NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
A3
Mt. Vernon finishing big projects this year
Old city hall will
become a museum
once move across
street is complete
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
Mt. Vernon starts the new
year by moving into a new
city hall and continuing proj-
ects planned for completion
in 2020.
The town plans to move
into the new building
within
the
next month,
according to
Mt. Vernon
Mayor Kenny
Delano. The
building on
250
West
Main
was
Kenny
Delano
where Oregon
Te l e p h o n e
Company’s office was once
located, he said.
A Mt. Vernon resident and
a city council member are
currently painting walls in
the building. The city is also
retrofitting the restrooms and
entryways to be compliant
with building standards.
Once city hall moves into
the new building, the city
plans to convert the old hall
into a museum based on the
city.
“We are going to do what
I like to call a paper lease,
which might be $1 a year or
$10 a year, to a local historic
group that has historic mem-
orabilia from the old Mt. Ver-
non School and other local
historical stuff,” Delano said.
“I am really looking forward
to seeing what sort of impact
that has on our community,
and I think it’s gonna be
great.”
This started when Mt.
Vernon resident Mary Ellen
Brooks bought the build-
ing and planned to hold it
until grants would allow the
city to purchase the building.
The government shutdown
The Eagle/Rudy Diaz
While parts of the Mt. Vernon park need to be finished, 10-year-old Kathlyne Page enjoys the new amenities Jan. 26.
delayed grants, and two
months later, Brooks donated
the building to the city.
“I’m excited, not just
because of the new city hall
building, but the way that
we got it,” Delano said. “A
bunch of local people came
together wanting to display
Mt. Vernon’s history.”
The wastewater sys-
tem improvement project
is about 50% done, accord-
ing to Delano, and the proj-
ect is estimated to finish in
October 2020. The project
has been on the agenda for
years — even before Delano
was elected and Tami Kow-
ing, the city recorder, began
her job seven years ago. The
$2.4 million project started
in fall 2019 and provided a
sewer extension to an area in
the city that had no sewer.
The Eagle/Rudy Diaz
Kathlyne Page, 10, of John Day enjoys the developing park
in Mt. Vernon.
The team on the project
is currently focused on the
headworks and collection
system at the lagoons. The
contractor plans to put in
a new control system and
new pumps.
“With the weather, and
trying to get the electronic
parts and everything he
needs, he’s probably going to
be gone for a month and then
fire back up and get this proj-
ect finished,” said Delano.
“That’ll give the city a bet-
ter idea of how the systems
function and cleaning up a lot
of the ground water influent.”
When this project is fin-
ished, the city plans to bring
the lagoons up to date with
realistic data from the waste-
water system, Delano said.
The city plans to complete
the City Park Rehabilitation
Project this year around the
end of May, Kowing said.
The city will also seek addi-
tional funds this year through
the Oregon Department of
Transportation’s small city
allotment fund for road
maintenance.
While the city council
works hard to keep every-
thing functioning, Delano
added that members of the
community are more than
welcome to attend meetings
on the second Tuesday of
every month and get more
involved with the council.
Delano also mentioned that
drivers speeding through
town is a problem the city
faces.
“I realize that that road is
designated a state highway,
but there’s speed limit signs
at both ends of town that
people consistently ignore,”
said Delano. “That’s a prob-
lem to solve, which would be
getting people to slowdown
when they are going through
town.”
Prairie City finishing projects, fighting against theft
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
The implementation of
a neighborhood watch pro-
gram, receiving funds from
the cell tower and com-
pletion of the sewer proj-
ect play a part in the overall
progress expected for Prairie
City in 2020.
With the problem of theft
and burglary in the county —
25 thefts and three burglar-
ies in the past four months
according to Grant County
Undersheriff Zach Mobley
— the Prairie City Council
discussed fighting back.
The council approved
$300 for the Grant County
Sheriff’s Office tip and
reward program and a
neighborhood watch pro-
gram. The sheriff’s office is
gathering information and
packets for a neighborhood
watch program, which will
be presented in a meeting at
city hall, Hamsher said.
“We are hoping in the
next few weeks we will be
setting up a city hall meeting
and have people interested
in participating because I
want it to be more like a
able-speed sewer pumps,
which are turned on depend-
ing on the flow of sewage.
This will reduce electrical
usage by about 30% because
the old pump was based on
an on-or-off system, Ham-
sher said. Depending on
how much the team can
work in the winter, the proj-
ect is expected to wrap up in
summer of this year.
citywide watch,” Hamsher
said. “Before there is much
of an additional rise in theft,
I’d rather be proactive than
reactive with this crime.”
Hamsher plans to drive
around with the public
works director looking for
poorly lit areas. Hamsher
also wants to promote the
idea of community members
installing security camera on
their property.
“I want to send a clear
message that we don’t tol-
erate that crime here,” Ham-
sher said
Water project progress
Eagle file photo
Prairie City’s $2 million sand filter system along Dixie Creek
Road went into operation in 2008. A new well project may be
completed this summer.
Cell tower provides
new funds
U.S. Cellular installed
a new cell tower in Prai-
rie City. The city receives
about $1,500 per month
for the tower, which has
improved the cell coverage
in the area.
“The nice thing about
this is that they only lease
a 50-by-50-foot chunk of
ground, and it’s nice to
receive $1,500 dollars a
month for a chunk of ground
when 2 acres of that land
was purchased for $10 in
1956,” Hamsher said. “This
also won’t impact the mill
parking lot.”
The city passed a resolu-
tion to have the $1,500 go
into the water fund to help
pay off the loan for the slow-
sand filter system.
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139101
Water, sewer
upgrades expected
to be completed
this summer
Sewer project
completion
This year, Hamsher is
looking forward to the com-
pletion of upgrades to Prai-
rie City’s sewer collection
system and treatment plant.
The first part of the project
used cameras in the sewer
system to identify where
sewer pipes had cracks. The
cracks would let ground
water into the system and
created an influx of ground-
water going to the lagoon,
Hamsher said.
Hamsher added, with
many pipes now replaced,
the city has seen a reduc-
tion in the gallons of sewage
going to their lagoons.
“Currently, with the stuff
already done on the project,
we are seeing approximately
20,000 gallons a day of less
sewage, and that’s a big
reduction,” said Hamsher.
“That shows you that 20,000
gallons was not sewage, but
ground water.”
The pumps have also
been replaced with new vari-
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The Fainman Springs
well project proved to be
difficult, regarding permit-
ting from the state and fed-
eral agencies, Hamsher said.
The city had to conduct cul-
tural studies and wetland
surveys and get approval
from the court of engineers
and the Oregon State His-
toric Preservation Office.
Funding for the project
is now in place, he said, and
the city secured all permits
needed for the project. Since
the project for the well runs
through two private proper-
ties, the city needs to make
agreements with those land-
owners before continuing.
One landowner accepted
an agreement while nego-
tiations continue with the
other, according to Hamsher.
Once there is an agree-
ment, the company work-
ing on the sewer project will
also be starting the Fainman
project and begin digging
and installing pipes. Ham-
sher said, depending on the
weather, the project is look-
ing to be completed in the
summer of this year.
With many projects
expected to wrap up in 2020,
Hamsher added that the city
received a $100,000 grant
to finalize the closure of the
landfill in Prairie City. The
city also received $90,000 in
Secure Rural School funds,
which will help fund a crack
seal and chip seal road proj-
ect with the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation.
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