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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (May 6, 2020)
NEWS MyEagleNews.com Wednesday, May 6, 2020 A7 Final planning session for Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle Planning for the updated Grant County Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan comes to an end in May as the committee moves on to the final con- ference call for planning. On May 12, there will be a virtual meeting from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and this will likely be the final steering committee meeting prior to future meetings to adopt the plan. The link for the meeting is https://us02web. zoom.us/j/99172788386pwd=UH- k5MWNFWG9EZ2Jpb3E4aE82al- hiZz09. The meeting ID is 991 7278 8386. The password is 433574. This plan is created from an assessment from the community and their perceptions of the risks faced from a range of natural haz- ards, according to Katherine Daniel from the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development. Another benefit is the opportunity to work with the Oregon Depart- ment of Geology and Mineral Indus- tries, which provides an analysis of the structures and people at risk from floods, fires or other hazards. “The goal of this is to reduce the damage to property and the risk to lives,” Daniel said. The mitigation plan focuses on eight hazards in the county, which Eagle file photo School teachers, staff and students joined other volunteers in sandbagging along Canyon Creek to protect school property in April 2019. are wildfires, severe winter storms, floods and drought, followed by vol- canic activity, wind storms, land- slides and earthquakes. Daniel said that this plan is an update to an existing plan from 2014 that focused on the northeastern part of Oregon and included four coun- ties. The current work is updating the plan with a focus on Grant County. The Federal Emergency Manage- ment Agency sets the planning pro- cess and provides grant money for the DLCD to participate in writing a plan. FEMA also sets expectations for the county to be as involved as possible. After the planning process concludes, the plan will be submit- ted to the Oregon Emergency Man- agement for review, and then FEMA will look at the plan for approval and comments before the next phase. “I want to emphasize that one of the big benefits of having a mitigation plan that’s been approved by FEMA is that it opens the door to FEMA mit- igation grant funding, so the commu- nity doesn’t have to support the whole bill, but they have to be supportive of the plan as a whole so their elected officials have the authority to go for- ward and seek grants that’ll be nec- essary for some of the mitigation plans,” Daniel said. She said the average homeowner can provide a unique perspective and may also be aware of hazards they are subject to and assist in provid- ing a full picture of what the commu- nity will support when the process of adoption begins. “In the end, community resources may be required to put forth some of these mitigation actions,” Daniel said. Ted Williams, the former Grant County emergency management coordinator, was central to planning as he helped build the steering com- mittee with Jason Gatley from the DLCD, prior to Daniel. Williams had the responsibility to make peo- ple aware of the meetings and what the content would be, according to Daniel. The steering committee is formed from people from the state and county officials, city representatives, school officials, local fire chiefs and first responders. Even with the resignation of Wil- liams from his position, the steer- ing committee continues to plan and work, but the open position will need to be addressed for the next phase. “I think Ted laid a really great groundwork and did a great job at put- ting together a cohesive group that would show up and participate,” Dan- iel said. As the committee concludes the plan, which will be effective for five years, the next phase is to implement the mitigation actions. Daniel said the individual who would build the imple- mentation committee would be the emergency manager. “The steering committee made the decision at the last meeting that the implementation committee should meet every year,” Daniel said. “They also decided that the emergency man- ager, when in place, would be the con- vener of that committee,” Daniel said. Currently, the temporary emer- gency manager is Dave Dobler until the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, according to Grant County Judge Scott Myers. “The writing of the plan may be nearly done, but being involved in educating yourselves or your neigh- bors about how Grant County res- idents can avoid the devastation from floods or wildfires is import- ant,” Daniel said. “It’s important to be engaged with your government and be aware that the county has a whole separate plan that relates only to wildfire.” John Day purchases land, submits EDA grant application City council approves purchase of land from Iron Triangle By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle On Jan. 14, the John Day City Council discussed its interest in seeking assistance from the Economic Develop- ment Administration, which could provide up to $20 mil- lion in funding for various projects in the Innovation Gateway. During a virtual city meet- ing April 14, the city shared the scope of the projects and priorities that will be submit- ted for the application. This process went through stake- holders and city council mem- bers who voiced their input on priorities for the application. They also worked together to determine which projects to include in the scope of the application for the Economic Adjustment Assistance pro- gram. John Day City Manager Nick Green said the EDA’s EAA program provides funds for communities under a fed- eral disaster declaration. Because the floods were declared a federal disaster and because the city has a Com- prehensive Economic Diversi- fication Strategy approved and funded by the EDA, the city can apply for economic assis- tance and recovery, Green said. The scope of the EDA pro- posal consists of eight differ- ent projects that will be sub- mitted. The eight projects are: the broadband expansion and network modernization; workforce housing; Innova- tion Gateway industrial site and grid modernization; street and parking improvements to make the site accessible; hotel and event center/distillery; flood mitigation and environ- mental restoration; commu- nity pavilion and the green- house learning center. The city council also voted and approved the purchase and sale agreement of 14 acres Eagle file photo John Day City Manager Nick Green and Mayor Ron Lundbom during a city council in October 2019. near the Innovation Gate- way site and the right of way from Iron Triangle, which will be subject to final review and approval by the city’s attor- ney. This was done so indus- trial land development could be included in the scope of the EDA application. The council approved the purchase of the property for $495,000 along with closing costs and the land acquisi- tion and right-of-way dedica- tion agreements, which were $205,000. The land planned to be purchased is located between the U.S. Forest Service office building and Valley View Assisted Living. The right of way is between Patter- son Bridge Road and Valley View Drive to create the new Government Entry Road and complete the Seventh Street Extension. The meeting agenda states that to complete the proposed land acquisitions and devel- opment clean up, the city will need to approve a supplemen- tal budget for Water Fund expenditures that increases capital outlay for this proj- ect to $725,000. Following a notice in the Blue Mountain Eagle, the supplemental bud- get could be approved at the May 12 city council meeting. The plan is to pay the cost with $595,000 in loan proceeds, $38,930 in grant proceeds from Brown- field Redevelopment Fund grants and $91,070 trans- ferred from the 2020 fis- cal year contingency. Green added that the city’s financ- ing agreement for the prop- erty purchase also includes $60,000 as a forgivable loan upon completion of any environmental remediation needed at the site. John Day also received another Brownfield Redevel- opment Fund grant from Busi- ness Oregon for $59,986 to do a wetland delineation and site characterization for the Ore- gon Pine property, according to Green. “The grants we received will allow us to make this site certified shovel-ready through the Oregon Business Devel- opment Department within the next 12 months,” Green said. “As soon as we receive the certification, our goal is to sell all 12 lots at fair mar- ket value to allow for business expansion.” Now that the application has been submitted, if the city is successful in funding, Green said the city will see economic gains such as creating new jobs and increasing food secu- rity by doubling production at the greenhouse. Also, the 12 lots have been rezoned to allow for mixed use, commercial and light industrial, according to Green, with no requirements for job creation. He added that this site is eligible to participate in the enterprise zone tax credits available in John Day if new jobs are created as a result of business expansion in this area. The goal is to receive $20 million in EDA funding, Green said. The grant funding would require a 20% match, and while local and state fund- ing can be used for the match, federal funds cannot be used, Green said. Debbie Ausmus 245 South Canyon Blvd. John Day, OR 97845 OPEN WED. & THUR. 9 am - 5 pm 541-575-1113 24 hrs/7 days wk debbie.ausmus@ countryfinancial.com S185393-1 S185395-1 541-523-6377 541-963-6577 541-573-6377 TOM CHRISTENSEN CHRISTENSEN TOM CONSTRUCTION 541-576-2160 S183099-1 (541) 410-0557 • (541) 575-0192 April is Child Abuse Prevention Month CCB# 106077 REMODELS • NEW CONSTRUCTION • POLE BUILDINGS CONCRETE EXCAVATION • SHEET ROCK • SIDING ROOFING • FENCES • DECKS • TELESCOPING FORKLIFT SERVICES S185396-1 In order to be open during the Covid 19 quarantine, a lot of things have to be done to keep everyone safe. Mother’s Day orders for flowers & candy must be done through the drive up or walk up window or by calling in advance - which is highly 541-575-2112 • Call/Text/PM Me recommended due to the high demand. Join our School Today ──── Love to Learn! ──── Class sizes are limited ──── Change a child’s life. 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Visit www.grantharneycasa.org to become a CASA volunteer, and visit www.myneighbor.org to fill urgent needs felt by foster parents, youth & families in partnership with Every Child’s My NeighbOR initiative. • No call out orders, which means we cannot call other floral shops in other areas for delivery. S186978-1 S184791-1 Pre-Kindergarten (4-5 yrs): 3 days a week, (T, W, TH). Now registering for morning & afternoon classes. *Must be 4 years old by Sept. 1, 2019. Pre-School (3-4 yrs): 2 days a week, (T, TH) 8:15 am- 10:45 am. *Must be 3 years of age by Sept 1 st , 2020 and be independent when using the bathroom. SONSHINE SONSHINE CHRISTIAN CHRISTIAN SCHOOL SCHOOL 521 E Main St. 521 E Main Street John Day John Day 541-575-1895 or 541-575-1895 or 541-968-9865 541-968-9865 office@ johndaynazarene office@johndaynazarene.com .com S178848-1
