As Malheur County officials continue to face scrutiny over declining conditions at Bully Creek Park, officials continue to balk at disclosing annual reports about “routine operations and maintenance” and “deficiencies corrected.”
The county has run Bully Creek Park since 1966. The federal Bureau of Reclamation owns the park and contracts with Malheur County to manage it. The most recent agreement was executed in December 2020 by County Judge Dan Joyce.
Situated 10 miles west of Vale, Bully Creek Park has 14 acres of lawn and trees, 40 campsites, two picnic shelters and a boat ramp.
County officials have come under harsh criticism for longstanding issues at the park, including dead trees that pose a safety hazard, a broken water and irrigation system and a lack of maintenance.
The county has scheduled a town hall to gather community input and discuss solutions on Wednesday, May 28, at the Vale Senior Center from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Shelly Dennis, an accounting specialist with the Malheur County Road Department, said by email that the county submits one recreational use data report annually.
The county’s contract requires officials to send an annual report on park use and “deficiencies corrected” at the end of the season. The county is required to report each year its plan for the year ahead of “routine operations and maintenance” and of “corrective actions to be taken in order to eliminate identified deficiencies.”
Dennis deferred additional questions to Dave Tiffany, the county’s road department supervisor. Tiffany oversees operations at Bully Creek Park, according to county documents.
Tiffany has not responded to multiple phone messages and emails, including those seeking the reports. The Enterprise first requested that officials share these reports from the county April 21. The Enterprise again sought the reports on Tuesday, April 29, and on Thursday, May 1 from Tiffany and County Commissioner Ron Jacobs, the county’s liaison for the park.
Marc Ayalin, a public affairs specialist with the Bureau of Reclamation, did not respond to a phone message and email regarding seeking clarity on whether the county had submitted the annual reports.
According to records obtained by Raymond Hage, a Vale plumber, the county has a “long term” plan to replace the irrigation and water system.
Kim Ross, an administrator in the county, said the most recent estimate for replacing the system would be over $230,000.
According to Ross, the county has not budgeted to replace the water system.
She said the county’s grant writer and staff at the Bureau of Reclamation are working on a cost-sharing agreement to address the maintenance issues at Bully Creek. Ross said she did not have additional details about how the agreement would work or its timeline.
Jacobs didn’t respond to a request for comment regarding the details about the potential agreement with Bureau of Reclamation.
Jacobs, Joyce and County Commissioner Jim Mendiola have acknowledged the park’s condition and agree that the issues must be addressed.
Ross said the county is looking to hire a new county-employed caretaker. The park operates from April through November. The county provides a house at no cost for the caretaker.
Last month, the county terminated the long-time caretaker, Sue Davies. County records show she has been employed at the park since 2012.
Ross said Tiffany and Jacobs have been handling the caretaker duties. She noted that Jacobs had cleaned the bathrooms last weekend and Tiffany had taken care of the mowing.
Jacobs told Hage recently that federal spending cuts derailed an assessment of repairs needed at the park. Jacobs said that a Bureau of Reclamation official visited the park in November. The official was placed on leave in March by the “current administration,” according to Jacobs.
“The comprehensive assessment is on hold due to current status of federal funding,” Jacobs wrote.
Jacobs also told Hage that the county agreed that more dead trees needed to be removed. He said the county has removed all the dead trees that the Bureau of Reclamation tagged.
Jacobs told Hage that the county’s maintenance agreement stipulates that the Bureau of Reclamation has to “consent to tree removal.”
Jacobs wrote that the Bureau of Reclamation were to install a new Americans with Disabilities Act sidewalk and parking. Jacobs said that federal spending cuts have delayed the work.
The county noted in the records that it could use pandemic-era relief funding for the repairs. Officials pointed out that some of the funding was used for a pump and to cover costs for septic dumps during the height of the pandemic. According to the county’s most recent budget, it is sitting on nearly $10 million in COVID and Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency funds. Ross said the county does not have immediate plans to use the funding for park repairs.
Lorinda DuBois, county administrative officer, said the county collected over $40,000 in user fees last year. According to the county budget last year, it got over $50,000 in state funding.
