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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 2020)
A18 NEWS Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, April 29, 2020 Innovation Continued from Page A1 from flooding. A proposed parking lot in front of the hotel will provide 80 parking spaces and several RV spots for hotel guests and visitors. The parking lot will also include climate adaptive annual grasses, shrubs and trees, which will help screen the parking lot from Highway 26 and the John Day River, according to the report. The proposed event center in the adapted sawmill shed building offers 2,300 square feet of space that could be used for conferences, wed- dings, community functions or potential commercial food or beverage operations. The report states the “existing steel framing on the main floor down to the foundation can be repurposed for use as the base of the new proposed event center building.” The blueprint of the saw- mill presents a deck on both ends of the mill for guests to view the surrounding area, an event hall, distillery, cafe, and kitchen. The event center will be sited within newly devel- oped water gardens, according to the report. “Wrapping the water gar- dens on the north, east and south, the restored wetlands store seasonal flood waters and support wildlife with native shrubs, grasses and trees,” the report states. “A network of boardwalks, over- looks and pathways provide places to view and enjoy the restored wetlands from multi- ple perspectives.” An event hall, restau- rant and hotel will all be con- nected. A customer would enter through a shared lobby, which would be the central- ized point of welcome and visibility for staff operations, Contributed photo The hotel, event center and lobby will all be connected together in plans for the next phase of the Innovation Gateway. according to the report. At the city council meeting on April 14, it was announced that a 6,000-square foot saw- mill for an event space would make it the third largest in Eastern Oregon, which Green said is oversized for the mar- ket in John Day. After dis- cussions with EcoNorthwest, the recommended size for the event center was to be no larger than 2,500 square feet. “As we discussed options for the best use of that site — www.MyEagleNews.com given the Inn at Whiskey Flats is the working name for the hotel — they said the best eco- nomics you can offer is an eat- ery that can also function as a distillery,” Green said. Green added that this could add options for catering with a kitchen that could be sublet. “We started talking with Shannon and Jeremy (Adair from 1188 Brewing Com- pany) to ask if they would be interested in expanding their business and would they con- sider co-locating maybe with a different trajectory?” Green said. Shannon Adair said they plan to keep their restaurant on Main Street but accepted the opportunity to expand in a new location. “We’ve always needed more space for the brewing, and we always wanted to go into distilling and try to make what we do now a destina- tion that brings people to John Day,” Adair said. The food planned to be pro- vided would be focused on breakfast instead of lunch or dinner items along with a possible tasting room. Shan- non added that 1188 could possibly add around 16 new jobs with the new addition. Green said the hotel could could add 16 new jobs. The sorter shed is also planned to be repurposed as a community pavilion, which could be used for a variety of functions such as community events, farmers markets, performances and large gatherings, according to the report. “The 12,000 square feet existing sawmill shed build- ing that once served a crit- ical production role within the Oregon Pine sawmill can now serve as the key struc- ture of a new event center and hotel — creating a vis- ible, architectural tie to John Day’s history shaped by the mill,” the report states. Athletes nity College next year, said she does not plan to do track at TVCC, so this would have been her last year. Last year, the Prairie Track and Field team made it to the district championship. Although Emmel did not make it to state, two of her team- mates did, and it was a great experience. Emmel said, more than sports and other activities, what she misses the most about the cancelation is seeing every- one each day. “I hoped that we would at least go back to school,” Emmel said. Grant Union softball player Sequoya Swearingen said she is missing the bonding and camaraderie that came with being on the softball team. “No matter how much we bickered and argued off the field, we were always family on the field,” she said. Swearingen said another aspect of missing out on her senior year is not getting to have a senior night. “You hear about it your whole life growing up,” Swear- ingen said, “and now we don’t get to experience it.” not cover. On the call, Adair said the PPP, which she received, does not cover a lot of the expenses that she is on the hook for, such as expired food in her walk-in cooler, insurance and advertisers she committed to. She said the PPP is benefi- cial to keep the building open so that the business can con- tinue on with projects while the restaurant is closed and pay utilities. “We can pay our bills, and then we have this big chunk of money that we may or may not be able to use in an eight- week period,” Adair said. “We don’t have work for the same number of staff we laid off (required by the PPP), and many are making more on unemployment. I can bring back the ones that have strug- gled getting unemployment and have them work on proj- ects, but that will be a small part of that 75% (required to be spent on payroll for loan forgiveness). “Once the eight-week period is over, we may be open by that point, but our sales will not be the same, and I will not need the same num- ber of employees. Assuming I brought them all back in an eight-week period, I would just have to lay some of them off again,” she said. “The PPP is just not flexible enough to provide what we are going to need over the long haul.” Continued from Page A1 These days Emmel said she has been helping out at the family ranch. “I’ve just been trying to stay busy with whatever I can,” she said. Emmel, who will attend Treasure Valley Commu- Monday - Thursday 7am- 6pm Monday - Thursday 7am- 6pm Friday 8am - 5pm Friday 8am - Mendy Sharpe 5pm FNP Business Apppointments available S183099-1 S181013-1 139101 Continued from Page A1 businesses simply need an influx of modest amounts of cash.” Wyden said businesses with $1 million or less in gross receipts with 50 or fewer employees would receive a check equal to the business’ gross receipts reported in a previous year, up to $75,000. Wyden said the PPP — which provides loans that can be forgiven under certain con- ditions — is simply not enough assistance for small business owners who, when the econ- omy opens back up, will be operating at partial capacity. The Eagle/Steven Mitchell 1188 Brewing Company Own- er Shannon Adair said that a to-go only model would not work for 1188 because brew pubs are too social of an en- vironment. Wyden said small busi- nesses in retail and the restaurant business will have expenses that the PPP does Let your GRADUATES’ accomplishments SHINE With college commencements being cancelled and uncertainty with high school graduations, HONOR YOUR SENIORS in this special way on a Yard Sign. These 18” x 24” signs can be made in your graduates’ school colors. Order by May 8th! Country Preferred, Realtors ONLY $30 Give us a call! We would love to show you what your home is worth and what we can do to get it SOLD fast. 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