News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Bid approved for city greenhouse
Court
applauds
veteran
services
office
By Richard Hanners
Council applies
for grants for two
street projects
With the county already doing
chip-sealing projects this year,
Legg suggested holding off
chip-sealing until 2020.
By Richard Hanners
The council also moved
ahead with several long-range
plans for city parks and trails.
Green was directed to con-
tinue negotiations with the
Oregon Department of Parks
and Recreation for the sale of
3 acres of city land adjacent
to the Kam Wah Chung State
Heritage Site.
The state wants to use the
land, which includes Gleason
Pool, to build a new interpre-
tive center. Chris Labhart, who
works at the museum, said the
state might pay $1 million for
the city land.
The council also authorized
Green to sign a purchase and
sales agreement for 10 acres of
land on both sides of the John
Day River near Canyon Creek
owned by Colleen and Celeste
Hill.
The 4-acre property on the
south side of the river would
be used for a new city park.
Green noted that addition-
al property needed for a trail
along Canyon Creek linking
the new park to Kam Wah
Chung would be provided
through lot-line adjustments.
Two neighbors, however,
expressed security concerns if
a public trail is built right along
their backyards. They also
noted that the city’s creekside
property may be too narrow in
places for a new trail.
Lastly, the council ap-
proved a $17,500 feasibility
study agreement with con-
sultant Counsilman-Hunsak-
er for options for a possible
new aquatic center to replace
Gleason Pool. Green assured
Mayor Ron Lundbom that the
funding was available and
said he hopes to leverage the
$17,500 into a regional in-
vestment to attract people to
John Day.
The city council’s next
meeting is Aug. 14.
Recreation plans
Blue Mountain Eagle
Blue Mountain Eagle
Street projects
In a busy meeting, the
council also picked two street
projects to apply for funding
from Oregon Special City Al-
lotment grants, which recent-
ly increased from $50,000
per year to $200,000 for two
separate projects. The dead-
line for submitting the grant
application was Aug. 1.
The council agreed to ap-
ply for the grant funding to
extend Valley View Drive to
Patterson Bridge Road near
the Malheur National Forest
building, which would pro-
vide access to street networks
within Phase 2 of Ironwood
Estates.
This street plan was ap-
proved earlier by the city. Joe
Hitz of Sisul Engineering said
the road is about 80 percent
built and estimated comple-
tion costs at $282,000.
The council also agreed to
reconfigure and rebuild the in-
tersection of Charolais Drive,
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
From left, Councilors Dave Holland and Paul Smith watch a presentation on the city’s
strategy for growth during the city council’s July 24 meeting.
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
John Day City Manager
Nick Green describes
progress in the city’s
strategy for growth during
the city council’s July 24
meeting.
John Day is considering purchasing a commercial
greenhouse from EuroMex, a company that
manufactures very large commercial greenhouses like
the one shown in this contributed image.
Valley View Drive, Bridge
Street and two other streets.
Valley View and Bridge Street
would become a through-
street. Green noted that park-
ing for the future Davis Creek
trail system and botanical gar-
dens would be located near
this intersection.
Engineering for this proj-
ect was completed, and John
Day Public Works Director
Monte Legg said the Grant
County Road Department was
still on board to assist. Hitz
estimated the cost to complete
the project at $244,000.
The option to extend Sev-
enth Street west from Bridge
Street to Patterson Bridge
Road was turned down be-
cause it’s too early and too
expensive. Extending Seventh
Street would provide access
to Innovation Gateway from
the north side of the river and
provide a second bridge con-
nection for the city’s north
side.
The design, however, is
not final because the city’s
new sewer treatment plant has
not been sited, and the city
was not sure what will hap-
pen to the existing percolation
ponds, Green said.
The street project is also
very complex and expensive.
Contributed photo
According to preliminary
plans, the middle segment
calls for wider lanes, a land-
scaped median, parallel park-
ing, a 200-foot bus turnaround
circle, four special parking
spaces for buses and street
lights. Fully developed, the
estimated cost is $3.2 million.
Another option turned
down by the council called for
various chip-sealing projects.
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The city of John Day
moved ahead last week with
commercial greenhouse plans
for the Innovation Gateway
site at the city’s west entrance.
The city council approved
a notice of intent to award
EuroMex, headquartered in
Spain with offices in Los An-
geles and Mexico, a $337,590
bid for a 6,240-square-foot
greenhouse that will produce
about 30 tons of produce per
year, meeting the city’s de-
mand.
EuroMex, which typically
builds large facilities, out-
scored Clearspan, City Man-
ager Nick Green said. The
greenhouse’s three 16-foot
high, 26-by-80-foot bays will
have clear walls so visitors
can view the facility without
going inside and possibly
contaminating the environ-
ment.
Green said EuroMex will
send personnel to John Day to
install electronics and oversee
city crews who will assemble
the greenhouse. If the proj-
ect works out, the city could
build additional greenhouses
and start exporting produce,
Green said.
The city council will take
up the EuroMex bid at its
Aug. 14 meeting. The project
will be reviewed by the Grant
County Planning Commission
later in August because the
2-acre site lies outside the city
limits.
The Grant County Court
applauded the work of the
Grant County Veteran Ser-
vices Office under the di-
rection of Katee Hoffman
during their July 25 meeting.
County Judge Scott My-
ers said the
court has
heard great
things about
Hoffman’s
work
at
the office
since she
Katee
took over in
Hoffman
September
2017. Commissioner Jim
Hamsher said he has spoken
to many veterans in the coun-
ty and never heard a negative
comment about Hoffman,
only positive things.
Hoffman, a disabled
Army veteran, updated the
court on the office’s work,
including meeting with nu-
merous vets at the office’s
new location in the county’s
L Building on East Main
Street in John Day or at their
individual homes.
About 550 veterans are
registered with her office,
but Hoffman estimates about
1,200 veterans live in Grant
County. About 148 veterans
came to her office in the
previous 90 days, and she
met with another 11 at their
homes, she said. She travels
to Monument the second
Tuesday of each month to
meet with veterans.
Hoffman also assists with
numerous wartime, disabili-
ty and death benefit claims.
The turnaround on claims
has improved on average
from 18 months to less than
four months, she said.
The office recently re-
ceived a $4,700 grant for sui-
cide prevention efforts. She
cited one case where a veter-
an’s suicidal problems were
related to his insufficient re-
tirement income, a problem
that was helped by address-
ing his veteran claims.
Hoffman said she is seek-
ing ideas for how to spend
the grant money. Myers not-
ed the grant was entirely dis-
cretionary.
In other county court
news:
• An agreement allowing
the Grant County Sheriff’s
Office to provide law en-
forcement services to the
city of John Day was amend-
ed after Commissioner Rob
Raschio noted the agreement
did not have a fixed term and
“would last forever” at the
stated hourly rates for depu-
ties, $35 per hour, and cost
for gas.
Raschio said he had talk-
ed to John Day City Man-
ager Nick Green and Green
was agreeable to reviewing
the agreement every two
years. Raschio noted that
this agreement could lead
to more deputies working
for the sheriff’s office, and
County Judge Scott My-
ers said the court would be
watching the sheriff’s of-
fice’s budget closely.
• Pat Holliday was ap-
pointed to the Grant County
Planning Commission.
• The court went into
executive session to consult
with the county’s attorney
regarding current litigation
or litigation that is likely to
be filed.
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