Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 2018)
WEEKEND EDITION NO DEAL IN D.C. BLOWING STEAM SHUTDOWN/8A LIFESTYLES/1C OUT OF PRISON AND ON TOUR MUSIC/3C JANUARY 20-21, 2018 142nd Year, No. 68 $1.50 WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Action plan put in place as Lifeways put on spot Mental health provider agrees to outside consultant By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN and KATHY ANEY East Oregonian EO fi le photo Companies located inside enterprise zones can receive exemptions on property taxes for new construction or equipment, as long as the investment causes the company to add jobs or increase productivity. Businesses in enterprise zones include (clockwise from top left) Oregon Grain Growers Brand Distillery in Pendleton, Pioneer Hi-Bred facility in Hermiston, Hill Meat Company in Pendleton, and Lamb Weston in Hermiston. BAITING BUSINESS Enterprise zones give signifi cant tax breaks to local companies By JADE MCDOWELL AND ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Some of Eastern Oregon’s biggest businesses get a tax break only they can access, but it comes with a catch. The enterprise zone, an Oregon program that provides multi-year property tax exemptions on new investments, has been utilized often by Pendleton and Hermiston over the past decade. Companies in certain industries located inside one of the zones can receive a three- to fi ve-year exemption on property taxes for new construction or equipment, as long as the investment causes the company to add jobs or increase productivity. The exemptions From the beginning of Hermis- ton’s enterprise zone in 2005 until the end of 2017, the city gave enter- prise zone tax exemptions to $85 million in capital investment. Those breaks exempted the companies — Shearer’s Foods, DuPont Pioneer, Pioneer Hi-Bred and Eastern Oregon Telecom — from paying any prop- erty taxes on the new construction or equipment for three to fi ve years. In early January, the city gave its fi rst tax break longer than fi ve years — known as a longterm rural enterprise agreement — to potato processor Lamb Weston. The company will not have to pay property taxes for 15 years on a $225 million project expanding its Hermiston plant. But in exchange for the longer tax break, the company has agreed to a $1 million per year payment to be split between the city of Hermiston and Umatilla County. Assistant city manager Mark Morgan said that $15 million spread over 15 years will equal about 42 percent of what Lamb Weston would have paid in property taxes over that same time period. See ENTERPRISE/12A Cities can give businesses tax breaks for three or more years for new projects in "enterprise zones." Below are the exemptions granted by Hermiston and Pendleton since 2009 and the total value of each project. Hermiston Enterprise Zone exemptions Project cost Year ($ millions) begun Company Pioneer Hi-Bred Pioneer Hi-Bred Dupont Pioneer Shearer’s Foods Shearer’s Foods Shearer’s Foods Eastern Oregon Telecom Lamb Weston* $35 13.9 2.6 3.1 25 3.5 2 225 2009 2013 2013 2010 2011 2014 2017 2018 Year expired 2015 2019 2019 2014 2015 2018 2021 2033 Pendleton Enterprise Zone exemptions, 2013-2021 Company Keystone RV Keystone RV Keystone RV Rocky Mountain Colby Pipe Rocky Mountain Colby Pipe Rocky Mountain Colby Pipe (pending) Hill Meat Hill Meat Pendleton Woolen Mills Oregon Grain Growers Project cost Year ($ millions) begun $0.75 0.25 0.2 1.5 4.2 4.5 1.2 6.5 0.35 0.15 *$1 million per year to be paid instead of property taxes. Sources: Cities of Hermiston and Pendleton 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2019 2013 2016 2016 2017 Year expired 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2021 2015 2018 2018 2019 EO Media Group graphic A Friday meeting left mental health professionals and local law enforcement “cautiously optimistic” about improve- ments that can be made to crisis services in Umatilla County. “The most important thing is that Life- ways and law enforcement agreed to work together to create a better structure for communication and information sharing,” said Kevin Campbell, the CEO of Greater Oregon Behavioral Health, Inc. The meeting included county mental health provider Lifeways, its administrative organization GOBHI, and chiefs of most of the county’s Campbell police departments. It was prompted by a message last week from Campbell, who issued a public statement saying that if Lifeways did not make “key changes” by Feb. 20 their contract for crisis services in Umatilla Roberts County would be terminated. After Friday’s meeting, Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts said he felt more optimistic about mental health services in the county than he had in a long time. “We agree that as long as there are deliverables in the next 90 days we are willing to work together,” he said. Roberts said the group formed a couple of immediate goals: specifi cally, bringing in an outside consultant to work with Life- ways and setting up a coalition to address case-specifi c issues. He said Lifeways hoped to hire a consultant within the next couple of weeks. Roberts said the idea for a coalition was proposed by new Lifeways CEO Tim Hoekstra, who started work with the organization just this week. “It’s a strategy he’s previously employed,” Roberts said. Campbell said they also identifi ed some of the challenges Lifeways has faced. “I believe one barrier in the past has been See LIFEWAYS/12A Pendleton’s fi nest get the spotlight By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Emcee Steve Hill said the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce First Citizens Banquet was “Pendleton’s Oscars,” not only because it’s one of the community’s highest honors, but because of the suspense involved in announcing the winners. With one notable excep- tion, the presenters at the Wildhorse Resort & Casino lived up to their billing Friday night by taking their time in announcing Kathy Houk as Woman of the Year and Ron Martin as the Man of the Year for 2017. A native Pendletonian, Houk spent a lifetime building up her credentials for the award. As a Blue Mountain Community College student, she played on the Timber- wolves’ fi rst woman’s basket- ball team, ran track, and served on a team that helped start the BMCC community Christmas dinner, where she has served meals for more than 30 years. See CITIZENS/9A Staff photo by Kathy Aney Kathy Houk smiles at the crowd after being named the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce 2017 Woman of the Year.