A7
OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Thursday, October 29, 2020
Warming: ‘It’s a germ factory in the best of times’
Continued from Page A1
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
The Pendleton Convention Center has been particularly
hard hit as a result of the economic downturn, as it derives
the majority of its revenue from a lodging tax and event fees.
Budget:
Continued from Page A1
center and downtown
Pendleton have a symbi-
otic relationship, and when
one suffers, the other one
does as well.
In addition to the
decrease in overnight
stays, the convention cen-
ter is also limited in what
kind of events it can
recruit, with indoor events
limited to 100 people.
Beard said the facility
has pivoted to trying to
bring in professional meet-
ings that can use the excess
space for social distancing.
“People are sick of
Zoom meetings,” he said.
“They’re not as effective
as face to face.”
The city budgeted
money for the equivalent
of six positions, but most
convention center employ-
ees have been reassigned
to other departments that
need the help.
Beard said the conven-
tion center’s budget will
be lower than the $1.1 mil-
lion budget it was desig-
nated over the summer,
and he intends to share
more defi nitive numbers at
a city council meeting in a
few weeks.
City Manager Robb
Corbett said the city will
have to wait to see how
other forms of city revenue
shake out.
While the city is cur-
rently expecting only a
slight decrease in property
tax revenue, they won’t
know until November
what that number actually
looks like.
And while Corbett
anticipates there will be
a dip in state gas tax rev-
enue, he said council dis-
cussions to use urban
renewal money on street
repair could offset the loss.
Pandemic or not, the
urban renewal district con-
tinues to hand out new
grants.
Charles Denight, the
associate director of the
Pendleton Development
Commission, said coun-
cil members approved a
$12,595 grant to help fund
a seating area for a new
Travel Oregon mural in the
space where We Sell Stuff
used to be at 342 S.W. First
St.
The project is being
headed by Old West Fed-
eral Credit Union and has
a total budget of $31.489.
sleeping on a cot in the same
room as several other guests.
An ordinance recently
passed by the Hermiston
City Council allowing such
temporary shelters in indus-
trial zones, however, ruled
out the project’s planned
location by including a pro-
vision they must be at least
1,000 feet from parks and
schools, and co-located on a
site with an existing indus-
trial use. Stepping Stones
board chair Cathy Lloyd
said the group is still look-
ing at options for locations
outside Hermiston city lim-
its and funding options.
For now, however, the
Warming Station will con-
tinue to provide emergency
nighttime shelter from the
end of November through
February.
Volunteer recruitment
While the goal is to open
each night during the sea-
son, last year the shelter had
to close on some nights due
to a lack of volunteers. Fran-
cis said the board is con-
cerned that fears of COVID-
19 will prevent people from
volunteering this year.
Volunteers
will
be
required to wear masks,
hand sanitizer stations will
be available and the board
has swapped out fabric fur-
niture for items more eas-
ily sanitized, and other pre-
cautions will be taken to
ensure safety. The board is
currently looking at install-
ing plastic dividers between
cots.
Even if the warming sta-
tion doesn’t have enough
volunteers to staff the shel-
ter overnight, Francis said,
they are committed to
at least being open until
Jade McDowell/East Oregonian
A sign on the back door of the Hermiston Warming Station
give directions for people wishing to drop off donations.
VOLUNTEER TRAINING SESSIONS
The Hermiston Warming Station is off ering the dates listed
below for volunteer trainings. All volunteers must be at
least 18 years old, have completed a training and passed
a background check. Please RSVP in advance through the
warming station’s Facebook page.
Wednesday, Oct. 28,
7-8:30 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 30,
6-7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 1,
12-1:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 3,
7-8:30 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 5,
6-7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 7,
11 a.m. — 12:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 7,
6-7:30 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 9,
10 p.m. each night so guests
can come in and warm up
for a little bit and have some
soup.
If people aren’t inter-
ested in volunteering, they
can donate money for sup-
plies and volunteer back-
ground checks, or donate
single-serving, microwav-
able cups of soup or mac-
aroni. To donate, call the
Warming Station at 541-
7-8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 11,
12-1:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 13,
7-8:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 15,
12-1:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 17,
6-7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 19,
7-8:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 21,
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 21,
6-7:30 p.m.
303-3256 to set up a time.
Pendleton
Pendleton
nonprofi t
Neighbor 2 Neighbor is
attempting to offer the ser-
vices of the Pendleton
Warming Station without
using the warming station’s
usual facility.
Neighbor 2 Neighbor
Executive Director Dwight
Johnson said the board
recently voted to suspend
overnight stays at the orga-
nization’s 715 S.E. Court
Ave. building while looking
at alternative sites for the
homeless to sleep by Nov.
15, the warming station’s
usual opening date.
Johnson said the deci-
sion was “painful,” but the
right call given the lim-
itations of trying to offer
a socially distant sleeping
center during the COVID-
19 pandemic.
He added homeless resi-
dents can be especially vul-
nerable to the effects of the
virus, and the logistics of
trying to operate Neighbor
2 Neighbor’s small facility
were too great to overcome.
“It’s a germ factory in
the best of times,” he said,
adding that it was usually
the common cold that cir-
culated among lodgers and
volunteers.
Neighbor 2 Neighbor’s
preferred alternative is to
start a voucher program
with a local motel, allow-
ing the people who use the
warming station to have
a warm place to sleep,
while still socially distanc-
ing themselves from one
another.
Johnson said his group is
working with the Commu-
nity Action Program of East
Central Oregon on getting
funding for the program.
On Oct. 25-26, Neighbor
2 Neighbor did a trial run,
with the warming station
opening as an intake center
before sending lodgers out
with a motel voucher.
Johnson said Neighbor 2
Neighbor is looking at other
alternative sites for a warm-
ing station and he recently
met with City Manager
Robb Corbett to help with
the search.
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