Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, August 2, 2023 -- NINE
Sheriff’s Report
Health district agrees to proposed
Amazon SIP distribution
By Andrea Di Salvo
Morrow County moved
one step closer to a coun-
ty-wide agreement on SIP
disbursements Monday
night when Morrow County
Health District approved
a proposed intergovern-
mental agreement with the
county regarding Amazon’s
new facility on Bombing
Range Rd.
Morrow County en-
tered a Strategic Investment
Program (SIP) agreement
with Amazon Web Ser-
vices earlier this year. In
exchange for the 15-year
tax abatement, Amazon will
make an annual community
service fee (CSF) payment
to the county equal to 25
percent of the property tax
savings, up to a maximum
of $2.5 million per year.
The Amazon project is ex-
pected to max out that pay-
ment through most of the
life of the contract.
The county will then
distribute that CSF payment
among the special taxing
districts impacted by the
tax abatement. Morrow
County’s initial proposal
included itself among the
taxing districts receiving
the distributions.
Morrow County is by
far the largest taxing dis-
trict involved in the SIP,
with a lion’s share of 51.9
percent of tax revenue. By
contrast, the second-largest,
Boardman Fire, receives
just over nine percent, with
the health district at 7.5
percent.
Conflict arose at a spe-
cial meeting with the Mor-
row County Board of Com-
missioners July 19, when
representatives of some
special districts, including
MCHD, questioned wheth-
er the county was getting
too big a piece of the pie.
The county’s agree-
ment with Amazon also
included an annual contri-
bution payment equal to
$850,000 and an up-front
community development
contribution of $5 million
in addition to the annual
community service fees.
Several people at the spe-
cial district meeting felt
those sums were enough
for the county, and that the
county should be excluded
from the CSF distributions.
“The general consensus
of the special districts that
attended…was to request
that the county step back
from the community ser-
vice fee,” MCHD CEO
Emily Roberts told the
board. “However, that was
met with resistance, and the
group at large has seemed
to step away from that re-
quest.”
The intergovernmen-
tal agreement (IGA) the
health district approved
Monday night represents
a compromise between the
county and other special
districts, in which the coun-
ty will receive 20 percent,
to a maximum of $500,000,
from the yearly CSF pay-
ment. The remaining $2
million will be divided on
a pro rata basis, meaning
each district will receive
the same percentage of the
CSF as it would have gotten
if receiving taxes from the
property. With the county
excluded, BFRD’s share
jumps to 19.4 percent, and
the health district’s to 15.7
percent, not including spe-
cial district bonds.
“Special districts need
to make the decision to
either sign and go forward
with this IGA, or not,” Rob-
erts said.
Aside from Morrow
County, the nine other
affected districts include
MCHD, Umatilla-Morrow
Radio and Data District,
Port of Morrow, Morrow
County Unified Recreation-
al District, Boardman Fire
Protection District, Oregon
Trial Library District, Vec-
tor Control, Boardman Park
and Boardman Cemetery.
M C H D ’s a p p r o v a l
doesn’t necessarily mean
the agreement is a done
deal. Seventy-five percent
of the districts must ap-
prove the IGA in order
to adopt it. If they don’t,
the IGA is forwarded to
Business Oregon for a final
determination.
Roberts said her sense
was that most of the special
districts planned to approve
the IGA.
Members of the MCHD
board of directors didn’t
seem thrilled with the com-
promise but approved it
anyway, citing uncertainty
on whether a Business Or-
egon decision would leave
special districts with even
less of a payout.
“Based on the guidance
that Business Oregon has
put out about distribution
of community service fees,
I would anticipate that they
would do it proportionate to
everybody’s taxing percent-
age, and I think that they
-Continued from PAGE FIVE Miller Rd.
would include the coun-
ty in that,” Roberts told
the MCHD board, “which
would give them more than
$500,000 of that per year.”
The board voted unan-
imously to approve the
agreement.
Also at its July 31
meeting, the MCHD board
approved a contract with
Dynamic Computer Con-
sulting for an upgrade to a
Voice over Internet (VoIP)
phone system for the dis-
trict.
Roberts told the board
members the current phone
system is complicated and
“end of life” and would be
expensive to replace. She
said VoIP would provide
greater flexibility, including
a remote app so employees
can use their office phone
on a mobile device. DCC
is also attractive because
it is already the district’s
IT provider and because
of its nearby location in
Pendleton.
“There’s a remarkable
amount of overlap between
IT and phones, and it causes
a lot of problems that we
don’t have the same ven-
dor,” said Roberts.
The upfront cost of
$68,253 was higher than the
other bids received, but both
Roberts and MCHD Chief
Financial Officer Nicole
Mahoney said the lower
annual cost of $24,175.68
would make it the most
cost-effective choice in the
long run.
The health district cur-
rently pays $92,500 annu-
ally for its phone system.
The board also ap-
proved a new contract with
emergency medicine physi-
cian Jeffrey Westin.
Westin is currently a lo-
cum provider for the district
but is contracted through re-
cruiting firm CompHealth.
The new contract is with
Westin directly.
MCHD will have to
buy out the CompHealth
contract at a cost of
$16,500, but Roberts and
Mahoney said the move
is still more beneficial for
both the physician and the
health district, since they
will be cutting out the cost
of the recruiting firm. In ex-
change, Westin has agreed
to work at least 25 shifts
over the next three years.
MCHD is contracting
Westin at $135 per hour
for emergency room and
hospital call coverage and
hours worked.
The board also ap-
proved medical staff privi-
leges for several providers.
New appointments includ-
ed roster appointments
for OHSU telemedicine
providers; CORA radiol-
ogists Stephen Weldon,
Steven Plimpton, Alyssa
McNamara and Stephen
Carroll; physical therapist
Taylor Turner; and licensed
dieticians Theresa Fenn and
Rachel Tate. Re-appoint-
ments were emergency
medicine providers Jeffrey
Westin and Peter Viavant,
and clinic CSWA Jamie
Reed.
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area. One was hit by a vehi-
cle west of the Irrigon Shell
on Hwy. 730.
-MCSO received report of
a suspicious white vehicle
that sounded like flashes
and popping noises were
coming from it. Deputy was
unable to locate.
-A female in Heppner ad-
vised she was at the north-
western Motel and did not
have her house key with
her. She thought that a male
had a spare house key. She
was locked out of her house
and requesting assistance.
-MCSO arrested Stephanie
Burrows for improper use
of an emergency communi-
cations system. Subject was
lodged at Umatilla County
Jail with no bail.
-A male in Irrigon reported
his son as missing. Law en-
forcement found the child
and dropped him off at a
friend’s house with parent
approval.
-MCSO arrested Deborah
R. Cameron a parole and
probation detainer. Subject
was lodged at UCJ with
no bail.
-A caller in Boardman stat-
ed there was someone on
his porch. The caller stated
he was unable to get a de-
scription, only a silhouette
of the individual, who was
last seen heading south on
-A male in Irrigon stated
that his aunt was telling his
father that she was going
to call the police because
he was refusing to leave
the house, which was in
his name. The caller stated
that it was not aggressive or
physical, so the caller was
available for phone contact.
-Pasco PD arrested Todd
Michael Wright on a Mor-
row County Circuit Court
warrant for failure to appear
on felon in possession of a
firearm; criminal trespass
while in possession of a
firearm; and taking, an-
gling, hunting or trapping
in violation of wildlife law
X3. The subject was lodged
at Franklin County Jail.
-Boardman PD took a re-
port on an accident that had
just occurred on Pheasant
Court. A male ran toward
Eagle Dr.
-A man in Boardman re-
ported damage to the driv-
er’s side door on his pickup
truck. He advised it had
happened some time the
night before through that
day.
-An anonymous caller re-
ported hearing five shots
three to five minutes before
in the area of Bella Vista
Estates. Boardman PD re-
sponded but was unable to
locate.
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5-7 pm in the
Hopeful Saints yard
Matches will be 20 minutes with
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