Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 14, 2018)
Wednesday, November 14, 2018 OFF PAGE ONE HOUSING: City is in negotiations with developer on a 100-unit apartment complex Page 8A East Oregonian Continued from 1A than 50 percent of Pendle- ton’s workforce commutes from elsewhere. If Pend- leton is able to expand its housing stock, these offi- cials argue, the city could see an uptick in residents. Pendleton Triangle’s advertising campaign reflects the city’s “if you build it, they will come” theory. Entitled “Tired of com- muting to Pendleton?” the campaign includes super- latives on Pendleton’s high school graduation rate, internet, and recreational opportunities in addition to basic information on the units. Brusselback said he teamed up with Pendleton Economic Development Director Steve Chrisman to cut some ads that will broadcast on local radio stations. The pair also collabo- rated on a video commer- cial that will air on social media. At the ribbon cut- ting, Brusselback whipped out his phone to show a Staff photo by Kathy Aney The front door stands open to a unit in the newly built Pendleton Triangle duplex complex Tuesday following a ribbon cutting by the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce. rough cut of the ad. As Brusselback nar- rates, b-roll shots of the Round-Up, Eastern Ore- gon Regional Airport and other Pendleton locations and events cycle through the ad. “At the end of the day you can relax and be rest assured you made the right choice with Pend- leton Triangle,” Brussel- back says at the end of the commercial. With 12 units already completed and the other 40 expected to be finished in the coming weeks, Brus- selback is now trying to fill the units he’s advertising. Brusselback filled Pendleton Triangle’s first unit by moving a quartet of Blue Mountain Commu- nity College baseball play- ers from one of his other three apartment complexes into a new unit. He filled another unit with a tenant who works at a company testing drones at the Pend- leton Unmanned Aerial Systems Range, another source of renters Brussel- back hopes to tap. Pendleton Triangle’s $1,495 per-month rent is much higher than the aver- age rental unit in town — $650, according to the U.S. Census Bureau — but Brusselback said the price point is lower than simi- lar apartments in Tri-Cities or Walla Walla and there wasn’t enough new hous- ing stock in Pendleton of which to compare. Brusselback also highlighted Pendle- ton Triangle’s ameni- ties — 1,265-square-foot, two- and three-bedroom units, washers and driers in each unit, a communal playground and gym, and access to the swimming pool at South Hills Apart- ments across the street. And Pendleton Trian- gle won’t be the only new development that will compete for renters and buyers in the near future. Pendleton developer Al Plute is in the pro- cess of converting the third floor of the Bow- man Building downtown into 18 apartments. And after the city sold Pendle- ton developer Dusty Pace land at Sunridge Estates in 2017, his company, South County Construction, has received 11 permits this year to build single family dwellings. Additionally, the city is in negotiations with New- burg developer Saj Jivan- jee to build a 100-unit apartment complex at Pendleton Heights and I & E Construction of Clack- amas to build a 200-unit apartment complex near BMCC. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0836. The average rental unit in town is $650, according to the U.S. Census Bureau CENSUS: The Census Bureau doesn’t pay for the work, at least not up front Continued from 1A members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Those additional addresses would add 163,200 people to Oregon’s estimated population, which bolsters Oregon’s chance to get a sixth Congressman and, in turn, gives the state an eighth electoral vote in presidential elections. Cy Smith, the chief information officer for the Oregon Geospatial Enterprise Office, said he jumped at the idea of find- ing more addresses because not all local governments participate. “It’s an onerous process — you have to have the resources to do it and most of these folks who didn’t end up doing it don’t have the resources,” he said. “They’re already wearing four hats each. They just can’t make it happen. So it was an opportunity for the state of Oregon.” The work was largely done by GIS analyst Joshua Tanner, who compared the Census registry to data from the state Employment Department and zoning data. He designed program- ming to compare them and check for redundancies. While it was mostly automated, it was still diffi- cult at times. “There are a lot of strange issues in urban areas of there being resi- dential addresses on top of business locations,” Tanner said. The Census doesn’t pay for the work, at least not up front. Rather, if states pro- duce more addresses, they will get more federal money down the line. In Oregon, of the 287 agencies that create addresses, 127 participated in the new effort. Smith said some that opted out could have handled the workload, but the state can’t force them to do so. Most of the densely pop- ulated counties did partici- pate, but Polk, Lincoln and Douglas opted out. The others were less populated areas, such as Malheur and Wheeler counties. Polk County Commis- sioner Mike Ainsworth said he wasn’t familiar with the project and wasn’t sure why the county didn’t participate. “I would think if it would be anything, it would be a lack of resources,” he said. One of the largest increases in addresses came from within Lincoln County. Lincoln City found it had 42 percent more addresses than the Census thought. Pendleton found a 12 percent increase and Hood River a 10 percent increase. Smith said Oregon’s more rural areas don’t have the technology to complete such a task. “They open up a big book and they write them down by hand — I like to joke about this, but it’s really not far from the truth — they take their log book over to their mimeograph machine,” he said, laughing. “They put it on there and if they have enough carbon paper, they make a copy. And then they run it through their facsimile machine and send it to the electric com- pany and the phone com- pany and the post office.” Of the jurisdictions in the state, Smith especially wanted Multnomah to par- ticipate, since it is the most populous county. But week after week, he saw it hadn’t reported back to the Census. After repeated prompting Smith secured a six-week extension from the Census Bureau, and Multnomah fin- ished the project. “Maybe people don’t realize the importance of it, even though it’s pretty clear,” Smith said. SCOUTS: Thrilled to have girl member Continued from 1A Oster said although boys and girls will follow the same curriculum, there are some specific rules now that girls are allowed in the group. According to the national Scouts model, a “den” will still be sin- gle gender, but a “pack” can include anyone. A pack including girls has to have at least two leaders, one of whom has to be female, Oster said. Once students get past the Cub Scouts stage, the older scouts will be sepa- rated into troops by gender. “When girls form troops, it won’t tie into the exist- ing troop,” Oster said. “The national level decided that for 10-year-olds and above, they wanted them separate, but they will do the same activities and each can earn their Eagle Scout (rank).” Jones’ den leader is Carol Hall, and the pack leader is Dale Hilding. Hilding said he was thrilled to have a girl in the program, and he hopes Jones’ enrollment will encourage other girls to join, too. “Parents and scouts have been asking for this for years,” Hilding said. “My daughter wanted to do the same stuff her brothers were doing, and couldn’t.” He noted that most coun- tries around the world have scouting programs not seg- regated by gender. “I think it’s going to save the scouting program in this country,” he said. Be a part of the giving by becoming a Winterfest Sponsor. Contact Emily Smith at 541-278-2627 about Sponsorship information, your help is greatly appreciated in making this wonderful event a success. Friday DECEMBER 7 th , 2018 Evening Gala | 6:00 pm Saturday DECEMBER 8 th , 2018 Family Day | 10am-2pm 21 or older | $40 EACH FREE ADMISSION tickets sold via presale at SAHPENDLETON.ORG/WINTERFEST or by calling 541-278-2627 Sponsored by WIldhorse Resort & Casino • Prime Rib and Salmon Dinner • Lunch with Santa & his elves • Live and Silent Auctions • Make ornaments & playdough • Music, Dancing, full cash bar, table games gift shop, wreaths, and swags for sale • Write letters to Santa BOTH EVENTS WILL BE LOCATED AT THE Pendleton Convention Center For more information or to purchase tickets, contact St. Anthony Hospital Foundation at 541-278-2627 Proceeds benefi t St. Anthony Hospital Foundation, Cason’s Place Grief Support for Children & Families, and Pioneer relief nursery. More information is available at SAHPENDLETON.ORG/WINTERFEST
