During the public‑comment portion of the meeting, advocate Brett Stewart and others outlined findings from GRAMA requests and asked the council to examine how the OHP restricted account has been spent.

Stewart said public records he reviewed showed substantial OHP spending on law‑enforcement salaries and equipment. “Did you know that we're funding 17 to 19 law enforcement rangers that are being funded out of our OHP restricted account?” Stewart asked the council, characterizing the funding as larger than many expected and urging greater council oversight of allocations to patrol and law enforcement. He also questioned spending on snow grooming and on a proposed maintenance building, saying he had filed records requests to better understand the account balance and allocations.

Division leaders and law‑enforcement managers responded in the meeting. Jason Curry and other staff said the OHP fund has historically supported law‑enforcement and ranger activities tied to parks, boating and OHV access; they noted the legislature sets appropriations and that the division had sought general‑fund support for law enforcement costs. Major Steve Wallock and other DLE managers described the statewide ranger footprint and argued that the rangers’ work supports search and rescue, safety, enforcement and partnership with counties and federal agencies.

Council members and staff agreed to follow up. The division committed to provide clearer accounting of restricted-account inflows and outflows, to explain why certain costs were charged to the OHP account, and to continue working with counties and the council to explain and refine spending practices.

Ending: The public-comment exchange highlighted a demand among users and advocates for more transparent reporting on the OHP restricted account and how those dollars are assigned among grants, rangers, grooming, and capital projects. Staff agreed to provide further detail and the council planned to schedule a deeper follow-up discussion.