Wallowa County Commissioners again take up Dollar General
Published 5:00 am Wednesday, February 19, 2025
- The Wallowa County Board of Commissioners approved a contract for construction at the fairgrounds Feb. 13, 2025, during an emergency meeting at the courthouse in Enterprise.
ENTERPRISE — Dollar General has been operating since last spring, but opponents of such a formula store haven’t given up their protests.
Michael Eng of Lostine will seek a follow-up report Wednesday, Feb. 19, from the Wallowa County Board of Commissioners on the board’s Oct. 31 decision denying an appeal of Dollar General’s permit approval.
In that decision, the commissioners included conditions pertaining to traffic at the Dollar General site just outside of Wallowa. The commissioners said in the decision they would direct the Planning Commission to ensure county ordinances comply with state law.
Eng said he is prepared to file a citizen initiative if the commissioners don’t change ordinances to comply with state law.
“We want to hold the commissioners accountable to make sure they comply with state law,” he said.
He agreed that it is too late to shut Dollar General down and that the appellants have missed the window to appeal to the state Land Use Board of Appeals, the next highest agency that could hear an appeal.
Also on the Feb. 19 agenda, the commissioners will consider:
• Gregg Kleiner will hear an overview on behalf of the Joseph Branch Trail Consortium of the draft refinement plan for the Minam-to-Wallowa trail section.
• Discussion and preliminary approval of a shared well agreement as requested by Paige Sully of Enterprise.
• Intergovernmental agreements between the county Assessor’s Office and the city of Joseph, the state Housing and Community Services and Alder Slope Cemetery.
• Adopting Interfund Transfer of $39,995 in federal funds to the county’s General Fund.
• Employee action notices hiring Gail Tally as temporary extra help for the county Treasurer and Sawyer Wick as a new reserve deputy with the Wallowa County Sheriff’s Office.
• A request by Avilon Zokovsky of Ziply Fiber for eight anchors to be placed along Diamond Lane in Wallowa.
• Set March 12 at 9 a.m. for the next regular commissioners meeting as a quorum won’t be available on March 5.
• Set a special commissioners meeting for Feb. 26 at 11 a.m. in compliance with the previously voter-approved mandate to discuss the county’s best interests if it should become a county of Idaho.