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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 11, 2018)
REGION Wednesday, July 11, 2018 East Oregonian Page 3A HERMISTON HERMISTON Early survey returns support allowing more food trucks Festival Street unveiling highlights Funfest By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian The city of Hermiston still has another week left on a community survey about food trucks, but the results so far send a clear message. During Monday’s city council meeting, city plan- ner Clint Spencer said so far 625 people who took the online survey (which closes July 15) said they were in favor of the city increasing the number of mobile ven- dor licenses from its current cap of three, while 110 peo- ple said the cap should stay the same. “(The survey) runs through the 15th, but I don’t think it’s going to swing that much,” Spencer said. He said the survey isn’t a perfect measurement of community sentiment — respondents are all people who sought out the survey, and there are no controls to make sure people answer- ing are Hermiston resi- dents — but the results do give a sense that there is support for a change in the city’s mobile food vending ordinance. The ordinance, passed in 2013, placed a cap on licenses (which cost $500 per year) and set in place design and safety standards, including rules for handling gray water and a rule that the truck must be painted a neutral color. It also stated that trucks must be located at least 400 feet from other restaurants and in the city’s outlying commercial zone, which does not include downtown. Trucks must move every night, can only operate until 10 p.m. and cannot provide seating. About 89 percent of respondents to the survey so far have said that the city should allow food trucks downtown. Similar num- bers supported temporary licenses for mobile vendors and the creation of a “pod” where multiple food trucks could park. About 80 per- cent of respondents sup- ported an amendment that would allow small carts that can be pushed by hand in addition to the current large trucks. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Rigo Garcia, owner of Tacos Garcia, serves customers at his food truck. Councilor John Kirwan, who was on the commit- tee that wrote the ordinance along with Manuel Guti- errez and then-councilor George Anderson, said that while the city is considering changes to the ordinance they needed to remem- ber it was adopted because there had been issues with mobile vendors. Many of them were “mobile” in name only and spread out to become eyesores, he said. There were problems with how people were dis- posing of their wastewater, and customers of the food trucks were loitering and then using the bathrooms of nearby businesses. “There still needs to be some regulations,” he said. Members of the public present at Monday’s meet- ing voiced their support for amending the ordinance. Jim Sawyer said allowing more food trucks in town would be an economic boon for the community and allow for more diverse food options in town. “Food trucks are the remedy for this town,” Sawyer said. “Applebee’s is not breaking ground tomor- row, darn it.” Jose Garcia said he knows a woman who worked for Lamb Weston for decades and dreamed of opening her own “taco van” when she retired. When she was turned away by the city of Hermiston because there were no licenses available, she moved her family to Pasco so she could open her business there. Patrick Hunt, who runs the Southern Twain BBQ food truck in Pendleton, lives in Hermiston. He said he had wanted to open his business in Hermis- ton but was forced to open in Pendleton because there were no licenses available. After Monday’s meeting adjourned he and his wife handed out free samples in the lobby to anyone inter- ested in what Hermiston is missing. Hunt said he would consider opening a sec- ond truck in Hermiston if more licenses were offered, although he also said that the requirement to move the truck every night is tir- ing for vendors who often work long hours. He sup- ported the idea of a food pod, and said that hav- ing multiple food vendors together would help them put pressure on each other to keep the area clean and follow the rules. Mayor David Drotz- mann told the audience that their concerns were part of the reason the city is hav- ing the conversation about amending the rules to be less restrictive. “Sometimes the pen- dulum swings too far,” he said. The council directed staff to come back at a future meeting with recom- mendations after the survey closes Sunday. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. By TAMMY MALGESINI East Oregonian A highlight of this year’s Hermiston Funfest is the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Hermiston’s Festival Street. “It’s the grand opening, which is really exciting,” said Debbie Pedro, Hermis- ton Chamber of Commerce executive director. “We want everyone to come out and celebrate what’s great about Hermiston.” In its 13th year, Funfest kicks off Saturday at 7:30 a.m. and runs until 3 p.m. in downtown Hermiston. The Festival Street ceremony takes place at 1 p.m. Free ice cream will be served up to the first 500 people. With the completion of the project, Pedro said the event’s main stage will now be situated on Northeast Second Street. A huge can- opy tent and bleacher seat- ing will provide protection from the sun. Entertainment will take the stage through- out the day. Also, as the sun heats up, several activities offer a way to cool down, includ- ing a fire hose fountain. And for a splashing good time, enter Splash and Dash 2018. Mobile race bathtubs are provided. There’s no entry fee, but teams need to regis- ter Friday by 4 p.m. at Herm- iston City Hall. Participants must be at least 18 years old and the driver is required to wear a helmet. Warning — you WILL get wet! Other festival highlights, Pedro said, are the Out- law Lawn Dragsters. She said the souped-up mowing machines will tear up Main Street in front of the Herm- iston Herald office. “It’s really unique and peo- ple love them,” Pedro said. Also returning is Bear in the Box, featuring chainsaw artists. They will be show- ing off their skills and selling unique wooden creations, including a 2 p.m. auction. Eastern Oregon Art Show Showcasing the work of regional artists, the Eastern Oregon Art Show runs Sat- urday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Victory Baptist Church. Presented by Desert Arts Council, it offers $1,500 in cash prizes, including a $250 people’s choice award. It’s open to amateur and professional artists as well as youths in a special teen cate- gory. People may enter up to two works in any medium. Entries must be submitted Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hermiston City Hall. The per piece entry fee is $10 for adults and $5 for teens. Information and a form is available at www.deser- tartscouncil.com. Cool Rides Car Show Be sure to cruise on over to McKenzie Park for the 23rd annual Cool Rides Car Show. Vehicle registration begins Saturday at 7 a.m. The show starts at 9 a.m. and finishes up with the awards presentation at 3 p.m. Activities rev up Friday for registered participants. A poker run starts at 5 p.m. at the park and pulled pork sand- wiches will be served when everyone returns. Club presi- dent Larry Storment said those not entering vehicles in the show can participate for $5. Registration is $25, which includes a dash plaque raffle ticket, event T-shirt and the Friday eve- ning activities. Vendors, live music and food will be available at the park. Awards will be presented in more than a dozen classes, including motorcycles. Also, prizes will be given for Best of Show, Andy Anderson Memorial, Mike Monroe Memorial, longest distance traveled and “I Built My Car.” For more information about Funfest, call Pedro at 541-567-6151 or visit www.hermistonchamber. com. For questions about the art show, contact 541- 667-5018 or bkander29@ gmail.com. And, for the car show, call Storment at 541-571-5960. Help still needed for Umatilla County Fair parade HERMISTON — The fair board is still searching for volunteers to help with the annual Umatilla County Fair Kick-Off Parade, which is Saturday Aug. 4. According to Gay New- man, Umatilla County Fair board chairman, the parade is still lacking about eight to ten volunteers and is looking for people to work from 3:30 to 7 p.m. on Saturday. He said it takes about 16 volunteers to put on the parade. The fair board made a public appeal for volunteers in May. Then in June, fair coordinator Angie McNal- ley published another call for volunteers on the Umatilla County Fair Facebook page. The post said the fair board is looking for a volunteer group or organization of 15 peo- ple that would help with the parade and develop a part- nership to run it each year. “We have never experi- enced a lack of participa- tion or volunteerism within the UC, so we are confident that we will receive the help that we are looking for,” she wrote. According to the Face- book post, volunteers would be responsible for mark- ing lineup spaces, lining up and routing parade entries, handing out entry numbers and organizing paperwork before the parade. “Our parade is a huge parade out here,” said New- man. “We had somewhere around 140 entries in it [last year] and the streets are full.” Newman also said the fair in general requires an extensive amount of vol- unteer help. He estimates about 500 people volun- teered last year. The Umatilla County Fair Kick-Off Parade is Aug. 4 at 6:30 p.m. 7/11 Cineplex Show Times Hermiston High School graduation to return to Kennewick’s Toyota Center HERMISTON — The Hermiston School Board agreed at a Monday night meeting that the district will once again hold graduation at the Toyota Center in 2019. Hermiston High School Principal Tom Spoo made a brief presentation to the board, discussing the pos- itives and negatives of the venue. He said the new loca- tion’s capacity was one of the biggest benefits, as the school no longer had to give students a limited number of tickets for family members. “Limiting it to three or four tickets is not an option,” said board member Dave Smith. He said the main issues were traffic and crowd man- agement after students gath- ered on the lawn to meet their families. 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