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https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/drought-response-agency-hires-help/article_b7bf1004-c404-5d0b-94ad-2513362479bf.html

Drought Response Agency hires help, Forms committee to negotiate with BOR

by HOLLY DILLEMUTH, Herald and News 8/15/18

A group tasked with facilitating the disbursement of $10.3 million in drought relief funds authorized by Congress’s Omnibus spending bill has hired a legal team and formed a committee to negotiate terms of a contract with the Bureau of Reclamation.

The Klamath Project Drought Response Agency, made up of seven irrigation members, voted in a public meeting Friday to hire Parks & Ratliff for legal representation, which will bring on former water attorney Bill Ganong as a paralegal.

Parks & Ratliff, has been hired at $225 per hour. Ganong, who is not technically an employee of the agency but of the law firm Parks & Ratliff, has been hired at $105 per hour. Both have been hired for a total amount not to exceed $5,000, which keeps the agency from putting out a request for proposal.

The group formed a three-member committee to negotiate terms of a contract with the Bureau of Reclamation that will eventually detail how funds can be disbursed. The committee includes chairman Marc Staunton, and board members Luther Horsley and Jerry Enman, with alternate Mike McKoen.

The agency also on Friday delegated board member Luther Horsley to oversee negotiation with a potential accounting firm.

The next meeting of the DRA is currently scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 22 at 250 Main St. Seating is limited, though the meeting is open to the public and there is an opportunity for public comment.

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