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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 20, 2019)
REGION Thursday, June 20, 2019 East Oregonian Stanfield delays water rate increase Engineers present four options for increasing revenue to pay for more than $2M in priority improvements By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian STANFIELD — The Stanfield city council was presented with options for raising water rates on Tues- day, but decided to delay their decision until after a new city manager is hired. Tuesday was city man- ager Blair Larsen’s last coun- cil meeting before he departs for a new job with the city of Sweet Home, and he sug- gested the council table their discussion until October to give a new city manager time to get hired and settled into the job. Engineers from Ander- son Perry & Associates presented four options for increasing revenue to pay for more than $2 million in priority improvements and maintenance to Stanfield’s water system. The biggest proposed jump would more than double most water cus- tomers’ bills by 2030. Dave Wildman told the council that even without completing any of the pro- posed improvements to the system, rising costs would push the city’s water fund into the red by 2023, result- ing in a $1 million deficit by 2030. Those costs range from personnel to equipment to water quality testing. “You’ve had a pretty healthy water fund over the past few years, but there are trends coming up that call for some adjustment,” Wild- man said. Currently the city charges a flat rate depending on cus- tomers’ meter size, then $1.50 per 1,000 gallons of water used. According to the Anderson Perry report, the average “low volume” customer using 10,000 gal- lons per month pays $41 per month. Under the first option for raising rates, the city would self-finance about $2.8 million in improvements between 2024 and 2030 by raising rates 10% per year starting in 2020. The aver- age low-volume user would pay $45.10 that year and $116.98 in 2030. The second option calls for a 25% increase in 2020 and 6% each year after, allowing the city to get started on the proposed improvements to the water system faster using a loan but costing the city more in the long run due to interest. The third option would change the city’s rate struc- ture, getting rid of the meter size-based base charge in favor of a flat $25 base charge that would include 5,000 gallons of water. Usage between 5,000 and 15,000 gallons would be charged at $1.50 per 1,000 gallons and gallons above 15,000 would start at $2.90 per 1,000. Rates would then be increased 4% per year. The change would cause low-volume users to see a temporary reduction of rates down to $32.50 in 2020, which would build to $50.03 in 2030. The money for the city to self-finance system improvements would come from high-volume users. Under the current system an average business using 50,000 gallons pays $126.80 per month, which would increase to $147.16 in 2020 under the new structure and rise to $217.83 per month by 2030. The final option would be to use the same rate struc- ture as option three, but to take out a loan instead of saving up for projects, so that they could be started immediately. City councilor Susan Whelan said she felt the third option “presents the best option for the city and the customer,” and councilor Scott Challis agreed, saying he liked having the city pay for improvements as it goes instead of taking on debt service. City staff present at the meeting said they liked the idea that people would get 5,000 gallons of water for “free” with their base rate in that scenario, as they have gotten complaints about Stanfield’s policy of charging per 1,000 gallons starting at zero gallvons. In light of Larsen’s last day being Tuesday, and the fact that the city has had six applicants for a new city manager submitted so far, the council voted to post- pone a vote on a new rate structure until the fall. Railroads could face higher safety standards By JESSICA POLLARD East Oregonian SALEM — A bill, which would require high hazard trains carrying oil to have spill contingency plans approved by the Depart- ment of Environmental Quality, passed through the Oregon House of Represen- tatives on a 56-3 vote Mon- day and is currently in the Joint Committee On Ways and Means. House Bill 2209, if passed by the Senate, would charge railroads $20 per oil tank car plus an annual fee from their gross operat- ing revenue, which would be put in the High Hazard Train Route Oil Spill Pre- paredness Fund. The fund would be used by the DEQ for pur- poses related to high hazard trains. Under the bill, railroads would be responsible for carrying enough insurance to clean a “worst case” oil spill, defined as 15 percent of the total lading of oil carried by the largest train anticipated to travel the high hazard train route, at all times. “In no way do I believe that House Bill 2209 takes away from our ability to move oil or other energy type commodities away by rail. It recognizes that acci- dents do happen,” said Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, who voted yes on the bill Monday. Groups advocating for high hazard railroad reg- ulations were hoping the requirement would be for enough insurance to cover an entire trainload of oil. “There were a number of things like that where we did not get everything we wanted. But it’s way bet- ter than anything we have now,” said Rhett Lawrence, conservation director of the Oregon Chapter Sierra Club. “2209 does represent a good compromise. It’s certainly a strong step in the right direction.” Reps. Mike Nearman, R-Independence, Bill Post, R-Keizer, and Werner Reschke, R-Klamath Falls, were the lone three no votes on the bill. The bill comes three years after the derailment of several Union Pacific oil train cars in Mosier that were carrying Bakken crude oil from New Town, North Dakota, to Tacoma, Washington. The derail- ment caused a fire and resulted in the spilling of AP Photo/Silas Bleakley, File Tank cars, carrying oil, are derailed near Mosier in 2016. Af- ter three failed attempts, Oregon lawmakers appear poised to pass a bill regulating the transport of oil by rail through the state. more than 40,000 gallons of oil, according to the Port- land Business Journal. Jim Appleton, fire chief in Mosier during the derail- ment, shared a testimony before the House in Febru- ary. He said if the wind had been blowing like usual that day, and if first responders in both Oregon and Wash- ington weren’t available as they had been, the fire caused by the derailment could have been much more serious. “I’m here with a finding that this story of silver lin- ings is largely down to pure luck,” Appleton said. He said Union Pacific Railroad did everything they could, but still failed to detect the sheared bolts which led to the derailment. “The result could have been destructive on a scale I have often contemplated and hope never to see,” he said. Joy Harjo becomes first Native American named U.S. poet laureate Associated Press NEW YORK — Joy Harjo, the first Native American to be named U.S. poet laureate, has been ready for a long time. “I’ve been an unof- ficial poetry ambassa- dor — on the road for poetry for years,” the 68-year-old Harjo wrote in a recent email to The Associated Press. “I’ve often been the only poet or Native poet-person that many have seen/met/ heard. I’ve introduced many poetry audiences to Native poetry and audiences not expecting poetry to be poetry.” Her appointment was announced Wednesday by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, who said in a statement that Harjo helped tell an “Amer- ican story” of tradi- tions both lost and main- tained, of “reckoning and myth-making.” Har- jo’s term is for one year and she succeeds Tracy K. Smith, who served two terms. The position is officially called “Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry,” with a $35,000 stipend. Harjo will have few specific responsibil- ities, but other laureates have launched initiatives, most recently Smith’s tour of rural communities around the country. “I don’t have a defined project right now, but I want to bring the contri- bution of poetry of the tribal nations to the fore- front and include it in the discussion of poetry,” said Harjo, an enrolled member of the Muscogee Creek Nation and a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma. “This country is in need of deep healing. We’re in a trans- formational moment in national history and earth h ist or y, so which- ever way we move is going to absolut ely define us.” Pend- Harjo leton poet S h a i n - del Beers said she was thrilled Harjo is the coun- try’s first Native Ameri- can U.S. Poet Laureate. “We can all learn so much from her,” Beers said. Beers recalled Harjo visited her undergraduate college and was the first poet she met in person. “And I’ll never for- get she asked me, ‘Are you a poet? You look like a poet,’ Beers said. ”It changed my life.” The poet laureate is not a political position. Harjo makes clear her dis- dain for many office seek- ers, however, in her poem “For Those Who Would Govern.” She also has expressed her views on President Trump. In 2016, she linked to a Newsweek article about then-can- didate Trump’s overseas business connections and tweeted, “Donald Trump’s foreign ties may conflict with U.S. national security interests.” Last summer, she linked to a New York magazine article about Trump and Russia, and tweeted: “What If Trump Has Been a Russian Asset Since 1987?” The East Oregonian contributed to this story. Mom & Baby Support Group LOCAL BRIEFING Four historic cemeteries receive state grants SALEM — The Ore- gon Commission on Historic Cemeteries awarded grants to 12 historic cemetery proj- ects throughout the state with four in Umatilla County. The grants totaled $62,394, and amounts ranged $2,460- $8,000 to help fund preserva- tion efforts, repair work and visitor education. The Athena Cemetery, Athena, received $2,514 for the restoration of its Gib- bons-Maxwell memorial. The Blue Mountain Kees Cemetery, Weston, received $2,460 to repair six memo- rials. The Weston Cemetery, Weston, received a grant of $7,450 to repair eight memori- als and remove 10 trees. And the Ukiah Cemetery, Ukiah, received $5,053 to replace and secure fencing and repair at least five grave sites. Each grant required a mod- est match. The Athena Cem- etery’s was $500, the Blue Mountain Cemetery’s was $100, Weston Cemetery had to provide $1,500, and Ukiah matched with $400. The Moro Cemetery in Sherman County also made the list. 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