A16
NEWS
Blue Mountain Eagle
Funding
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its long-term goals.
“I’m glad that we have
someone on board who has
the ability to find and apply
for these grants,” he told
the Eagle. “If not for these
grants that we have received
and hopefully will receive,
we would not have had any
resources to do anything.”
Some important city proj-
ects seem too big to fund,
Lundbom said, but funding
agencies and organizations
appreciate what the city is
doing and its vision for the
future, including improving
the wastewater treatment
plant, housing stock and
possibly the river.
“I think you will see a
trail system connecting four
park areas together, a river
design that will not only be
pleasing to look at but will
be helpful with flood mitiga-
tion and provide some recre-
ation opportunities, and an
extension of Seventh Street
that will open up the north
side of the river for all kinds
of possibilities,” he said.
Development of city
property on both sides of the
river could include commer-
cial and retail spaces, new
housing and a new public
swimming pool site, as well
as relieving traffic on Bridge
Street, Lundbom said.
“One of our great-
est assets is the John Day
River,” Green told the
Eagle. “We need to enhance
it. We need to make it a cen-
tral part of the fabric of our
community. It’s going to
take patience and a lot of
creative financing. It will
also be something this gen-
eration can look back on as a
significant accomplishment
that will improve our qual-
ity of life for generations to
come.”
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
The planer shed at the former Oregon Pine mill site could be
remodeled using grant money for use as an events center for
the new Innovation Gateway project.
city does not intend to oper-
ate a new pool, the city plans
to apply for an OPRD grant
worth up to $750,000 for
possible pool or integrated
park system improvements.
The city received a $1.8
million legislative appro-
priation in 2017 to improve
internet access. With the
establishment of the Grant
County Digital Network
Coalition, that agency
plans to leverage the fund-
ing toward other grant
opportunities.
The coalition’s applica-
tion for a $3 million U.S.
Department of Agriculture
Community Connect grant
last year was unsuccessful.
The coalition will now reap-
ply for that $3 million, while
also applying for a USDA
ReConnect grant worth up
to another $3 million to sup-
port broadband.
When Lundbom asked
Green at the Feb. 12 meet-
ing how he would handle so
many grant applications in
so short a time, Green said
he would rely on city staff
and information gathered for
earlier grant applications.
The largest and most crit-
ical city project is a new
sewer treatment plant. The
council chose to go with
a design that will produce
reclaimed water. Green said
in December that he hopes
to fund the $12.5 million
plant with 60 percent grants
and 40 percent loans.
The city was awarded a
$196,500 federal Commu-
nity Development Block
Grant on Feb. 28 that will
pay for engineering for the
new sewer treatment plant.
The application deadline for
an additional $2.3 million in
CDBG funding for construc-
tion of the sewage treatment
plant is Sept. 30.
An
Oregon
Water
Resources
Department
water project grant could
be used to help pay for the
treatment facility and dis-
tribution of the reclaimed
water. Up to $8.5 million in
grant funding is available,
Green said.
The city will apply in
March for a Ford Family
Community Building Spaces
grant to convert the planer
shed at the former Oregon
Pine mill site to a commu-
nity pavilion for the planned
Innovation Gateway.
The city expects to
receive about $1 million
from the Oregon Parks and
Recreation Department for
the sale of city park land
around the Kam Wah Chung
State Heritage Site, but the
lowest estimated price for a
new swimming pool is about
$4.5 million. Although the
Options
at the north fields of the sports
complex would work.
said. He suggested approach-
ing the Grant County Court
about calling for a county-
wide bond election or creat-
ing a new district that would
encompass Mt. Vernon and
Prairie City and possibly Sen-
eca and Dayville. A specific
request about a pool bond had
not been made to the county
court, he said.
Green also noted Dayville
will hold a school bond elec-
tion this year and that some
Grant County communities
are too far away to make use
of a pool in John Day. These
more distant communities
also lack a sizeable tax base to
significantly support a bond
election, he said.
If the Parks & Recreation
District is expanded, then its
crews will have to take over
City projects
Continued from Page A1
could provide year-round rev-
enue, and the Parks & Recre-
ation District could also use
the facility for its administra-
tive offices.
Consultants involved in
planning for development of
the John Day River area and
the former Oregon Pine mill
site into the John Day Innova-
tion Gateway have indicated
three possible locations for a
new pool.
The city councilors indi-
cated their preference for
locating the pool at the Sev-
enth Street Complex rather
than the closed mill site, and
Thunell said locating the pool
Financing options
Green estimated the city
will receive about $1 million
from the state from the sale
of city park land adjacent to
Kam Wah Chung and could
apply for about $1 million in
grants to pay for a new pool.
The remainder of the esti-
mated cost for a $4.3 million
outdoor pool facility could
come from a bond presented
to the voters in November.
Some site-development and
construction costs also could
be reduced by in-kind labor
and equipment contributions.
The city of John Day and
the Parks & Recreation Dis-
trict are too small to support
a bond of that size, Green
Past funding
Green said he’s grateful
for the financial support the
city has so far received.
“We have investors from
six different state agen-
cies and the federal govern-
ment, and we’re starting to
attract private sector capi-
Committee Volunteers Needed
Grant County is now recruiting volunteers to serve on
active boards and committees.
Obtain an Application to Volunteer from County Court,
201 S. Humbolt, No. 280, Canyon City, OR 97820;
(541-575-0059) wrightl@grantcounty-or.gov or online at
www.grantcountyoregon.net. Applications are due by
Friday, March 29th, 2019
Committees are formal public bodies required to comply with Oregon
Public Meetings Law ORS 192.610.
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
tal to our area,” he told the
Eagle. “That’s important to
continue the climb. We have
to keep a long-term perspec-
tive, but I also think over the
next two to three years we’re
going to see some fairly sig-
nificant improvements —
particularly with the new
treatment plant.”
In 2017, the city received
a $60,000 Department of
Environmental
Quality
brownfield grant to assess
the Oregon Pine mill site
before purchasing the site
using a Business Oregon
loan and sewer funds.
The city also received a
$420,000 special appropri-
ation from the legislature to
help pay for 911 emergency
communication services for
the 2018-2019 biennium.
This past year, the city
and the John Day-Canyon
City Parks and Recreation
District were approved for
$434,300 in grants for riv-
erfront trails and a new city
park, including a $191,300
OPRD Recreational Trails
Program grant that got top
ranking among that year’s
applications.
The city also received a
$174,150 state Transporta-
tion Growth Management
grant that will be used to
plan for the Innovation Gate-
way and riverfront develop-
ment projects.
A $37,800 technical
assistance grant from the
Oregon Department of Land
Conservation and Develop-
ment was used to establish a
Housing Development Dis-
trict, and about $120,000 in
overlapping state and fed-
eral grants will be used to
pay for economic develop-
ment studies.
With assistance from
the Oregon Department of
Transportation, the city was
approved for a $1.1 million
Safe Routes to School grant
that will make possible con-
struction of a sidewalk along
South Canyon Boulevard
linking the Grant Union
Junior-Senior High School
to existing sidewalks and
downtown John Day.
maintenance of city parks in
those cities, Williams said.
While the pool bond
would be about half the size
of the current hospital bond,
which will expire by 2021,
the Parks & Recreation Dis-
trict tax base is about half the
size of the hospital bond’s tax
base, Green said. As a result,
the impact on district taxpay-
ers could be about the same.
The window for a bond
election is narrowing, Green
said. The city plans to submit
an application for a $750,000
state grant by April 1, and the
council could reach a decision
on pool construction phasing,
expanding the tax base and
whether to hold bond elec-
tion this year at its March 26
meeting.
Williams said he couldn’t
speak for the Parks & Rec-
reation District board, but he
thought the council’s direc-
tion made sense. He said the
board would begin working
on a presentation to make to
the county court.
John Day residents have
borne the cost of the pool, 911
and other countywide ser-
vices and it was time for the
rest of the county to step up,
Green said. Residents need
to invest in their community,
and the bond election should
be seen as a positive thing, he
said. However, if voters turn
down a bond for a new pool,
then the city will move on to
other projects, he said.
Contributed photo
Dayville residents and visitors gather in the Dayville
Community Hall in December 2018 for the annual Shop
Til You Drop Winter Festival.
Dayville
Continued from Page A1
ing that embodies the liv-
ing nature of history that
can continue to empower a
community for almost 100
years after the construction
of the building,” Ducote
said.
The first event held at
the Dayville Community
Hall was the 1920 Armi-
stice Day Dance, which
continued to be held for
several decades. Silent
movies accompanied by
piano drew crowds, as did
basketball games illumi-
nated by kerosene lamps —
spectators assisted by put-
ting out fires when balls hit
the lamps.
Dayville high school
students presented two
plays on the hall’s stage
each year, including a
Christmas program where
each child received a gift
from Santa Claus.
The hall served as a box
factory during World War
II, and “talkies” replaced
silent movies in the postwar
years. The Scotch Ameri-
can Dance, held between
Christmas and New Year’s,
was a main event for the
community right up into
the 1960s.
Since its construction,
the Dayville Community
Hall has provided space for
a skating rink, voting cen-
ter, Halloween carnivals,
community dances, wed-
ding receptions, memori-
als, dance recitals, commu-
nity potlucks, parties and
meetings.
“Speaking on behalf of
the Dayville City Council,
I would like to express our
appreciation and gratitude
to the Dayville Commu-
nity Hall Renovation Com-
mittee and our residents
and businesses who have
contributed over and over
again, event after event,
year after year, all in the
name of making money for
this project,” Moore said.
Restoration
Because of its his-
toric status, the Oregon
State Historic Preservation
Office has been involved in
planning for the hall, coor-
dinating with both the city
and Pinnacle Architecture.
The main building was
considered to be in rela-
tively good shape, but it
needed new electrical wir-
ing and a new heating, cool-
ing and ventilation system.
The stage is in good shape,
but the balcony and stairs
will need structural repairs.
Interior wall and floor fin-
ishes are in good shape and
will be preserved.
Major improvements to
the hall will include remov-
ing the existing roof sheath-
ing and installing pre-man-
ufactured trusses and new
roofing. The exterior sid-
ing also will be removed,
allowing electrical work
and insulating before new
sheathing and siding is
installed.
The addition built in
the 1950s is in poor condi-
tion, which has made use of
the kitchen and restrooms
impossible in cold weather.
The addition will be torn
down and replaced with
a new structure that will
include a commercial-grade
kitchen,
ADA-compati-
ble restrooms and a lobby
space.
As per preservation
office advice, the new addi-
tion will be designed to
look differently than the
rest of the building. Plaques
describing the original hall
will be hung, and the lobby
area will house historical
artifacts such as the antique
wood cook stove and movie
projector.
Other awards
A total of $4.11 mil-
lion in CDBG funds was
awarded to one county and
four city projects in the sec-
ond round of 2018 appli-
cations. Projects in Grant
County received $3.14 mil-
lion, or 76 percent of the
total.
The Heart of Grant
County, a nonprofit domes-
tic trauma service center,
was awarded $1.5 million
for construction of Mer-
edith House, a combined
shelter and office facility to
be built in John Day.
The shelter will offer
living quarters for vic-
tims of domestic violence
and abuse, including fami-
lies with children. This will
include three bedrooms,
two bathrooms, a small
kitchen, a living room and
a secure private outside
space with designated play
and pet areas.
The office facilities will
include private offices for
advocates, visiting attor-
neys and counselors; com-
puter workstations for vic-
tims’ use; a playroom
for children; and a com-
bined conference room
and kitchen area for group
activities. A secure garage
with hidden parking will be
provided for victims.
“The Heart of Grant
County Domestic Trauma
Facility is an example of
outstanding team work,”
board member Rick Minster
said. “Grant County Eco-
nomic Development did an
exemplary job of putting the
application together. A num-
ber of county, state, and fed-
eral departments assisted in
the application, the environ-
mental assessment and cul-
tural review, which were
also submitted with the
application. The facility
will be an important addi-
tion to the community, and
many organizations pulled
together to make the project
happen.”
The city of John Day
received $196,500 to help
pay for design and engi-
neering for a new wastewa-
ter treatment plant that will
produce reclaimed water.
The existing treatment
plant needs to be replaced
for the city to remain com-
pliant with environmental
regulations.
Extension & 4-H Service District Advisory Council.
Eleven members serve three year terms and meet semi-annually to provide
guidance and assistance to local OSU Extension staff in planning, developing,
and evaluating balanced educational programs directed to high priority needs
of county residents. Membership is limited to one re-appointment.
Senior Citizens Advisory Council
ORS 410.210. Five members serve three year terms and meet semi-annually
to define the needs of older adults, promote special interests and local
community involvement, and represent senior citizens as an advocate to the
local, state and federal government and other organizations.
Wolf Depredation Advisory Committee
OAR 603-019-0015. Members include one County Commissioner, two
members who own or manage livestock and two members who support
wolf conservation or coexistence with wolves. These members agree
upon two business representatives to serve as additional members. The
committee oversees the procedure established by Grant County for its Wolf
Depredation Compensation Program. The current vacancies are for one
business representative and one member who supports wolf conservation or
coexistence with wolves
108043
Grant SWCD Weed Control Dept.
Working for You in 2019
Thanks to the Grant County Court and Northeast Oregon Forests Resource
Advisory Committee, Grant Weed Control is able to offer a 25% Cost
share program for Noxious Weed Control on Private Grazing Lands,
through a Title II funded Grant Project. This program will provide a
maximum $5,000 of noxious weed control services with a $1,250 maximum
landowner contribution to qualifying participants. To be eligible for
participation, the treatment property must not be actively irrigated and must
be primarily managed for livestock grazing, minimum of 20 acres in size,
located within Grant County, and must contain priority noxious weed
species. Applications for this limited weed control assistance opportunity
will be ranked and funded according to a priority noxious weed list..
Contact the Grant Soil and Water Conservation District Office at (541)
575-1554 or visit 721 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845 for
applications and additional information.
The application deadline for this program is April 12th, 2019. 107997