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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2019)
NEWS MyEagleNews.com Wednesday, December 18, 2019 A3 A year full of projects in John Day Green: ‘We are going to start to see steel in the ground’ By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle The John Day City Coun- cil on Dec. 10 updated the public on the progress of 23 various projects that are in different stages of development. “We are going to start to see steel in the ground,” said City Manager Nick Green. “We are going to see con- struction beginning in 2020 and then proceed for the next two to three years on all of these projects.” Street, Sidewalk, Bridge and Trail Improvements • 395 sidewalk exten- sion: Due to a 2017 house bill, the small city allotment grant won’t allow funds for state highways, so the match of $75,000 will be cov- ered by the city out of street funds. The Oregon Depart- ment of Transportation has the funds they need to com- plete the project and signed the appropriate agreements to go into final designs and construction in 2020. • Fourth Street repairs: Small city allotment funds will be redirected to cover this project with ODOT cov- ering $50,000 of the cost and the Federal Emergency Management Agency cov- ering the balance, as long as the project stays within the estimated cost, which is about $550,000. Green will see if it’s possible to get some Economic Develop- ment Administration funds so when streets are being repaired, fiber optic cable can also be installed up to the airport and to homes along Fourth Street, which will be done in partnership with Ortelco. • Charolais Heights intersection improve- ments: This project has been funded and budgeted and will be complete by summer 2020. • Oregon Pine bridge improvements: There is an engineer bridge plan, and bids are out for the project. The city budgeted $90,000 for the project. • 2020 BUILD grant that would help fund projects for the Seventh Street Extension, Charolais Heights and Third Street Extension bridge: The city did not receive this grant. The city will receive a letter in January outlining the posi- tive and negative parts of the application and will reapply in July. Innovation Gateway & Riverfront Recreation Projects • Hotel site develop- ment: The design build team for the Pridays, who plan to build a hotel, will be on the build site this week. The city is contracted to do a transportation impact assessment for the new hotel and the future conference center. The assessment will look into traffic counts and driveway approaches onto the property. • Treatment plant: There are four bids to take on the wastewater treatment plant project from Kubota, H2O Innovations, Alfa Laval and Cloacina. The city is expected to award a bid by the end of the month. • Aquatics center: The feasibility study regarding the pool will come back in February 2020. This study will help determine a county service district the county court could put before voters of completing the property purchase by June 2020, but no later than November. Downtown/Main Street Improvements The Eagle/Rudy Diaz In one room, the greenhouse produces red and green ro- maine lettuce, red and green butterhead lettuce, basil and cilantro. in June or November. There are currently four different options of proposed service districts for the facility. • Integrated Park Sys- tem: The city is waiting for the State Historic Preser- vation Office to deliver its observations on the area. Green has told the SHPO through a variety of formats that the area for the trail park has gone through signifi- cant ground projects in the last 100 years and feels that, if there were any items of archeological significance, they have already been found. The city is waiting to hear back from the SHPO by the end of December. Davis Creek has been completed. • Greenhouse: 1188 Brewing Co., Timbers Bis- tro and Chester’s Thriftway currently receive produce from the greenhouse with a possibility of two more restaurants being supplied in the spring or summer. The city is looking into add- ing two more bays for the greenhouse through the U.S. Economic Development Administration grant. A por- tion of the grant is for disas- ter recovery, and the other funds are for resilience. • Community pavilion: The USDA rural develop- ment and a nonprofit part- ner are interested in financ- ing the pavilion. Green will continue with the pavilion project sometime between now and June. • Conference center concept development: The city is going to create a plan- ning and development plan for the project. • Iron Triangle prop- erty acquisition: This is a 14-acre parcel that includes two small office buildings and a main shop, according to Green. The city is plan- ning to purchase the area to obtain the right of way between Patterson Bridge Road and Valley View Drive to create the new Govern- ment Entry Road and com- plete the Seventh Street Extension as part of the Innovation Gateway project. The city plans to have the office buildings demol- ished, complete the streets and then replat the 14-acres into smaller lots that can be used for light industrial pur- poses, according to Green. The plan is to start the Phase 1 environmental assessment early in 2020 with the goal • Downtown parking improvements: The city approved Green to sign the purchase and sale agreement of the Brazil/Morrison lot and do anything else needed to obtain the property. The city is also planning to cre- ate additional parking next to city hall. • Len’s Drug renova- tion: The city is expect- ing an application in the near future regarding the improvements. Housing • Weaver Building: Tyler Sheedy purchased the Weaver building on Nov. 27. While the development agreement is not finished, the plan is to complete the renovation within the next five years. • Phase 2 of Ironwood Estates: Iron Triangle plans to use the funds from the Iron Triangle property acquisi- tion to help fund Phase 2 of Ironwood Estates. • Strawberry View Estates: The property has been acquired by Mahogany Ridge Properties, which will be talking with the council to do an initial consult on land development require- ments. Rust Cumber and Josh Walker purchased the property two months ago and want to work with the city and revisit creating a master plan for the area. • Riverside Home Park code enforcement and tenant improvements: The city did an inspection of the park and is working to address the findings. The city is looking at creating a developing agreement with the park owners to bring the nonconforming units into compliance with the code. The Planning Commission hearing for Riverside will be held Jan. 14. Intergovernmental Projects • Broadband expan- sion: The city seeks to pro- vide fiber optic cable up the path to the fairgrounds and the residences there. Other areas the city plans to cover are: the path leading up to the airport, down to the new wastewater treatment site, the new hotel, up to Phase 2 of Ironwood Estates and Valley View Drive. The goal is to have fiber to every premise in John Day within the next three years. • Oregon RAIN: There are six candidates that the hiring committee will review for the rural venture capital- ist position. The hiring com- mittee will meet Jan. 8 to make a decision. The goal is to have somebody ready by the beginning of 2020. • County fairgrounds project: The fairgrounds strategic planning effort will continue through March. Allison Field, the Grant County Economic Devel- opment director, Mindy Winegar, the fairgrounds manager, Donna Palmer, fairgrounds board chair, and Daisy Goebel, a city plan- ning associate, are working with the city’s consultants, EcoNorthwest and Walker Macy, on that effort, Green said. The Trowbridge Pavil- ion will undergo a 10-week project set to begin and end between March 9 and May 11. This will fix the pavil- ion’s concrete floor. • Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site: The city is expecting a revised offer from the state regarding the sale of the land where Glea- son Pool is located. CONSERVATION TECHNICIAN Grant Soil & Water Conservation District, based in John Day, OR is seeking to fill a Conservation Technician Position. This position provides labor, technical and programmatic services to support the successful implementation of District Programs. Qualified candidates require field and technical skills, have the ability to work independently and as part of a team as well as possess strong oral and written communication abilities. Salary: $45-$55K DOE, Plus Benefits. For a complete job description and application, please visit www.grantswcd.net or contact Kyle Sullivan 541-575-0135 ext. 111, sullivank@ortelco.net. Application Deadline is January 17, 2020. S160339-1 THE JUNIPER ARTS COUNCIL / GRANT COUNTY CULTURAL COALITION IS SEEKING GRANT PROPOSALS FOR OREGON CULTURAL TRUST GRANT AWARDS The coalition has $6,300 from the Oregon Cultural Trust to distribute in Grant County to organizations for projects relating to culture and / or heritage. Applications are available from Karin Barntish, 131 W. Main Street, John Day, Oregon, or call Kris Beal at (541)932-4892 for more information or an application. Grant applications will be accepted until February 5, 2020 5 P.M. S159834-1 S100007-1 S100005-1
