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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 2015)
8 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2015 Local Interchange plan discussed at community open house By Gina K. Swartz Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com Thursday, January 29, the community was invited to participate and comment on the Interchange Area Management Plan (IAMP) of exits 302 and 306 in Baker City. The open house, held in the City Council Chambers of City Hall, had represen- tatives from Baker City, Baker County, ODOT and Matt Hughart and Nick Foster of the transporta- tion engineering/ planning firm Kittleson and Associ- ates Inc., the firm hired to consult on the project. Hughart is out of the firm s Portland, Oregon office and Foster from the Boise, Idaho office. About a decade ago an IAMP was adopted but never formally completed. An IAMP is a specialized planning process typically around interstate inter- changes. The main goal of an IAMP is to protect the function and safety of the interchange. An IAMP identifies how to best a - commodate future devel- opment in areas surround- ing those interchanges. Reexamination of the plan, that is required by the state of Oregon, has been pressed by the Oregon Department of Transporta- tion with a goal to get the planning formally com- pleted and a modified plan adopted. The IAMP will take into consideration existing plans and policies while doing environmental re- search and traffic analysis which includes current and future expectations. More public meetings and work sessions are being planned before the final draft is completed giving community members and area property owners the opportunity to voice any concerns as the plan is developed. “We have been working on this project for a couple months now trying to up- date the analysis and pick up the pieces on what the original plan was, bring it up to date and incorporate some of the changes that Gina K. Swartz / The Baker County Press John Leonard, a property owner, said he is concerned that with a new proposal his property might be taken for the right-of-way, regardless as to whether he wishes to sell. have occurred but do it in a way that is reflective of the comments we have heard. I’m sure we have some new property owners that are not familiar with the process. We want reengage folks,” Matt Hughart said as he addressed the crowd that was in attendance. Land use is often one of the most controversial is- sues planners encounter. “Sometimes it’s things such as ensuring that as properties develop over time that the accesses to those properties within the vicinity of the interchange are spaced and located in a position where they are not going to affect the func- tion of the interchange. In other words, trucks coming off the freeway or onto the onramps, they need space, so sometimes it’s ideal to put driveways to private properties in a location that is not going to interfere with the ability to get traffic to and from the freeway. Land owners that have those properties, they have vested interests and rights. They don’t want to see potential restrictions looking into the future, ” Hughart said. He added, “What we want to do here tonight is get your thoughts and ideas as property and business owners and better under- stand how you use that interchange and how you intent to use that inter- change not only today but 10, 15, 20 years out into the future so that we are not developing something that potentially restricts how you might use that property.” Many of the project demonstration boards placed around the room for review drew upon the plans that were developed previously in 2004. Kittle- son and Associates Inc. are working on expanding and updating those plans as much of the analysis data is out of date and there have been a number of changes in the area. Kittleson and Associates Inc. provided new analysis information conducted recently by their company that outlined the forecast and operations for proj- ects that are 20-plus-year projects. “If we look aggressively out into the future and assume that we are going to get some new develop- ment and things are going to continue to change in Baker City, then we can expect some traffic related issues that might need to be mitigated at some point in the future,” added Hughart. Baker County Com- mission Chair Bill Harvey asked Hughart, “What kind of time frame do you have for formulating your plan? And how many opportuni- ties for the public to com- ment do you have penciled in?” The time line for the plan expects a final draft to be completed in June or July with movement being made toward adoption at that time. “We are planning one more open house then will conduct work ses- sions moving toward the adoption process. There will be opportunity for the public to comment at work sessions as well,” Hughart said. Harvey expressed con- cern that the public needed more time to consider pro- posals and with the narrow time table it would be too late for the public to make comment. Nick Foster noted that comments could also be taken online and that all proposals and any upcom- ing open houses or work sessions would be posted on the Baker City web site. Pacific Northwest Region Deputy Regional Forester named The USDA Forest Service announced today Dianne Guidry has been selected as the Deputy Regional Forester for the Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, Oregon. Dianne will have leadership and oversight responsibilities for over 25 million acres of national forest lands in the states of Oregon and Wash- ington. Dianne begins her new role March 30, 2015. Regional Forester Jim Peña says, “Dianne brings a wealth of experience and public service to the Pacific Northwest. We are really excited she’s joining our leadership team and look forward to working together. Dianne Guidry has served as Chief Acquisi- tion Officer and director of the Acquisitions Division at the Natural Resources Conservation Service National Headquarters in Washington, D.C., since 2009, leading federal contracts, grants and agree- ments, real and personal property, including fleet. Over her 21 years with NRCS, she has served in a variety of positions, in- cluding Director of Public Affairs, State and Field Communications Branch Chief (both in Washing- ton, DC), Acting State Conservationist (Maine), Congressional and Partner- ship Liaison (Oregon and Washington), and Hu- man Resources Specialist (Washington). Prior to joining NRCS, she worked for eight years with the Department of Defense, serving as a Contracting Officer in Oklahoma and a Budget Analyst in Oki- nawa, Japan. She recently completed the USDA Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program and a six-month detail with the Depart- ment of Justice as Deputy Director of the Office for Victims of Crime. Submitted Photo. Dianne Guidry. Dianne was born and raised in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. She gradu- ated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Business and Management, and received a Masters’ degree in Business Admin- istration from Oklahoma City University. She com- pleted courses in Natural Resources Management through Oregon State University, and is currently enrolled in her second year at Taft University Law School. Local Lions Club collecting glasses, hearing aids Eye glasses and hearing aids are too valuable to throw away, but not of much use when your vision or hearing needs change. The Baker City Lions Club, along with other chapters throughout the world, collects used glasses and hearing aids so they can be distributed to people who need them but can’t afford to buy them. Prescription glasses, reading glasses and sun glasses are all accepted. The local club is asking anyone with unused glasses or hearing aids to place them in the collection boxes at the following locations: Baker Vision Clinic, Clothes Outlet, Ryder Brothers, Tec Copier Systems, St. Luke’s (EOMA) Clinic, St. Alphonsus Medical Center, Meadowbrook, Settlers Park, Eagle Optical or the Elks Club. The bright yellow containers are clearly marked with the purple Lions Club logo. With increased public awareness of the project, the Lions hope to collect over 1,000 pairs of glasses this year. The Lions will pick up the donations on February 24. Then they will work in groups to sort and count them. The glasses and hearing aids will then be sent off for cleaning and restoration so they can be provided to low income people in the United States and other countries. Baker City Lions Club is a nonprofit o ganization devoted to community service projects as well as sight and hear- ing at the state, national and international levels. Board nominations in at OTEC The nominating committee for Union County (Donna Beverage, Dale DeLong, and Russell Lester) met and nominated the following individual for OTEC Board of Director position no. 4, Union County: Austin Bingaman The nominating committee for Baker County (DeeDee Clarke, Fred Warner, Jr., and John Wilson) met and nominated the following individuals for OTEC Board of Director position no. 5, Baker County: Aletha Bonebrake and Wayne Overton. The nominating committee for Grant County (Alva Conlee, Gail Enright, and Mitch Saul) met and nominated the following individual for OTEC Board of Director position no. 6, Grant County: Gary Miller All candidates are running to serve a 3-year term. Nominating committees appointed for each district se- lected candidates for the ballot. Additional candidates’ names may be placed on the ballot by petition, collecting 50 valid signatures of regis- tered OTEC voting members and submitting the petition to the OTEC headquarters in Baker City by March 2nd, 2015. Please contact Joan Macy at 541-524-2831 for ad- ditional information. OTEC’s annual meeting will be held in John Day at Grant County Fairgrounds, on May 2nd, 2015. Winners will be announced at that time. OTEC voting members will be able to cast their ballots by mail in April or at the annual meeting. To register to vote in OTEC elections or to find out if you are an OTEC registered vote , contact your local OTEC office BEEF MONTH DRAWING! We're busy celebrating Beef Month here at The Baker County Press. Did you know that between our editorial board, sales staff and reporters, we have three generations of cattle ranchers involved in putting out this paper every week? If you renewed or took out a new subscription this month, you've already been entered into a drawing for a free package of our own tender, juicy, home-grown-in-Baker- County steak! Subscribe between now and the end of the month to be entered!
