A10
STATE/LOCAL
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Oregon commits virtually all funds for emergency rental aid
By PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau
Oregon has now com-
mitted virtually all of the
$389 million in federal
and state money to provide
emergency rental assis-
tance to more than 60,000
households.
The program had a target
of June 30, but some appli-
cations are still being pro-
cessed. Tenants who gave
proof of applications to
their landlords — either to
the state program or others
in several Oregon counties
— will still have state pro-
tections against evictions
for nonpayment through
Sept. 30 or until their appli-
cations are closed, which-
ever comes soonest.
The protections do not
forgive any rent owed.
The state Department
of Housing and Commu-
nity Services reported that
the money distributed over
the past year helped keep
more than 100,000 peo-
ple from losing their hous-
ing during the coronavi-
rus pandemic. The size of
the average household was
2.2 persons — and accord-
ing to a May 31 report by
the agency, the average
payment per household
was $6,400, which went
directly to landlords.
As of June 30, the
agency reported that it had
committed $386.66 million
to 60,166 households.
Of the total paid, 60% of
the households were white,
12% Black, 2% Asian, and
5% two or more races. His-
panics, who can be of any
race, accounted for 15%
statewide. Some house-
holds chose not to state
their race.
The agency distributed
$289 million in federal
money, some if it from leg-
islation that Donald Trump
signed in the fi nal weeks
of his presidency, and the
rest from the $2.2 trillion
American Rescue Plan Act
that President Joe Biden
signed in March 2021. The
Oregon Legislature added
$100 million more from
the 2021-23 state bud-
get; another $150 million
in state funds were spent
before the current budget
cycle started in mid-2021.
According
to
the
National
Low-Income
Housing Coalition, Ore-
gon now leads all states in
the share of money paid out
or obligated for emergency
rental assistance.
Landlords can obtain
state payment for some
costs they incur from now
through Sept. 30 through a
separate guarantee fund.
Joseph hires new administrator
Fun shoot
Dan Larman
has been here
since March
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Kim Hutchison watches as wife, Holly, fi res a Winchester
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Cowboy Action Fun Shoot at the Eagle Cap Shooters’
gun range north of Enterprise. Hutchison was wearing
his “John Wayne” 45-caliber revolvers.
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JOSEPH — The city of
Joseph has a new adminis-
trator with the hiring of Dan
Larman during the Thurs-
day, July 7, City Council
meeting.
Larman’s hiring brings
to a close a situation ongo-
ing since April 2021 when
former Administrator Larry
Braden resigned citing
claims of harassment that
prevented him from doing
his job.
Larman, who moved
from Elgin in March, has
been working with interim
Administrator Brock Eck-
stein since then.
The hiring came after
a recent interview of four
applicants for the job. Eck-
stein said via Zoom that one
of those applicants decided
to take a job elsewhere and
the council opted for Lar-
man. He was voted in on a
unanimous decision.
The council has yet to
negotiate a permanent con-
tract with Larman. In the
meantime, Eckstein recom-
mended Larman be compen-
sated under the current provi-
sions for a city administrator.
“I appreciate the chance
to throw my hat in the ring
and I’m looking forward to
working with everybody and
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Dan Larman, the new administrator for the city of Joseph, thanks the City Council after it voted
to hire him during its meeting Thursday, July 7, 2022.
helping out where I can,” he
said to the council. “We’ve
got a lot of projects on board
and I’m ready to get going
on this stuff .”
In
another
position
change, Public Works Direc-
tor Levi Tickner is step-
ping into a role primarily
as operator of the water and
sewer plants while Michael
Harshfi eld takes on the other
duties Tickner has overseen.
Mayor Lisa Collier
thanked Tickner for continu-
ing the tradition of hanging
posters of this year’s high
school graduates downtown.
“I think that’s so cool
and despite COVID, it’s
something we need to keep
going,” she said.
Ordinances enforced
The council also heard a
report from Douglas McK-
innis, the city’s ordinance
enforcement offi cer, who
said he has removed at
least seven nonoperational
vehicles from around town
and he expects more to be
removed in August.
He also has been contact-
ing city residents who have
not been keeping up their
yards. He said some of the
homes are those of deceased
residents or part-time res-
idents and the challenge
has been fi nding out who is
responsible for the homes.
He also mentioned a couple
houses that are damaged and
have been condemned that
need to be removed.
McKinnis also said a
citywide cleanup day will be
held probably in late August
after the majority of tour-
ists have left. Anyone inter-
ested can contact City Hall
for more information.
RV park
In another matter, the
council held a public hearing
on a request by John Zurita
to change zoning at 709 N.
Main St. from commercial
to general residential. Zurita
wants to locate a small RV
park at the site, which is on
the corner of Main Street and
Russell Lane.
The council ended up
tabling the matter after hear-
ing several comments from
the public in opposition to
Zurita’s plans. Opposition
was expressed based on the
possibility of traffi c conges-
tion caused by residents turn-
ing into the RV park and the
alteration of the downtown
character by having such a
park just as drivers enter the
town.
Zurita was asked if the
Oregon Department of Trans-
portation had been asked if it
could install a turn lane at the
site of his planned park. He
said he has discussed it with
ODOT, but the agency wants
to know what the city will
do before sending anyone to
look over the site.
That issue and others in
which the city needs more
information led to it being
tabled.
Transient license
The council also heard
from Alicia Hayes, who owns
and operates All-American
Coff ee, a mobile coff ee ven-
dor who is based in Enter-
prise but hopes to do business
in Joseph. However, Hayes
said, the cost of the city’s
transient business license fee
is prohibitive. At $475 a year
for a business that doesn’t
maintain a year-round pres-
ence in Joseph, Hayes said
she has done research into
what other towns charge and
found Joseph’s fee consider-
ably higher.
However, others who
spoke said their brick-and-
mortar permanent busi-
nesses pay taxes for city
services and the transient
fee is a way to tax transient
businesses.
The council agreed this
was another issue it needs to
address in a work session.