REGION
Saturday, September 26, 2020
East Oregonian
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City council to consider local improvement district
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — The
Hermiston City Council will
consider forming a local
improvement district for the
South Hermiston Industrial
Park during its Monday, Sept.
28, meeting.
The district, if formed by
the ordinance up for a vote in
the Sept. 28 meeting, would
result in 18 property owners
splitting $500,000 in costs
for a $3 million project that
would add roads, water and
sewer infrastructure to the
industrial park. The remain-
ing funding would come from
a $1.5 million federal Eco-
nomic Development Admin-
istration grant, $250,000
from the city of Hermis-
ton, $50,000 from Umatilla
County and $700,000 that
the Port of Umatilla would be
assessed under the district.
According to a staff report
by Assistant City Manager
Mark Morgan, the project
would create new “shovel
EOC3 highlights
threats of climate
change on native bees
By ALEX CASTLE
East Oregonian
PENDLETON
—
Roughly 75% of fl ower-
ing plants and 35% of crops,
amounting to $3 billion worth
of production, are believed to
rely on the presence of bees to
pollinate them each year.
In Oregon, much of that
work is done by more than
625 native bee species that
equally rely on the surround-
ing ecosystem and their inter-
actions with it to survive.
Those bee species, includ-
ing those native to Eastern
Oregon, could face a litany
of challenges brought by a
changing climate.
Those challenges were
the topic of a virtual presen-
tation delivered by Sandy
DeBano, an associate pro-
fessor in Oregon State Uni-
versity’s Department of Fish
and Wildlife, during the East-
ern Oregon Climate Change
Coalition’s monthly meeting
on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
DeBano, who is sta-
tioned at the OSU Agricul-
ture Research and Extension
Center in Hermiston, high-
lighted the potential danger
of warming temperatures in
the region resulting in “range
compression” for bee species
in Eastern Oregon.
“The hypothesis is that
species that are adjusted to
cooler conditions are going
to move from lower lati-
tudes and elevations to higher
ones as the climate warms,”
DeBano said.
While a lack of regional
data doesn’t allow for defi n-
itive conclusions on how
increased temperatures will
impact regional bee popula-
tions, DeBano said, prelimi-
nary data alludes to the dan-
gers they face.
At three separate locations
— the Boardman Grasslands,
Zumwalt Prairie in Wal-
lowa County and the Starkey
Experimental Forest — stu-
dent researchers documented
a variance of naitve bumble
bee species that aligns with
the difference in the average
temperatures in July at each
location.
This data suggests that
as temperatures rise in the
region, the variance and
quantity of bumble bee spe-
cies may decline.
“Certainly other factors
are contributing to bumble
bee species richness, but a
lot of these papers are con-
sistently fi nding that some
aspect of temperature is con-
sistently playing a major role
in determining or infl uenc-
ing bumble species richness,”
DeBano said.
The potential for earlier
summers may also disrupt
the phenology of bees and
plants in Eastern Oregon,
DeBano said, which refers to
the cycles of plants’ fl owering
times and bee activity to pol-
linate them.
“The result might be less
food for bees and fewer plants
being pollinated,” she said.
Debano also noted con-
cerns that perennial streams
in the region, which fl ow
throughout the year, will
become more intermit-
tent and negatively impact
resources that bees need for
food.
Other risks brought by cli-
mate change include exacer-
bated wildfi res, which can kill
native bees and disrupt their
habitats in Eastern Oregon.
These impacts and infl uences
are still being researched and
evaluated, DeBano said.
“The long-term effects are
diffi cult to predict and are
really dependent on the sys-
tem,” she said.
But DeBano also high-
lighted some actions that
individuals can take to
address the potential dangers
of climate change on bee pop-
ulations, particularly by using
pesticides responsibly.
“We can conserve habi-
tat where native bees are, we
can enhance existing habitat,
we can increase habitat, and I
think really important is that
we can reduce stressors,” she
said.
IF YOU GO
The Hermiston City Council meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the
Hermiston Community Center, 415 South Highway 395
and will be livestreamed on the city of Hermiston YouTube
Channel. The full agenda packet can be found at hermiston.
or.us/meetings.
ready” parcels of industrial
land ranging from half-acre
sites similar to those already
fi lled along the nearby Kelli
Avenue and Campbell Drive,
and give access to larger par-
cels for big industrial projects.
If 60% of affected property
owners oppose formation of a
local improvement district it
cannot go forward. Morgan
stated in his staff report that
fi ve owners submitted offi cial
remonstrances in opposition,
but those fi ve make up less
than 60%, and the city also
did not consider three of the
remonstrances valid because
the property owners had pre-
viously signed legal agree-
ments not to oppose forma-
tion of an LID, in exchange
for not having to pay for those
improvements when they fi rst
developed their property.
The council will also con-
sider a supplemental budget,
which would authorize the
expenditure of $540,000 in
CARES Act funds the city
has received, add $159,890
to the reserve fund from the
city’s insurance payout for
fi re damage to city hall, and
increase the capital outlay
for the city hall construction
fund by $9.6 million to pay
for building a new city hall
and remodeling the base-
ment of the Hermiston Public
Library.
The council will also hear
several reports, including the
August fi nancial report and
an update on the Eastern Ore-
gon Trade and Event Center.
LOCAL BRIEFING
Cultural
organizations get
grant relief
UMATILLA COUNTY
— More than a dozen cul-
tural organizations in Uma-
tilla County are set to receive
more than $500,000 for relief
from the coronavirus pan-
demic, according to a press
release.
A total of $25.7 million in
grants is being distributed to
621 organizations through-
out the state by the Ore-
gon Cultural Trust, which is
working with local cultural
coalitions to provide relief
for organizations that have
suffered economic losses
due to the pandemic.
“The funds were made
available through a $50 mil-
lion relief package for Ore-
gon culture approved by
the Emergency Board of the
Oregon Legislature in July,”
the press release stated.
Organizations
receiv-
ing funding across the state
include cultural institutions,
county fairgrounds, cultural
entities within federally
recognized Indian Tribes
based in Oregon, festivals
and community event orga-
nizations, along with some
for-profi t organizations that
have been recognized as
having a “signifi cant” cul-
tural impact.
In Umatilla County, the
Eastern Oregon Trade &
Event Center ($209,548) is
slated for the largest sum
of funding. Other notable
funding awards included
Happy Canyon Company
Inc. ($67,208), the Confed-
erated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation ($59,383)
and Stadium Entertainment,
LLC ($51,925).
“Funding was deter-
mined based on an award
allocation formula that
established a base amount
of funds per county or Tribe
and the organization’s fi s-
cal size and eligible request
amounts,” the release stated.
“COVID-19 expenses pre-
viously reimbursed by other
federal CARES Act pro-
grams were not eligible.”
The most valuable and respected source of
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Oct. 6 candidate
forum scheduled
HERMISTON — The
Hermiston Chamber of
Commerce is planning
a forum for Hermiston
City Council and Umatilla
County Board of Commis-
sioners candidates on Oct.
6.
The forum will begin at
6 p.m. and will be held at
the Hermiston Community
Center, 415 South High-
way 395. Limited seating,
spaced 6 feet apart, will be
available and masks will be
required. The event will be
livestreamed by Hermiston
School District online.
Dan Dorran and HollyJo
Beers are running to replace
Bill Elfering on the Umatilla
County Board of Commis-
sioners. David McCarthy,
Rod Hardin, Doug Prim-
mer, Nancy Peterson and
Maria Duron are running
for the four, at-large seats on
the Hermiston City Council.
— EO Media Group
DEQ Public Notice
Woodgrain Millwork, Inc.
Pilot Rock Lumber
Pilot Rock, Oregon
Has applied for an Oregon Title V
Operating Permit Renewal
The Department of Environmental Quality is providing an
opportunity for public comment. For a copy of the draft
permit and review report call Nancy Swofford at 541-633-
2021 or call toll free in Oregon at 866-863-6668. You can also
access the draft documents from DEQ’s “Public Notices” page
at www.oregon.gov/deq/Get-Involved/Pages/Public-
Notices.aspx
