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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 2016)
HEPPNER G T 50¢ azette imes VOL. 135 NO. 38 8 Pages Wednesday, September 28, 2016 County may hire architect to study new building construction North end services say they need updated, bigger facilities By David Sykes Morrow County may hire an architectural firm to study the cost and type of new offices that could be built in Irrigon, it was de- cided at the Sept. 14 county court meeting. The court has been dis- cussing for some time the need to either build new offices, upgrade current buildings, or possibly pur- chase a building in Board- man and move some or all of the services there. Cur- rently county services in Irrigon include the justice court, parole and probation department and the county planner. After much discussion with Justice of the Peace Ann Spicer, Morrow Coun- Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon CREZ approves OHV park receives state boundary expansion recognition Will accommodate new hotel in Boardman By David Sykes The Columbia River Enterprise Zone (CREZ) has gained approval for a boundary expansion that will add property within the city limits of Boardman where a new hotel plans on locating. The expan- sion will allow the hotel property tax exemption for three years. To approve the expan- sion, there was a combined meeting of the Board- man City Council, Port of Morrow and the Morrow County Court on Sept. 14. Through an intergovern- mental agreement, there are two members from of each of these bodies that make up the CREZ board. The CREZ board normally meets once per month and is responsible for negotiat- ing deals with new busi- nesses locating in the zone, and also deciding how the money collected by the CREZ in lieu of property taxes is distributed. A full meeting of all three govern- ment entities was required, however, to make the nec- essary boundary expansion to accommodate the new hotel. Rjiv Malhan and Nakul Butta of RNB Hospitality from Richland said in an earlier letter to the CREZ board that they are planning on building a Choice Hotel (Comfort Inn & Suites) on Front St. in Boardman. They asked that the bound- ary of the enterprise zone be expanded to include the new hotel so they may take advantage of the three-year property tax exemption that would be offered inside the CREZ boundary. “This facility will have approximately 66-72 rooms. This hotel will pro- vide a much needed state of the art Lodging Facil- ity for Boardman and its surrounding area. We will be creating 20-25 new em- ployment opportunities and a steady flow of customers for the existing restaurants in the area,” their letter to the CREZ stated. Although a public hear- ing on the boundary expan- sion was not required, the CREZ did accept public testimony on the proposal. Only one negative com- ment was received, and that was withdrawn before the meeting began. All of the three entities voted separately on the proposed expansion, and all voted in favor. Only one no vote was cast by a member of the Boardman City Council. Under state rules the CREZ is allowed a total of 15 acres. Prior to the expansion it had used only 11 of those acres. New state guidelines now also allow CREZ to remove unusable property such as rights of way and railroad property from the existing zone, which should free up more available land to the CREZ for expansion. A new total acreage of CREZ land was not announced at the meeting; however, Mor- row County Commissioner Leann Rea did comment that some expansion capa- bility should be available in case another business opportunity does becomes available, even in another part of the county. “Say something were to happen at the mill site in Heppner. I would not want something to go away if it were to fall out of the sky, and we would not be able to have the development,” she said. Contractor sought for new building at Cutsforth Park Includes visitor center, restroom and showers Morrow County is now taking building proposals from contractors wanting to construct a new visi- tor center and restroom and shower building at Cutsforth Park. According to a county announcement, the new facility will be about 32 feet long by 22 wide. It will have five rooms with two standard restrooms and shower, one office and a visitor center area. Proposals must be turned into the county by Oct. 13, and the contract will be awarded on Oct. 26. ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. In celebration of 30 years for the Oregon ATV program, the Morrow-Grant County OHV Park received a special Destination ATV Park award last month. Pictured L-R: Morrow County Judge Terry Tallman, Oregon ATV Program Director Ron Price, Morrow County Public Works Director Burke O’Brien and Morrow County Human Resources Director Karen Wolff attended the plaque presentation at the OHV park Aug. 25. Not pictured is All Terrain Vehicle Advisory Committee Member Tim Custer. -Contributed photo Last month, the Mor- row-Grant County OHV (Off Highway Vehicle) Park received a special Destina- tion ATV Park award from the state, honoring its role as a pioneer in Oregon’s off-road program. Oregon Parks and Rec- reation Department ATV Program Director Ron Price was on hand to present the award at a ceremony at the park Aug. 25. The award was one of only three hand- ed out by the state. The oth- er two awards went to Riley Ranch in Coos County and Mt. Emily Recreation Area in Union County. “This year marks 30 years of the ATV program in OR and we wanted to recognize that,” Price told the Gazette. He added that the award had several cri- teria the parks had to meet, one of which was a land acquisition involved in the park’s creation. “Morrow County had a major land acquisition— two land acquisitions, ac- tually. It (the park) had a lot of support from the county. It was an economic development project, which was one of our goals,” he said. “Just the way they’ve developed it and turned it into what it is now is great, really great, so we wanted to recognize that,” Price added. According to Morrow County Public Works, plan- ning for park began in 2000. The ground was purchased in February of 2003, and the Morrow-Grant County OHV Park officially opened May 17, 2003. Health district announces financial increase for 2016 By April Sykes The Morrow County Health District saw an in- crease of $427,187 for the year 2016, compared to last year, according to financial statements presented by Eric Volk, CPA, Partner of WIPFLI, CPAs and Consul- tants, at the district’s Mon- day night meeting at the SAGE Center in Boardman. Data showed that the district’s net increased from $4,060,047 in 2015 to $4,487,234 in 2016; gross patient revenue increased by $428,517 in 2016 and $954,864 in 2015; net pa- tient accounts receivable in- creased from $1,436,949 in 2015 to $2,003,920 in 2016; overall operating expenses increased by $524,204 in 2016 and $565,277 in 2015; non-patient revenue, in- cluding property taxes, increased by $100,541 in 2016 and by $192,833 in 2015. District voters had approved a five-year tax levy that began in fiscal year 2010, generating over $1,749,104 in tax revenue. Voters approved a new five-year operating levy in May 2014 that generated $465,408 in 2014-15, the first year, and $579,073 in 2015-16. The estimated five-year total amounts to $2,455,000 in tax revenue. During the September 2016 state meeting for the Partnership for Patients in Portland, OR, Pioneer Memorial Hospital was awarded a recognition plaque honoring its participation, as well as completion of the Partnership for Patients: Patient- Centered Initiative. As part of the recognition, Pioneer Me- morial was also awarded additional funds from the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems. Representing Pioneer Memorial Hospital and presenting at the state meeting was PMH Quality Coordinator Luz Martell, MSN-RN. She is seen here presenting the award and check to Bob Houser, CEO of Morrow County Health District. -Contributed photo The profit and loss state- loss for August. The dis- ment for the month, how- -See HEALTH DISTRICT/ ever, showed an $11,825 PAGE SIX ty Planner Karla McLane, and Irrigon City Manager Aaron Palmquist, the court decided to start the decision process moving forward, and hire an architect to look at various options. The county owns a large tract of land in Irrigon where the present office buildings are located, and on which new buildings could be located. The county has also discussed purchasing an existing Blue Moun- tain Community College building in Boardman and moving some or all of the county facilities there. “I think we need to en- gage an architect and see if everything fits on the prop- erty (in Irrigon) and then find out how we are going to pay for it,” commissioner Don Russell said. In making a case for the justice court to stay in Irrigon, Spicer said there is public transportation available and the major- ity of the clientele in the parole and probation office is from Irrigon. She said new construction is needed because her current offices are “seriously inadequate,” and a study showed that modifications to enhance the needed security and confidentiality would cost more than $10,000 in ma- terials alone, not including labor. She said current space was not adequate, and that some of her staff had been threatened and the current building security set-up could not protect them. Spicer also said the fa- cilities should remain in Irrigon and not moved to Boardman because public transportation comes into Irrigon, and that a lot of her clientele come from Herm- iston, Umatilla and the Tri-Cities and they do not have driver’s licenses. She said the Boardman BMCC building being considered “would not be adequate.” Irrigon City Manager Aaron Palmquist also asked the county court to leave all the current facilities in Irrigon. Palmquist said that Irrigon has a stigma as being an area for less-than- desirable people. Many of the people who are on pro- bation and parole typically locate near their parole and probation office or judge, and he said it would be a disservice to Irrigon to relo- cate the other county offices and leave only justice court and parole and probation in Irrigon. “The county has cre- ated this in Irrigon—not Heppner, not Boardman. We have the stigma that this is where the majority of un- desirables live. To pull the other stuff (county offices) out and leave parole and probation is a slap in the face (to Irrigon),” he told the court. At a previous meeting the court had received a pe- tition signed by 60 Irrigon residents urging that all the county offices and services currently located in Irrigon be left there. Palmquist -See COUNTY COURT/ PAGE THREE Professional rider on a closed course. Polaris® recommends that all snowmobile riders take a training course. Do not attempt maneuvers beyond your capability. Always wear a helmet and other safety apparel. Never drink and ride. Morrow County Grain Growers Green Feed & Seed 242 W. Linden Way, Heppner • 676-9422 • 989-8221 (MCGG main office)
