Morrow County, Amazon
Web Services ink six new
data center deals
Includes $30 million up front
payments, and participation in
bonded debt
50¢
VOL. 143
NO. 20 10 Pages
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Health district launches $4.3 million lawsuit
against county, Boardman Fire
By Andrea Di Salvo
Morrow County Health
District ramped up the de-
bate over ambulance ser-
vices in Morrow County
when it carried out threats
to take legal action against
Morrow County and Board-
man Fire Rescue District
(BFRD) last week.
Thursday, May 11, the
health district filed a civil
complaint against Morrow
County, Boardman Fire
Rescue District and Board-
man Fire Chief Michael
Hughes in Morrow County
Circuit Court. The health
district is seeking an injunc-
tion against the develop-
ment of a new Ambulance
Service Area (ASA) plan,
as well as monetary claims
totaling at least $4,372,350.
In addition, MCHD is ask-
ing that the matter be settled
by a jury trial.
Part of the dispute cen-
ters around the legitimacy
of the 2021 ASA plan; the
health district considers
the plan valid, while the
Morrow County Board of
Commissioners says it is
not because the correct
legal process was not fol-
lowed. Furthermore, Mor-
row County Commission
Chair David Sykes said it
is the county’s legal obliga-
tion to develop, update and
replace the current 1998
ASA plan.
For the time being, the
board of commissioners
has stated the county is
operating under the 1998
ASA plan, which desig-
nated the health district as
the sole ambulance service
provider. At the same time,
the county has made it clear
that MCHD was not provid-
ed with a “perpetual right”
under the 1998 ASA Plan.
As the county works to
develop a new ASA plan,
a county release has stat-
ed that it will seek input
from “all parties providing
or interested in providing
ambulance services, and
all parties who wish to be
consulted or provide advice
regarding the Plan and the
boundaries of ambulance
service areas.” Morrow
County has never officially
stated that it intends to re-
write the ASA boundaries
or include Boardman Fire
as a provider.
“The complaints and
allegations are baseless and
inflammatory, misrepresent
the process and actions
to the public, and seek to
prevent the Board of Com-
missioners from exercising
their obligations,” Sykes
said in a statement regard-
ing the lawsuit.
Nonetheless, the health
district is asking for a tem-
porary restraining order
followed by a permanent
injunction stopping Mor-
row County from either
moving or disputing the
ASA boundaries in Mor-
row County for at least the
five-year span of the 2021
ASA, saying that Morrow
County would be in breach
of contract to do so.
MCHD also cites “sub-
stantial expenditures” fol-
lowing the drafting of the
2021 ASA, including a
transition from volunteer
to paid EMS staff, in order
to accommodate increased
county demand on ambu-
lance services.
Another MCHD con-
cern is the potential loss of
cost-based reimbursement
for its ambulance services.
The health district says the
loss of that funding, an es-
timated one million dollars
per year, could threaten am-
bulance services throughout
the county, as well as cost-
ing lost jobs associated with
those services.
So, as an alternative to
the injunction, the health
district is asking for the
county to pay the difference
between cost-based reim-
bursement versus actual
reimbursement for the next
three years, to the tune of
$3 million, plus $100,000
potential loss of hospital
revenue and $1.1 million
in damages, for a total of
4.2 million.
The lawsuit also makes
allegations of conflict of
interest against Morrow
County Commissioner Jeff
Wenholz, saying his po-
sition on the Good Shep-
herd Health Care Board of
Trustees caused him to act
against the best interests of
Morrow County residents.
While Wenholz was not
listed as a defendant in the
lawsuit, the health district
has “reserved the right to
Morrow County and the
Columbia River Enterprise
Zone (CREZ) have signed
six new data center agree-
ments with Amazon Web
Services (AWS), marking
a significant investment for
the company in the region.
The agreements include a
unique benefit to the local
communities, with a $5
million Community Devel-
opment Contribution per
agreement, a new benefit
over past deals as AWS
commits to helping fund
local projects.
In addition to the up-
front payments, the compa-
ny committed to paying into
any newly-issued general
obligation bonding agree-
ments related to public
utilities, educational, fire,
public health, parks and rec-
reation facilities, and public
safety. The bonded debt
obligation shows AWS’s
commitment to investing in
the local communities and
infrastructure.
The Community De-
velopment Contribution
payments are directly
linked with the start of
construction, which al-
lows jurisdictions to begin
funding capital improve-
ment projects earlier. AWS
expects to pay its first $5
million payment to Morrow
County by the end of 2023.
This type of up-front contri-
bution is uncommon, and it
sets these agreements apart
from previous ones.
The six agreements will
create job opportunities
in the region through data
center construction and op-
erations, generating future
tax revenue that would not
be gained from the current
vacancy in the lots. The
economic impact of the
new investments will also
throughout the communi-
ties and provide a boost to
the local economy.
The total dollar invest-
ments in both Morrow and
-Continued to PAGE SIX
Governor meets
with county officials
-Continued to PAGE SEVEN
Heppner residents complain about loose dogs
City park restrooms again vandalized
By Andrea Di Salvo
Complaints about loose
dogs in Heppner have been
on the rise, but residents
appeared at a Heppner City
Council Meeting last week
to complain about one set
of dogs in particular
One Heppner resident
spoke up during public
comment and complained
about Kenny Stookey’s
dogs. She said they run
around everywhere, and she
is constantly finding their
droppings in her yard. She
also said at least one of the
dogs is aggressive, and she
is concerned because they
have a lot of kids on their
street.
“I was just wondering
if we could do something
about it, because it is be-
coming a problem,” she
said.
Another resident also
expressed concerns and
added that Stookey had
been living in a motor-
home under a canopy on the
Butch and Judie Laughlin
property, supposedly just
until the motorhome’s roof
gets fixed. He said that
Stookey had told them sev-
eral times over the last few
months that he would not
be there much longer, but
he was still there.
“I don’t know how
much longer he’s going to
be allowed to squat,” the
man told the council. “If I
make a move to talk to him
or something, he goes into
his motorhome and does not
come out.”
Both residents said they
had come to the city with
the issue before and that
there had been multiple
complaints, even involving
the sheriff’s office.
Heppner Mayor Corey
Sweeney asked whether
the city had spoken with
the property owners, since
it was on private property,
and Heppner City Manager
Kraig Cutsforth replied
he had spoken with Butch
Laughlin before he died
but had not spoken with the
children since then.
“Why don’t we put
this on a timeline?” said
Sweeney, adding that the
city needs to speak with
the property owners and get
Stookey trespassed from
the property if necessary.
At the very least, council
members discussed getting
visual evidence of the dogs
at large so law enforcement
can issue citations.
“If you don’t see any
change, by all means, come
to the meeting next month,
or into the office sooner, if
things escalate,” Sweeney
told the residents at the
meeting.
Council member Cody
High added that he would
like them to return for the
next council meeting so
there could be an update
on what had been accom-
plished “good, bad or in-
different.”
Heppner Public Works
Director Chad Doherty
reported that the Heppner
City Park restroom was
heavily vandalized again.
Doherty said he in-
spected the video from the
park camera, got what he
could from it and turned
the video over to Morrow
County Sheriff’s Office.
He said one light was to-
tally destroyed and paper
towel dispensers in both
restrooms were complete-
ly ripped off the wall and
broken. City workers also
had to replace a toilet paper
dispenser and soap dispens-
er, as well as clean up the
restroom.
“It was pretty bad,”
said Doherty.
He added that he had
not heard back if there had
been any results from the
investigation.
Vandalism like this was
a large part of the reason for
the city’s recent purchase
of new security cameras
to set up throughout town.
Cutsforth told the council
that the city had already
received the Verkada cam-
eras, and those would prob-
ably be installed in June.
The council also dis-
cussed the property the city
had purchased on Chase
Street in order to expedite
the clean-up on the burned-
out house on the property.
The city had offered the
house to the fire department
for a practice burn, but Hep-
pner Fire Chief Steve Rhea
said there was too much
still in the house—possibly
more than there had been
when the house burned—
and that it also posed too
much danger to nearby trees
and power lines.
The city will move
ahead with demolition in-
stead. Sweeney requested
that it be put out for bid
since the projected dem-
olition cost is more than
$10,000. Cutsforth said
some funding for the dem-
olition is available through
Willow Creek Valley Eco-
nomic Development Group.
In the issue of fires, the
council also addressed the
inaccessible South Main
Street fire hydrant they had
discussed at the last meet-
ing. The issue is that it is
difficult, if not impossible,
for the fire department to
access the hydrant.
The hydrant was placed
there in 1947. At that time
there was a through street
at that location, but that’s
no longer the case.
“So, through all the
changes, public safety ac-
cess was never kept?” asked
High.
“It’s a hard place to
get into either way,” re-
plied council member Dale
Bates.
The council discussed
adding an additional hy-
drant further out toward
the city limits. It would not
solve the accessibility issue
for the original hydrant,
but it would provide better
coverage for the houses on
the outskirts of town.
Cutsforth also brought
to the council a proposed
land transfer. A landowner
in Heppner apparently has
a small, triangular piece of
property that extends into
a city street. Cutsforth said
he wanted to check with
the city attorney about the
feasibility of the landowner
transferring that piece to
Governor Tina Kotek (right) paid a visit to Morrow County
on May 3, and Morrow County Public Health Director Robin
Canaday attended a lunch with her. -Contributed photo
In a bid to strengthen
ties with local communi-
ties and address regional
concerns, Oregon Governor
Tina Kotek paid a visit to
Morrow County May 3.
As part of the visit
Governor Kotek had lunch
with several local officials,
including Morrow Coun-
ty Public Health Director
Robin Canaday. They talk-
ed about issues that includ-
ed the nitrate water contam-
ination in the county.
Canaday said the gov-
ernor was very personable
and had “a good sense of
humor.”
“All in all, it was a
good lunch visit and we
discussed a lot of issues,”
Canaday said of the visit
and her time with the gov-
ernor.
Morrow County Com-
mission Chair David Sykes
was also invited to the lunch
-Continued to PAGE NINE but was unable to attend
MCGG
since it was on the same day
as the regular commission
meeting. Governor Kotek
later called Sykes and “we
had a nice discussion and I
told her I hoped to meet her
someday,” Sykes said.
During her visit, Gov-
ernor Kotek toured several
key locations, including ag-
ricultural sites, educational
institutions, and infrastruc-
ture projects. Notably, she
visited a recently estab-
lished vocational training
center, where she spoke
with students and instruc-
tors about the importance
of workforce development
and skills training.
Governor Kotek’s visit
provided an opportunity
for community members
to voice their concerns and
offer input on a range of
topics, including education,
healthcare and transpor-
tation.
CALL
541-989-8221
ext 204
for more
information