A8
Year in Review
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
John Day invests in big capital projects
City implementing
strategy for
growth
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
The city of John Day se-
cured more than $2.5 million
in grants and other funding in
2017 for important services
and infrastruc-
ture projects
— from emer-
gency dispatch
and wastewa-
ter treatment
to improved
internet access
and prevent- Nick Green
ing downtown
blight. The city was being both
reactive and proactive in ap-
proving the projects — with
the ultimate goal of improving
the economy and the way of
life in John Day.
911 dispatch
The defeat of a proposed
Outside funding
according to city estimates.
The city lined up $420,000
from the legislature to fund
the center for the next two
years while it came up with
a solution.
John Day City Manager
Nick Green brought three
options to the city council
— hand over 911 work to
Frontier Dispatch in Con-
don, establish a cooperative
dispatch center with an ad-
jacent county or replace the
1989 intergovernmental dis-
patch agreement with a new
one that would keep the 911
center operating in Grant
County.
The city of John Day has been awarded more than $2.6 million in grants in the last year.
Project
Granting agency
Award value
New wastewater treatment plant
Business Oregon (IFA)
$20,000
New wastewater treatment plant
Oregon Water Resources Dept.
50,000
Autzen Foundation
12,000
Ford Family Foundation
5,000
John Day Bike Park
Oregon Solutions survey
Environmental assessment
DEQ
10,000
9-1-1 dispatch funding
State Legislature
420,000
Broadband funding
State Legislature
1.8 million
Main Street revitalization
Oregon Main Street Program
100,000
U.S. 395 sidewalk extension
ODOT Small Cities Allotment
50,000
ODOT/DLCD
200,000
FEMA
$2.67 million
142,000
$2.8 million
Transportation growth management
Subtotal
Assistance to firefighters (pending)
Total programs
Source: City of John Day
EO Media Group graphic
local option tax to fund 911
dispatch service in Grant
County, 1,503 to 1,194, on
Nov. 7 left the city of John
Day in search of options. The
city-managed dispatch center
covers the entire county, but
the state 911 tax does not cov-
er the cost of operation. Over
the years, the city gradually
assumed dispatch costs for the
county and its six small com-
munities, creating a $199,194
deficit for the dispatch center
in the city’s current budget.
A 75 cent excise tax on
monthly telephone bills is
the only source of funding
for the emergency communi-
cations center, which needed
to double to meet real costs,
Innovation
Gateway
In the past, the city’s goal
was to build an industrial
park at the airport to attract
business, but businesses con-
tinued to leave, Green said.
An opportunity arose for a
different approach with the
need to acquire land for a new
wastewater treatment plant
and the acquisition of the 53-
acre Oregon Pine site.
Announced as the Inno-
vation Gateway project, the
goal was for the city to con-
struct the initial infrastructure
at the former mill site so the
private sector could come
in and make use of it, Green
said.
The city lined up a
$519,000 loan from the Busi-
ness Oregon Infrastructure
Finance Authority to buy the
site, to be repaid by the city’s
sewer fund, and closed with
DR Johnson Lumber Com-
pany on May 24. A $60,000
Department of Environmen-
tal Quality grant was used
to conduct required environ-
mental assessment work at the
brownfield site.
The Innovation Gateway
project encompasses 83 acres
on both sides of the John Day
River at the entrance to John
Day on Highway 26. Aaron
Lieuallen was hired to serve
as the senior project manager
See CITY, Page A9
Flood threat loomed in Canyon City
New businesses,
talk of garden
MT. VERNON,
SENECA AND
PRAIRIE CITY
HAVE MAJOR
PROJECTS LINED
UP FOR 2018.
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Canyon City’s basic in-
frastructure is in pretty good
shape, City Recorder Corry
Rider told the Eagle.
A chip-sealing project is
lined up for 2018, but no im-
provements are planned for
the city’s water system. The
city has about 700 people and
300 water and sewer custom-
ers. Canyon City is hooked up
to the John Day wastewater
system.
The big event each year is
’62 Days, which is hosted by
the Whiskey Gulch Gang to
celebrate early gold miners in
Canyon City, Rider said. The
theme in 2017 was “Miner’s
Eclipse,” and Sharon Living-
ston was chosen as the grand
marshal. The Whiskey Gulch
Gang staged a mock hanging as
part of the frontier days event.
Pre-evacuation
notices
were issued in March for res-
idents along Canyon Creek
Read about them
in next week’s Eagle
Eagle file photo
Canyon City Public Works Director Les Percy, Grant County
Commissioner Jim Hamsher and Emergency Management
Coordinator Ted Williams keep an eye on high water levels
at the Inland Bridge in Canyon City in March.
between the Nugget Street
bridge and the high school as
the creek reached 750 cubic
feet per second on March 14.
Flooding concerns in Can-
yon City had escalated after
the Canyon Creek Complex
fire in 2015 left a large area
devoid of vegetation. The
following winter saw a high
snowpack with little vegeta-
tion to hold back spring rain
and snow-melt runoff.
Grant County Emergency
Management Coordinator Ted
Williams said the creek could
escape its banks if it reached
850 to 900 cubic feet per sec-
ond. Some bank erosion was
seen around the Inland Street
bridge, and Driskill Memorial
Chapel reported having 4 to 6
inches of water in the basement.
Kim Heathcote opened
twin new businesses in Can-
yon City in June – Mabel’s
Cafe and Eve’s Sweets right
next door at the corner of
Washington and Park streets.
Heathcote’s five employees
served up hamburgers, soups
and salads, egg rolls, chimi-
changas and chicken wraps at
Mabel’s and cinnamon rolls,
muffins and cookies at Eve’s.
Stephen Cross approached
the county court in March about
setting up a community garden
in Canyon City. The court of-
fered use of a county-owned
lot, but the project is still under
discussion, Grant County Judge
Scott Myers said.
A transformer caught fire
Sept. 12 after a truck knocked
power lines onto the ground
along Highway 395 in Can-
yon City near Rebel Hill and
Bridge Street. Traffic in the
narrow and busy corridor
slowed until the Oregon Trail
Electric Cooperative could re-
pair the damage.
Contributed photo
Nathaniel, Michael and Mile Ashley of Dayville
participate in Dayville’s Easter egg hunt this year.
Water line project
highlight for Dayville
Community hall
in need of work
By Richard Hanners
Blue Mountain Eagle
Residents of Dayville saw
incremental changes to their
public services over the past
year and can expect more of
the same for the next year.
Dayville’s public water
system was extended east
along Highway 26 to the Bu-
reau of Land Management
and Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife offices, City
Recorder Ruthie Moore said.
“The BLM paid for the
Monday - Thursday
7am- 6pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
Mendy Sharpe FNP
Apppointments
available
32033
CSS would like to congratulate the
Grant County winners of the Christmas Dinner Drawing
project – engineering, every-
thing,” she said.
The city government saw
some personnel turnover and
now have a returning public
works director in David Hand,
Moore said. The popular city
park along the South Fork of
the John Day River is in good
shape, she noted.
“It gets used a lot by tour-
ists and locals,” she said.
The park is used for the
Fourth of July, class reunions,
an Easter egg hunt and bunny
hop and the Jake Streeter Me-
morial Car Show. Lampposts
along Main Street are used to
exhibit winners of the scare-
crow contest in October and
decorated juniper trees for
the Christmas holiday season,
Moore said.
Looking forward, locals
are investigating fundraising
for the city’s community hall.
The 5,527-square-foot build-
ing was built around 1920
and is used for a variety of
community functions — from
potlucks to weddings, Moore
said.
“It’s in dire need of reno-
vation,” she said. “The kitch-
en is no longer usable.”
Moore said many local
residents have expressed
interest in the project, with
grants and volunteer labor
rather than loans offering the
best solution.
W e want to thank everyone who took tags
and donated food for the Prairie City Fire
Department Christmas Basket Program. A special
thank you to the the people behind the scene.
Prairie City School
Carla Wright
Louella Simrell
Tonya Wood
Chris Camarena
Marvin Rynerson
Georgia Patterson
Lyn McDonald
Arlene Lynch
Bobbie Brown
We appreciate your business & support.
Ray Wenger
Dave Packard Sr
Steve Patterson
Huffmans Market & staff
Debbie Emmel
Marjean Kosher
Carol Garrison
Tom Gangler
Richard Gray
KJDY
Babette Larson,
Broker, GRI
Office: 541-987-2363
ddwr@ortelco.net
Lori Hickerson,
Principal Broker, GRI
Office: 541-575-2617
ljh@ortelco.net
Sally Knowles,
Broker, GRI
Office: 541-932-4493
sknowles@ortelco.net
www.farmseller.com
www.eastoregonrealestate.com
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MERRY CHRISTMAS
AND HAPPY NEW YEAR
Your professional Real Estate choice in Grant County
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