A4
Opinion
wallowa.com
September 12, 2018
Wallowa County Chieftain
Lodging tax lessons: Do it the right way
‘T
here’s a right way and
a wrong way to do
everything.”
If you’re beyond a certain
age, you’ve no doubt heard
that phrase from a parent or
grandparent. They spoke from
experience, often having tried
the “wrong” way and learned a
valuable lesson.
That saying came to
mind this past week as the
Wallowa County Board of
Commissioners made the
right choice in shelving –– for
now –– a plan to broaden its
transient lodging tax. Clearly,
this effort did not follow due
process or legal procedure.
It was the wrong way to go
about it.
This is a huge growing-up
EDITORIAL
Voice of the Chieftain
experience for the county.
The days of things being
done by fiat and whim are
over. Residents and taxpayers
deserve better.
The days of back-door
under-the-table “gentlemen’s
agreements” is over and a
new level of transparency
has emerged. It’s a positive
development for everyone
who believes in open
government.
The discussion that ensued
has not only pointed out the
importance of collaboration,
but it has also generated a new
vision for what the Wallowa
County Fairgrounds could
become –– an important
asset in our attempt to build a
vibrant tourism economy.
No one would suggest for
a minute that the traditional
county fair be jettisoned.
Rather, it can be enhanced
by attracting people who
need to hear the stories of
how agriculture has been and
continues to be important to
the county’s economy. Farmers
feed the nation.
Tourists from large urban
areas seldom get the chance
to interface with large animals
and the folks who raise them.
That’s unique. That’s an
attraction.
It’s going to require
breaking a few eggs to make
the transition, but it’s worth
doing. Wallowa County Board
of Commissioners are the key
to making it happen, but they
can’t do it without you –– your
ideas, your input and even
your financial contribution,
should it come to that.
But everything has to be
done above-board and within
legal parameter.
The suit against the
commissioners alleging 17
ways in which it violated the
state’s Open Meeting Laws
and the letter of protest the
Chieftain produced have all
had a positive impact on how
business is done at the county
level.
Credit where credit is due.
There is a breath of fresh air
that is blowing through the
courthouse, and it’s refreshing
to see. Let’s continue to move
in the direction of more
open communication and
consensus-building, rather
than strong-arm tactics and
belittling those who disagree.
Another good way to show
that we’ve reached a new
plateau in openness would
be for the commission to
initiate a grass-roots process
for choosing members of a
proposed advisory group, a
campaign promise of the late
Bruce Dunn. A chorus of “yes”
men and women is not what’s
needed to tackle the sticky
issues facing the county.
Joseph’s new
streets are
amazing
O
ccasionally, we receive feedback that we should stop
picking on the Joseph City Council. I always hasten to
point out that when there is good news in Joseph, we
report that as well.
Always have, always will.
A couple weeks back I turned onto one of Joseph’s side
streets anticipating the usual teeth-crunching bone-jarring ride
through the pot holes. To my delight, the pot holes were gone.
Disappeared.
In their place were glorious stretches of black top. I knew
some work on the roads had been planned this summer, but I
wasn’t prepared for how much paving and patching has been
completed.
According to Mayor Dennis Sands, the city has paved
seven blocks on Lake street and one block on First. Those
eight blocks cost $100,000 and were paid for with a grant from
ODOT.
Another 10
blocks on East
Street, from the
Imnaha High-
Paul Wahl
way south to the
Lake Highway,
were also resur-
faced at a cost of around $125,000. That was paid out of the
city’s street fund.
Dennis said the city had a carryover in that account due to
not having paved the previous two years. The paving was done
by Hampton Paving of La Grande, the lowest bidder for the
projects.
In addition, the Joseph city crew put down nearly 30 tons of
hot mix to fill potholes on other streets.
And that’s not all. Dennis says the city will have a large pav-
ing project in 2019, paid for with the monthly street fee being
assessed since July. The city anticipates all remaining streets
that need to be resurfaced will be done in next year’s project.
Several of my acquaintances in Joseph have commented
about how wonderful it is to have drivable roads again.
Jean Falbo shared this story.
“I went to a town hall meeting with Sen. Wyden a couple
years ago, and Dennis told us that he and the senator had ridden
the tram up Mt. Howard. He said they could see the pot holes
clear from the top of the mountain.”
Jean says she thought that was actually a bit understated.
“Living on East Street, I was sure that it was zoned indus-
trial –– you know all those open pit mines and all,” she added.
Congratulations to Joseph on a job well done. It’s a tremen-
dous improvement.
WAHL TO WALL
WHILE WE are on the topic of good news, be sure to read
our story on the improvements planned for Wallowa Lake State
Park elsewhere in this edition.
While not everything in the plan may be built tomorrow or
even next year, it’s exciting to see the possibilities for what I
believe is Oregon’s most exquisite state park.
Combine the improvements to enhance the visitor experi-
ence in the park with natural beauty and the friendly folks in
Wallowa County, and you have a sure-fire winner.
I’ve been covering governmental strategic planning for
nearly four decades. In my earlier years, it was frustrating to
sit through months –– sometimes years –– of planning only to
have a document that sat on a shelf and collected dust.
Then I had the opportunity to see one county government
adopt the planning concepts into its zoning ordinance and the
light went on.
I have since become a champion of strategic planning. The
Wallowa Lake Park plan is one of the best documents of its
type I have seen.
Be sure to come out for the public hearing and see the full
scope of what’s in store. You will be inspired.
ONE MORE bit of good news. Four individuals have
stepped forward to run for the Wallowa County Commission
seat previously won by Bruce Dunn.
Choices are what make elections so important in our way
of doing things. The amount of discussion about county issues
generated by four candidates will benefit everyone for years to
come.
Notice I didn’t say “the amount of agreement.” Agreement
is not prerequisite to discussion. Wallowa County Chamber of
Commerce will have its candidate forum Oct. 10. Mark it on
your calendar.
Keep Wallowa County’s rural charm
W
e have an election coming up
this November, and I would
suspect the most important
thing on the ballot would be the county
board of commissioners seat. As of this
writing, we have three people entered
in the race, and I think any of the three
would be OK.
I can remember when Jackson in
Wyoming and Steamboat Springs in
Colorado were towns about like Enter-
prise and were also in beautiful areas.
What they have become now makes
me sad. The last time I was in Jack-
son I looked at where I remembered
hay meadows and saw hundreds of
condominiums.
Every corner looked like what you
saw in all other cities. Jack-in-the-Box
on one corner and MacDonald’s on
the other. Steamboat was even bigger
and even had a Wal-Mart. Now that is
progress.
We live in one of the last best places,
and I would sure like for it to stay that
way. We have unsurpassed beauty and
very little of the blight that most places
live with. Our population is of the size
that most people know or know of each
other.
We know whose check is good and
whose husband isn’t. I don’t see home-
less people begging on the corners, very
little crime and so far no graffiti. My
hope is that whoever lands on the county
board will work to keep this pristine cor-
ner of the world the paradise we enjoy.
Don’t let the farmland be chopped up
into ranchettes, and I would welcome a
county ordinance that would fine any-
one who gives money to someone sitting
OPEN RANGE
Barrie Qualle
with a sign on a corner. That should not
be tolerated.
TRAVELING THROUGH Bend,
you see a lot of corners with people beg-
ging for money to feed their addictions
and laziness. Arresting them or fining
them is futile since they don’t pay the
fine or quit anyway. The only way to be
rid of them is to make it futile for them
to clutter up the corners begging.
The county is now in court because
they wanted to raise the tax on lodg-
ing rooms on specific properties in the
county. This would bring the tax up to
what the city of Enterprise levies.
The money raised would be used,
and is needed, to help out the Sheriff’s
Dept. and the fairgrounds. I doubt that
this would adversely affect the vacancy
rate in any of the businesses involved. I
know of no one who checks their motel
bill for the tax bite before they book.
The owners of these businesses make
a lot of money from the out-of-county
people that are lured here by advertising,
and I am happy for them. I hope they all
succeed and do well.
While they are working hard and
making money off the tourists that
invade the county every summer, there
are a lot more residents who have to
endure the increased traffic and other
Why so many
‘clients’ here?
Interesting guest column
by Chantay Jett about the
need for a combined men-
tal health care facility due to
the numbers of clients in the
community.
I may be misinformed
about why we have so many
clients in “God’s country.”
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Reproduction without permission is prohibited.
I HAVE been thinking about Colin
Kapernick and the NFL. A lot of people
who like football have been boycotting
watching the games. If you want those
guys to act respectful, what you should
do is enjoy the game and announce to
the sponsors that you will be boycot-
ting any company that sponsors an NFL
game.
If enough people threaten to boy-
cott the products in NFL commercials,
the funding for the league will dry up,
and when the overpaid players start get-
ting pay cuts, I predict a wave of patri-
otic fervor will engulf the league and the
players.
It seems as if those guys want a differ-
ent set of laws for minorities where they
are not required to obey police orders.
They have had affirmative action laws
that favor them in hiring even if they are
less qualified, and they are given prefer-
ential treatment when it comes to getting
into medical school and other colleges.
How is this fair or equal? I agree that
some of this was needed to give these
guys a leg up, but there should be a sun-
set on some of this legislation someday.
continue or increase legislation favoring
a special ethnic group. Anyway it doesn’t
seem to be working.
LETTERS to the EDITOR
Wallowa County’s Newspaper Since 1884
VOLUME 134
inconveniences caused by the huge
influx of their customers. They are an
added burden on law enforcement, pub-
lic parks and restrooms.
It seems fair to me that the people
that come to visit us and use our infra-
structure should pay a small amount
in lodging taxes to help maintain the
county.
Publisher
Editor
Reporter
Reporter
Newsroom assistant
Ad sales consultant
Office manager
Chris Rush, crush@eomediagroup.com
Paul Wahl, editor@wallowa.com
Stephen Tool, steve@wallowa.com
Kathleen Ellyn, kellyn@wallowa.com
editor@wallowa.com
Jennifer Cooney, jcooney@wallowa.com
Cheryl Jenkins, cjenkins@wallowa.com
I had been told many years
ago that Union County has
no facilities, so the state hos-
pital and other hospitals dis-
charge their clients into Wal-
lowa County.
Also the preponderance of
HUD housing allows these
clients to transition into their
own homes and apartments.
Cathryn Paterson
Enterprise
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