Mining office in GP might be closed
From our weekly issue dated June 24, 2009
The state’s budget problems might prompt the Oregon Dept. of Geology And Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) to board up some of its field offices, including one in Grants Pass.
As such, county officials are trying to retain as many of those services as possible. That was a main topic of discussion during the Josephine County Board of Commissioners administrative meeting Friday, June 19 at the courthouse in Grants Pass.
Commissioner Sandi Cassanelli said that she and the two other commissioners have been directly contacted by area miners concerned about DOGAMI office closure. DOGAMI Geologist Tom Wiley, who works in the Grants Pass field office, attended the meeting.
Cassanelli and Ellis said that they have been working with the offices of area legislators to try and keep Wiley and the DOGAMI office materials in Josephine County. Otherwise, they could be sent to a Portland office, where DOGAMI’s functions are being consolidated due to budget cuts.
Ellis said that there is a chance that if the county can guarantee space for the DOGAMI office’s materials, area legislators can fight to make sure those materials stay right where they are.
Commissioner Dave Toler said that DOGAMI’s Baker City office will be spared from closure. Cassanelli responded that officials in Baker City lobbied hard to keep that DOGAMI field office open, and have been given the next two years to operate it locally.
“It’s still up in the air,” Cassanelli said.
Wylie stated that it is easier for him and other DOGAMI employees to study a region’s geology if they are based in it. However, he acknowledged that his position is not always tied to a specific area. For example, Wylie said that employees at DOGAMI’s Grants Pass and Baker City field offices currently are working in the South Willamette Valley.
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The state’s budget woes sped up the field office closures, Wylie said. He added that the field offices have much local support.
County Chief Financial Officer Rosemary DeLashmutt said that the closures mean that citizens could lose their ability to conveniently access DOGAMI services. She said that if the county keeps the materials in the courthouse, it would need to provide support staff.
Peter Allen, county surveyor, stated that his office has limited space. Allen also said that his staff lacks expertise in interpreting the data contained in DOGAMI’s maps and documents.
“We’re not experts in that area, obviously,” he said.
Allen also expressed reservations about his office housing data from Jackson and Klamath counties. Wiley raised the possibility of scanning DOGAMI files and making them digital. Such a process could be conducted with the help of volunteers, he said, including miners concerned about possible closure.
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