Prineville, Ore. – The Crook County Fair Board on Monday voted to restart the process seeking applications and conducting interviews in order to make a recommendation to the Board of Commissioners to fill its vacant board seat — amid controversary after the Prineville Review uncovered an illegal use of executive session that kept the process from being public as required under Oregon’s open meetings law.
The discovery of the illegal executive session on Oct. 17th by the Prineville Review, prompted Crook County Commissioners on Oct. 30th to formally instruct the Fair Board to restart the process before they would consider any recommendations.
Despite the Commissioner’s decision, which was read for the Fair Board directors on Nov. 4th, the board shockingly voted to defy the County Commissioners in support of a motion by Vice-Chair Mike Kasberger not to restart the process and stick with its recommendation of former Deschutes County Sheriff Larry Blanton which it initially voted on Oct. 17th following its illegal executive session.
In the day’s following the Nov. 4th vote, all three Crook County Commissioners told the Prineville Review they would not change their decision on considering its recommendation until it restarted the process.
“I do not plan to vote in favor of the fair board’s recommendation. The commission voted unanimously to ask the fair board to restart the process of choosing a new board member,” Commissioner Seth Crawford previously told the Prineville Review.
Commissioner Susan Hermreck’s response was even more brief: “I stand by the Board of Commissioners decision to start the process over.”
While the Fair Board indicated they never formally sent the recommendation to the County Commissioner’s, the decision ultimtely resulted in a gridlock for a replacement.
At that point there were three clear paths moving forward; either for the commissioners to handle the appointment without the Fair Board’s recommendation, wait for the Fair Board to restart the process as it directed, or avoid the appointment and leave the Fair Board with only six of seven filled seats.
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Fair boards are either a semi-independent part of county government appointed by the commissioners, or they are part of a separate special district (called a fair district) that is elected by voters and has taxing authority. Fair board’s still operate more independently than other county boards under rules in ORS Chapter 565.
Unlike many committees and advisory boards created by and serving at the pleasure of an elected county commission, fair board members cannot be removed from office once appointed without cause as outlined in Oregon law.
During it’s Nov. 18th regular meeting, the Fair Board also seemed to acknowledge that the Crook County Commissioner’s had also made their own announcement on Nov. 7th seeking applications for numerous county boards, commissions, and advisory committees, including the vacant Crook County Fair Board seat.
The Fair Board seat became vacant after the early resignation of Director Linda Smith.
During Monday’s meeting, Director Casey Kaiser asked questions of county counsel in order to reinforce his understanding that the Crook County Commissioners were ultimately the ones tasked with the appointment and that they did not necessarily have to even consider a recommendation from its board to make an appointment.
County Counsel Eric Blane confirmed Kaiser’s understanding as being correct.
The Fair Board ultimately relented and decided that it should restart the process. Kasberger, who led the motion originally defying the commissioners and again recommending Blanton, indicated that despite his disagreement with how the commissioners responded to the entire situation, that he now believed restarting the process was the best option.
Chair Gail Merritt, Vice-Chair Mike Kasberger, and Directors Casey Kaiser and Stanley Flynn, all voted in favor of the motion to restart the process. Director Mike McCabe was absent, and Director Linda Cross decided to abstain from the vote (although there was no apparently ethics issues requiring her to abstain).
The decisions were also made as part of the boards process to address a public meetings grievance filed by the Prineville Review in late October in order to force the governing body to address the violation and provide public transparency. In response, County Counsel Eric Blaine pushed for the Fair Board to hold its meeting in another questionable executive session during its Nov. 4th special meeting. While Directors Kasberger and McCabe appeared reluctant to carry out the discussions in public, the Fair Board members unanimously voted against Blaine’s recommendation to carry out deliberations in executive session.
Oregon meeting laws provide limited exceptions for which public bodies can hold executive session that exclude the public, and only in even more limited circumstances can news media, who are entitled to attend executive session, can the media be excluded.
Editorial Note: We applaud the Crook County Fair Board for its decision to handle its admitted violations in a open and transparent manner for Crook County citizens. Based on the corrected actions, decisions to seek public meetings training, and its response to the grievance, a formal complaint was not raised with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. The grievance successfully served the intent of the grievance process. Our own actions involving government are often limited to issues of public records and meetings law, as this process provides an important tool to carry out responsibility and duty under our code of ethics to ensure we both "recognize a special obligation to serve as watchdogs over public affairs and government" and "seek to ensure that the public’s business is conducted in the open, and that public records are open to all."
Earlier today, Fairgrounds Administrator Haley Crow confirmed to the Prineville Review that fairground’s staff had not sent out its own notice yet seeking applications, but said they would be looking to coordinate with Crook County Administration regarding applications now that the Fair Board would restart their own process. She expected they would be making the formal announcement on Monday.
During its recent meeting, the board also discussed informing the previous applicants, local resident Cathy Stevens and former Deschutes County Sheriff Larry Blanton, about the need to restart the process.
Attempts since late October to reach Stevens or Blanton for comment were not successful.
The Nov. 7th announcement from County Commissioner’s Executive Admin Assistant Sarah Puerner said that those interested in apply for any number of the positions on various governing bodies can stop by County Commissioner’s Office at 203 NE Court St in Prineville. They can also email her sarah.puerner@crookcountyor.gov or visit https://co.crook.or.us/bc to download an application.
The deadline from the Crook County Commissioners for applications for the Fair Board or other boards and committees is 5pm on December 13th.
Crow indicated that while they thought the Fair Board’s own process may use the current deadline on Dec. 13th put out by the County Commissioners, they were not entirely sure if that deadline may be extended so it provides the standard 30 days for applications.
The County Commissioners were also seeking applications for the following public boards & committees:
- Ag Extension Service District
- Budget Committee
- Abatement of Dangerous Buildings Code Appeals Committee
- Community Health Advisory Council
- Compensation Committee
- Fair Board
- Hahlen Special Road District
- Museum Advisory Board
- Natural Resource Advisory Committee
- Planning Commission
- Prineville Lake Acres Unit 1 Road District
- Special Transportation Committee
