NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, the Union County Planning Commission and the Union County Board of Commissioners will hold a joint work session/dinner on Wednesday, February 11, 2026 at 6:00 p.m., in the Daniel Chaplin Building Conference Room, 1001 4th Street, La Grande, to discuss current and long range planning items. This is a work session only at which no decisions will be made.

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Meetings are open to public attendance – with meeting participation via Zoom teleconference also available. The meeting will be held in the Joseph Building Annex Conference Room located at 1106 K. Avenue, La Grande.

• To listen to the meeting, or participate in the public comment opportunity, please call: (253) 215-8782 or (301) 715-8592 and enter meeting ID number: 892 3607 1236. If you do not get through the first time, please try again.
• Join Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89236071236
• To submit comments by email, you may submit to: amoore@union-county.org, no later than 5 PM, Monday, February 9, 2026.

Agenda located here: Special Meeting Agenda

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Committee Members Needed

The Union County Board of Commissioners are accepting applications from qualified volunteers interested in serving on one or more of the various committees with current openings as listed below. Interested citizens are invited to submit a completed Advisory Committee Application. Applications are available below or at the Union County Administrative Office located at 1106 K Avenue in La Grande.

Ambulance District Advisory Committee

This committee shall provide recommendations to the Union County Commissioners on the operation of the ambulance service district. Members of this committee consist of three individuals from the (437) telephone prefix area, three from the (562) telephone prefix area and five from the remaining county telephone prefixes for a total of eleven members who may serve a four year term.  There are currently four committee openings, including three members from Elgin and one from either La Grande, North Powder, Cove, or Imbler.

Buffalo Peak Advisory Committee

The purpose of this committee is to provide recommendations to the Union County Commissioners on rate increases, marketing, condition of the course, and working with consultants that may be hired.  The committee will also promote and work toward making the golf course profitable and an economic benefit to the citizens of Union County.  The committee consists of seven members appointed to four year terms, with at least one member residing within the Union city limits.  There is currently one open position.

Health & Human Services Advisory Committee

This advisory group is appointed to serve as the Mental Health Advisory Committee, the local Alcohol & Drug Planning Committee and the Public Health Advisory Committee serving as a liaison between the Center for Human Development and the Union County Commission. Areas of representation include Grande Ronde Hospital, a physician, a state agency, a school district, a small community member, an at-large member, a client representative and a member with interest or experience in developing programs dealing with alcohol problems. Appointed to four year terms. There is currently one committee member opening for a client representative/consumer of services and one small community member.

Local Public Safety Coordinating Council

The Local Public Safety Coordinating Council coordinates the public safety plans, policies, operations, and strategies of local government agencies to improve the local public safety system’s cost-effectiveness and responsiveness to the needs of the community; collaborates on the development of solutions to problems in the intergovernmental operation of the public safety system; and coordinates policies to improve that system and use evidence-based strategies to address critical issues affecting community safety.  Appointed members include a County Commissioner, the Director of Community Corrections, the Juvenile Department Director, a health director, a mental health director, a representative of community-based nonprofit organizations that provide services to victims of crime, and one lay member.  There is currently one committee member opening for a lay member.

Mt. Emily Recreation Area Motorized Advisory Committee

This committee was created for the purpose of representing the interests of the public related to development, operations and maintenance of MERA by making recommendations to the Commissioners with regards to motorized usage. Areas of representation include Class I ATV, Class II ATV and Class III ATV, a member of the general public, an adjacent land owner, the US Forest Service, the Oregon Department of Forestry, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Parks and Recreation and livestock grazing creating a nine to twelve member committee serving four year terms.  There is currently two committee openings, to include one member of the general public and one member of a Class II ATV representative.

Union County Planning Commission

The Planning Commission consists of nine members appointed for four-year terms. The Union County Planning Commission was involved in the development of and is periodically charged with reviewing the county comprehensive land use plan and zoning, partition and subdivision ordinances. These documents direct land uses and review of land use application by the Planning Commission for the Board of Commissioners. There is one position available.

Wolf Depredation Compensation Committee

The purpose of this committee is to facilitate the grant program available through the Oregon Department of Agriculture to mitigate wolf impacts on producers. Areas of representation include one County Commissioner, two livestock owners, two supporters of wolf conservation or coexistence, and two business representatives which are determined by the other commission appointed members. This seven member committee is appointed for three year terms. There is one position available for a supporter of wolf conservation or coexistence.

To be considered for appointment, citizens need to complete the application and submit to:

Union County Administrative Office
1106 K Avenue
La Grande, OR 97850

Advisory Committee Application

List of Boards and Committees

4-H and Extension District Advisory Committee

Nineteen members appointed to serve three year terms, with member representation from the cities of Elgin, Imbler, La Grande, North Powder and Union, the Livestock Association, Soil and Water Conservation, Blue Mt. 4-H Center, 4-H Leaders Association, Cherry Growers Association, Wheat Growers Association, a timber producer, Farm Bureau Association, Grass Seed Growers, Agri-Business, grange, Extension Study and Master Gardener. The function of this committee is to advise the Union County Extension Staff on programs and direction.

4-H and Extension District Budget Committee

This committee consists of the Union County Commissioners and three at-large members. The at-large members are appointed for three year terms. The committee is responsible for the review and approval of the budget for the Union County 4-H & Extension Service District.

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Notice is hereby given that Union County and the University of Oregon on behalf of the University of Oregon School of Law (Grantor) are initiating the application and selection process for grant funds available to eligible community dispute resolution programs in Union County under ORS 36.155.  The grant period is July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2025, subject to funding authorization by the 2023 Legislature.  Assuming funding for 2023-25 is reauthorized by the 2023 Legislature, grant funds for Union County will be approximately $59,620 for this period.

Request for Applications and Program Requirements

Applications must be received by April 28, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.  Late applications may not be considered.

Submit original application to:

Annette Powers
Union County Commissioner’s Office
1106 K Avenue
La Grande, OR  97850

Submit copy of application to:

Oregon Office for Community Dispute Resolution
Patrick Sponsler at sponsler@uoregon.edu

Or contact Patrick Sponsler at sponsler@uoregon.edu for alternate application submission methods.

Copies of the Request for Applications and Program Requirements are available by calling Annette Powers at the Union County Commissioner’s Office at (541) 963-1001.

Dated:    March 27, 2023
Annette Powers
Sr. Dept. Specialist II

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Union County Commissioner Donna Beverage presented the Final Upper Grande Ronde River Watershed Partnership Place-Based Integrated Water Resources Plan to the Oregon Water Resources Commission on March 17, 2022. She was joined by Anton Chiono from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and Jed Hassinger of the Union County Farm Bureau. The Oregon Water Resources Commission voted unanimously to approve recognition of the Plan. The Partnership voted unanimously to approve the Plan at the January 5, 2022 Stakeholder meeting. The Agency Review Team (composed of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of Agriculture, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and Oregon Water Resources Department) unanimously recommended that the State of Oregon officially recognize the Plan. The Plan, which seeks to improve water quality and quantity in the Watershed, can be viewed here.

Now that the State recognition process is complete, the Partnership is excited to begin implementing the Plan – here are a few of the projects to improve water quality and quantity in our watershed that we are starting in the next few months:

• Begin a feasibility study to assess aboveground storage opportunities in the Watershed and study instream flow requirements (funded through a $114,000 Oregon Water Resources Department feasibility study grant, $75,000 Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board in-stream flow study grant, and match time valued at $64,000 from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife)
• Developing a Strategic Action Plan (funded through a $100,000 grant from Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board to build Partnership capacity)
• Reinitiate strategy group meetings (funded through $50,000 Oregon Water Resources Department Place-based planning grant extension)
• Review Catherine Creek underground storage study data for instream flow restoration – and determine next steps
• Work with Union County and Cities to assist with a Natural Hazards Update Plan
• Data Gap work – begin filling Plan identified data gaps, starting with improving instream flow calculations

 
The Partnership has been meeting for over 5 years and is always excited for new participants, if any of these topics are of interest to you, we welcome your attendance at our quarterly implementation meetings, or strategy group meetings. For more information please visit the Place Based Planning page or contact Commissioner Beverage or Dana Kurtz.

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Grant Funds Available to Union County Businesses

The Union County Business Assistance Grant Program 2022 has a total of $500,000 available due to federal funding received from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund.  Grants of up to $10,000 per eligible business may be awarded subject to available funding and number of qualified applicants. This funding is available for the purpose of providing financial assistance to small businesses adversely affected by economic conditions as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic and state mandated mitigation efforts.

Businesses interested in applying must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• The business must be headquartered in Union County, Oregon and must have its principal operations located in Union County, Oregon.
• If required by Oregon law to be registered with the Oregon Secretary of State to do business in Oregon, the business is so registered.
• The business is for-profit.
• The business has 30 or fewer employees.
• The business was adversely affected during the period of December 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021 in one of the following ways:
  • The business was unable to operate in its primary mode of operation due to impacts of COVID-19 or state mandated mitigation efforts, or
  • The business experienced a reduction in hours of operation due to the impacts of COVID-19 or state mandated mitigation efforts, or
  • The business can demonstrate a one-month decline in sales of 25% or more, incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic; between December 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021, as compared against the same period of time in 2019
• The business must be current on federal, state or local taxes that were due on or before the date of application.
• The business must comply with all federal, state and local laws and regulations.
• The business must not have ceased operations with no intent to resume.

Additional information regarding the grant program and the application are available below.  Copies may be requested by calling 541-963-1001.

Completed and signed applications must be submitted to Union County Administrative Office, 1106 K Avenue, La Grande, OR  97850 or bizgrant@union-county.org by 12:00 noon on Friday, April 1, 2022.

• Additional Information
• Grant Application
• Demographic Questionnaire
• Form W-9

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