This is how the people voted to keep the dam open”
On Nov. 2, 2010 the people of Siskiyou voted 3,640 to close the dam and 13,564 to keep it open.
Now the Board of Supervisors have decided to ignore the vote of the people and support the closing of the dam—without another vote of the people. And you wonder why people do not trust government? Even in a conservative county the office holders put themselves above the community. I expect Siskiyou is going to become another Shasta, with the people changing those in charge.
Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors Votes Against The Vote of The PEOPLE
Siskiyou News, 5/30/23 https://www.siskiyou.news/2023/05/26/siskiyou-county-board-of-supervisors-votes-against-the-vote-of-the-people-2/
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.”
