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OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Friday, January 26, 2018
Potholes ahead for Trump’s upcoming public works proposal
By ZEKE MILLER
and JOAN LOWY
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Trump
administration will soon release
its long-anticipated public works
plan, trying to fulfill a campaign
pledge but set to fall short of some
ambitious goals.
As a candidate, Donald Trump
promised to generate at least $1
trillion in infrastructure spending.
As president, he is relying on state
and local governments to pony up
a significant share of the total.
Trump told mayors at the
White House this week that he
would present his proposal after
Tuesday’s State of the Union
address.
“We’re also working to rebuild
our crumbling infrastructure by
stimulating a $1 trillion invest-
ment, and that’ll actually probably
end up being about $1.7 trillion,”
Trump said.
Officials said Washington’s
commitment will be far smaller —
and the benefits contingent in large
part on state and local support.
The administration’s plan
calls for $200 billion in federal
spending over 10 years, according
to a six-page summary reviewed
by The Associated Press.
The summary, widely and
unofficially
disseminated
in
the capital, is a snapshot of the
administration’s thinking. While
details may change, the broad
outlines are expected to remain
the same, according to officials
familiar with the document. They
spoke on condition of anonymity
because they were not authorized
to publicly discuss the internal
document.
Half the money would go to
grants for transportation, water,
flood control, cleanup at some of
the country’s most polluted sites
and other projects.
States, local governments and
other project sponsors could use
the grants for no more than 20
percent of the cost. That’s consis-
tent with comments from admin-
istration officials that they want to
use federal dollars as incentives,
and that most of rest of the money
would come from other sources.
The summary also includes $14
billion over 10 years for current
VETERINARY: Grant created after Hillenbrand’s request
Continued from 1A
Shadee Williams, another
veterinary assistant, said the
new room has space for all
the veterinary equipment,
which is attached to the
ceiling instead of the wall
to avoid tripping hazards.
Williams said the old room
needed to double as a prepa-
ratory space and didn’t have
all the equipment in one
place.
Other features of the
building include a room
where families have space
to grieve over euthanized
animals with access to a
separate exit, and boarding
kennels with automatic
water dispensers and indoor
and outdoor play areas.
Hillenbrand said “auxil-
iary” services like doggie
daycare, boarding kennels
and canine acupuncture
will help offset the costs of
running a modern clinic.
“Veterinary medicine is
very expensive,” she said.
Although the launch of
these new services didn’t
coincide with the Dec.
18 opening of the clinic,
Hillenbrand hopes to have
them running within the next
month.
The Fresh Start grant
was created in the wake of
Hillenbrand’s request, when
the commission realized
it had no grant program
for developers looking to
establish new buildings in
the urban renewal district.
Applicants to the program
can apply for up to $100,000
in grant funding.
Although she said she
would have been able to
build the new facility without
the commission’s assistance,
it helped make the process
easier and more relaxing.
Charles Denight, the
associate director of the
development commission,
pointed to the new possibili-
ties the grant could open.
Denight said the urban
renewal district was created
board member Dan Dorran
of Hermiston; attorney
Sally Anderson Hansell of
Hermiston; Darla Huxel,
police chief of Umatilla;
and Hermiston’s Glenn
Youngman, who served as
county commissioner when
voters adopted the home
rule charter in 1992.
Anderson Hansell said
she grew interested in
serving on the committee
after talking with county
commissioners about the
process and observing
Hermiston recently revise
its charter.
“The charter is the
cornerstone of county
government,” she said, and
thus worth attending meet-
ings for 16 months to make
sure the charter provides
the government structure to
serve the community now
and into the future.
She said she has not
read the charter and has no
comment on its status. She
said she plans on going into
the review process with an
open mind and would strive
to serve the community as
best she could.
Oregon in 1958 gave
voters the right to adopt
charters to organize county
governments and prescribe
what powers they have and
procedures they should
follow. According to the
Oregon Association of
Counties, Umatilla County
is one of nine counties
operating under home rule.
Benton, Clatsop, Hood
River, Jackson, Josephine,
Lane, Multnomah and
Washington are the others.
The rest of Oregon counties
DISASTER: Preparedness
plan is still in draft form
Continued from 1A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Veterinary assistant Amy Kline towels off a cat after a procedure in a recovery area
on Wednesday at the Pendleton Veterinary Clinic.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Farrow sits in a kennel after having a procedure on
Wednesday at Pendleton Veterinary Clinic.
under the premise that it
would bring in revenue from
new development.
While the commission
has been active in restoring
and remodeling the city’s
existing building stock,
new commercial or housing
development in the down-
town area has been hard to
come by.
“Zippo,
practically,”
Denight said.
While the Pendleton
Veterinary Clinic is the
Fresh Start program’s only
project to date, Denight said
there’s been interest from
a “half dozen” developers
in using it for a downtown
housing project.
He said these buyers are
interested in purchasing
the Edwards Apartments, a
derelict complex on South-
east Court infamous for
drug use and public safety
problems that was closed by
city injunction in 2010.
Under these developers’
plans, they would buy the
property from its current
owner, use the commission’s
demolition grant to clear
the existing building and
apply for a Fresh Start grant
to build new housing units
on the property. Denight
said another developer is
interested in restoring the
existing building, a project
that could garner a different
set of grants from the
commission.
While potential buyers
consider the Edwards Apart-
ments, Denight said another
property owner is moving
forward with plans for a
different downtown space.
At a special meeting
Tuesday, the development
commission will consider
giving a demolition grant
to John Fenton, who plans
to use it to clear away a
dilapidated house he owns
at 356 S.E. Third Street. If
he gets approval from the
commission, Denight said
Fenton wants to apply for a
Fresh Start grant to build a
new duplex on the site.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra
at asierra@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0836.
CHARTER: Voters adopted the home rule charter in 1992
Continued from 1A
programs that use taxpayer money
to attract private investment or
lower financing costs.
White House spokeswoman
Lindsay Walters said Trump
and his team “are ready to work
with Congress to move legisla-
tion forward quickly. America
shouldn’t have to wait any longer
for better infrastructure.”
Congress, however, is already
bogged down on immigration and
the budget, so the prospects seem
slim for approving major new
spending before the November
elections.
operate under state laws.
Douglas County voters in
November rejected home
rule.
Umatilla
County’s
charter runs seven pages,
and begins with the
preamble:
“We, the people of
Umatilla County, Oregon,
in order to avail ourselves
of self-determination in
county affairs to the fullest
extent permissible under
the constitution and laws
of the state, by this charter
confer upon the county the
following powers, subject it
to the following restrictions,
and prescribe for it the
following procedures and
governmental structure...”
The charter establishes
the three-member board of
nonpartisan commissioners
to oversee county govern-
ment. They, along with the
sheriff, are the county’s
elective
offices.
The
charter did away with the
assessor, clerk, treasurer,
and surveyor as elected
positions.
“The more elected
officials you have, the
more fiefdoms that exist,”
Murdock said. “I don’t
know if I really appreci-
ated that when I became
commissioner [in 2013].”
The charter grants the
board the power to make
local laws, hire and fire
department heads and
employees, as well as
reorganize, combine and
abolish departments. The
charter dictates the election
process, how to fill vacan-
cies and it allows the county
to form intergovernmental
relations.
Olsen said the first charter
review in 1995 resulted in
a recommendation to do
away with paid, full-time
commissioners and instead
use five, part-time volunteer
commissioners and a full-
time county administrator.
Voters in 1996 rejected the
proposal.
He also said the delay in
conducting the review stems
in part from changes to the
board of commissioners
and staff in recent years,
but now the ball is rolling.
Murdock said the time is
right for a review in no
small part because he and
fellow commissioners Larry
Givens and Bill Elfering are
seniors.
Youngman said it was
high time for the review
and there is no excuse for
the delay. He said he pushed
in the mid-1990s for the
change to a county manager
system of government and
continues to advocate for
that.
“I feel it should come
back before the voters and
give them a chance to vote
on it,” he said.
Given
his
stance,
Youngman said, the county
might not appoint him. But
government is becoming
more complicated year after
year, with changes to state
and federal law that affect
the local level. A profes-
sional, full time manager
would be better suited for
dealing with those changes,
he asserted, along with
the county’s $74 million
budget, while a board of five
to seven members would set
policy and have the power
to hire and fire the manager.
“The way it is now, the
board is the policymaker
and the manager of county
government,” he said. “I
don’t think you can wear
two hats.”
Youngman said he
would keep the sheriff as
an elected official because
the people should have the
right to make that choice,
but otherwise it was time for
the county to move out from
under a 19th century struc-
ture and operate more like
city governments. He also
said the review committee
needs to be transparent and
not operate behind closed
doors.
The board of commis-
sioners decide whether
recommendations warrant
getting on a ballot. If they
do, county voters have the
final approval of amend-
ments to the charter.
“We just present the
recommendations, and the
board can turn it down,”
Youngman said, “But I
think there would be some
problems.”
Olsen said Oregon law
may prevent completely
removing commissioners,
but the committee can
recommend what form their
roles take. Murdock said he
is looking forward to having
a diverse panel of citizens
examine how the charter is
working more than 25 years
after it was written.
“If it takes a new form it
takes a new form,” Murdock
said, “We can be pragmatic
about that.”
If you would like to serve
on the Umatilla County
Charter Review Committee,
the application can be found
at: http://www.co.umatilla.
or.us/bcc/notices/Charter-
ReviewApplication.pdf
“OEM in particular
is understaffed, despite
repeated budget requests
to the Legislature, which
inhibits the agency’s capacity
to coordinate emergency
management efforts in the
state,” the report states.
The Secretary of State’s
audit was based on interviews
with OEM staff and surveys
of local and state emergency
management programs.
The report comes at the
heels of a year of disasters,
from Hurricane Maria in
Dominica and Puerto Rico
to devastating wildfires in
California and Oregon.
Earlier this week, a
magnitude 7.9 earthquake in
Alaska prompted officials to
issue a tsunami watch along
the Oregon coast, putting
local emergency manage-
ment systems to the test.
But when it comes to “the
big one” – specifically, the
well-publicized prospect of
a 9.0 magnitude earthquake
along the Cascadia Subduc-
tion Zone along Oregon’s
coast — the audit says
Oregon should “do more” to
prepare.
According the report,
state planning efforts for
mitigating, preparing for,
responding to and recovering
from disasters are “incom-
plete.”
More specifically, the
state is at risk of losing
federal emergency funds if it
can’t maintain an “enhanced
status” for its emergency
plan.
The report also found
that the state’s preparedness
plan is both incomplete and
still in draft form. It includes
undeveloped details that
define actions for organizing
resources, training personnel
and exercising disaster
scenarios.
Additionally, more than a
dozen annexes in the Emer-
gency Operations Plan are
not up-to-date. Such annexes
include transportation and
public works action items
during emergencies.
The state’s recovery plan,
meanwhile, has not been
signed by Gov. Kate Brown,
who is responsible for the
emergency
management
system per state statute.
The office also offers
recommendations
for
improving the state’s emer-
gency response network.
Recommendations include
continuing to advocate for
funds through the state
budget and clearly defining
responsibilities for prepared-
ness, response and recovery
efforts.
FARMERS: Discussed
the upcoming vote on an
extension service district
Continued from 1A
varieties,” she said. “Farmers
are paying a premium to have
modern genetics.”
Wheat farmer Sam Myers
noted that OSU is a land grant
college, and that money they
make from seeds should be
put back into the community.
“Is there a way to produce
or fund seed that’s open
variety, but augmented on the
purchase or breeding side?”
he asked.
Some farmers mentioned
the drawbacks to open
variety.
“I actually think that open
variety is holding us back,”
said Roger Morter, a Morrow
County farmer. “If you want
something better as far as
disease control, you have to
pay for it.”
Morter also expressed
concern at the level of
involvement of seed compa-
nies when farmers are trying
to buy product.
“I don’t know why, as an
industry, we’ve allowed the
seed industry to go that direc-
tion,” he said. “I don’t mind
paying the royalty. My issue
is that I can’t pay without
the seed company getting
involved.”
When a new variety of
seed is developed, whether by
a private company or a public
university, it is patented.
Buyers then pay a royalty to
the developer every time they
plant those seeds.
“That’s the way they’re
able to recover the cost
of producing the seeds,”
Hagerty said. “It’s also a way
varieties can be upheld to the
highest quality.”
The price differs per
variety and, Morter said, can
become prohibitive for small
establishments.
“In a low-production area,
that’s a big deal,” he said.
Myers,
who
hosted
the event at his farm near
Heppner, also asked scien-
tists about ways to mitigate
disease without having to
buy new seed.
“Is it the consensus that
there’s no disease resistance
we can do — it’s all new
varieties?” he asked.
Hagerty said there was
research being conducted
to look at disease as a func-
tion of tilling versus direct
seeding.
Producers said in the
future, they’d like to meet
further with scientists to
discuss other issues.
“Understanding disease
from a farmer’s perspective,”
said one. “Something like
that, I would get a lot out of.”
Mary Corp, regional
administrator of the extension
service, briefly discussed
the upcoming vote to bring
an extension service district
to Umatilla and Morrow
counties.
She said passage of the
measure, which will be
on ballots in May, would
support extension activities
in the county, but the funding
would also support the work
of OSU scientists at CBARC
and HAREC (Hermiston
Agricultural Research and
Extension Center).
“Right now [we] go to the
county and request general
fund support,” she said. “This
would be a dedicated stream
of funding that could only be
used for the service district
and ag research.”
The proposed rate for the
service district tax would be
33 cents per $1,000.
Corp said they plan to
hold a few more shop talk
events before the winter
is over, talking to dryland
farmers around the Columbia
Basin.
“As you can tell from this
morning’s conversation, they
have some pretty specific
needs within their micro-cli-
mates,” Corp said.
Duncan Kroese, a scientist
who was at the event, said the
meetings have been informa-
tive for those who spend most
of their time on research.
“We grow such little
plots, we don’t have to think
about the economic aspect
as much,” he said. “It’s
always eye opening to talk to
growers.”
–——
Contact
Jayati
Ramakrishnan at 541-564-
4534 or jramakrishnan@
eastoregonian.com