An amendment to a grant agreement for the Criminal Justice Commission Illegal Marijuana Market Enforcement Grant Program was on the agenda at the Board of Josephine County Commissioners June 29 weekly business session held at the Anne G. Basker Auditorium in Grants Pass.
According to a letter to Sheriff Dave Daniel from CJC dated June 23, “On behalf of the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC), the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office has been awarded $3,864,603.72 under the 2022 solicitation for the Illegal Marijuana Market Enforcement Grant Program (IMMEGP)
Included please find your existing Grant Award Agreement that reflects the information below and other conditions changed. The award is subject to all programmatic and financial requirements, including timely submissions of any reports and requests for information:
“Award Number: IME-23-40 – Amount: $3,864,600.72 – Project Start: April 1, 2022 – Project End: December 31, 2024 – Award Date: June 15, 2022”
Under the amendment, the grant award was changed to reflect a fund request of $5,747,829.72. The project start date was changed to July 1, 2021, so the additional funds will reimburse marijuana enforcement expenses incurred since that time.
Also on the agenda was public hearing for the second reading and adoption of Ordinance 2022-001.
This ordinance amends sections of the Josephine County Code pertaining to kennels, future extension of streets, medical hardship dwellings, detached living spaces and mass gatherings. All of these subjects fall under JoCo Code Title 19: Rural Land Development.
“Kennel” is defined in the JoCo Code as “a use providing for the commercial keeping, boarding, grooming, breeding or training of smaller domesticated pet animals, such as dogs and cats, that are at least six months of age.”
Under the amendment to kennels, the number of animals being kept at a location for it to be considered a kennel is increased from six to 10 animals over the age of six months, whether the animals are being kept for commercial purposes or not.
The amendment regarding future extension of streets pertains to street plugs, which are defined as “an area of land dedicated to the public or deeded to the County as road right-of-way to be used in the future to extend a road or to connect through to another public road.”
The definition currently includes, “The right to use a street plug in its undeveloped state, or to develop a street plug to a county road, or to use a street plug to connect roads together, is a matter entirely within the discretion of the Board of Commissioners, and any action by the Board of Commissioners to utilize or develop an existing street plug shall be considered a ministerial action as described in JCC 19.22.030.
Under the amended definition, “discretion of the Board of Commissioners” is crossed out and replaced with “authority of the Director of Public Works pursuant to order of the Josephine County Commissioners,” ‘’and any action by the Director of Public Works to utilize or develop an existing street plug shall be considered a ministerial action as described in JCC 19.22.030.”
Chapter 19.43 – Temporary Use Permit was amended to make clear the differences between medical hardship dwellings and detached living spaces.
In addition, regulations surrounding mass gatherings were amended to clarify the process and agencies involved with approval.
Friends of Josephine County Children’s Advocacy has been partnering with the county in the process of developing, constructing and maintaining a Children’s Advocacy Center for Josephine County at the intersection of 5th Street and A Street in Grants Pass.
At the June 29 WBS, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Friends and the county spelling out obligations for pursuing grants related to the project. The county and Friends agreed to “assist the other party with community fundraising for the project.”
In addition, a ground lease was granted to Friends of Josephine County Children’s Advocacy for the property under construction.
The last item on the agenda was a tax refund of $43,606.87 to Lumen Technologies Inc. Lumen had overpaid real property taxes in the aforementioned amount.