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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 20, 2019)
BASEBALL: Diamondjaxx split doubleheader with Legacy Legends | SPORTS, A8 E O AST AS 143rd Year, No. 176 REGONIAN REGONIA THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2019 $1.50 WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD STANFIELD Tensions linger in Salem Stanfi eld considers options to slim down Highway 395 through community GOP threatens to stop proceedings over landmark environmental policy By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE, AUBREY WIEBER AND MARK MILLER Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — The Oregon Legisla- ture is mere days away from having to close up shop. But uncertainty has permeated the Capitol for the past couple of days as Senate Republicans threaten to stop proceedings over a landmark envi- ronmental policy. If the 11 Republican senators decide not to show Thursday morn- ing, when a bill to limit the state’s industrial polluters is up for a vote, that would mean the Senate won’t See Tensions, Page A6 Staff photo by E.J. Harris The Oregon Department of Transportation is considering implementing a “road diet” plan to reduce traffi c speeds through downtown Stanfi eld. Umatilla, Morrow counties seek own workforce group By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian TANFIELD — Stanfi eld might put Highway 395 on a diet, but it has noth- ing to do with counting calories. The “road diet” is a solution the Oregon Department of Transportation has begun implementing for some cit- ies where a major highway sends traffi c speeding through the center of town. To force more drivers to go the speed limit, the department narrows down the lanes of travel — in Stanfi eld’s case, from fi ve lanes to three. ODOT is planning a major repaving project along Highway 395 through downtown Stanfi eld, adding traffi c-calming features such as stamped concrete crosswalks, wheel chair ramps and “bulb-outs” extending the sidewalk further into intersections, in an effort to signal to drivers that they are crossing through a town and should slow down accordingly. “A common problem, as you guys are aware of, is when you have a fi ve-lane highway through a town people speed,” ODOT engineer Bryan Strasser told the Stanfi eld City Council during a presentation on Tuesday. “When we think of traffi c calming, we think of things that signal to S the driver that they can’t just go ripping down the highway.” He told the council he believed Stanfi eld would benefi t from a road diet as well, keeping the cen- ter turn lane but going down from two lanes of travel on either side to just one in each direction. The city council was on board with the other improvements, but wanted more information and input from the public before committing to the road diet part of the plan. Strasser said he was skeptical of the road diet method at fi rst, but after seeing it work in Mil- ton-Freewater he was a fan. ODOT worked with Milton-Freewater last summer to take the section of Highway 11 that makes up South Main Street from two lanes in each direction to one lane in each direction plus a center turn lane. The city turned the extra space See Diet, Page A6 Inside The Stanfi eld city council was presented with options for raising water rates on Tuesday, but decided to delay their decision until after a new city manager is hired. See Page A3 PENDLETON — Umatilla and Morrow counties are joining forces to ask the state to set up a workforce development board covering only the two counties. The state in 2015 grouped Umatilla, Morrow plus six more counties in Eastern Oregon into Murdock one regional work- force board. Umatilla County Com- missioner George Murdock said the confi guration is the problem. “Right now, our regional work- force board covers a third of Ore- gon,” he said, and that wide swath from Washington to Nevada fails to refl ect the issues unique to Umatilla and Morrow counties. During the board of commissioners meeting on Wednesday, he said the county’s rep- resentatives grow so frustrated they resign from the workforce board. The state has nine regional work- force boards. While the Eastern Ore- gon Works covers eight counties, the See Workforce, Page A6 Council approves contentious airport lease language By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian PENDLETON — After discuss- ing the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport’s past and present, the Pendleton City Council made three decisions that will affect its future. At a meeting Tuesday, the coun- cil voted to create new lease lan- guage for airport businesses, enter into a contract for an Unmanned Aerial Systems economic impact study, and sell off the city’s interest in a piece of Airport Road industrial land. The council’s decision ended months of public contention between airport business owners, who own their own buildings but must lease the land the buildings stand on from the city, and airport administration. The heart of the confl ict involved the “reversionary clause,” contract language that allows the city to take ownership of buildings that are not removed at the end of a lease. The business community said the clause would devalue its investment and dissuade new entrepreneurs from setting up shop at the airport while aiport offi cials said the clause was a necessary piece to comply with Federal Aviation Administra- tion rules. The Pendleton Airport Com- mission eventually came up with compromise language — the rever- sionary clause would remain, but business owners could work around it and negotiate new leases with the city. Under the commission’s pro- posal, all businesses could negotiate up to a maximum lease term of 50 years. To avoid reversion to the city See Airport, Page A6 EO File Photo At a meeting Tuesday, the Pendleton City Council made three decisions that will aff ect the future of Eastern Oregon Regional Airport. The coun- cil voted to create new lease language for airport businesses, enter into a contract for an Unmanned Aerial Systems economic impact study, and sell off the city’s interest in a piece of Airport Road industrial land.