Board of Commissioners Votes to Formally File Appeal to State Wildfire Hazard Map

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to formally file an appeal against the statewide wildfire hazard map. The 3-0 vote by the Board followed a presentation by County Legal Counsel Wally Hicks. Hicks said a large number of signatures have been gathered from citizens who are also filing appeals and they will be attached to the Josephine County appeal. He said the wildfire hazard map came from what he called "a flawed process," citing nine specific areas. He said the county's appeal will be sent out as soon as possible. In other business, the Board held a public hearing and then approved setting a new fee schedule for the Fairgrounds pertaining to the former OSU Extension Service Office building located off Ringuette Street. Recreation Director Tamra Martin testified the building -- which has two separate wings separated by a commercial kitchen -- is now available for use by the public. The fee schedule calls for renting the full auditorium or separate wings at different rates for Monday-Thursday and Friday-Sunday for both public and private events. Hourly rates will pertain to community education and youth education clubs. The Commissioners also voted to approve a letter of support for a proposed historical monument for the Waldo Mining District, which was established in 1851. ...Read more

GP City Council Reverses Course and Appoints Stephanie Nutall as City Attorney

The Grants Pass City Council on Wednesday night reversed course and voted to appoint Stephanie Nutall as the new City Attorney. Led by former Councilor Dwayne Yunker who opposed Nutall's appointment in early January, the newly-seated panel denied her appointment. But last night, they voted 5-3 to appoint the former The City Council approved the second reading of an ordinance that added new public noticing requirements for certain land use applications. For all Type 3 and Type 4 applications, developers must increase the mailing radius of public notices from 100 feet to 200 feet, have on-site postings that include public hearing meeting information and hold a neighborhood meeting for all new residential developments of 50 or more dwelling units. The Council also approved a resolution awarding funds for the Spring 2025 Cycle of the Sustainable Tourism Grant Program to seven applicants. Grants of $5,000 were awarded to Operation Rambo, Southern Oregon Innovation Hub and the Southern Oregon Horse Racing Association. Grants of $2,500 were awarded to Rogue Valley Classic Cruisers, Blaze-N Monkeys LLC, Grants Pass Museum of Art and the Grants Pass Active Club. ...Read more

City Residents Asked to Complete 2025 Grants Pass Community Priorities Survey

Grants Pass would like to receive comments and suggestions from community members on what they believe are the most important priorities for the City to accomplish. Strategic planning helps the Grants Pass City Council determine its priorities, organize, make big decisions and realize dreams. City Manager Aaron Cubic said the act of merely setting a goal brings about positive change for many people. When setting goals, he said we are creating an exciting challenge for ourselves. The strategic planning process does this by identifying the most important things to accomplish for the community, establishing organizational responsibility and reasonable time frames for achieving them, and allocating the resources necessary for programs and projects to implement them. Citizens are asked to take a brief survey to help the City understand what is important to the community. The survey can be found at "bit.ly/4krcxKo." The survey will close at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 14th. ...Read more