Three main topics were featured during the March 5, 2025 Josephine County Commissioners’ weekly business session, held at Anne G. Basker Auditorium in Grants Pass: the setting of new fees at the JoCo Fairgrounds; a letter of support for a Waldo Mining District historical monument; and filing an appeal of the controversial Oregon wildfire hazard map.
Josephine County joins several other rural Oregon counties in appealing the wildfire hazard map. JoCo legal counsel Wally Hicks said that a “thick” list of signatures from landowners contesting the map will be included in the letter notifying the state of Josephine County’s appeal. The following was provided as justifications for the appeal:
No clear language, graphics, visuals examples, underlying criteria for assigning hazard zones are publicly available and comprehensible to a public audience as required by ORS 477.090 (11)(a).
- Data is not available to the public for inspection to verify accuracy. Computer program is not public domain to inspect data.
- Data is applied theoretically and not verified with actual conditions.
- Values are inflated.
- Data is not shown at a tax lot level, however the map is required by OAR 629-1021 to be at the tax lot level, reducing accuracy.
- The map was not coordinated with local partners including counties.
- The information used is not accurate.
- The wildfire hazard value cannot be verified to determine compliance with criteria.
- Oregon Administrative Rules are non-compliant with the applicable statutes.
JoCo Recreation Director Tamara Martin gave background information on the community education auditorium at the fairgrounds, which was previously rented by Oregon State University for their extension program activities. After the county defunded the program, the auditorium was returned to the fairgrounds department to be used for public events.
“I have spoken with the fair superintendents,” Martin said. “They are all very excited about the opportunity to start really creating clinics and classes for the community open to the public so that they can start teaching some of the different activities that we see highlighted in the course of our fair there.”
Martin added that the auditorium is divided into two wings separated by a commercial kitchen. The larger wing can accommodate up to 190 people, while the smaller can have 50 – 90 individuals.
While the recreation director stated that the auditorium is intended for educational purposes, she said other events could be accommodated at the site, such as weddings and other celebrations.
Commissioner Chris Barnett confirmed with Martin that renting out the auditorium could be a profitable enterprise for the county. The fees associated with reserving the auditorium are as follows: For the full auditorium, $330 Monday – Thursday, $450 for a public event Friday – Sunday, and $385 for a private event Friday – Sunday; For a single wing, $245 Monday – Thursday, $385 for public events Friday – Sunday, and $300 for a private event Friday – Sunday.
Public comments were positive toward the fairgrounds. Former commissioner John West said, “The fairgrounds is, in my opinion, the flagship of Josephine County and they are doing a wonderful job with our fairgrounds and everything out there.” Meeting frequenter Judy Ahrens called the classes taught at the fairgrounds “amazing,” while Holly Morton said fairgrounds employees have “been fabulous to us.”
Chair Andreas Blech said that a few weeks prior, Waldo Mining District President Tom Kitchar reached out with a request for the commissioners to write a letter of support for the district’s endeavor to erect a historical monument.
The letter read in part, “The Waldo Mining District (Oregon’s first mining district established April 1, 1852) is currently preparing a proposal to the Siskiyou National Forest, Wild Rivers Ranger District, seeking approval to erect a historical monument near the mouth of Josephine Creek on the Illinois River documenting and marking the location of the first viable gold discovery in what would become Josephine County. by the Rollins Party in 1850.
“It was this discovery that triggered the Gold Rush into SW Oregon, which led to settlement in what was wilderness at the time. Thousands of prospectors and miners flooded into this area by 1854. It was the miners that first settled this area… and everything else followed. It was the miners that caused what is now Josephine County to break away from Jackson County, and pushed for statehood.”
Kitchar cited examples of monuments established by the Clampers in describing what WMD had in mind for Josephine Creek.
Commissioner Ron Smith threw his support behind the proposed monument, saying, “We can’t forget our roots. Most people need to understand that the first people in this county were probably the Native Americans, but the second people who landed here were gold miners. That’s really what founded the county.”