Klamath County approves leases, intergovernmental agreements and grant modifications; adds funding for weed control

The Klamath County Board of Commissioners approved a package of routine agreements, appointments and grant modifications during its Dec. 17 business meeting.

Key approvals included a 10-year farm lease with Blackman Farms and an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the City of Klamath Falls for rent-sharing on roughly 100 acres (the Aconouse site). Commissioners accepted Blackman Farms’ response to a county request for proposals and later approved a separate lease and IGA. The county will share rent payments with the city; the IGA described an annual rent payment of $12,000 to be split equally with the City of Klamath Falls, with other lease costs to be prorated as outlined in the agreement.

County commissioners also approved a purchase order with Workspace (via an Omnia cooperative contract) for office cubicles, desks, conference room tables and chairs, including delivery and installation. The agenda and staff presentation listed an impact of $234,389.04 for that procurement.

The board approved an amendment to a Community Corrections memorandum of understanding to formalize collaboration with Transformation Wellness Center under a deflection program; that MOU had been prior-approved in an administrative meeting and is intended to facilitate referrals and treatment for people with substance use disorder. Separately the board approved a memorandum of understanding to include the Klamath Tribes in a local emergency declaration linked to the Merriman hydrological event.

Other items approved included:

- An intergovernmental agreement with Lake County to provide plan review and inspection services (commercial plumbing and electrical) by remote means; the contract rate is $125 per hour with a half-hour minimum and a not-to-exceed $25,000 amount for the contract period.

- An amendment to an agreement with JK Development Company extending the performance period for subdivision street and sidewalk work by one year; staff said there was no change in cost.

- Two Forest Service grant/contract modifications for the county weed-control program: one extended performance and administrative availability of previously obligated funds for an additional year; a second modification added $21,660 to the county’s weed-control operating budget. Staff noted multiple grant programs had not been funded recently, creating a shortfall risk for ongoing weed-control work.

- A domestic well financial assistance agreement for $14,583.75 to an applicant named Joe Calabresi, funded from the commissioners’ miscellaneous grant fund.

- A service application with Elavon to allow remote credit-card payments for court fines and fees; staff said there is no fiscal impact to the county and processing fees are passed on to customers.

- A contract with Independent Actuaries, Inc., to provide GASB 75 actuarial valuation and related services; staff listed multiple line items and amounts associated with pension and OPEB valuations and supplemental reports.

- Multiple routine appointments to special road district boards and reappointments to other local boards.

Most items were moved, seconded and approved by voice vote; where recorded, the chair signaled aye and the motions passed. No recorded motion failed or was tabled during the business portion of the meeting.

Votes at a glance

- Accept RFP response from Blackman Farms: motion made and passed by voice vote; no fiscal impact recorded at time of acceptance.

- Approve farm lease with Blackman Farms and IGA with City of Klamath Falls: approved; fiscal impact — rent payment structure shared equally, $12,000 annually noted in the IGA.

- Approve Workspace procurement (Omnia cooperative) for cubicles/desks/tables/chairs: approved; fiscal impact $234,389.04.

- Approve MOU between Community Corrections and Transformation Wellness Center (deflection program): prior approved; no fiscal impact recorded at meeting.

- Approve MOU with the Klamath Tribes for participation in emergency declarations (Merriman hydrological event): approved; no fiscal impact noted.

- Approve IGA with Lake County for plan review/inspection services (remote): approved; contract rate $125/hour, half-hour minimum, not to exceed $25,000.

- Approve amendment with JK Development Company extending performance period: approved; no change in cost.

- Approve modifications to Forest Service agreements for weed control (extension and $21,660 increase): approved; $21,660 added to weed operating budget.

- Approve domestic well financial assistance agreement with Joe Calabresi: approved; $14,583.75 from commissioners’ miscellaneous grant fund.

- Approve Elavon service application (credit card gateway): approved; no county fiscal impact recorded (fees passed to customers).

- Approve contract with Independent Actuaries, Inc.: approved; staff listed line-item amounts for pension and OPEB valuations and supplemental reporting.

What this means

The actions approved on Dec. 17 are largely operational and routine: leases, intergovernmental service agreements, grant modifications and vendor contracts needed for county functions. The board added a modest amount of federal-forest-service funding to the weed-control budget, approved a large furniture purchase for a county lease site, and authorized capacity for remote inspection services via an IGA with Lake County. The meeting record does not show new county appropriations for shelter operations or emergency shelter creation.