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Saturday, May 1, 2021

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East Oregonian
…‹Ž‚

Fate of Green Property
back under consideration
East Oregonian
Paradigm Compass
declines to build
$4M assisted
living, memory
care, independent
living complex
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — An idea
to turn an undeveloped piece
of city property into a senior
living project in Hermiston
has hit a signifi cant bump
after the developer the city
had planned to partner with
backed out.
City Manager Byron
Smith said during the Herm-
iston City Council’s Monday,
April 26, council meeting
that Paradigm Compass LLC
had decided not to build a $4
million combination assisted
living, memory care and
independent living complex
after all.
The city purchased a
20-acre parcel next to the
Recycled Water Treat-
ment Plant, known as the
Green Property, in 2005 for
$420,000, but plans to use it
for recycled water cooling
did not pan out. In late 2020,
Assistant City Manager Mark
Morgan proposed giving
a 7-acre piece of the prop-
erty to a developer for free
if they would build hous-
ing for seniors on it, which
would provide what the city
felt was a needed service,
and generate revenue over
time through property taxes
and utilities. The city put out
a request for proposals and
selected the proposed project
by Paradigm Compass.
W hen the company
presented its plan to the city
council during their April 12
meeting, however, represen-
tatives of Guardian Angel
Homes and Sun Terrace
Spencer commits to serving on
Pendleton School Board if elected
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
The city of Hermiston was interested in off ering 7.18 acres of
land, near the city’s recycled water treatment plant, for a po-
tential senior living development.
testifi ed that they already had
trouble fi lling their assisted
living facilities and Herm-
iston did not need another
such facility. City council-
ors voted at that meeting to
take two weeks to consider
the information presented by
both sides.
On April 26, Smith said
Paradigm Compass had
pulled out after internal
discussions and additional
due diligence.
“It seemed like maybe
they were able to verify at
some level some of the infor-
mation that was provided
by the competitors, and that
maybe they felt like they
needed to relook at their
market study,” he said.
Mayor David Drotz-
mann and some other coun-
cilors expressed frustration
that the project had fallen
apart after coming so far.
Drotzmann noted the many
hours that Morgan and other
staff , as well as councilors
who served on the selection
committee for the propos-
als, spent on it, and told other
councilors that “you are
always going to have critics.”
Councilor Nancy Peter-
son, who had been the one
to initially propose postpon-
ing a decision until April 26,
pushed back on the idea that
the council’s decision not to
approve the next step in the
plan was what caused Para-
digm Compass’s decision,
stating if the company had
been truly committed to
going forward, an extra two
weeks to consider the infor-
mation shouldn’t have been
enough to derail it.
Morgan said there were
developers who would still
be interested in the property
for other purposes. Council-
ors came to a consensus that
they were still interested in
off ering up the property for a
project that would serve the
public good, and staff said
they would regroup and come
back with more information
and ideas at a later date.
PENDLETON — On the
day ballots started going
out to Umatilla County
voters, Posi-
tion 7 candi-
date Briana
Spencer
committed
to serving
on the Pend-
leton School
Board if
Spencer
elected.
A member-elect for the
Nixyaawii School Board,
state law prohibits Spencer
from serving on a charter
school board and a district
school board simultane-
ously.
According to a Wednes-
day, April 28, press release
from her campaign, Spen-
cer, an enrolled member of
the Confederated Tribes of
the Umatilla Indian Reser-
vation, made her deci-
sion after consulting with
tribal leaders and elders. If
elected, Spencer said she
would “step away” from
the Nixyaawii board.
“With this unanimous
support, I will serve on the
Pendleton School (Board)
if elected,” she said in a
statement. “I am honored
to have the support and
t r u st of com mu n it y
members, tribal lead-
ers, and the Nixyaawii
Com mu n it y School
Board to be a voice for our
community.”
The press release also
included statements from
General Council Chair
Lindsey Watchman and
Board of Trustees Trea-
surer Sandra Sampson, two
tribal officials who have
endorsed her campaign.
“With the number of
Tribal members in the
district, Briana will be
more effective serving
on the Pendleton Board,
to look out for our youth
within that structure,”
Sampson said.
Spencer is r unning
against attorney Patrick
Gregg to replace Debbie
McBee on the Pendleton
School Board, and she
hadn’t previously commit-
ted to serving on one board
or the other should she win
both seats.
Before fi ling for the seat,
Spencer had asked McBee,
the Pendleton board chair,
if she could serve on both
boards. McBee didn’t
discourage her, but prom-
ised to research the issue.
McBee wouldn’t be
able to deliver a defi nitive
answer until she eventually
met with the district’s legal
counsel, who identifi ed the
law. By that time, Spencer
had already won her seat
with Nixyaawii and the
dropout deadline for the
Pendleton seat had already
passed.
Election Day is May 18.
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