Real Estate Show with Sheriff Nate Sickler

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Real Estate Show with Sheriff Nate Sickler

Alice Lema: [00:00:00] Well, hey, Southern Oregon. Welcome back to the Real Estate Show. I'm Alice Leam. I'm your host of the show, and I'm a broker here in beautiful Southern Oregon with John l. Scott Real Estate. So glad you could join us today. We are so excited to welcome back Jackson County Sheriff, Nate Sickler. He comes on the show every so often to bring us up to speed of what's going on, not only in the Sheriff's Department, but community wise and some of the updates about what's coming down the pike from the state of Oregon. We're looking forward to chatting with him about what's going on in our rural districts with cannabis. Maybe get an update about the progress and ongoing conversation about homeless as well as we wanna ask him about the funding or lack of funding a couple years ago for the new Jackson County Jail. So gonna get all brought up to speed by Sheriff Nate Sickler here in just a little bit.

In the meantime, let's check our stats real quick, cuz we did have a change this week. We finally are starting to see a little bit of a downturn in [00:01:00] some of our counties. So let's start with Klamath Falls.

We'll do the good news first. Klamath falls year over year, our prices are up 7%. The average is 317,000. Now, just a reminder, that's residential. Our number of sold properties in Klamath Falls are down 37%. Our number of listings in Klamath Falls are down 8%. Again, this is year over year residential foreclosures. We had zero closings for foreclosures in Klamath Falls this week, and zero short sale closures in Klamath Falls this week.

Josephine County, year over year the prices are down 7% to an average of 439,000 in Josephine County. Our number of residential properties sold this week are down 28% in Josephine County. Our number of listings in Josephine County are down 21%. We have [00:02:00] zero foreclosures recording and closing this week in Josephine County and zero short sales recording closing in Josephine County.

Now Jackson County, year over year residential, the prices are down 6% averaging 476,000 right now this week. The number of sold is dramatic. Our number of sold in Jackson County are down 45%. Our number of listings in Jackson County are down 16%. We did have a foreclosure close this week in Jackson County. We also had a short sale close in Jackson County. So those are the statistics. We'll track it every week and keep you posted.

In the meantime, let's take a quick break. Get a word from our sponsors. We're brought to you by John L. Scott, Ashland and Medford, the local Rogue Valley Association of Realtors and Guy Giles Mutual Mortgage. Do not touch that dial. We'll be right back with Sheriff Nate Sickler.

Well top of the morning, Southern [00:03:00] Oregon, and welcome back to the Real Estate Show. We're so excited to welcome Sheriff Nathan Sickler. Welcome.

Nate Sickler: Hey, good morning. Thanks for having me.

Alice Lema: And Guy Giles from mutual Mortgage. Hi Guy.

Guy Giles: Hey, how are you?

Alice Lema: So there's so many questions since you've been on the show, sheriff. We just barely know where to start and there's a lot of interesting things happening in the world that are making people nervous and you know Safety and public safety is definitely something that affects real estate, so we're so happy to have you back.

Nate Sickler: All right. Well, yeah. I'll answer whatever questions I have and I Yeah fully aware of, of what's going on nationally and and even in our state in certain places and some of the livability issues that everybody's dealing with. And it is concerning for sure.

Alice Lema: So what is it like in Jackson County right [00:04:00] now? We don't see a lot of stuff on our local news like we do in the big cities, but what is the experience of the sheriff's department?

Nate Sickler: Well, you know, we're, we're dealing with struggles in different ways. You know, I think one thing that is certainly out in the, in the spotlight is some of the livability livability issues created by the homeless population. And how to deal with that effectively and in a way that provides a success for everybody. And so that's, that's a challenge for sure.

I think, you know, the past few years, you know, the marijuana illegal marijuana grows has been a big focal point and a big livability issue and a, and a crime concern for our community. And, you know, through a lot of work and a lot of partnerships and a lot of you know, diligence by you know, county government, the Sheriff's office, the Medford police are Our county governments, our state representatives, you know, we've been able to get [00:05:00] resources and get some laws changed and, and, and sort of address that.

Now it's not done. And it, and, and we still have work to do, but it's certainly a sight better than it was a couple years ago. So we're thankful for that. And it just always almost seems like when one issue is prevalent the other issues, you know, there's just not always enough resources to go around.

So, you know, we're gonna be working this, this fiscal year you know, and we've been working, but we're gonna continue to work on, on the homeless issue. And how can we make things better for the community there. And again, that's a, that's an uphill battle because, you know, legislatively and law wise, and case law wise, there's, there's things that are, are not ideal.

There's, you're dealing with a very challenged population and, you know, there's, there's several limiting factors to, to dealing with this to include housing, criminal justice resources, addiction services, mental health resources. [00:06:00] And so it's kind of a multi-pronged approach that we need with, in my mind, you know, being the criminal justice side of things is the jail is a pretty important piece of that because we don't have the ability to hold offenders in there when they do break the law or use that as a reliable option for the chronic offenders.

Alice Lema: How much more space would be ideal for you folks? In the jail?

Nate Sickler: Well, I think, you know, we need several hundred more beds, you know we put together a plan several years ago. It actually went to ballot in 2020. People may remember that for, for about a 800 bed facility. And, you know, that's a lot of people thought, well, that's too big.

You know, you're building too big, you're asking for too much. And, you know, we looked at different options from 500 to 600 to 800. And it really comes down to economy of scale. You know, obviously when you, you know, when you look at building a facility, when all the infrastructure is set up to build, [00:07:00] it makes more sense to build not only just for today, but for the future because of the cost savings. If you have to remobilize all of your assets and all of the construction and all the things and, and start from ground zero again, it costs way more to build right at, at, at two different times than just one time. So that was a part of the consideration.

Also the supervision model. And efficiency created by the size of the facility was optimized. So how many beds can we put in? Or essentially how much room can we create and keep the efficiency of supervision at its maximum? And so that was done. If you go too small, you kind of you need the same amount of staffing, but you don't get as much supervision because of the designs, right?

So you can go up to a certain size, maintain line of sight, supervision and all that. So you're really maximizing your, say your adults in custody ratio to your staff. You [00:08:00] go too small, you need the same staff, but you don't have the capacity. You go too big, then you need more staff, right? So we were really looking at those models when we, when we pick the size of the, of the jail to be, you know, about 800 beds. And then, you know, you look at, you know how to run a jail and just because you have 800 beds doesn't mean you get 800 people in. You know, you really run about. 15 to 20% under your capacity for classification issues.

So for instance, you have somebody who's been arrested or accused of a, a sex offense, especially you know, say a child sex offense. They have to be in a different part of the jail than general population because they could be assaulted or, or whatnot. Or people with mental health issues may not be suitable to be housed in a group housing environment because of, of what they're dealing with.

And if you. So you essentially, you could turn a single or a excuse me, a double cell or a quad cell into a single [00:09:00] cell, depending on who's in jail at the time. So you really need that flexibility. And then you need classification in other ways like, Is this a first time offender or is this a, you know, a career criminal?

You wanna separate those people within the facility and you can't always dictate how many you're gonna hold of each or how many come in with, you know, we have a, an idea because of historical lodgings, but you never know what will come. So a lot of factors go into the size, right. And again, building every a facility for today when it will open four years from now and then need to be in service for another 50 years. It doesn't make sense to build the exact number that will work today because I really think you're doing a disservice to the people that are investing in this project, what's, which are the taxpayers.

Alice Lema: Well, and what a bummer that we didn't do the construction funding back before the rest of covid ran up all the construction prices because I'm sitting [00:10:00] here listening and, and wondering what the jail would cost now compared to what it would've been if we had funded it on the last election cycle.

Guy Giles: And the same thing will stand true for the next election cycle. And that's why we need to kind of stay on this thing just because, I mean, I'm a guy that doesn't just run out and vote for every levy, everything. I mean, honestly, it has to be important. I'm a taxpayer and I pay a lot of taxes right now, but this is something that is important and it, it affects our livability more than.

More. More than I could ever even say on here. And you know, do you have any numbers at all on, and I know that's kind of hitting you on the spot, but as far as how many of these people that are running around the streets at least that you guys come in contact with that are from around here. Maybe they're just coming here because they understand that there's not enough beds, that if you're get in trouble, you're just gonna get kicked back out on the street and we're just gonna feed you and give you a hotel to stay in.

Nate Sickler: Yeah, we, we, we know that there's a, I can't give you the exact numbers today, but maybe we could, you know, get that for a future show up [00:11:00] potentially. But we know we have a pretty large population of, of those who come to our jail, have a what's called a, a transient listing for address, meaning they don't have a permanent address.

Now there's things that do affect that. Right. So there's somebody who's homeless obviously would fit into that category, but there's also people that don't always tell us the truth because they don't want to be found later, so they don't give us an address. And when that happens, if they refuse to tell us, you know, maybe they're under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or just antisocial or mental health issue, you know, they they don't give an address and then they have to be listed as transient.

So, so it's not like perfect information when you say, hey, 40% of the people that came in are 50% were listed as transient. A good deal could be transient. I mean, they don't have a home, but some could be also just not wanting to provide information so they could be found later, essentially if they don't appear.

So we do have a, a bit of people not being [00:12:00] honest. But but yeah, but regardless, we do have a a significant amount of people that come in that are transient now clarifying where they, where they came from prior to that, that's the harder part. As far as collecting the data now, it could be extra steps, but, you know, we deal with, you know, anywhere from, you know, I think our low during Covid was like eight thousand 500 lodgings bookings in a year, and our highs are about 14,000 prior to covid. So you're talking about a lot of information to get from people about, you know, where they came from, how long they've been here. So anecdotally speaking, you know, we do know that we do have people here from other parts of either Oregon or the country.

And we do have people that have moved here because there are resources and there are very lax drug laws. So frankly, you know, people don't want to be bothered or arrested for possessing drugs. And Oregon has made that [00:13:00] pretty easy with Measure one 10.

Alice Lema: That was gonna be one of my questions because when that measure, when 10 was on the ballot, a lot of folks including people in the real estate World we're concerned that it would attract folks from other parts of the United States specifically to be in a more relaxed drug situation. And so I think that's why Guy and I are just kind of curious, but I, but I get it. It's hard to track where people are from.

Guy Giles: Well, and then out of all of Oregon, we kind of have the best climate down here also, what half the rain they get up in Eugene. So if they've gotta be in a state, unfortunately now they're down here where we're gonna have the, the best weather on top of everything else, so.

Nate Sickler: Yeah. True. That's a good point too. You know, and we see that from other parts of the country. The west coast is desirable compared to other parts of the country because of the climate. And out of Oregon, you know, we probably have. [00:14:00] One of the more mild or at least balanced climates there is the banana belt.

Alice Lema: That's part of why we love Southern Oregon. So going back to the possible future jail funding if that were to come up again, do you know about what ballot year it would be?

Nate Sickler: You know I think 2025 would be about the soonest. Honestly, they have a lot of work to do if we were to do that. So, you know, my pick of of times would probably be like May of 2025. And I, and I don't mind saying that because of a lot of reasons, one is, you know the marketing campaign, the education campaign, the getting all the cities involved, you know, it takes a lot of work. And, you know, last time we tried this, we got really compressed because we had a couple cities that weren't excited about this project, and it took a lot of additional work, like six months worth of meetings and whatnot to, to [00:15:00] try to you know, educate people on what this would do for our community and how, how much of a need it was.

And so, you know, I think having two years is about the minimum amount to, to try to accomplish all of this and do it effectively. So May that would be two years from now, so May 2025. And then of course, you know, you don't really wanna mess around in the presidential election because I just think you, you know, you just have just too much going on. Too much distractions to focus on this issue for just our community.

You have a lot of national things going on, and I think, you know, the, obviously the politics have been very divisive over the past few years and, and to me, this issue can be divisive. But it shouldn't be because, you know, we're coming together as a community in Jackson County to, to improve things. And so I just feel like you're trying to really conquer a [00:16:00] lot of challenges if you were to jump in the same pool with what's gonna happen nationally.

Alice Lema: We've gotta take a quick break, folks. We're talking to Jackson County Sheriff Nate Sickler. We're so grateful to have him come on, because public safety and livability affects real estate. Don't touch that dial. We'll be right back after a quick word from our sponsors. Don't go away.

Well, welcome back to the Real Estate Show, folks. Glad you could join us today. We have Sheriff Jackson County Sheriff Nate Sickler and Guy Giles on the show. Thank you gentlemen for coming back.

Guy Giles: Hey, thanks a lot. Just kind of touching on what you were talking about before, you know, I was heading in into town earlier today and looking over at, you know, a couple of the hotels or mainly the one big one that they've changed over. And I believe that's just a lot of homeless people in there and it still feels like there's twice as many people on the street.

And I know it's not cuz you guys are not doing what you're supposed to do, but I mean, on [00:17:00] some level, are we just attracting people here? By making it so comfortable kind of feeding the duck, so to speak. You know, I just, I just don't know how to reconcile that in my, in my brain as far as the more comfortable we make it for everybody. You know, I'd, I think I'd rather have a jail cell in a hotel room if you do something wrong.

Nate Sickler: Yeah. You know, I I think there's a lot of truth in that. You know, certainly I think the more resources you provide you certainly, the, the flip side to that coin is attracting people to come get, you know, free stuff or resources.

Now, in some cases, obviously, you know, if somebody's reaching out for help, you know, you don't wanna be like, well, hey, you're not from here, so we're not gonna help. But on the other hand, if you make the help so easy or there's no restrictions, or there's no, there's, there's no accountability with it, it makes it ,it's tough to really make progress [00:18:00] and it really does impact the livability for the rest of the community, as you just noted. I, so, you know, they, I, I don't know. You know, that's a, that is a delicate balance because, you know, the the urban camp that was put in years ago in Medford, you know, there was a you know, this, that, and it still has a pretty ,pretty good vetting process through the Medford livability team. But it almost feels like, you know, the forest fire is, is getting outta control with regards to the homeless and there needs to be additional things done, obviously.

Alice Lema: But that campground doesn't, that that and have drug and alcohol rules.

Nate Sickler: Yeah. So part, part of it is it's, it would be considered low barrier, but not a free for all right. So if, if you're under the influence, they're not gonna turn you away unless you're being disruptive and, you know outta [00:19:00] control. But they don't allow active use inside. So if you show up and you're under the influence, they're not gonna turn you away if you need somewhere to go. But they're not gonna actively let you shoot up or, you know, do drugs or drink alcohol in the camp.

Alice Lema: But as a citizen I would be okay with that.

Nate Sickler: That sounds, yeah, and that's a, that's a good model, you know, I mean, obviously you're not gonna, you're not going to change that type of behavior instantaneously, you know, that addiction. And so, you know, I don't advocate for it obviously, but I think there is a balance between, you know, I, no barrier seems to be pretty dangerous.

Low barrier in some instances can be effective. And then it really needs to be, you know, in my opinion now I know there's, there's counter opinions, people will probably state I think it's Sweden that does a different model of housing first. But the government subsidizes all of that, right? So that's not necessarily a sustainable [00:20:00] model forever because, you know it's expensive to give everybody a house that doesn't have one.

And you know, I think it, it changes the message of what you know, this, this country was kind of founded upon, which was hard work and, you know, self-sufficiency, self responsibility Yeah. And all those things. And then it's really moving into this other, other model that doesn't seem to be very sustainable for a lot of places.

Guy Giles: Well, and, and I, I've, I've actually served food for a lot of years down at the Medford Gospel Mission, and it was always really busy over there. And we're finding out lately that a lot of people aren't, going there. And that's one of those places that, that there is accountability when it comes to being clean and sober to be part of that program.

So if, if, if there's a ton of other places where you can go and you don't have to have that accountability, I don't think it's, cuz less people are partying or using or doing whatever, it's because there's just a more fun place for them [00:21:00] to be while they're still engaging in, in what they're doing. So I i, I don't know, you know what the right answer is. But it, it is just, anyway, I, I'm just grateful for guys like you that are, you know, trying to do something that'll actually work. Attracting more is just, doesn't seem to be the answer.

Alice Lema: Well, and people who are actively using their focus is on using. And I don't think I'm outta line saying that they just have a different mindset. So if we're providing options for people, but it requires you to be clean and sober, then it's almost like there's another step missing between the person who's actively using and getting them at least to a mindset where they can start looking to become sober and self-reliant.

Nate Sickler: Yeah, I, I'm really, you know, in a perfect world or perfect valley, you know, the, the model that I think is, would be the most [00:22:00] effective for our community as a whole, right? And so when we're in meetings, you know, we talk about three things, three goals that we'd love to see us aim towards, right? Always aim towards. And sometimes we can't make those, but it nonetheless, you gotta have something you're striving for, and that's okay. Can we reduce the homeless problem overall?

You know, there's one. And then can we improve outcomes for those experienced homelessness? But the most important is can we improve livability for the community? So can the community thrive as well? And not just focus on the individuals who are homeless, but we need to focus on the, the 95 or 90% of the people who are, who are paying the bills, who are, who are going about their day.

And make it palatable and livable for them, because that's what, that's what our focus needs to be. And so I think oftentimes in certain areas or pieces of the government that got, that gets for forgotten. That the people who are doing what they need to do, [00:23:00] doing what, you know essentially trying to contribute to the betterment of our community often get left out of the discussion or after the, or out of the equation as to how it impacts them.

And so that's one thing we really try to direct and say, Hey, now is it perfect? No, because there's a lot of other factors that make it really hard to make it better for the community every day. But you know, I, if you could have an accountability piece attached to the resource piece, meaning, we have a lot of people who simply just don't want to take the resources.

And I think people are hesitant in some regards, or they've had bad experiences in some regards. Okay, I get that. But at the same token, we have to consider the livability piece and our other community. And it's like if you're gonna be out causing problems, littering you know, putting trash in the creeks, creating fire hazards, stealing you know, trespassing, being disorderly.

[00:24:00] That's not good for our community as whole. And there needs to be the other side of this coin, which is either, hey, get resources and we'll help you, we'll motivate you. But on the other end of that, there's the jail and there's consequences. And then we can try to push people into those social resources, social services through criminal justice system.

Guy Giles: There is gonna be a piece of, of this whole new jail thing wasn't there, that that's gonna address kind of helping people. Move 'em in the right direction as far as that goes.

Yeah,

Alice Lema: I was wondering that too.

Nate Sickler: Yeah, so, you know, we had a pretty significant enhancement budgeted through the, through the district for the jail, the funding for mental health and addiction services. So to really bolster that up compared to what we have now. And, you know, the system that we were, you know, striving to do and to build obviously would be to have our systems able, ready to braid to this [00:25:00] outside systems. You know, the, the social services. So for instance, someone comes into jail, they're addicted to fentanyl or heroin at the time was more prevalent than fentanyl.

But any drug really but be able to hold onto them long enough to where they could actually make a decision that was beneficial to their wellbeing. Because in our current system, and even with some of the current Oregon laws, as they come in and they go out, and so they just really go back into the street in the same state of mind that they came in, which is not healthy, right?

I mean, they're not making good decisions, so they're getting arrested. So they, you know, they go, if we had a bigger facility and then they could be held, they have time to get sober. Right. And then once they have time to get sober, they can start thinking in a different way.

Alice Lema: Yeah, I totally agree with that.

Nate Sickler: And, and then that's when they could be susceptible to accepting resources, right? And then you can offer things such as like medication assisted [00:26:00] treatment, you know, if you have the budget, the time and the space to where you can really give them a significant advantage when they leave the facility. And then they tie into the social services, the addiction services outside.

And so there's this clean handoff, so to speak, where you know, they leave our facility in a better place than they came in and now they're more ripe or ready for accepting services on the outside. All the while you know, all the while, the community isn't being impacted. So that's the other piece, right?

They're not out causing problems, they're not out trespassing, they're not being disordered, they're not stealing people's stuff. They're not engaged in other activity that affects livability. So it's really a win-win for everybody. But it's really hard to, I think, explain that in a way that, you know, 200,000 people in Jackson County really clearly. Because everyone here sings a little differently. Everyone has a little bit different idea how it should be. And, you know in law enforcement we have challenges [00:27:00] because there's, there's been issues across the country that have been magnified, and even here a little bit. So there's sometimes there's a lack of trust, right?

And they think that law enforcement is a hammer and everything's a nail, and that's not really what it's about, you know? And so we've, we as a law enforcement community, deal with people every day in challenges and have a front row seat to all these things, and are probably the most experienced in dealing with the, the challenges that these individuals bring. But yet at the end of the day, you know, some of those experiences are discounted for somebody who, you know, has a different opinion, but has never worked in the field.

Alice Lema: So I'm kinda first of all, I was surprised that the jail didn't pass last time. And I think it would've helped, especially with this medicated assistance program. I think it would've helped the humans that are on the street tremendously. So I'm just curious what some of the objections [00:28:00] were to this. Was it, was it mostly financial?

Nate Sickler: So I think you come from two different places, and this is what makes a project like this hard or difficult, is, is one you deal with people that are just opposed to the jail as a whole and doesn't believe that that's the best way to, to go about treating.

Alice Lema: Oh, so like philosophically?

Nate Sickler: Yeah, philosophically jail. Jails bad prisons are bad. And you know, we just need to come up with a whole different approach. We need to be upstream. We need to get ahead of these problems. Before they become these problems, which, hey, I think these things are good in theory, right?

But I think it needs to be this meshed transition. You can't just cut one off and then start the other because you're too late. So you need to really have both for a long time to be effective and change the ideas, and then that's a whole different conversation. But people really wanna see the resources, the money, go into these other things.

Well, the problem is, is. What a lot of people don't realize is there's basically this, this premise that [00:29:00] addiction is gonna be criminalized, you know, and and not necessarily dealt with in the right way. And I know we gotta take a break coming up so we can pick this back up if you'd like.

Alice Lema: Yep, absolutely. We're speaking with Jackson County Sheriff Nate Sickler, Guy Giles Mutual Mortgage. We wanna say a quick thanks to our sponsors, John L. Scott, Ashland, and Medford, the local Rogue Valley Association of Realtors, known as RVAR and Guy Giles Mutual Mortgage. Thank you all for bringing this show every week. And just a quick reminder, it will be aired again on the same station, KC M X 99.5, tomorrow, Sunday at 6:00 PM Don't go away. We've got more of Sheriff Nate Sickler. Don't touch that dial.

Welcome back folks to the real estate show, Southern Oregon. We're so lucky to have Jackson County Sheriff Nate Sickler and Guy Giles on the show today. Thanks guys. So right before the break we were [00:30:00] talking about some of what the pushback from the jail was for last election cycle. You had some thoughts you wanted to wrap up.

Nate Sickler: Yeah. So just real quick, you know, it's, it's, you're fighting this kind of, this two-prong thing. One is, is how do you pay for it, right? And so you talk about one area, which is, you know, I get it, it taxes, taxes, taxes. Right. And so, but that's really the only way to pay for a sustained operation. So you kind of deal with that challenge on that side of the fence. And then you deal with the people that just don't like jail. We talked a little bit about that, but who, who believe we're trying to criminalize addiction and that's why Measure 110 passed.

But it's really not that. There's, when people are addicted, that's a different thing than when people are addicted and now victimizing the community. Right. And that's where the, the delineation needs to be made. Is like, we don't come into your house and you know, arrest you for, for drinking too much beer at night, but we will arrest you if you go out and drive drunk and hit somebody's car or, you know, go out in the neighborhood and shoot your gun off and wildly because you're intoxicated.

And so those are two different [00:31:00] things, right? And then the other is the mental health piece. But we've seen so much increase of that because of the drug use. They're all tied together. And so it's a very it's a very convoluted topic. But really at the end of the day, you know, all these systems suffer if one system isn't adequate to help the other.

And so this ecosystem that we need to create, so that's another day. We could talk more about that later. But essentially, you know, the, the taxes on one end and then the anti jail on the other. Whereas those those people sometimes send, sit in different camps, right? So people might be willing to pay taxes, but not for jail.

Or people might wanna put people in jail in law and order, but don't wanna pay taxes. So that's our challenge.

Guy Giles: Was gonna say, I think a lot of it is, is perception when it comes to the people coming here too. And, and what I mean by that is if word gets out on the street, that we're gonna convert six more hotels to comfortable places for people to live. That's a little different narrative when they're talking to their friends on the [00:32:00] road or whatever about, hey, we're gonna build a jail that's really gonna focus on, you know, if you do something wrong, we're gonna be able to put you in there. And also you know, maybe try to help you get off of drugs. So I know if I'm out there doing my thing, I'm not necessarily gonna go to a town that's, you know, gonna try to get me sober if I don't want to get sober.

But a, a, again, it's just like, it's, it seems like we've put so much energy and money into just making it comfortable for everybody. That this is the kind of answer that we're looking for, is to have a place that that will address, you know, some of the addictions that are out there. And also have a place to lock you up if you do something wrong.

Alice Lema: Well, and we're watching live in action across the country, some of these other programs that were applied in bigger cities and not being political cuz we're not a political, political show, but just being a matter of fact of watching the success or lack of success when they scale these these programs and then find out if they work or not. [00:33:00] And one of the issues we've had in southern Oregon was the cannabis. And it wasn't just that we made it legal, it's that some of the operations were not functioning the way they were supposed to. And I remember a couple years ago you wrote a fantastic letter to the landlords, and I thought it was very balanced. But I wondered kind of how that came to be and what the what the outcome was.

Nate Sickler: Yeah. So, you know, just really quickly We identified a lot of problems between our IME team of what they were encountering ground level. And then we also had two deputies who worked on a COPS grant, and that's like a community oriented policing grant that's come from the federal government. And they do some things out in the rural areas. And they were actually the first in our county to, to, to work marijuana issues when this first started, because we didn't have an IMAT team at the time, we didn't have any resources.

So between all those [00:34:00] things, you know, those guys really kind of came up with the ideas. Maybe we should send out a letter and do something to, to like basically put people on notice cuz we're having a hard time with any prosecutions, any fines, anything like that. So that idea spurred from there. I drafted the letter and then we sent it out in the you know, the tax rolls, the tax letters. And you know, we had mostly great feedback. People were like, well, thank you. Thank you for doing this. This is helpful. This is gonna put people on notice. They probably didn't know, probably didn't know some, and then we had some people that were mad, right? They call me up and say, well, what do you mean you're gonna cite and arrest landowners?

I go, well, that's not exactly what we said, but we said, You know, more some people were spending more time vetting the color. They were gonna paint their house and this is a true story than they did of who was gonna grow what on their land and just took the 50 or $60,000. And so that's kinda that old addage, if it's too good to be true, it probably is.

And so we basically wanted to put out a, hey, [00:35:00] people aren't aware, this is a way you can become aware and this is one way we can communicate to you in addition to social media and news and all the other things we do. But I think overall it had a good impact, meaning, I think the, the result was beneficial. And then when you combine that with all the other efforts, I think they all go hand in hand.

Alice Lema: Yeah. I, I think it was greatly successful. And from the landowners that I spoke to many of them did not understand the legal consequences of the, the tenants that they chose to be on their property. And that goes for, even in town, it's like who you pick to live in your house or on your land matters. And the community will suffer if you're not taking good care. So how are things now in the cannabis world for you guys?

Nate Sickler: Well, you know what? I'll let Guy talk on this because I can tell you from my perspective, I think things are better than 2021, cuz that was kind of like the peak. But Guy sits on the marijuana [00:36:00] advisory committee. Guy drives around the community guy had people in the area where, you know of, you know, I'll just let him talk to it cuz he comes from.

Guy Giles: Honestly, it's been, it's been night and day I, from, from a community standpoint out there, I mean, I feel for the first time, I mean, these guys couldn't even get to what, maybe 10% of, probably less than that that grows when it was just going crazy out there.

But, you know, a combination of that Senate Bill 3000 and getting him, getting, you know, Nate, these guys, some resources to do it, I barely smell the stuff anymore. I couldn't even go to sleep in my neighborhood without it. And, and it was, it was pretty miserable around here, just watching all these people claiming to grow hemp.

And I think they've done an awesome job, but it, it just does go to show that if, if, if we put the right resources into doing something, you know, we can, we can make even the homeless thing that we talked about for the whole first half of the show, a lot better with the right resources [00:37:00] if we trust people like Nate to do what really needs to be done and I've known, I've known him for years now, and it's not all has, it doesn't all have to be a punitive thing, you know, it's not like all of a sudden we always want to execute people in the streets. That might be my idea, but it's never been his. And you know, and it is just, there is a better way to do this.

And, and we've seen it with the marijuana. I think anybody, anybody that's lived here since the inception of the whole, let's make it legal thing, we'll, we'll realize that it is a ton better than it was. And anyway, these guys are making an impact on, on the other part too. So,

Alice Lema: And from a real estate standpoint, I think a lot of us brokers out there in the field will attest that it ran off the ones that were not following the rules. It's one thing to be legally growing and following the rules and being a good citizen, and it's another you know, to be breaking the law and using water the way you weren't. So so we were all very grateful. And we're glad to have a, a [00:38:00] more sustainable cannabis industry now.

Guy Giles: Well, yeah, and, and getting the O LCC involved where they at least had some kind of teeth also. I mean, if you walked onto a, a grow and just said, hey, I, I'm not doing anything correct, they had to turn around and leave. So there, there has been some really good things that, that these guys have done.

Alice Lema: Well, sheriff Nate Sickler thank you so much for being on the show today, Guy giles. Thank you so much for being on the show and we're out of time. We'd love to have you back maybe later in the summer sheriff.

Nate Sickler: Yeah. Hey, whenever you guys have opportunity, let me know. I'm always happy to update our community on what's going on.

Alice Lema: Thank you so much. Have a beautiful Southern Oregon weekend, folks. Bye now. All right.