NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
John Day revamps city government
By BENNETT HALL
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — Municipal government in
John Day has a new look.
At the Oct. 26 City Council meeting, City
Manager Nick Green unveiled a revamped org
chart that refl ects a number of changes in local
government, including the transitioning of the
911 dispatch center from city department to
independent agency in 2019, the recent deci-
sion to disband the police department and an
increased emphasis on community development
and economic revitalization.
The new structure, which went into eff ect
on Monday, Nov. 1, features four departments,
each headed by a director and a deputy direc-
tor or senior employee: the Administrative
Department, led by the city manager; Commu-
nity Development Department, led by the com-
munity development director and deputy city
manager (a new position); Public Works Depart-
ment, led by the public works director; and Pub-
lic Safety Department, led by the fi re chief.
The council voted to approve the new posi-
tion of community development director and
deputy city manager by a 6-0 vote, with Coun-
cilor David Holland absent.
The job is being advertised locally and at the
state and regional levels, Green said. The pay
range is between $64,620 and $86,856 per year.
In addition to being the city’s second-high-
est-ranking manager, the position will have
a wide range of responsibilities to include
administering the Growing Rural Oregon Pro-
gram and the Oregon Regional Accelerator
and Innovation Network in John Day; manag-
ing the city’s agribusiness co-op and its hous-
ing and development incentive programs; over-
seeing the John Day Planning Department and
Urban Renewal Agency; and helping to man-
age the city’s $25 million grant portfolio.
City Council approval was not required for
the change in organizational structure, which
is under the city manager’s direct control, but
Green said he’s confi dent he has the council’s
backing for the new model.
“There was general concurrence with the
approach,” he told the newspaper. “We’ve
talked for some time about creating a plan-
ning and community development depart-
ment because right now I do all that (in addi-
tion to other duties), and it’s too much for one
position.”
Green said the new structure, with 13 full-
time city employees plus four part-tim-
ers and a contract city recorder, is consid-
erably leaner than what was in place when
he was hired in 2016. At that time, he said,
the city had 24 full-time employees in fi ve
departments.
In other action, the council:
• Approved $22,181.53 in rebate pay-
ments to participants in the John Day Urban
Renewal Agency’s 2020 housing incentive
program. The fi ve participating properties
were eligible for 7% of the change in assessed
value created by their housing developments.
• Signed off on a $439,970 grant from the
Oregon Business Development Department to
help fi nance work on Southwest Fourth Avenue
to repair damage from a 2019 fl ood. The total
project cost is estimated at a little over $1.8
million, with the city paying the design costs,
the Oregon Department of Transportation con-
tributing $50,000 and the Federal Emergency
Management Agency paying the rest.
• Approved a memorandum of under-
standing to create the Consortium for Pub-
lic Improvement Programs, a partnership
between the cities of John Day, Burns and
Lakeview designed to facilitate new hous-
ing construction and other projects through
a cost-sharing arrangement. A $60,000 state
grant to the consortium will pay for design
work on plans for 3-D printed houses,
including a dozen affordable units to be
built as part of The Ridge development in
John Day.
• Went into executive session to discuss
negotiations surrounding a real property
transaction.
Also on the agenda was a discussion and
possible approval of the city’s proposal for a
fund exchange agreement with Grant County.
The proposal — which will have to be
approved by both the City Council and the
Grant County Court — calls for the city to
give the county roughly $300,000 a year in
general fund money for three years to help pay
for law enforcement services through the Sher-
iff ’s Offi ce in the wake of the dissolution of the
John Day Police Department. In exchange, the
city wants the county to turn over $300,000 a
year for three years from the county road fund
to help pay for street improvements in John Day.
Green said the language of the proposed
agreement was still being reviewed by the
city’s attorneys and was not yet ready for the
council’s approval.
Aquatics center goes to planning board
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — Plans for a
new aquatics center to replace
the aging Gleason Pool will
go before the John Day Plan-
ning Commission next week.
Gleason Pool, the only
public swimming pool in
Grant County, was built in
the 1950s and has signifi cant
deferred maintenance issues.
It has been closed for the last
two summers.
In addition, the city of John
Day has been negotiating to
sell the pool property and sur-
rounding park to the state for
a new Kam Wah Chung inter-
pretive center.
The John Day-Canyon City
Parks and Recreation Dis-
trict proposes to replace the
old pool with a new aquatics
center near the west end of the
Seventh Street Sports Com-
plex in John Day. Plans call
for a six-lane, 25-yard com-
petitive pool with an adjoin-
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
A3
Warm Springs man tapped to replace Sams on
Northwest Power and Conservation Council
As a child, he used to visit
Celilo Falls, the famed fi shing
area on the Columbia River for
Louis Pitt Jr., the direc- Native Americans. The Dalles
tor of government aff airs and Dam fl ooded Celilo Falls,
planning for the Confeder- which is now underwater. As
ated Tribes of Warm Springs, an adult, he worked to protect
has been nominated to join the fi sh habitats with the Warm
Northwest Power and Conser- Springs department for Natural
vation Council.
Resources.
Gov. Kate Brown nomi-
“My heart is in with fi sh. I
nated Pitt to replace Chuck don’t want to compromise that
Sams, who is leav-
in any way, but I want
ing the council to start
to be fair with the fi sh,
a position as the head
the state, the tribe, and
of the National Parks
myself,” said Pitt. “I
Service.
have spent years vol-
The nomination
unteering with the
for Pitt, 73, is in rec-
state, and I am get-
ognition of a long
ting old and cranky, so
career in the service
I would like to spend
Louis Pitt
of Native American
my time wisely and
tribes, as well as work in natu- eff ectively.”
ral resources and fi sheries.
Pitt, who grew up on the
The council is a regional reservation and in Madras,
organization that seeks to bal- has also held positions with
ance environmental and energy the state, working on advisory
needs in Oregon, Washington, committees for three diff erent
Idaho and Montana. The Port- Oregon governors. He said he
land-based council develops hopes that he can do his part
electric power plans that will to help restore habitat to sup-
provide energy for the region at port fi sh in their struggle to get
low costs for the economy and past dams built in the Colum-
the environment.
bia Basin.
The council’s most recent
“I need to fi nd out exactly
plan was approved in 2010, and what the council can do,” said
while the plans are intended to Pitt. “I have known over the
guide policy for two decades, years that the industrial folks
they are updated every fi ve haven’t been all that forth-
years.
right with the facts, and dams
Pitt has a long history of do damage, so what more can
working and exploring in the we do.”
Columbia Basin.
The nomination also allows
By MICHAEL KOHN
The Bulletin
Pitt to fulfi ll a lifelong goal.
“On my bucket list is helping
those fi sh that fi ght to get back
to Idaho,” he said.
Pitt’s nomination still needs
to be confi rmed by the Oregon
Senate. The appointment is a
three-year term that would last
until January 2024.
Brian K. Mercier, northwest
regional director for the Bureau
of Indian Aff airs, said Brown
made the right call in nominat-
ing Pitt.
“He is an excellent nomina-
tion by the governor,” said Mer-
cier in an email. “He knows the
northwest region and the chal-
lenges we face, for both Native
and non-Native communities.
His experience and length of
service in Indian Country is dif-
fi cult to fi nd in any other poten-
tial nominee.”
Pitt said his upbringing and
work experience will shape his
policies, as well as traditional
Native American beliefs.
Our beliefs are “time
tested and have lasted thou-
sands of years, but we were
dealt a heavy hand by the
dominant society for the last
hundred years or so on our
way of life,” said Pitt. “Dams
and those things are a part of
it.”
Showing Movies Since 1940!
1809 1st Street • Baker City
November 5-11
ETERNALS
(PG-13)
WHAT’S HAPPENING
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10
Marine Corps anniver-
sary lunch
• 11:30 a.m., the Outpost
Pizza Pub & Grill, 201 W.
Main St., John Day
All active-duty Marines
and Marine Corps veter-
ans are invited to a no-host
lunch to celebrate the 246th
anniversary of the U.S.
Marine Corps. For more
information, call Dave Tray-
lor at 541-620-1949.
Community coff ee with
Rep. Mark Owens
• 4 to 5 p.m., Squeeze-In
W HAT’S
HAPPENING
Restaurant and Deck, 423
W. Main St., John Day
The Dist. 60 state rep-
resentative will meet with
constituents to discuss their
concerns and answer ques-
tions about topics of interest.
Friday
4:10, 7:20
Sat & Sun 1:00, 4:10, 7:20
Mon-Thurs 6:45
(R)
FRENCH DISPATCH
Friday
4:20, 7:30
Sat & Sun 1:10, 4:20, 7:30
Mon-Thurs 7:00
DUNE
(PG-13)
Friday
4:20, 7:30
Sat & Sun 1:10, 4:20, 7:30
Mon-Thurs 6:50
**SHOWTIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE. VISIT
OUR WEBSITE OR CALL AHEAD TO VERIFY**
www.eltrym.com
S266939-1
(541) 523-2522
Eagle fi le photo
Gleason Pool has been closed for two years.
ing building.
The budget for the project
is about $6 million. The Leg-
islature has provided $2 mil-
lion toward the cost, leaving
another $4 million to be raised
through other means. The
Parks and Rec District has
announced plans to put a bond
measure on the ballot some-
time next year.
The Planning Commission
will hold a public hearing on
a conditional use permit for
the project at 6 p.m. Tuesday,
Oct. 9. The public can partic-
ipate virtually via videocon-
ference by going to https://
global.gotomeeting.com/
join/891173869.
Breakfast Specialties
Serving breakfast 8:00 am - 11:00 am
Dennis Reynolds Memorial Scholarship
The Dennis Reynolds memorial scholarship is sponsored through the
Grant County Family Heritage Foundation and the Reynolds Family and
many friends who have contributed to Dennis’ memory. Two scholarships
will be awarded annually in the amounts of $500.
Requirements for applicants:
1. Must be a Grant County, Oregon-raised student.
2. Must have been an active 4-H member and/or FFA member in Grant
County for at least 4 years while a youth.
3. Must be majoring in a degree or trade related to agriculture.
4. May be a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior attending a university,
college, junior college, or trade school.
5. Proof of 4-H or FFA membership must be sent with application, and a
letter of recommendation from a 4-H leader or FFA teacher.
6. Must be willing to give back to the 4-H / FFA program in the future in
some positive way.
7. A 300-word essay that tells the applicant’s aspirations for a career in an
agriculture related field and what has brought him/her to the decision
to select this field. Explain how you will give back to the 4-H or FFA
programs or community in the future.
Fill out the following forms:
or from the
Toast Takeout
online app
Name ______________________________________, age ___________ ,
Agriculture related major _____________________________________ ,
If anyone has further questions, call Julie Reynolds, 541-450-2096.
S266892-1
School attending ____________________________________________
Address of Financial Aid Office ________________________________
Applicants will receive the scholarship for Winter term, 2022. Applica-
tions due by December 1, 2021. Please send three copies to:
Dennis Reynolds Memorial Scholarship
c/o Grant County Family Heritage Foundation
Box 6
Seneca, Oregon 97873
Order online from our website:
www.1188brewing.com
Open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
141 E Main St., John Day • 541-575-1188
Thurs. - Sat. 8:00 am - 9:00 pm
Sun. - Wed. 8:00 am - 8:00 pm
S261925-1
