NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
City looks into new pool plan
By JUSTIN DAVIS
Blue Mountain Eagle
A3
John Day secures
pair of grants
By JUSTIN DAVIS
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — Following the
second electoral defeat of a pool
bond measure, John Day offi cials
are trying to develop an alterna-
tive pool plan in a last-ditch eff ort
to hold onto $2 million in state
grant funding.
The $4 million bond measure,
which ended in a tie in the May
election and failed by 76 votes in
the November balloting, would
have raised the lion’s share of the
estimated $6.7 million needed to
build a new community swim-
ming pool at the Seventh Street
Complex.
Most of the rest would have
been covered by a $2 million
state lottery grant. Now the city
will have to return those funds
unless the money is committed to
another viable pool plan by Jan.
15, when the lottery grant is set
to expire.
The decision to pursue an
alternative pool plan was reached
at the Nov. 22 session of the John
Day City Council.
The council was set to reject
the $2 million grant, which was
tied to a plan supported by the
failed bond measure, citing the
amount of time it took to develop
the current pool plan and the
short turnaround needed to make
any new plan a reality. An impas-
sioned speech by former John
Day City Manager Nick Green,
however, convinced the council
hold off on rejecting the funds
while it tries to put together a
lower-cost pool plan.
Green said it is up to Coun-
cilor (and Mayor-elect) Heather
Rookstool to present a via-
ble $2 million pool plan to vot-
ers who voted against the $6.7
Opsis Architecture/Contributed Photo
This conceptual drawing shows what a pro-
posed aquatic center in John Day might have
looked like if voters had not rejected a $4 mil-
lion bond measure. City offi cials are scram-
bling to put together a lower-cost plan.
million proposal thinking there
was an alternate plan. Rook-
stool had raised the possibil-
ity of a $2 million community
pool in the Aug. 23 city council
meeting.
“The timeline for making a
decision on accepting the grant
or not accepting the grant is the
most pressing issue because it’s
related to issuing the (lottery)
bonds. When Councilor Rook-
stool introduced the idea of a
less expensive pool, I believe she
referred to it as a plan. I think
that muddied the waters for a lot
of people because they believed
there was another option that
didn’t require them to spend their
tax dollars to have a pool,” Green
said.
“I would like to see evidence
of her plan. I think she owes it to
the taxpayers to produce some-
thing more tangible than a phone
call she had with one pool con-
tractor,” he added.
The council acknowledged
that the $2 million pool idea put
forth by Rookstool never part
of a formally adopted plan but
agreed to the concept of using
the $2 million in lottery funds in
addition to other funds for fi nal
design and construction of a pool
facility. The city would have just
under $2.7 million available for
that endeavor.
Rookstool relayed her willing-
ness to restart talks with Ander-
son Poolworks about a low-cost
pool option.
There are concerns with the
low-cost option, however, most
notably the timeline.
The current pool proposal was
years in the making. Any new
proposal would have to be pieced
together in a matter of weeks to
secure the lottery funding.
It’s also unclear how the John
Day/Canyon City Parks & Rec-
reation District would react to an
alternative proposal.
The parks and rec district
board had agreed to operate the
proposed pool facility at the
Seventh Street Complex, which
would have included offi ce space
for the district. But the board has
not indicated it would operate
any pool facility other than the
one that was defeated by voters
earlier this month.
Not only that, but the board
would need to approve the use
of the Seventh Street site for the
pool. No other locations have
been proposed or approved for
the construction of a pool facility.
The city council expressed
a willingness to sit down with
the parks and recreation board
to discuss whether the district
would be interested in running
a slimmed-down version of the
pool were it to be built, either at
Seventh Street or elsewhere.
Board Chair Zach Williams
would not say one way or the
other if the parks and rec district
would be interested in running a
pool that diff ers from the one it
signed on to run initially.
“We would have to discuss (it)
in a board meeting after hearing
the plan,” he said.
JOHN DAY — More grant funding is on the
way for John Day.
The city is set to receive a pair of grants that
total $350,000. The grant awards were announced
during the Nov. 22 city council session at the John
Day Fire Hall.
The fi rst is a technical assistance grant from the
Oregon Department of Energy in the amount of
$100,000. The funds will go toward energy resil-
ience for the new wastewater treatment plant.
The money will pay for planning needed to site
solar panels to supply power to the facility, as well
as other strategies for energy resilience. Those
“other strategies” come in the form of on-site bat-
teries for energy storage and the capture of energy
through the purple pipe water reclamation system
via in-line hydraulic turbines, among other ideas.
The city will also be receiving $250,000 from
the Oregon Department of Transportation for
work on the intersection of Patterson Bridge Road
and Seventh Avenue and the intersection of Sev-
enth and Holmstrom Road.
Pre-construction photos show the intersec-
tion at Northwest Seventh Avenue and Patter-
son Bridge Road is deteriorating due to inade-
quate storm drainage and large vehicle travel over
freeze-thaw conditions on the road. The inter-
section is also considered a safety risk due to the
lack of a sidewalk and the road being unmarked
at present.
Similarly, the intersection of Northeast Sev-
enth Avenue and Holmstrom Road also suff ers
from degraded road conditions due to improper
stormwater management. Additionally, the inter-
section of Northeast Seventh and Holmstrom is
closed by the playground in the Seventh Street
Complex due to water damage.
John Day chief planning offi cial Nick Green
said the timelines for the projects diff er.
“Planning for the Department of Energy grant
can happen as soon as the contract is awarded,”
he said.
The timeline for the road repairs is a little fur-
ther out due to current weather conditions. Green
anticipates the street improvements will be able
to begin around mid-March.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
THURSDAY, DEC. 1
Senior Citizens Advisory
Council meeting
• 11 a.m., John Day Senior
Center, 142 NE Dayton St.,
John Day
The Grant County Senior
Citizens Advisory Council
will hold its quarterly meet-
ing. The public is welcome to
attend.
FRIDAY, DEC. 2
Carrie Young Memorial
Dinner and Auction
• 5 p.m., John Day Elks
Lodge, 140 NE Dayton St.,
John Day
The 30th annual Carrie
Young Memorial Dinner and
Auction will feature a dona-
tion-only dinner of spaghetti,
salad and bread as well as live
and silent auctions to raise
money to provide Christmas
presents and necessities to
Grant County senior citizens
and assisted living residents.
SATURDAY, DEC. 3
Blue Mountain Hospital
Bazaar
W HAT’S
HAPPENING
• 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Trow-
bridge Pavilion and Keer-
ins Hall, Grant County Fair-
grounds, 411 NW Bridge St.,
John Day
Hosted by the Blue Moun-
tain Hospital Auxiliary, this
annual event will feature a
wide array of holiday gift
items, many of them hand-
crafted. Lunch, pie and coff ee
will be available. A portion of
the proceeds goes to support
projects of the Blue Mountain
Hospital District.
Kam Wah Chung open
house
• 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Kam
Wah Chung State heritage
Site, 125 NW Canton St., John
Day
The Kam Wah Chung
Museum will be open for
hourly tours, and the interpre-
tive center will be open for
shopping and a gift basket raf-
fl e. There is no entry fee, and
refreshments will be available.
and other items. To join the
meeting by phone, dial 605-
313-5406 and use access code
889135.
SUNDAY, DEC. 4
Skeet and trap shooting
• 10 a.m., Seneca Range, 1
mile west of Seneca on Shirt-
tail Road
The Grant County Shoot-
ing Sports Club will open its
skeet and trap ranges for prac-
tice shooting. The range will
stay open as long as there are
shooters. Cost is $6 for 25 clay
targets or $20 per 100 targets.
For more information, call
541-620-2516.
THURSDAY, DEC. 8
Emergency communica-
tions council
• 6 p.m., John Day Fire
Hall, 316 S. Canyon Blvd.,
John Day
The Grant County Emer-
gency
Communication
Agency
Intergovernmen-
tal Council will hold a pub-
lic meeting to discuss a new
employee sign-on bonus, a
dispatcher shortage loyalty
bonus, the fi scal 2023 budget
For Every Adventurous Man on
Your List Come in now for Great Deals
FRIDAY, DEC. 9
Holiday Showcase
• 6:30 p.m., Grant Union
High School, 911 S. Canyon
Blvd., John Day
This 24th annual event will
feature special performances
by Grant Union Gold and
Body, Fitness & Dance.
SATURDAY, DEC. 10
Ugly Sweater Christmas
Bazaar
• Monument Senior Center,
269 Main St., Monument
Wear an ugly sweater to be
entered into a drawing. Tables
are available at a cost of $15.
To reserve a table, call Jeanne
Strange at 541-934-2001.
Timber Truckers Light
Parade
• 6 p.m., Main Street, John Day
The annual parade of log
trucks, big rigs and work vehi-
cles decked out in festive holi-
day lights will begin at former
Grant Western Lumber Co.
site just west of John Day, then
travel east on Main Street to
Third Street Extension before
looping back around to the
Elks Lodge, where a chili feed
and awards ceremony awaits
the participants and their fam-
ilies. This year’s theme is
“Christmas Memories,” and
entrants can sign up at the
former Grant Western Lum-
ber site from 2 to 5:30 p.m.
The entry fee is $10. For more
information, call Leslie Tray-
lor at 541-620-4032.
Do you have a community
event you’d like to publicize?
Email information to editor@
bmeagle.com. The deadline is
noon Friday for publication
the following Wednesday.
Showing Movies Since 1940!
1809 1st Street • Baker City
DECEMBER 2-8
VIOLENT NIGHT
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Mon-Thurs
STRANGE
WORLD
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Mon-Thurs
(PG)
4:15, 6:45, 9:45
1:15, 4:15, 6:45, 9:45
1:15, 4:15, 6:45
6:45
BLACK PANTHER:
WAKANDA FOREVER (PG-13)
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Mon-Thurs
3:30, 6:30, 9:00
1:00, 3:30, 6:30, 9:00
1:00, 3:30, 6:30
6:30
**SHOWTIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE. VISIT
OUR WEBSITE OR CALL AHEAD TO VERIFY**
www.eltrym.com
(541) 523-2522
Shop Grant County!
For Holiday Gifts
Check out these local spots for great shopping
during the holidays and year round!
Great Savings
on All Snow
Apparel
Great Deals on
New and
Used Sleds!
• Sales & Service •
821 W. HWY 26, John Day • 541-575-0828
www.johndaypolaris.com
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(R)
4:00, 7:00, 9:30
1:30, 4:00, 7:00, 9:30
1:30, 4:00, 7:00
7:00
A Flower Shop N More
• John Day Polaris
Baker Garage
• John Day Sinclair
Bar W-B
• John Day True Value Hardware
Better Blooms & Gardens
• John Day Video Shoppe
Canyon City Mobil
• Len’s Pharmacy
Chester’s Market & Variety
• Les Schwab Tire Center
DP Home Entertainment
• Mill’s Building Supply
Dayville Mercantile
• Mosier’s Home Furnishings
Earthy Home Natural Market
• Nydam’s Ace Hardware
Eastern Oregon Stitch and Print • Oxbow Trade Company
Ed Staub & Sons
• Pioneer Feed & Farm Supply
Etc. A Unique Boutique
• Prairie Trading Post
Frontier Equipment
• Roan Outwest
The Floor Store
• Station 62
Gardner Enterprises
• Sue ZQ’s Thrift Store
DG Driscoll’s Books
• TEC Copiers Systems
JD Outdoor and Power
• Two 01 West Boutique
Equipment
Watch for additional Chamber members each week.
Grant County
Chamber of Commerce
301 W. Main St.
John Day, OR 97845
541-575-0547