Grass Valley swears in new Mayor

The City of Grass Valley has a new mayor. When nobody filed for the mayor position last spring, some thought that a write-in campaign would be lodged. But that didn't take shape either.

A total of 33 votes were cast in the mayoral election in November, but none of the write-ins wanted the job. Ultimately, the council appointed Christian Ayles of Grass Valley as City Mayor.

Ayles is employed by the OSU Extension Service in Sherman County and works with the Sherman County 4-H, and as a Seed Certification Aide.

Ayles was sworn-into office on Monday night during the city council meeting.

Grass Valley had a significant amount of growth in 2018 when an industrial hemp company, Evergreen Holdings, established a processing facility.

But in 2022, an explosion engulfed the property in flames, and the company opted not to rebuild. Remnants of the fire still exist.

Firefighters that battled that blaze worry that plans for a solar energy project will jeopardize the town's water supply and hamper efforts to fight fire in the future.

At Monday's council meeting, South Sherman Fire and Rescue Chief Bert Norris expressed concern about the demand for water from solar crews.

Norris said that water is primarily needed for solar project construction crews, not ongoing maintenance.

The proposed Buckley Solar project and Speedway Solar project are still under review by the Oregon Department of Energy's Siting Council. Both have been met with pushback but will bring a considerable amount of revenue to landowners and to the county.

Of primary concern for Chief Norris is the amount of water that will be used during the construction process. Chief Norris said that as much as 190,000 gallons of water can be used each day by construction crews.

The Fire Department is concerned that if solar contractors use too much water, there could be limited water to fight fires. The city's water is designed for residential use and for fighting fires for up to two-hours within the city limits.

"We're not set for bigger fires, we're set for house fires," Chief Norris said.