REGION
Thursday, February 14, 2019
East Oregonian
A3
Industrial development bill gains traction in Senate
Hansell touts local
control to adding
development
By MATEUSZ
PERKOWSKI
EO Media Group
A proposal to allow
industrial development out-
side cities in 10 Eastern
Oregon counties has passed
a key legislative committee
without encountering oppo-
sition from farm and conser-
vation advocates.
Senate Bill 2 would allow
each of the counties —
Baker, Gilliam, Grant, Har-
ney, Lake, Malheur, Sher-
man, Union, Wallowa and
Wheeler — to designate up
to 10 sites totaling 50 acres
outside urban growth bound-
aries for “industrial uses or
other employment uses.”
Each designation would
based on an economic
opportunity analysis and
the development could not
occur on high-value farm-
land or sage grouse habitat.
The Senate Commit-
tee on Environment and
Natural Resources recom-
mended the bill for approval
3-1 during a Feb. 12 work
session.
“It’s totally local con-
trol. If the local people don’t
want it, they don’t have to do
it,” said Sen. Bill Hansell,
R-Athena, during an earlier
public hearing on the bill.
While SB 2 doesn’t
solve all the land use prob-
lems facing Eastern Ore-
gon, the proposal “rec-
ognizes the incredible
difference between Eastern
Oregon and the Willamette
Valley,” where growth is
more robust, said Sen. Cliff
Bentz, R-Ontario.
Land use bill clears first hurdle
A proposal to allow industrial development in 10 Eastern Oregon
counties is making its way through the state Senate. Senate Bill 2
would allow these counties to designate up to 10 sites totaling 50
acres outside urban growth boundaries for development.
Included in SB 2
SHERMAN GILLIAM
WALLOWA
UNION
WHEELER
BAKER
GRANT
MALHEUR
HARNEY
LAKE
Capital Press graphic
The legislation aims to
provide fl exibility for “very
rural” parts of Oregon with-
out harming the state’s
overall land use system,
said Senate President Peter
Courtney, D-Salem.
Sen. Arnie Roblan,
D-Coos Bay, said it’s
“remarkable” that groups
with disparate interests
could reach a consensus
on the proposal, even if it
doesn’t resolve every land
use disagreement in Eastern
Oregon.
While studying the issue,
a workgroup that crafted the
proposal found rural coun-
ties often didn’t have the
planning staff or resources
to guide large-scale devel-
opment through the exist-
ing land use process, said
Mary Kyle McCurdy, dep-
uty director of the 1,000
Friends of Oregon conser-
vation group.
These rural areas also
came across development
opportunities that weren’t
an easy fi t under current
land use laws and were too
different to encompass with
one legislative proposal,
McCurdy said.
Stakeholders reached an
agreement on SB 2 “as kind
of a pilot project” that “no
one loves but perhaps we
can all live with,” she said.
Members of the Oregon
Farm Bureau disagreed with
the reasons for a lack of eco-
nomic opportunity in East-
ern Oregon but appreciated
that SB 2 was kept “limited
in scope” and the organiza-
tion is neutral on the bill,
said Jonathan Sandau, a
government affairs special-
ist with the group.
Once a county designates
50 acres for industrial devel-
opment under the bill, it
cannot enlarge the footprint
without another legislative
change or an “exception”
to Oregon’s land use goals
under existing law.
Analysis shows that Pendleton’s streets are worse than most
Councilors
frustrated by
lack of progress,
funding
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
While the Pendleton City
Council continues to make
headway toward a modest
boost in funding next year,
a path toward a long-term
solution for the city’s road
maintenance woes could
be as much as two months
away.
The council met Tuesday
for a workshop, where coun-
cilors expressed frustration
over a lack of movement on
the issue.
One of their targets was
a recently released trans-
portation funding analy-
sis prepared by a Portland
consultant.
“I don’t need a score to
know when I’m going down
a road, I gotta lock down
my hubs to get through it,”
Councilor Paul Chalmers
“IF MY ROUGH ESTIMATES
ARE RIGHT, IT’S OVER
$1,000 A DAY WE ADD IN DE-
FERRED MAINTENANCE JUST
BY TALKING ABOUT THIS
STUFF.”
— Scott Fairley,
Pendleton city councilor
said. “And that’s dishearten-
ing to me.”
The city hired Jensen
Strategies to analyze its road
system. The consultant com-
pared Pendleton to public
street systems in Hermiston,
La Grande, Prineville, Red-
mond, and Klamath Falls
and concluded that Pendle-
ton had the worst pavement
condition index — a metric
that measures street quality
on a 1-100 scale — but spent
the second-most money
per centerline mile on road
maintenance.
But city offi cials picked
apart some of the informa-
tion shared in the report.
Public Works Director
Bob Patterson said some
of the cities used different
pavement rating methods
that might bring down their
overall score.
And Councilor McKen-
non McDonald said it might
be unfair to compare Pend-
leton’s street system to oth-
ers because Pendleton had
unique issues.
City Manager Robb Cor-
bett said Pendleton wouldn’t
be able to replicate many
of the methods other cities
used to bolster road funding.
A former Prineville city
manager, Corbett said the
Central Oregon city can
afford to transfer a signifi -
cant amount from its general
fund to street maintenance
because of the revenue it
receives from Facebook and
Apple data centers.
And although Hermis-
ton raised its franchise fees
to supplement its road fund-
ing, Pendleton’s franchise
fees are already maxed out.
Councilor Scott Fairley
was also disappointed in
the Jensen Strategies report
because he thought it would
take a more comprehensive
look at whether the city was
spending money on roads
effi ciently.
Councilor Carole Innes
said the council couldn’t
return to the issue in six
months still not having done
anything.
“We’d look pretty inef-
fective,” she said.
The council could take
some action on the issue in
the late spring when mem-
bers pass a budget for the
new fi scal year.
Corbett refi ned a pro-
Heppner doctor pleads guilty to tax evasion
By JAYATI
RAMAKRISHNAN
East Oregonian
A doctor from Heppner
has pleaded guilty in federal
court to tax evasion.
Kenneth Wenberg, 72,
failed to report income that
led to a tax loss of about
$187,000. He faces up to fi ve
years in prison, a $250,000
fi ne, and three years of
supervision after release. He
will be sentenced on June 6.
Wenberg is still listed as
a provider on the Morrow
County Health District web-
site. According to the web-
site, he has worked with
Morrow County Health Dis-
trict since 1987.
Bob Houser, CEO of
Morrow County Health Dis-
trict, said Wenberg is an
independent
practitioner
and was not an employee of
the district, nor had he ever
been.
“The only thing he does
for us now is contract work
in the ER,” Houser said.
He said the company
MCHD hired Wenberg
through, Opal Butte Health
Services, was not a sham
organization.
“Every year we issue a
1099, and obviously, it’s not
Morrow County Health Dis-
trict’s responsibility to see
that that corporation pays its
Hermiston man accused of trying
to sell stolen property online
East Oregonian
Hermiston
Police
Department arrested Dustin
Sanders, 35, over the week-
end, and he is suspected of
possessing stolen property.
Sanders is suspected of
stealing several tools from
a resident in Pendleton, and
was lodged in the Umatilla
County Jail for theft, as
well as for computer crime.
He also had several war-
rants out for his arrest for
failure to appear, contempt
of court, and possession of
methamphetamine.
According to a press
release from the Hermis-
ton Police Department, in
December, a Pendleton res-
ident reported several tools
stolen from his vehicle. On
Feb. 9, someone spotted
tools matching that descrip-
tion on a regional classifi ed
website.
Offi cers spoke to the vic-
tim and made a plan to meet
the alleged seller, Dustin
Sanders, and examine the
property. The victim iden-
tifi ed the property by some
unique markings.
HPD said the investiga-
tion is ongoing, but anyone
with additional informa-
tion can contact the depart-
ment on the anonymous tip
line at 541-667-5148, or at
541-567-5519.
taxes,” he said.
Houser said he couldn’t
comment about whether
MCHD would continue con-
tracting with Wenberg.
“We’re currently investi-
gating our options,” he said.
Wenberg was indicted in
December 2017 for creating
several accounts to hide his
earnings while providing
medical services to Morrow
County Health District and
Urgent Health Care Center
in Heppner.
In an indictment from
2017, Wenberg is charged
with three counts of tax eva-
sion, one for each year from
2012 through 2014.
Wenberg was charged
with opening several sham
accounts, and putting money
he earned into them to avoid
paying income taxes. Fed-
eral court documents state
that he also paid for per-
sonal and family expenses
out of money he put in those
accounts.
Wenberg opened two
companies in 2000, includ-
ing Opal Butte Health Ser-
vices, as well as several
bank accounts in the name
of those companies. The
same year, he entered into
agreements to start provid-
ing services for both Mor-
row County Health Dis-
trict and Urgent Health Care
Center.
posal that he originally
made as a part of a January
budget exercise that aimed
to boost street funding with-
out raising taxes or fees.
Corbett’s new calcula-
tion no longer includes sell-
ing the Vert, which it helps
offset with reductions to
equipment replacement and
materials and supplies in the
street fund.
There would still be a hit
to the general fund, but cer-
tain services like economic
development, city decora-
tions, public art, and insur-
ance for the senior center
would be reduced instead of
axed completely.
All of these savings com-
bined with others would
help the city generate $1.2
million per year for street
maintenance, but that may
not be enough.
Although a 2018 pave-
ment condition report states
that at least $1.1 million
would keep the pavement
condition fl at over the next
10 years, the city has calcu-
lated that it would take $3.5
million to keep the black-
log of deferred maintenance
from growing.
It would take $4.1 million
per year to wipe away all the
deferred maintenance, rais-
ing Pendleton’s pavement
score from 61 to 84.
Fairley challenged the
council to think bigger.
“This $1.2 (million)
goal essentially says we
are endorsing building our
maintenance backlog, we
are endorsing a failing street
system,” he said. “It sounds
well and good to say we
should stage it, but we’re
doing our taxpayers and cit-
izens a huge disservice by
continuing to build up this
deferred maintenance back-
log. If my rough estimates
are right, it’s over $1,000
a day we add in deferred
maintenance just by talking
about this stuff.”
Corbett said he could
work with staff to come up
with a recommendation on
long-term funding for road
maintenance, but it would
likely take them eight weeks
before they could present it
to the council.
Mom &
Baby
Support
Group
CHI St Anthony Hospital
Scholarships
OPEN TO ANYONE IN
UMATILLA OR MORROW COUNTIES
High school senior or
College students
pursuing a degree in healthcare.
Scholarships up to $1000 will be awarded.
Funded by the SAH Volunteers.
Download the application at
sahpendleton.org/scholarship
We meet every Friday 9AM -11AM
at St Anthony Hospital
in Conference Rooms 3 & 4
This support group is Free and
specifically geared toward
Moms and Caregivers.
We provide Free snacks,
support, breastfeeding help
and baby weigh ins.
SWEEEEEET SALLY,
Another Day, Another Year.
My Heart Grows Fonder Every Day.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Love You,
JHD
Return your application
packet no later than March 1, 2019.
(Postmark does not count.)
Submit application to:
Emily Smith, Volunteer Services 2801
St. Anthony Way, Pendleton, OR 97801
EmilySmith@chiwest.com • Questions? Call 541-278-2627
St. Anthony Clinic
3001 St. Anthony Way
Pendleton, Oregon
www.sahpendleton.org