Wallowa County Chieftain
wallowa.com
News
May 25, 2016
Center for Wellness moves
toward centralized care
Mental health
clinic secures
commercial zoning
for land near
hospital
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa Valley Center for
Wellness (WVCW) has received
approval from the Enterprise City
Council for rezoning on their
3.86-acre property directly across
from Wallowa Memorial Hos-
Kathleen Ellyn/Chieftain
pital. The center purchased the This 3.86-acre property across from Wallowa Memorial Hospital has
property, originally zoned R3 res- been purchased by Wallowa Valley Center for Wellness for a future
idential, from Viridian Manage- site of a planned Integrated Health Services building.
ment, which owns the apartment
complex backing the property.
planning commission and council clinic and transitioning into a
Enterprise City Council whole- will be planned in June.”
nonproit organization in 1995.
heartedly supported the zoning
No dificulties are anticipated.
The zoning change will com-
change to commercial on the rec-
The center paid approximate- plete step one in a plan to erect
ommendation of staff — although ly $305,000 for the property. The an approximately $3.5 million
no zoning change was actually high cost relects the value of integrated Health Services Cen-
necessary. In reviewing the re- the development around it — all ter that will make the most of the
quest, they noted that in keeping medical facilities costing millions proximity to all care facilities.
with the city’s plan, a care facility of dollars.
The property is ideally posi-
of any type could be placed in any
“No developer would make tioned for patient care and pro-
zone. Nevertheless, rezoning just money on this property for res- vider convenience, and WVCW
made sense, councilors decided.
idential use,” said attorney for has seen a rapid growth in pa-
“We’ve basically approved WVCW, Richard G. Hobbs of tients in need of integrated care
it and it’s been approved by the Lostine.
that can parse out physical and
city council,” said Enterprise
It is only because the nonproit mental conditions and provide
Planning Commission Chair John center is the mental health pro- the best possible care across the
Lawrence. “Now the city lawyer vider for the county and attractive board.
will have a inding of fact (to to grantors that a purchaser was
“We have grown exponential-
make sure everyone’s ducks are found, Hobbs said.
ly in the last year,” said WVCW
in a row with regard to state goals
The center has served Wallowa Executive Director Chantay Jett.
and the council’s decision) and County for almost 30 years, be- “We’ve literally grown into all of
a second hearing in front of the ginning as a county mental health our locations: WVCW ofices on
First Street in Enterprise, the an-
nex in the old Wheatland Insur-
ance building in Enterprise.”
The center’s mental health
crisis team already is located in
the medical ofice building and
that has worked out well, Jett
said.
“It’s been a real win-win for
all of us.”
For that reason it is likely the
crisis team will remain in the
medical ofice building, Jett said.
The new building will house
WVCW main ofices, the annex,
Building Healthy Families, other
medical providers and hopefully
a dentist who can accept Medic-
aid.
There is only one dentist in
the county who can accept Med-
icaid and he is extremely busy,
Jett said.
Funding for construction will
be raised through grant writ-
ing and other sources. The irst,
primary grant of approximately
$1.5 million is expected to be a
federal grant.
That grant must be “passed
through” the county and because
another Infrastructure Finance
Authority (a Community De-
velopment Block Grant) is still
being completed, WVCW must
wait for the next cycle to apply.
A county may only handle one
such grant at a time.
Because the building comple-
tion date is so far out — estimat-
ed for 2020 — many other chang-
es may be made in the meantime
to streamline care for individuals
with mental health issues.
A3
GEMS plans
to unveil
Enterprise
sign May 27
Wallowa County Chieftain
Greater Enterprise Main Streets (GEMS)
is planning a celebration to present the re-
cently completed gateway entry sign to the
city of Enterprise. The unveiling ceremony
will take place at 9:30 a.m. Friday, May 27
at the sign’s location at the top of the hill
overlooking Enterprise from the west on
Highway 82 (across from Eagle’s View Inn
& Suites).
For trafic safety, park in the Baptist church
parking lot adjacent to the sign‘s location.
The monument, four years in the making,
was completed through the effort and sup-
port of many. As the GEMS group was form-
ing in 2011, a need was identiied to give
Enterprise more recognition than it currently
receives from people traveling through the
valley. The purpose of the sign is to strength-
en the city’s identity and welcome visitors.
From individual donations to larger con-
tributions — from Community Bank, Paciic
Power, Wallowa County, Glenn Martin, the
Wallowa County Cultural Trust and the city
of Enterprise — the project was truly a com-
munity effort.
The monumental sign was crafted from
products that relect Enterprise. The Bowlby
stone, quarried by Melville Stone, ties in to
the historic buildings downtown. The wood
represents the importance of natural resource
economy (timber, farming, ranching, out-
door recreation). The wood was locally har-
vested and produced by JayZee lumber and
was carved and painted by local artist Steve
Arment. Ralph Swinehart generously drew
up the blueprints needed. Darrell Brann was
involved in the design committee work, or-
ganized the construction and laid the Bowl-
by stone columns with help from Tim Funk.