REGION
Saturday, October 22, 2016
HERMISTON
East Oregonian
Page 3A
HERMISTON
EOTEC board Council to consider Highland Trail agreement
awards barn bid
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Construction of the barns
at the Eastern Oregon Trade
and Event Center can get
underway after the board
approved a bid Friday.
The three barns will be
inished by Knerr Construc-
tion and its subcontractors,
but the board put manu-
facture of the initial barn
structures out for a bid and
received four responses.
It awarded the contract to
G2 Construction of Kenne-
wick.
John Frew of Frew
Development Group told
the board that the other three
bidders had not included
bid security in their bid,
despite the fact that it had
been listed as a requirement
for a responsive bid.
“If you select a
contractor without bid secu-
rity, they can walk on you at
any time,” he said.
He said the project’s
legal counsel agreed with
him that the lack of bid
security was a “gray area”
as to whether or not a bid
could be awarded without
it. If the bid is for a capital
improvement, state statute
requires bid security that
guarantees the contractor
will stick with the project.
But since the contract is
merely for delivery of the
barns, and not for founda-
tion and other installation
work, one could also argue
that it was for delivery of
“supplies,” in which case
bid security would not be
legally required.
After some discussion
the board took Frew’s
recommendation to consider
the three bids without bid
security as non-responsive
and awarded the bid to G2
Construction at a little over
$484,000.
Frew told the board that
even though two of the
non-responsive bids had
been lower, G2 Construc-
tion’s bid was still a “very
solid number” that was
lower than he had expected
all of the bids to come in.
“I think it’s a good
number from a very, very
good contractor,” he said.
The barns will take an
The Hermiston City Council will
discuss natural gas, GIS mapping and a
new trail when it meets on Monday.
During a 6 p.m. work session, staff
will update the council on progress
being made toward the city forming its
own municipal natural gas utility.
The city formed the utility in name
only in 2014 after a dispute with Cascade
Natural Gas over the price of extending
natural gas to the Cook Industrial Site
south of Hermiston.
Cascade Natural Gas challenged
the city in court. But after the Umatilla
County Circuit Court upheld Hermis-
ton’s right to form the utility, the city
council in 2015 approved the hiring of
an engineer to begin plans for forming
the Hermiston Gas Utility Department.
After the natural gas discussion,
staff will also update the council on
Geographic
Information
Systems
mapping. The city has been working to
map all of its water infrastructure so that
it can better keep track of where pipes are
and when they were last replaced. Assis-
tant city manager Mark Morgan said
eventually the project will be expanded
to cover all public works utilities.
During its regular meeting at 7 p.m.
the council will consider an intergov-
ernmental agreement with the Oregon
Department of Transportation for
construction of a multi-use trail parallel
to Highland Avenue between Southwest
11th Street and Riverfront Park.
ODOT estimates the project will cost
estimated eight weeks to
arrive. In the meantime,
Hendon
Construction,
which is working to build
the rodeo arena, reported
that ground has been broken
and cement crews should be
ready to start pouring in 10
to 14 days.
“I think we’re at or
ahead of schedule,” Carl
Hendon said.
On Friday the board
had on its agenda a lease
agreement with the Farm-
City Pro Rodeo for the
mercantile area by the rodeo
arena. The 50-year lease,
for a one-time payment of
$50, would allow the rodeo
board to make improve-
ments and use the area for
events. In return, the rodeo
board would allow EOTEC
to use the space for events
when it was not already in
use.
Some board members
were unsure about language
that requires the two groups
to coordinate to make sure
that events held in the
mercantile area and other
parts of EOTEC do not
conlict with each other, but
did not give either group
veto power over the other’s
events.
“That’ll get us by until
we have the irst argument
about it,” EOTEC board
member Don Miller said.
Rodeo board member
Mike Kay said it was hard
to make provisions in the
lease for every single situ-
ation, however. Instead, the
lease forces communication
between the two groups
before decisions are made
so that problems can be
resolved.
“You have to work on
good faith, you have to work
on forced communication
and on mutual agreements,”
he said.
Larry Givens, who
represents Umatilla County
on the EOTEC board,
requested that approval of
the lease be put off until
the board’s next meeting on
Oct. 28 so that the county’s
legal counsel could look at
it, and the board agreed.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
Staff photo by Gary West
The Hermiston water tower got a new coat of paint and motto this month.
The city budgeted $75,000 on the project, plus $25,000 to add the new brand
elsewhere around the city. The city council meets Monday at 7 p.m., with a
work session at 6 p.m.
$663,225 and the state will pay approxi-
mately 77 percent of that cost. According
to the agreement before the council on
Monday, the project will be city-run, and
in addition to its 23 percent match the
city will be responsible for paying any
additional costs if it runs over budget.
Morgan said the city plans to run the
beginning of the trail from the corner of
Southwest 11th and Highland then take
it west along Highland “until the money
runs out,” but at least as far as Riverfront
Park. Whether the trail loops under the
Highland Extension bridge and through
Steelhead Park or ends at the top of the
bridge depends on funding and agree-
ments with the Department of Fish and
Wildlife.
“The trail going under the bridge is
the number one goal, but if it doesn’t
happen in the irst round, bear with us,”
Morgan said.
The city hopes to construct the trail
next summer.
———
Contact Jade McDowell at
jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com
or
541-564-4536.
Kiwanis Club takes on Pendleton playground liability
East Oregonian
Despite a growing number
of park playgrounds that
have been closed over safety
issues, the Pendleton Parks
and Recreation Department
could cross one off the list
without spending a dime.
The city is inalizing a
memorandum of under-
standing with the Kiwanis
Club of Pendleton to transfer
maintenance responsibility
and liability coverage to the
nonproit.
The city closed down the
play structure at Kiwanis
Park a few months ago after
a specialist inspected the
playground and found that
it was unsafe and in need of
replacement.
Parks and Recreation
Director Donnie Cook said
the Kiwanis Club disagreed
with the specialist’s assess-
ment and agreed to take on
responsibility.
“They thought I was
overreacting,” he said.
Cook said the city will
send a list of the play-
ground’s needed repairs, but
will otherwise continue to
maintain the rest of the park,
which includes a basketball
court and picnic shelter.
The Pendleton Parks and
Recreation
Commission
and the Kiwanis Club
have already approved the
memorandum, which will
be inalized if the Pendleton
City Council approves it at
the Nov. 1 council meeting.
In the meantime, the
department is still seeking
funding to replace aging
playgrounds at Aldrich, May
and Sherwood parks.
Cook said the city has
secured a $15,000 grant from
the Pendleton Foundation
Trust, which could be added
to the $10,000 in in-kind
labor the city will provide.
Added together, Cook
said the city has already
raised more than a quarter of
its $90,000 goal.
Despite
some
early
success, Cook said the
department still plans to
apply for a large state grant
that will “bundle” all of the
projects together.
Cook said the city will
try to obtain more private
grants to show the state it has
community support, while
also using that money to fund
construction costs, the state
grant going toward acquiring
the playground equipment.
While these new play-
grounds are still concepts
rather than reality, the
department has put out a
survey asking Pendletonians
what they want out of their
new equipment.
The survey asks eight
questions including which
parks they go to, what equip-
ment they would like to see
and which age the equipment
should be appropriate for.
The survey can be found
on the parks and recreation
website and Facebook page
and is open through Nov. 14.
PENDLETON
Fall Preview
features local
dance groups
East Oregonian
Rhythmic Mode is hosting
its annual Fall Preview, which
also features the Jr. Jam and
Esprit dance teams.
The free event is Monday
at 6:30 p.m. at Pendleton
High School’s Warberg
Court, 1800 N.W. Carden
Ave. The doors open at 6 p.m.
For more information,
contact
Joni
Sirovatka
at
541-377-1333
or
jasirovatka@gmail.com.
———
Contact
community
editor Tammy Malgesini at
tmalgesini@eastoregonian.
com or 541-564-4539.
We will be closed on
Mondays starting
January 2nd 2017.
125 S. Main, Pendleton, OR 97801
(541) 276-9292 • penbkco@eotnet.net
ALL NEW 2017
CAMRYS IN STOCK
Want Year Around Outdoor Space?
W e’ve Got A Solution!
FREE Estimates!
541-720-0772
Visit our showroom:
102 E Columbia Dr.
Kennewick, WA 99336
Patio Rooms
Sunrooms · Pergolas
Patio Covers · Drop
Shades · Solar Screens
& More!
$
3,000
OFF MSRP
ALL MODELS! LE • SE • XLE • XSE
STK #17T002. EXCLUDES TOYOTA FINANCIAL SERVICE SPECIAL FINANCING. $2,000 CUSTOMER CASH. $1,000 ROGERS DISCOUNT. PLUS TAX, TITLE AND $75 DOC FEE.
ON APPROVED CREDIT. DOES NOT INCLUDE MILITARY OR COLLEGE REBATE.
www.mybackyardbydesign.com
License #188965
DRIVE A NEW 2016 COROLLA LE
AUTOMATIC
Eat Smart for Your Heart
Wednesday, October 26th
1:30 - 3:00 PM • Conference Room 3
FR
Please call 541-278-3235 to register.
2801 St. Anthony Way, Pendleton, OR 97801
159
MO
WITH ONLY $999 DRIVEAWAY
BACKUP CAMERA • BLUETOOTH • POWER PACKAGE
STK #16T480. MSRP $19,795. CAP COST $18,783. $1,000 LEASE CASH PROVIDED BY TOYOTA FINANCIAL SERVICES. 36 MO/12K MILES PER YEAR LEASE. ON
APPROVED CREDIT. PLUS TAX, TITLE AND $75 DOC FEE. ON APPROVED CREDIT. LEV $11,880. $999 DRIVE OFF. DOES NOT INCLUDE MILITARY OR COLLEGE REBATE.
Topics Covered:
• Know your numbers
• Tips for reducing sodium intake
• Heart healthy fats
• Carbs are bad, right? Come and find out!
• Heart healthy foods to include in your diet
• Food samples!
Join Christine Guenther, RD, LD
E E for a fun interactive class! F R
$
DRIVE A NEW
2017 RAV4 AWD LE
$
EE
249
MO
NUMBER 1 SMALL SUV!
STK #17T4063. MSRP $28,213. CAP COST $27,464. 36 MO/12K MILES PER YEAR LEASE. ON APPROVED CREDIT. PLUS TAX, TITLE AND $75 DOC FEE. ON APPROVED CREDIT.
LEV $18,380. $2,999 DRIVE OFF. DOES NOT INCLUDE MILITARY OR COLLEGE REBATE.
FOR ALL OFFERS: NO SECURITY DEPOSIT REQUIRED. A DOCUMENTARY SERVICE FEE OF $75 MAY BE ADDED TO VEHICLE PRICE OR CAPITALIZED COST. DOES NOT INCLUDE
TAXES, LICENSE, TITLE, PROCESSING FEES, INSURANCE AND DEALER CHARGES. SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY. OFFERS VALID THROUGH 10-31-16.