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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 2020)
GIRLS BASKETBALL: Dawgs cruise to District 8 win over Shadle Park | SPORTS, B1 E O AST 144th Year, No. 83 REGONIAN WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 $1.50 WINNER OF THE 2019 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Hermiston mulls new city hall UMATILLA RIVER FLOODING Facility comes with a $9 million price tag By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian HERMISTON — A new city hall for Hermiston would come with an approximately $9 million price tag if the city council approves the idea this year, City Manager Byron Smith told the council on Monday night. The price would include about $700,000 of renovations to the base- ment of the Hermiston Public Library so that city staff could use the space during the 18-month construction period, and the rest of the cost would go toward building a new city hall on the same site as the current one. Preliminary designs show a two- story building with a basement, with each of the three fl oors about 9,200 square feet in size. The municipal court would move into the new build- ing, freeing up space for the police department in its current building, and would also move the building department and other staff out of the old Carnegie Library. Marcus Valentine, of Architects West, said the city’s current building at 180 N.E. Gladys Ave., a renovated bank building fi rst built in 1965, is not ideal. The building is split between fi ve levels but does not have an elevator, and its restrooms, coun- cil dais, counters and some hallways are not conducive to someone in a wheelchair. City staff have also out- grown the building, causing them to spread to other buildings, and there are security issues. “It’s clearly defi cient in a lot of respects,” he said. The concept he presented Mon- day is one that he and Smith said would be much more accessible and more effi cient for city staff. Only two people instead of four would be needed to staff the front counters, for example. There would also be room to grow, and Smith said there was another government agency that had already expressed interest in leasing space in the basement until the city needed it. Meanwhile, city staff could use the basement of the library, which Smith described as “very underutilized.” Valentine said architects had been talking with library staff about what would make the basement more usable, and had been told one of the main problems was that the layout made supervision diffi cult. He pro- posed a renovation to the basement that would remove or shift many of the walls, making it more ideal for a makeshift city hall, but also cre- ating a space that would be much See City hall, Page A8 Staff photo by Ben Lonergan An unmarked Pendleton Police Department vehicle patrols the Riverside neighborhood on Tuesday afternoon in Pendleton. Pend- leton Police Chief Stuart Roberts said that the department has been increasing patrols through impacted areas to dissuade looters. Protecting property Law enforcement increasing its presence to deter potential looters from taking advantage of vulnerable homes By ALEX CASTLE East Oregonian T HORN HOLLOW — Nate Fuller couldn’t sleep early Monday morn- ing. After talking on the phone with a friend about the risk of loot- ers going through people’s homes, his mind was stirring with concern. So at about 3:30 a.m., he got up and made his way down to his family’s home in Thorn Hollow on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Last week, fl oodwater surged through the community and fi lled the neighbor- hood’s homes with feet of water, washed out yards, completely destroyed a small bridge and left the Thorn Hollow Bridge folded and impassable due to structural damage. Nate, his wife, Chantel, and her father, Bill Koskela, went to the house that after- noon needing to retrieve their dogs and Nate’s BiPap machine, which he could die without. Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Nathan Fuller, right, indicates where he has begun to cut away drywall in an attempt to dry out his Thorn Hollow home on Sunday afternoon as American Red Cross volunteers Cody Hubert, left, and Juanita Daggett conduct a damage assessment of the area. MORE INSIDE Umatilla County, Oregon state and local city offi cials know people have questions following last weekend’s historic fl ooding, and they’ve been working in tandem to predict the answers needed. Page A3 See Property, Page A8 District fears fl ood could further hurt enrollment Pendleton district says 30 students displaced by fl oods By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian PENDLETON — Much of the water has receded from the Pendleton area following last week’s Uma- tilla River fl ood, but the Pendleton School District is concerned that some of its effects may be permanent. At a meeting Monday, Julie Smith, the district’s director of special pro- grams, told the Pendleton School Board that 30 stu- dents were displaced as a result of the fl ood. The fl ood was felt acutely at Washington Ele- mentary School, which serves students in the heav- ily fl ooded areas like Riv- erside and the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Smith said about 40% of Wash- ington’s students were absent on Friday, the day after the fl ooding began. The district responded to the displaced students by offering counseling, providing free or reduced lunches, and encourag- ing them to fi ll out a liva- bility assessment from the Red Cross to determine needs for housing assis- tance. Schools are also trying to connect families with emergency resources from the Salvation Army, See Schools, Page A8 Staff photo by Ben Lonergan A school bus travels through the Riverside neighborhood on Tuesday af- ternoon. The Pendleton School District said that approximately 30 stu- dents have been displaced by last week’s fl ood. The fl ood was felt acute- ly at Washington Elementary School where 40% of students were absent on Friday, the day after fl ooding forced the evacuation of the Riverside neighborhood.
