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Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors Votes Against The Vote of The PEOPLE

In December, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted to go against the wishes of 79 percent of the Siskiyou County Voters and voted to go forward with Klamath River dam removal and hire a special employee who would expedite the Siskiyou permit process.

“It was moved by Supervisor Valenzuela, seconded by Supervisor Criss and carried following a roll call vote with Supervisors Haupt, Kobseff, Ogren, Valenzuela and Criss voting Yes to approve the Memorandum of Understanding between County, PacifiCorp, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Klamath River Renewal Corporation noting that the County will retain and PacifiCorp will fund an independent contractor to act as a Project Manager, authorize the County Administrator or designee to sign the MOU in substantially the same form, and authorize the Auditor’s Office to establish accounting and budget,” the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors minutes reads from December 13, 2022.

This was a relatively unnoticed agenda item, when many were focused solely on the Kidder Creek Camp’s issues earlier in the meeting.

The agreement voted for states “Whereas, the County has determined to actively engage in good faith with CDFW, the Renewal Corporation, and PacifiCorp on implementation of the Project and Associated Activities as authorized by FERC consistent with the County’s obligations as a local regulatory authority.”

PacifiCorp will fund the project manager’s salary of $150,000 per year to oversee and expedite the permit process on behalf of the county.

“Project Manager Funding. The County will retain and PacifiCorp will fund an independent contractor to act as a Project Manager for the County to help issue and administer county permits relating to the Project and Associated Activities and coordinate with the Renewal Corporation and PacifiCorp on the implementation of the Project and Associated Activities. PacifiCorp will cover the professional service fees and expenses (travel, office space, copies, postage, etc.) for the Project Manager (collectively, Project Manager Costs) up to an annual deposit limit of $150,000. The County will be solely responsible for all Project Manager Costs that exceed that deposit limit,” the county contract stipulates.

The contract agrees that “PacifiCorp and KRRC acknowledge that they may suffer undue delay if County halts work due to insufficient Deposit.”

The role of the project manager for dam removal on behalf of the county is to “provide permitting and technical support activities for the County identified in the Scope of Work attached as Exhibit A. The County will be solely responsible for directing the Project Manager’s activities. The Parties agree that PacifiCorp, CDFW, and the Renewal Corporation will have no role directing or supervising the Project Manager’s activities other than as required to facilitate cost forecasting, invoicing, and timely payment of the costs of the Project Manager’s services and to document adherence of those services to the Scope of Work.”

EDITED: The Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to have the county administrator Angela DAVIS sign the contract, which she did on December 22, 2023. *Angela Cook, very sorry I originally wrote wrong last name.

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Siskiyou County District 5 Supervisor Ray Haupt told Siskiyou News.

I fought this thing till the final FERC decision spending 1.2 million. In the end two states, 4 Senators, two Governors and a White House stomped us by changing laws and flooding this with money. Nothing but corruption prevailed in the end.

It was to protect tax payers and the county from any damage to our roads. It was revised two weeks ago at my behest as I saw the original lacked teeth for enforcement and added real time fixes to protect the public

That one is for a staff person to keep track of their permits so we don’t miss something. The funding for it is from PacifiCorp. In the FERC Order if we miss one of their submittals or don’t process them timely our requirements are bypassed by federal exemption. We have a contractor doing this work.

Ray’s last comment: I’ve done everything I could to protect our citizens. My charge now is how best to represent my constituents damages before anyone who will listen. I’m still working with Congress as the after effects will be shocking in my opinion.

ADDED AFTER PUBLISHED*

Siskiyou County District 5 Supervisor Ray Haupt told Siskiyou News.

4 Comments

  1. Ray Haupt expressed in a text to me that the MOU was to protect the roads. (Paraphrased: The project manager of the MOU was necessary to protect the county interests.) As a civil engineer, I understand that heavy equipment, and dump trucks filled with concrete will damage county roads greatly. This damage has a cost to it that will take away from other departments… ie.. Sheriff.) Ray also sent me this text: “I’ve done everything I could to protect our citizens. My charge now is how best to represent my constituents damages before anyone who will listen. I’m still working with Congress as the after effects will be shocking in my opinion.”

  2. This article is a very poor interpretation of the MOU. I was there. It was the only way the County could protect our roads as this project that has been forced on us proceeds. The MOU was not efficient….it has been amended recently. It was amended because the citizens complained about the damage.
    I’m not sure why this article was written like this…. To bad mouth the Supervisors?
    The county supervisors have been fighting this battle against taking out the dams for a very long time…years….
    I am so disappointed in the citizens of Siskiyou County…! Now that it’s a done deal…. And about maybe 20 people are still fighting…and the rest of us are trying to protect what we can…there is a handful of people who show up to voice anything about the dam removal.
    Sad sad sad…..where are these citizens?
    They certainly have not attended the special BOS meetings…or even call in.
    So disappointing.

    • Avatar photo Publisher

      Thanks for your comments. I was at Fall Creek when project was starting and I was told all the permits are in place. I go to county and they say what permits. They only have to leave the place or roads better than when found! And so this is how things get moving along. I wrote this article because it black and white. Secondly the supervisor’s do not want to talk or respond to me, fine! So, this is only the beginning. I assure you this, the citizens of Siskiyou are not very pleased about a lot of issues!” I will give and be a voice if that is what it takes. I will also be a voice for the Board if they feel the need or desire to communicate to the constituents.

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