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VOL. 143
NO. 41 10 Pages
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Taxing districts get $2 million from
Amazon disbursement
New school support fee could make CREZ negotiations
more difficult
By Andrea Di Salvo
Two million dollars
out of Amazon’s recent $5
million Community Devel-
opment Contribution will
be split among the affected
taxing districts, the Colum-
bia River Enterprise Zone
III board decided last week.
Of that, one million is
divided equally among the
affected districts. The oth-
er million is to be divided
according to the percent of
taxes each district would re-
ceive if Amazon were pay-
ing taxes on the property.
The remaining $3 mil-
lion will be divided among
the enterprise zone’s spon-
sors, with $1 million each
going to Morrow County,
the Port of Morrow and the
City of Boardman.
While the disbursement
of the Amazon funds was
the biggest item on the
agenda, most of the meet-
ing was spent discussing
Oregon House Bill 2009,
which established a manda-
tory school support fee for
enterprise zone agreements.
The bill went into effect
Sept. 24, and the new fee
is a requirement for any
tax abatement agreement
the enterprise zone makes
going forward. Affected
school districts work with
the enterprise zone spon-
sors to determine an amount
between 15 and 30 percent
of what the company would
have paid in taxes. The
company is then required to
pay that in addition to any
other payments required by
the enterprise zone.
“The school district
bills that and collects that
money, and it goes into the
school funding formula,”
said CREZ III manager
Greg Sweek.
Sweek said there seems
to be no set process for how
that gets accomplished, but
there does have to be some
sort of agreement in writing
between the parties.
“I don’t know how we
get there,” he added.
On the surface, that
seems like more money
for local school districts.
However, both Sweek and
Boardman Mayor Paul
Keefer said it was their
understanding that, rather
than being added on top of
the district’s state funding,
whatever amount the school
district chose would be
withheld from the state’s
normal disbursement to the
school district.
“Whatever money they
get from this fee, they lose
from the state,” added Port
of Morrow Commissioner
Rick Stokoe. “It offsets
itself.”
The enterprise zone’s
governing bodies have a
say in the amount chosen,
but to what extent is un-
clear. It also seems unclear
whether the school district’s
initial decision would re-
main the same for all future
businesses or whether the
percentage chosen could be
changed. Morrow County
Assessor Mike Gorman
said his understanding is
that it is a “one and done”
decision that would remain
the same through all future
contracts.
Keefer said it seemed
like it would be in the
school district’s best in-
terest to charge the least
amount.
“To keep that money in
Morrow County,” he said.
“I could ask for the moon
and get 30 percent, but
that’s not going to increase
the amount of money I get
from the state.
“It makes sense on the
school district side to make
it a lower amount to keep
most of the money in the
area,” Keefer added. “Why
would I want to give the
money that comes in here
to the state?”
Morrow County School
District would likely be the
only county school district
affected by the change,
since there is currently no
enterprise zone property
within Ione School District.
Stokoe said he had spo-
ken with Morrow County
School District Superin-
tendent Matt Combe, and
Combe was also unclear
about the details.
“It’s not a very well-de-
fined process,” said Stokoe.
“I think that this agree-
ment with the school dis-
trict absolutely needs to be
in writing and signed by
both the CREZ board and
the school district,” said
Gorman, who is also Mor-
-Continued to PAGE NINE
Makenzi Evans, Mor-
row County 4-H Outreach
Program Coordinator: Mak-
enzi Evans was born in
Heppner and grew up in
the Morrow County 4-H
Program. Currently she
lives in Hooper, WA with
her Husband Cole, and
their one-year-old daughter;
Cole runs the cattle for Mc-
Gregor Land and Livestock.
They met at Blue Mountain
Community College on the
Livestock judging team, af-
ter graduating from BMCC
with her Associates she
went on to obtain a Bach-
elors of Ag Science from
Oregon State University.
Makenzi formerly worked
for McGregor L&L and
built custom furniture and
home decor. Makenzi is
excited to return to Morrow
County, join the OSU Team
and begin serving the coun-
ty as the new 4-H Program
Coordinator.
Amanda Wight, Mor-
row County Administrative
Office Manager: Amanda
Wight is a Senior Accoun-
tant with a demonstrated
history of over ten years
working in the agriculture
industry. She graduated
from Eastern Oregon Uni-
versity with her B.A. in
Business Administration
in 2010. Following that,
she returned and received
her Post Baccalaureate
Accounting Certificate in
2019. Amanda was born
and raised in Heppner, OR
and in her free time, she
enjoys the outdoors with
her family and friends.
Senior’s Matter Annual
flu shot initiative
South Morrow Co. Se-
nior’s Matter combined
with Community partners
to provide seniors with the
opportunity to get their
annual flu shot with a deli-
cious meal. Jerry Conklin,
chairman of the board of
SMSM shared that over
60 shots were received and
over 90 meals enjoyed.
“The annual flu shot
initiative is a crucial aspect
of prioritizing the health
and well-being of our se-
niors. We want to ensure
that our elderly participants
have easy access to flu vac-
cinations and this seemed
the perfect vehicle,” stated
Conklin.
Molly Rhea, a retired
nurse and vice chair of
SMSM, said, “This proac-
tive approach helps to safe-
guard our seniors from sea-
sonal influenza, reducing
the risk of complications
and promoting a stronger
immune system. By inte-
grating flu shots into our
annual routine, we contrib-
ute to a healthier and more
resilient senior community,
fostering an environment of
care and protection.”
The St Patrick’s dining
room, located in the heart of
Heppner, has been a crucial
source of sustenance for
seniors, offering hot meals
and companionship. How-
ever, the board members of
SMSM saw an opportunity
to elevate this service by
providing more than just
food. Julia Brown from
-Continued to PAGE EIGHT
County votes to support Umatilla County November Special
Election Ballots will be
appeal of siting decision
th
Says local control could be at stake in EFSC decision
By Andrea Di Salvo
The Morrow County
Board of Commissioners
voted to proceed with a
legal brief in support of
local control in land use
and planning at its meeting
in Heppner last Wednesday.
The support will take the
form of an amicus brief in
support of Umatilla County
in that county’s appeal of
an EFSC ruling concerning
wind turbine requirements.
The county commis-
sioners had discussed Uma-
tilla County’s request for an
amicus brief at its Sept. 20
meeting and directed staff
to look into it more before
proceeding. Morrow Coun-
ty Counsel Justin Nelson
and attorney Daniel Kearns
were at the Oct. 4 meeting
to provide an update and
details on the appeal.
Kearns, who will write
the brief for the county,
specializes in land use and
zoning law and often con-
sults with Morrow County
on the legal aspects of land
use and planning.
According to Nelson,
the Oregon Energy Facility
Siting Council (EFSC) re-
cently granted approval to
the Nolin Hills Wind Power
Project, a 48,196-acre wind
and solar generation facility
in Umatilla County.
Umatilla County code
requires a two-mile set-
back of wind turbines from
homes, without exception,
but the EFSC determined
there was no need to en-
force the local provisions
as long as the project oth-
erwise complied with state-
wide planning goals.
“The concern, I be-
lieve, from the Umatilla
County Board of Com-
missioners there, is lack of
local control,” said Nelson.
Umatilla County is ap-
pealing the project approval
and has asked Morrow
County to file an amicus
brief to support local plan-
ning and land use laws. An
amicus, or “friend of the
court,” brief may be filed
with a court by an individ-
ual or group who is not a
party to the litigation but
who has an interest in the
court’s decision.
Nelson said the brief, if
approved, would not sup-
port the specific Umatilla
County rules, but would in-
stead focus on the need for
EFSC to apply local rules
when approving a project.
“We don’t have a posi-
tion or comment on the two
miles or anything like that,”
Nelson said, “but really
the idea that there’s local
conditions or rules in place.
Those should be followed
or considered by the state,
not just passed over.”
Nelson said he had spo-
ken with Umatilla County
Counsel Doug Olsen, who
said that kind of support
was what Umatilla County
is looking for in the brief.
“In Umatilla County,
it’s the two-mile setback,
but I think for all counties,
it’s this ability of EFSC
to totally ignore all the
local siting criteria, even
though the statutory path
that the applicant took in
this case requires them to
comply with all ‘applicable
substantive criteria,’” said
Kearns. “EFSC said, no, we
will ignore all local criteria
that are not specifically and
directly required to comply
with the statewide planning
goals, which isn’t what the
statute says.”
“This was kind of a big
deal over the years when
Umatilla County finally
adopted a two-mile setback,
and I think this is the first
project in many years…that
hasn’t complied with the
two-mile setback,” added
Kearns, saying he suspected
the whole situation was be-
ing done to test that aspect
of the code. “This has never
been an issue before.”
Morrow County Plan-
ning Director Tamra Mab-
bott said she didn’t know
if Umatilla County had
reached out to the Associ-
ation of Oregon Counties
(AOC) for support, but that
the case is particularly im-
pactful for Morrow County.
“Being a neighboring
county, one of a handful of
counties that enjoys wind
turbines and renewable
energy, it’s more significant
for our county, probably,
than all of AOC,” said Mab-
bott.
Morrow County Board
of Commissioners Chair
David Sykes expressed his
support and asked whether
a court decision against
Umatilla County could
have “spillover” into other
areas of local control. Ke-
arns said that was a strong
possibility.
“That puts even a little
more importance on what
we as Morrow County is
doing, I think,” said Sykes,
“I’m just trying to reinforce
the importance of us mov-
ing forward with providing
this brief.”
“It just isn’t good to
have Umatilla County argu-
ing over this two-mile set-
back when the larger issue
affects all counties,” agreed
-Continued to PAGE NINE
mailed out Oct. 18
Upcoming Election – No-
vember 7, 2023, Morrow
County Clerk will be mailing
out November Special Elec-
tion Ballots on October 18,
2023. These ballots renew
the current five-year Local
Option Tax Plan Supporting
General Operations of the
Morrow County Health Dis-
trict. The last day to register
to vote for this election is
October 17, 2023, if you
are a new voter. If you are
inactive, you are still eligible
to update and receive a ballot
if you update before the last
day to vote. Ballots can be
mailed or dropped at any
county in the State of Oregon
on or before the November
7 th deadline. If you mail on
election day November 7,
2023, please make sure that
you get your ballot stamped
by the post office for the
7 th . Postmarks do count.
Morrow County Drop-sites
are as follows: https://www.
co.morrow.or.us/sites/default/
files/fileattachments/clerk/
page/11201/2018_drop_site_
in formation_with_pictures.
pdf. All outdoor boxes are
open all day closing on No-
vember 7, 2023, at 8:00 p.m.
Heppner: County Clerk’s Of-
fice Rm. 104 in the Original
Courthouse or in the outdoor
box in the parking lot of the
Bartholomew Building. Lex-
ington: Public Works Parking
Lot, 365 West Hwy 74
outdoor box Ione: Spring St.
before intersection to 3 rd St.
Boardman: 101 NW Board-
man Ave. – Parking lot of the
Morrow County Boardman
Annex Irrigon: 215 NE Main
St., Irrigon Government
Building parking lot.
CALL
541-989-8221
ext 204
for more
information