Letter to Editor---BOC Has Major Discrepancy with the Coquille Tribal Road Proposal

Madam Chair CC BOC, Melissa Cribbins:

Coos County BOC agendas for July 1, 2014 and July 15, 2014 have a major discrepancy. For some reason items 3G and 3I do not match per the agenda item “Coquille Indian Tribe would like to add portions of the Coos County roadway to their Tribal Transportation Program Roadway Inventory”. In the July 1, agenda packet page, published on the Coos County website, item 3G, 17 of 41 is/was a Memorandum of Understanding from the Tribe and page 18 of 41 is/was a list of county roads that the Tribe was requesting approval to add to their TIP. In the July 15 agenda packet, published on the Coos County website, the same agenda item was listed as 3I. The MOU and the list of roads are gone and a “Contract / Grant Summary Form substituted for page 18 of 46. The last sentence of the page is marked that a written contract was attached. There was no contract attached.

Your response on July 6th to my July 3rd letter to Mr. Rowe and CC’d to Coos County BOC and counsel did not address all questions raised. After further review I have the following questions and request answers:

• The Tribe “has identified portions of the Coos County roadway system for addition to the TIP Roadway Inventory. The July 1st agenda, page 20 of 41, has identified 84.3 miles of “S-County” owned roads which the Tribe wishes to include in the TTP.  The length of roadway in the request varies from .01 to 8 miles and is of various surface types.
• Webster’s New College Dictionary defines “inventory’ as “1) an itemized list of current assets: 2) a catalog of the property of an individual or estate”.  With that definition, I read the Tribes request as for “Ownership”. They go on to say that “the County agrees to continue the required maintenance as these roads as it is presently the County’s responsibility.” There are a lot of legal ramifications made it that statement. Remember the Tribe invokes its “sovereign nation” status in legation!
• They claim the County is unable to provide funding for upgrades to these roads. What improvements does the Tribe wish to make? Will the County have funds for any maintenance of these improvements?
•  The Tribe uses many of the county roads for numerous activities, and acknowledges that many residents of Coos County have use of these roads. What “potential economic development” do they have planned?
• Are private property owners aware of any future activity?
• I am sure Coos County would accept any funding the Tribe would contribute to improvements to all roads tribal members use.

I respectfully request that maps be made available on the County web site least ten (10) days prior to any authorization for approval of chair to sign. These maps need to show the general and specific locations of each segment listed on the TTP with a description of the potential economic development and/or upgrade.

Oregon Revised Statute, ORS § 801.305 – Highway (1) Highway means every public way, road, street, thoroughfare and place, including bridges, viaducts and other structures within the boundaries of this state, open, used or intended for use of the general public for vehicles or vehicular traffic as a matter of right. ORS 368 County authority over roads. (1) Except as provided in this section or as otherwise specifically provided by law, the exercise of governmental powers relating to a road within a county is a matter of county concern. Oregon Law, H.B. 208, enacted that: Section 1. All roads or thoroughfares not hereto fore legally established within the State of Oregon that may have heretofore been used, or hereafter be used, for a period of ten (10) consecutive years or more by the general public for the purpose of travel, without protest, are hereby declared to be county roads. Section 2. No road of public easement shall be altered or vacated except by the county court in the manner now provided by law; and no county shall be bound to work, or improve, or keep in repair such road of public easement. Approved February 28, 1901.




 Respectfully, Theo Stanley

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