Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 5, 2018)
News Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, September 5, 2018 A3 John Day City Council starts work on annexations Plans for greenhouse are finalized By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle With a delay in the pro- cessing of a state planning grant for the Innovation Gate- way project, the John Day City Council has turned its attention to annexations and lot line adjustments related to the project. The lot line adjustments be- tween the former Oregon Pine mill site and Mills Building Supply, JD Rents and Clark’s Disposal initially were de- layed until the new commer- cial greenhouse could be sited, City Manager Nick Green told the city council Aug. 28. Because the annexation process can be complicated, Green advised combining the annexation of the Oregon Pine property, which the city acquired in 2017 for the Inno- vation Gateway project, with other annexations. That includes a portion of the Hills property recently ac- quired by the city, an island of land near the Charolais Heights Road intersection that is in the county but totally sur- rounded by the city. The city is also consider- ing annexing Grant Union Ju- nior-Senior High School and nearby properties owned by the Old West Federal Credit Union, which lie in between the cities of John Day and Canyon City. The council will hold its first study session to discuss the annexations at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 4, at the John Day Fire Hall. Bureaucratic delays have held up the state Transpor- tation Growth Management grant, worth nearly $200,000 including city’s $27,000 match, Green said. The grant will provide a framework for planning, financing and im- plementation of the Innova- tion Gateway project. A public process for the planning will include three meetings of the city’s advi- sory committees, three open houses for the public, a joint working session with the city council and city planning commission, public hearings before the city council and city planning commission and a launch event at the con- clusion of the public process sometime next summer. Greenhouse plans The council also reviewed final plans from EuroMex for the city’s commercial greenhouse and approved a purchase and sale agreement. The total price came in high- er than originally submitted at $367,320, but it includes about $39,000 in add-ons at no extra cost. EuroMex threw in a public art package for an outdoor sit- ting area worth $14,000 that the city must assemble, grow lights and outdoor lighting worth $10,000 and a two- week training trip to Mexico for John Day Agribusiness Manager Matt Manitsas worth $12,000. The final design, tweaked by EuroMex officials who re- cently visited John Day, calls for three 2,000-square-foot bays offset to maximize view- ing by visitors on Highway 26. The public viewing area features a show room area with tempered glass. Joe Hitz of Sisul Engi- neering sited the greenhouse to allow two more bays to be Durr sworn in as chief John Day Police Department now fully staffed Contributed image The final conceptual drawing by EuroMex for the commercial greenhouse at the Innovation Gateway includes three offset bays and a public viewing area. built to the east, Green said. EuroMex will send a crew to install electronics and oversee local workers who will as- semble the greenhouse. The Grant County Plan- ning Commission approved the city’s land-use application for the greenhouse Aug. 23 but requested a revised map showing access from High- way 26. A special public works fund loan of up to $350,000 from the Oregon Business Development Department’s Infrastructure Finance Au- thority will be used to pay for the greenhouse. The 25-year loan carries a 3.43 percent in- terest rate. The estimated total cost for the greenhouse is more than $400,000, including engi- neering, design, construction, contingency and legal costs. The city expects to make the loan payments from the sale of produce from the green- house, which is expected to be 30 tons of vegetables per year — enough to meet the city’s needs. New Umatilla National Forest staff introduce themselves to court By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle The John Day Police De- partment and Emergency Communications Center are both up to full staffing levels, and construction of dispatch center facilities at the city fire hall is making progress, City Manager Nick Green told the city council Aug. 28. Inter- im Police Chief Mike Durr was sworn in as the city’s new police Mike Durr chief at the meet- ing. He has also taken on the duties of a school resource officer for Grant Union Ju- nior-Senior High School. Durr joined the John Day Police Department in April 2014 after retiring from the Oregon State Police. He re- ceived his advanced certi- fication from the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training in De- cember 2015. He left to work for the Baker City Police Department in 2018 and then returned in April to become interim po- lice chief during former John Day Police Chief Richard Gray’s absence. The school resource officer position went into effect Aug. 27 following talks between The Eagle/Richard Hanners Mike Durr is sworn in as the John Day chief of police by City Manager Nick Green on Aug. 28. Green and Grant School Dis- trict 3 Superintendent Bret Uptmor. A memorandum of understanding between the city and school district will be drafted later and submitted for approval to city council and school board, Green said. Funding for the position will be split 50/50 between the city and the school dis- trict. The additional funding enabled the city to get back up to a full staffing level of four officers, including Durr, Scott Moore, Andrew Martin and Sam Stinnett. Stinnett, who was a cor- rections deputy at the Grant County Jail, started with John Day July 9. He will attend the state police academy from October through February to receive his police officer cer- tification, Green said. Construction at the John Day Fire Hall for the 911 dis- patch center has been mov- ing right along, Green said. A CenturyLink technician traveled from Salem to install emergency communications wiring on Aug. 29. The Oregon Office of Emergency Management has approved the fire hall location for the new dispatch center and will provide $36,928 for the move from the John Day City Hall, Green said. The Intergovernmental Council will take over management of the dispatch center from John Day on Jan. 1. The dispatch center is also up to full staff with the hiring of Ryan Palmer on Aug. 11. He will attend basic telecom- munications training from Oct. 29 through Nov. 11 and emergency medical dispatch training from Nov. 12-14, Green said. Palmer will tran- sition to management under the IGC in January. Umatilla National For- est Supervisor Eric Watrud, Heppner District Ranger Brandon Houck and North Fork District Ranger Paula Guenther introduced them- selves to the Grant County Court Aug. 29. All three are new to their jobs at the Umatilla Forest. Watrud, who worked for a time as a regional silvicul- turist in Portland, expressed a strong interest in working with local counties. Houck and Guenther moved to Or- egon from Wyoming. Guenther, who is based in Ukiah, explained that the large response to the 30-acre Harrison fire in the wilder- ness near Olive Lake re- sulted from its proximity to Greenhorn and the availabil- ity of firefighting resources at that time. Otherwise, the Forest Service might have left the fire to “creep around” and reduce forest fuels that had been building up in the area, she said. She also explained that the former ranger station in Dale was slated for dem- olition as funding became available to handle hazard- ous materials in 14 buildings at the site. The site had been The Eagle/Richard Hanners From left, Heppner District Ranger Brandon Houck, Umatilla National Forest Supervisor Eric Watrud and North Fork District Ranger Paula Guenther. scheduled for decommis- sioning for the past 15 years, she said. Grant County Judge Scott Myers explained how the county had been interested in making use of the facility 10 years ago, before the build- ings were overrun by pack- rats and started to decay. Several members of the public joined the court in expressing interest in seeing the site converted into an RV park or a campground once demolition is completed and the site cleaned up. The court also approved an ordinance that establish- es a process to reduce the two-year redemption period for tax-foreclosed properties based on statutory criteria and procedures. The court will use the process to take ownership of two properties in Long Creek and Prairie City that have be- come significant nuisances and hazards to neighbors and other residents. The court’s next regularly scheduled meeting is Sept. 12. I would like to thank everyone and all of my friends who sent cards or flowers or brought food while I was in the hospital for my heart surgery. Monday - Thursday 7am- 6pm Friday 8am - 5pm Mendy Sharpe FNP 77206 Apppointments available Sincerely, Judy Nelson 71665 The Juniper Arts Council, The Oregon Cultural Trust and the John Day United Methodist Church cordially invite you to an evening with Oregon Poet Laureate Kim Stafford Thursday 9/13 at 7 PM at the John Day United Methodist Church. Readings of his poetry with dessert reception to follow. For more information call Kris Beal at 541-932-4892. Kim Stafford, founding director of the Northwest Writing Institute at Lewis & Clark College, is the author of a dozen books of poetry and prose, including The Muses Among Us: Eloquent Listening and Other Pleasures of the Writer’s Craft and 100 Tricks Every Boy Can Do: How My Brother Disappeared. 541-523-6377 541-963-6577 541-573-6377 541-576-2160 76266
