NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
A3
Prairie City still working on Faiman Springs water project
Hamsher: Grants, loans
have no specific deadlines
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
Work continues on Prairie City’s
Faiman Springs water project.
Prairie City Mayor Jim Hamsher
said a wetland delineation report, a
permit associated with wetlands, cul-
tural resources investigation, Grant
County conditional use permit, proj-
ect design and contract documents
have all been completed for the proj-
ect, and the city continues to work
on securing easements and other
arrangements with private property
owners affected by the project.
“Once land agreements are in
place and the project funding agen-
cies approve the agreements, it
is estimated that the project can
be advertised for bid and be con-
structed within six months, weather
permitting and assuming there are
no delays in project material pro-
curement,” Hamsher said.
The intent of the project is to tie
an existing well near the Faiman
Springs site into the existing city
water system, according to Ham-
sher. He added the project includes
the construction of a pump station
and laying approximately 9,000 feet
of piping.
“The ability of the city to meet
community water supply needs
would be greatly enhanced by tying
the Faiman well into the city’s exist-
ing water system,” Hamsher said.
“The Faiman well is anticipated
to be utilized for limited circum-
stances when other city water sup-
Eagle file photo
Grant County Commissioner and
Prairie City Mayor Jim Hamsher ad-
dresses a committee in October.
Eagle file photo
Prairie City was forced to transport water from John Day during a water emergency in 2018.
ply sources cannot meet the city’s
needs.”
Former Prairie City City Coun-
cilor Carole Garrison said Hamsher
declared a state of emergency Aug.
6, 2018, due to the dire water situa-
tion and droughts in the city.
To address future worries about
another drought or water emergency
in Prairie City, Garrison said Ham-
sher and representatives from Busi-
ness Oregon explained how the
city could complete a water proj-
ect using wells drilled by the city
in 2005, using grants and loans to
cover the cost. In order to qualify
for loans, the city raised the monthly
water rate by $8.
“In order to get a loan, we had to
provide proof that we could afford
to make payments,” Garrison said.
“Consequently, we had the $8 a
month raise on water fees.”
Garrison said the city started fine
with the project as the initial paper-
work was being completed and the
community was being informed on
the status of the work. However, last
summer, Garrison said the amount
of information declined. She said,
when questions were asked about
the project to Hamsher or the city
council, residents would not receive
specific details on the status of the
project.
“I am not sure how far they are
with getting an agreement from
the land owner,” Garrison said.
“It’s been two and half years, and
he hasn’t given us any answers.
The mayor and the council are not
forthcoming with us, and before the
snowfall (in February), we were
headed to droughts again this year.”
When asked what has caused
slowdowns or complications in the
project, Hamsher said the project
involves many public agencies, pri-
vate contractors and several private
property owners. He said getting
everything in place with this many
interested parties can take time, but
it’s important they work through
issues with their partners.
Garrison said she is concerned
about deadlines for the grants and
loans the city received for this proj-
ect. Former city council member
Georgia Patterson expressed the
same concern.
“We have a limited time frame
to be able to use that money that
we have sitting there, and our time
is running out,” Patterson said. “I
just want to see that we get water.
The citizens need to have that water
source, and we need to get moving.”
Prairie City so far received a
$550,000 grant and a 30-year,
$950,000 loan at 1.7% interest
from Business Oregon to develop
the Faiman Springs well site. The
city was also awarded a $1 million
grant by U.S. Department of Agri-
culture’s Rural Development that
could be used to offset the state
loan and the cost of hauling water
during the city’s water emergency
in 2018.
Hamsher said there are no spe-
cific deadlines they are aware of
for the grants or the loans awarded
by Business Oregon and Rural
Development.
County will seek legal advice before accepting John Day’s invitation for roadwork session
Green: URA would
pay county back with
interest
By Steven Mitchell
Blue Mountain Eagle
S232603-1
The city of John Day’s pro-
posal to Grant County Court to
discuss joint road investments
to spur land development is on
hold while the county consults
its attorney.
John Day City Manager
Nick Green asked the county
court to attend a study session
about partnering with the city
and its urban renewal agency
to help offset land develop-
ment costs within John Day.
Green said, under the city’s
proposal, the county would pay
to install roads up front, and the
URA would repay the county
with interest when new devel-
opments increase the taxes
paid to the renewal agency.
For all properties within
the URA, each taxing district
receives the tax payment it
received during the 2017-2018
year, and additional taxes that
result from increased assessed
values are funneled into the
URA for the life of the pro-
gram, which cannot exceed 20
years.
Green said the URA is look-
ing to borrow from both the
city and county’s local govern-
ment investment pool account.
their investment profile, albeit
a small portion, to invest it in
the community.
Myers said he was not con-
vinced that it was a “good risk”
for the county, nor was he con-
vinced the road reserve funds
were available for land devel-
opment. He said those were all
questions the county’s legal
counsel would have to answer.
He said, if using the road
reserve money was as easy
as Green made it sound, they
would have done it before.
Green said he wished they
would have, but they did not,
and now they have land devel-
opers willing to put in their
private capital to meet the
county and the city halfway to
build on Ironwood Estates.
“We could have 17 lots
open and ready for sale in
2021,” he said.
Green said other develop-
ments could be available in
the future, such as Mahog-
any Ridge on East Main
Street, which could be work-
force housing. Green said he
had spoken to Blue Mountain
Hospital CEO Derek Daly and
Rich Bolton of Malheur Lum-
ber about housing difficulties
leading to hiring difficulties.
Myers asked if John Day’s
infrastructure could handle
17 or more houses in the next
year. Green said both water
and sewage could handle the
influx of 17 more homes, and
they will start construction on
According to the state Trea-
sury’s website, the accounts
are investment tools offered to
public entities to invest pub-
lic funds safely. The Trea-
sury-managed Oregon Short
Term Fund comprises money
from state agencies, certain
public universities and local
governments.
Green said John Day’s
account has $2.8 million, while
the county’s road reserve fund
has roughly $60 million. He
said the average rate of return
The Eagle/Steven Mitchell
is 1.5-2%.
As an example, Green said Grant County Judge Scott My-
he estimates a $100,000 invest- ers during the Feb. 24 session
ment from the city and roughly of county court.
$350,000 from the county
could build a cul-de-sac for reserve fund to become a bank
approximately 17 buildable or a loaning agency.
lots.
Green said the county is
He said the URA would already operating as a bank
repay the county’s invest- when it puts money into a
ment with the same amount of low-interest-bearing account
interest currently being earned such as an LGIP.
through the LGIP.
He said the state repack-
Green said they would be ages the money and sells it
looking at a roughly 10- to in the bond market to hedge
12-year repayment window to fund investors, who typically
use high-risk methods, such as
pay the principal back.
investing on Wall Street with
Court response
borrowed money.
and questions
“We get a guaranteed rate of
County Judge Scott Myers return through LGIP because
said the developer is usually they know they can repack-
responsible for the improve- age that money and lend it at a
ments and the utilities being in higher rate of interest,” Green
the ground before building on said. “We’re already putting
a lot.
our money into banks.”
Additionally, he said, the
He said they are asking that
county didn’t build up the road the city and the county shift
a new sewer plant in the fall,
which would take two years to
build.
Myers said, in his opinion,
the county would be putting
the “cart in front of the horse.”
And, he said, that is a risk.
Additionally, he said, if
the county were to jump in
headfirst to the partnership,
they would get the same type
of request from other cities
within the county.
“We have to think about
that,” Myers said. “What
we’re willing to do for one, we
must be willing to do for all. I
don’t know where that puts us
with any loan or development
program with other entities
when they come knocking.”
Political bias or distrust?
Green said Friday the rela-
tionship with the county and
the city needs to improve.
He said the elected officials
on both sides need to discuss
how they can work jointly to
enhance opportunities and the
quality of life for all residents.
And so far, he said, that is not
happening.
He said political biases are
at play and need to be set aside
for the residents’ sake.
“We should not become
pawns in somebody’s political
game,” Green said.
He said, ultimately, builders
and home buyers will go else-
where — where other counties
and cities are working together
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ers. Green said Gilliam County
and the city of Condon are
an example of a public-pub-
lic partnership. He said the
county gave the city approxi-
mately $500,000 in grant fund-
ing to develop infrastructure
for housing.
He said it is about get-
ting the public agencies on the
same page.
“The county is going to be
a beneficiary of this housing,”
he said. “They’re going to
receive taxes. They’re going
to receive state shared revenue
that, today, they’re losing.”
Myers said what is at play,
albeit on a smaller scale, is
the same distrust that many
people in Eastern Oregon
have of Western Oregon.
John Day is the county’s
most populous community,
and people in small com-
munities do not usually trust
people in larger communities.
Myers said Friday, if he
was to put out a county-wide
survey, he would guess that
80% of the people would not
think it would be a good idea
to lend county road funds to
help John Day grow its pop-
ulation. He said perhaps the
people of John Day think it’s a
good idea, but people outside
of the city do not.
“I’m not sure that half the
people in John Day want John
Day to be bigger,” Myers
said.
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