Sandra Palmer has cleared out the visitor information services at her Wy’east
Book Shoppe & Gallery – but a mess remains.

Palmer has provided valuable visitor information since 2008, but a series of
setbacks with Clackamas County’s cultural affairs and tourism department has
left her with “no alternatives.”

“I offered to the community that we could continue to provide visitor services
here if a local funding solution could be developed,” Palmer said. “However,
nothing has happened in that regard.”

Palmer insists she was made promises by the county that, after 2008, she
would receive funding for her services. The county refuses to recognize any
promises made, and says Palmer’s services are not the county’s
responsibilities.

“My options are limited,” Palmer said.

Now, she is seeking legal recourse. Since a letter to the county from her
attorney, Gary Linkous of Welches, threatened litigation in the matter, the
county is now referring everything to its attorney.

“I can’t comment at this time because she has taken legal action,” Clackamas
County Attorney Scott Ciecko told The Mountain Times. “It’s standard policy.”
Danielle Cowan, recently appointed executive director of the county’s Tourism
and Cultural Affairs office, echoed Ciecko’s position.

“The county’s position on Palmer’s request for reimbursement has been
denied,” Cowan said. “She has no legal standing.”

But until recently, the county has been directing visitor services to Palmer’s
establishment, both on its Web site and notices posted throughout the county.
Cowan said she was not aware of that specifically, but that the county shares
information with lots of businesses.

Linkous pointed out in an Aug. 11 letter to the county, that those signs are
actionable.

“Please be advised that a claim for negligence and nuisance will be brought
against the county for failing to remove signs from its property that direct
visitors to the Mount Hood area to go to Ms. Palmer’s place of business in
order to obtain visitor information,” Linkous wrote. “As you are aware, you
have refused to pay for her services in the past ... you have continually
directed people to her place of business with signs posted at property the
county owns. This property is adjacent to Mt. Hood RV Village, a very, very
busy place for tourists in this community.”

Linkous goes on to claim these tourists continue to take up a lot of Palmer’s
time and that they often leave her place of business with “a great deal of
contempt and disappointment toward her and her business.”

Linkous also said in the letter that Palmer did not need a written contract to
pursue her claim of $10,000 against the county. He gave the county 20 days
to respond.

Ciecko responded to Linkous in an Aug. 26 letter stating that the county would
not be offering payment to her claims.

Over the course of that last year Palmer brought her situation to the board of
the Villages at Mt. Hood – an advisory group from the Hoodland area to the
county. At that time, the board sent a letter to the county in support of
Palmer.

Now, Palmer is asking the community to show up at the board’s Sept. 7
meeting to urge the board to come to her aid.

Word of this apparently reached the county as Christine Roth, staff liaison for
the county to the Villages board, sent an e-mail to all board members warning
them that “Since you are agents of the county, and if you want to be covered
against potential involvement in any litigation she files against the county; it’s
important that you not comment publically about this issue ... my suggestion
is that you refrain from public discussion.”

It should be noted that Villages board members are not “agents of the
county.” They are advisors to the county.

The Mountain Times sent an e-mail asking board members if they intend to
comply with Roth’s suggestion. Board members Bob Reeves and Pat Sharp
replied, confirming they would comply.

However, Board Chair Doug Saldivar saw it differently.

“I am not refraining,” he said in e-mail response to the MT. “Sandra asked the
board to consider resending the letter we sent last year. I asked her to have
her supporters come to the next board meeting (Sept. 7). If she can show
community support – I think the board would be obligated to resend the letter
– but send it to the commissioners rather than the tourism department. If we
want to be the voice of the community, we need to listen and help when they
ask, and when it is in the community’s best interest.”

Presently, the only visitor information services being provided for the
Mountain community is at the Mt. Hood Cultural Center and Museum in
Government Camp.

That came about when the county sent out a request for proposal for visitor
information services to which there were four responses: the Museum,
Palmer’s Wy’east, Mt. Hood Adventure Park (Government Camp) and Sandy
Chamber of Commerce.

The RFP review board recommended all but the Sandy Chamber be funded,
but Cowan, in one of her first official acts, chose the Museum to the tune of
$25,000.

So at the present time the only visitor info being provided is in Government
Camp and at the Zigzag Ranger Station.

In the meantime, the legal opera continues to play on.