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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 2022)
SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 5, 2022 CREZ to disburse $191 million over next 16 years Most will come from Amazon data centers Es�mated CREZ II Revenue 2022-2037 Year Amazon 1 Amazon 2 Amazon 3 (Est.) Amazon 4 (Est.) Amazon 5 (Est.) Col. Riv. Tech. Lamb Weston WOF PNW Totals 2022 $804,810 $791,870 $4,450,000 $4,580,000 $0 $875,000 $950,000 $30,000 $12,481,680 2023 $296,620 $407,430 $4,465,000 $4,600,000 $2,350,000 $1,000,000 $950,000 $30,000 $14,099,050 2024 $0 $0 $4,475,000 $4,620,000 $2,360,000 $875,000 $950,000 $30,000 $13,310,000 2025 $0 $0 $4,485,000 $4,630,000 $4,380,000 $1,000,000 $950,000 $7,500 $15,452,500 2026 $0 $0 $4,500,000 $4,645,000 $4,395,000 $0 $950,000 $0 $14,490,000 2027 $0 $0 $4,510,000 $4,655,000 $4,405,000 $0 $950,000 $0 $14,520,000 2028 $0 $0 $4,520,000 $4,670,000 $4,420,000 $0 $950,000 $0 $14,560,000 2029 $0 $0 $4,530,000 $4,680,000 $4,435,000 $0 $0 $0 $13,645,000 2030 $0 $0 $4,550,000 $4,695,000 $4,445,000 $0 $0 $0 $13,690,000 2031 $0 $0 $4,560,000 $4,705,000 $4,546,000 $0 $0 $0 $13,811,000 2032 $0 $0 $4,575,000 $4,720,000 $4,570,000 $0 $0 $0 $13,865,000 2033 $0 $0 $4,590,000 $4,730,000 $4,585,000 $0 $0 $0 $13,905,000 2034 $0 $0 $0 $4,750,000 $4,590,000 $0 $0 $0 $9,340,000 2035 $0 $0 $0 $0 $4,600,000 $0 $0 $0 $4,600,000 2036 $0 $0 $0 $0 $4,610,000 $0 $0 $0 $4,610,000 2037 $0 $0 $0 $0 $4,620,000 $0 $0 $0 $4,620,000 $190,999,230 Above is a table recently released by County Assessor Mike Gorman showing where the $191 million comes from until 2037 when the tax deals expire. By David Sykes Although no longer making new business tax deals, the Columbia River Enterprise Zone II (CREZ II) will still be disbursing a large amount of money across Morrow County over the coming years. Accord- ing to recent estimates from the county assessor, over the next 16 years CREZ will distribute almost $191 mil- lion across Morrow County. All the money will come from tax abatement deals already in place with busi- nesses located in the enter- prise zone, with the major tax payer being the Amazon data centers at Boardman and the Port of Morrow in north county. Although the CREZ’s state charter has expired there will still be people in place until 2037 making decisions on how the mil- lions arriving each year will be spent. Allocating these funds will be representa- tives appointed annually to the CREZ II board from the Port of Morrow, Morrow County and the City of Boardman. These represen- tatives can be a mixture of By Doris Brosnan If two neighborhood cats could, they would sure- ly thank Sam Van Laer for her kindness, especially now, in the freezing, snowy weather. The two belong to no one, actually, but both have been neutered, and both have been fed in a particular back yard for a few years. Van Laers moved into that home recently, and Sam took over the feeding of the two vagabonds but has taken the operation to a new level that includes bedding enclosed in a large shed warmed with heat lamps. Lucky cats. Jim Doherty, Don Rus- County sell, County Commissioner Commissioner and CREZII Chairman Paul Keefer, Boardman Karen Mayor Pettigrew, Boardman City Manager elected representative and pand in the Enterprise Zone paid staff. (EZ). These agreements Pictured above are allow the businesses to the government officials, pay reduced property taxes elected and staff, who instead of the full appraised will make the decisions amount, under the theory this year on how to dis- they will provide good pay- jobs in Morrow County. burse the CREZ mon- ing There are currently 74 en- ey. Although they will terprise zones authorized change over the next 16 by the State of Oregon, years there will always be so officials from Morrow two representatives each County’s main economic from Morrow County, the development engine, the City of Boardman and the Port of Morrow, say they Port of Morrow deciding would be at a severe disad- how to spend the millions vantage without having the EZ in its business recruit- in CREZ money. The CREZ II was es- ment “toolbox.” The CREZ does not tablished 10 years ago, and operate under regular tax- since then has made tax ing district rules, however. abatement agreements with Under CREZ procedures businesses locating or ex- Ryan Neal, Executive Director, Port of Morrow Rick Stokoe, Port of Morrow Commissioner the money collected from EZ businesses “in lieu” of property taxes goes directly into the CREZ bank account. The money can be spent with very few outside guidelines. On the other hand, “nor- mal” property taxes col- lected annually from all other property owners goes through county government for disbursement to the various 44 taxing districts scattered throughout in the county. For example, these districts can be fire districts, cemetery districts, schools, cities and even county gov- ernment itself. Under state taxing and budgeting laws each of these districts are required to publish and hold public hearings on their annual budgets. This is not a requirement of any enterprise zone in the state, including the CREZ II. However, the local CREZ does have internal policies, established by its original members on how it wants to spend its money around the county. These guidelines, which have been for the most part adhered to, include funding of the four broad categories of education, public safety, housing and community enhancement. The board recently added infrastructure to that group of funding. The CREZ also has used the three county economic development groups to funnel much of the funds for disbursement to the local communities. But at its December meeting, when delibera- tions began on dividing this year’s funds, the board was greeted with nine separate groups asking for special funding. The main decision facing the board appears to be should it continue with past funding strategies or begin taking individual “asks” from groups and organizations around the county. At the December meeting the board deferred any spending decisions un- til a yet unannounced Jan- uary meeting date. CREZ II chairman Don Russell indicated at that time he would like to continue with the past funding methods, however there were no de- cisions made. Also recently released by the county assessor was an accounting history of the approximately $26.5 mil- lion in lieu of taxes collect- ed and spent by the CREZ since 2012. From this total amount it has spent $12.4 million on housing and community development, $3.3 million on education, $3.4 million on public safety, $800,000 divided equally amongst the four communities of Heppner, Lexington, Ione and Irrigon for infrastructure, and $5.5 million divided equally among the three CREZ member entities the Port of Morrow, City of Boardman and Morrow County. Art. One day was spent driving to the south Jersey shore. We also toured the Ivy League campus of the University of Pennsylvania, established in 1740. Roy moved to Philadelphia in August to begin his mas- ter’s degree in Hospital Psychology at the Univer- sity of the Sciences, estab- lished in 1822, for which he has received a scholarship, and plans to return soon to a professor’s-assistant job he worked at earlier there. Roy attended school at Heppner from kindergarten to gradu- ation in 2006. Our flights to Philly via Pasco and Denver were interesting, with a me- chanical delay, almost miss- ing a connection, a cancel- lation, crowded terminals and long lines, rebooking, a long layover, a gate change, misplaced luggage and an aborted landing during a snowstorm, but it was all just part of the adventure.” Only after the fact did Tony Lankford and Emma Osmin announce on Face- book that they had eloped on November 21, to Stony Ridge in the mountains. A cousin, Jeremy Worden, performed the ceremony that the Lankfords later announced to his dad, Steve Lankford, mother, Susan Clemens, and her parents, Jess Osmin and Amy McIn- tosh. The newlyweds plan to eventually move into a home near Tony’s grand- parents, Mike and Marlene Gray. On Wednesday, De- cember 29, family and friends gathered at the home of daughter and son-in-law Kristi and Mark Smalley in Hermiston to celebrate John and Pat Edmundson’s 65 th wedding anniversary. Despite adverse weather, nearly thirty people gath- ered for food, drinks and toasts. A great time was enjoyed by all. Many thanks to contrib- utors to this week’s column. Feels good to smile. And continued encouragement to everyone who has a pos- itive tidbit to share with our readers. Contributions can come this way before Mon- day afternoon by writing to dbrosnan123@gmail.com or calling 541-676-5382 or 541-223-1490. Here’s hoping that some good news comes to everyone reading this. Good News Only Whew. What a storm. Tiny silver lining - time to finish a book while staying warm under the covers with a flashlight, waiting for the seven-hour outage to pass. To the young, robust Columbia Basin heroes and their neighboring fel- low linemen, a big thank you for your imperative, greatly-challenged efforts early-morning Monday. Doing double duty as work and play, the shov- eling of snow from the sidewalks of Main and some side streets offers eas- ier walking for pedestrians and some snow fun for the operators of the ATV-snow- plows. Thanks go out to the thoughtful men who make such a difference. Other people, too, have been caught performing “Neighborhood Acts of Kindness” reported to the Good News column: When Bob Hager shovels snow from his sidewalks, he con- tinues down Cyde Estes’s sidewalk. (And while he’s at it, Bob is apt to also get her garbage can out for pickup.) Another gentleman who doesn’t stop at the end of his walks, Clyde Per- kins jogs across the street to shovel snow from Jo- Anne Burleson’s and Adam Doherty’s sidewalks. (Until the snow, JoAnne toted Chad’s garbage can to the curb when she did the same with hers.) The road conditions threw some travel plans awry last week, but for Al- yse Wentz, that wasn’t nec- essarily a bad thing. While also attending Linn Benton College, Alyse works at a Safeway in Corvallis and had to work until December 23, when she came to Hep- pner to visit her family and friends, expecting to return to Corvallis on Monday because she was scheduled to work on Tuesday. Plans changed when road condi- tions meant chains required in the gorge, so Alyse re- ported to her supervisor the need for a delay, and she ended up enjoying her visit for two days more than planned. She then headed out with some new tire chains, detailed instructions on how to put them on, and her boyfriend, Carson Bros- nan, riding shotgun. David and April Sykes of Heppner had visitors over Christmas weekend. Son Christopher and wife Rachel, son Waylon and daughter Sophie came from Pendleton. Also, there was son, Andrew from Pend- leton and daughter Ca- mille, with Eddie Gonzales and their son Oscar, from Milwaukie. The families opened presents togeth- er on Christmas morning and later enjoyed a lamb Christmas dinner prepared by April. Camille and Eddie stayed at the Gilliam Bisbee Airbnb one night and at Far- ra’s Guesthouse the second night and had good reports on both of them. Such good news Kay Proctor shares this week, “Mike and I got to spend five days in Philadelphia with our son, Roy, to cele- brate Christmas and Roy’s, 34 th birthday (December 25th). We visited St Peter and St Paul’s Basilica on Christmas Day, stayed in a hotel near Rittenhouse Square, three blocks from the historic 1901 City Hall and near JFK Boulevard and Benjamin Franklin Way; visited Independence Hall and the statue of Rocky Balboa by the Museum of ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
