departments in Coos County, Hood River County and Josephine County; in some places public works or a parks department handle oversight; one county referenced in the discussion was named as handling oversight through its solid waste office.

At the meeting, commissioners said they were open to an interim solution. One commissioner suggested moving oversight temporarily under the county’s Public Works department, citing the department’s equipment and capacity for road and vegetation work. Commissioners asked staff to confer with Public Works Director Jeremy and other relevant staff and return with recommendations at a board meeting in roughly two weeks.

Staff and committee concerns: Committee members and county staff present, including county finance staff liaison Kirby Garlitz, said piecemeal responsibility complicates bidding, contracting and grant implementation. Hansel said the committee is poised to implement grant-funded projects and that the ideal implementation window for the current grant work is roughly April through June.

Next steps: Commissioners agreed to put the item on an upcoming agenda with a proposed interim structure, and to return with a job description or plan if the board pursues a new or part-time recreation coordinator or other administrative structure. No formal motion or vote was recorded at the work session.

Ending: The board directed staff to develop options and bring them back to a future meeting; committee members emphasized the time-sensitive nature of upcoming grant work and forest-season constraints.