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Draft sheltering agreement with school district discussed; fairgrounds staffing increased
Summary
County staff reviewed a draft agreement formalizing Crook County School District’s use of the fairgrounds as an emergency shelter and flagged a media‑release clause that would direct inquiries to the district; commissioners said unified incident command would guide communications. Staff also reported a small staffing increase at the fairgrounds to support summer events.
Casey, speaking for the Crook County Fairgrounds, presented a draft memorandum of understanding with Crook County School District to formalize use of the fairgrounds as a shelter or mass‑care facility in the event of an emergency.
Staff noted a clause in the draft that would direct all press and media inquiries about events at the fairgrounds to the school district superintendent or district public information officer. County counsel and managers questioned whether the county should agree to that blanket restriction and noted that in a mass‑casualty event the public information function typically operates under a unified command that includes law enforcement, the school district and county emergency responders.
Commissioners said they generally have a cooperative relationship with the school district and that the clause could be managed through coordination or clarified in the agreement. Staff suggested the county could request guidance from the district about what information the county may share when the agreement is activated, and agreed that the agreement could be amended later if operational experience warranted changes.
Separately, staff reported the fairgrounds staffing allocation will increase from 5.12 to 5.54 full‑time equivalent (FTE), a net change reported in the packet as 0.42 FTE, to support seasonal events; staff said the change reduces the personnel budget by about $7,000 due to reallocation and overlap for training coverage and extra help.
No formal action was required on either the sheltering agreement or the staffing update during the work session; commissioners approved placing the school‑district agreement on the consent agenda for future consideration if appropriate.
