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About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (May 22, 2024)
(,*+7+HSSQHU*D]HWWH7LPHV+HSSQHU2UHJRQWednesday, May 22, 2024 Heppner City Council talks street repairs and park projects The Heppner City Council meeting on May 13th began with an over- view from Barb Orwick, representing the Neighbor- hood Center and Heppner Thrift Store. Orwick re- ported that they distributed a total of 67 food boxes during the month, which was considered slower than usual. Additionally, she mentioned that they had EHHQ JUDQWHG D:&9('* to support their work. In other news, Stacy Sarrels was granted permis- sion to keep four chickens at her home within the city limits of Heppner. The council then moved on to discuss the minutes from the previous meeting on April 8th, as well as the monthly bills. During this discussion, a council member raised a question about the large number of utility deposit returns, asking if there had EHHQ D VLJQL¿FDQW DPRXQW of people moving. John Doherty, the City Manager, FRQ¿UPHGWKDWPRVWRIWKH returns were indeed due to people relocating. The council approved the pay- ment of last month’s bills. Next, various depart- ment reports were present- ed. Fire Chief Steve Rhea reported that there had been a total of 59 calls, including 28 chief calls. The depart- ment had also conducted smoke detector installa- tions. Rhea mentioned that they were expecting a new Tactical Tender to be de- livered in June and that the training academy for 1)3$ )LUH¿JKWHU ZRXOG be completed by the end of the month, resulting in the addition of three new ¿UH¿JKWHUV$VVLVWDQW&KLHI &KLFNDQG7UDLQLQJ2൶FHU Zinter attended the FDIC (Fire Department Instruc- tors Conference) in Indi- anapolis, Indiana. It was also mentioned that they had received a grant request IRUIURP:LOGODQG 6WD൶QJEXWWKHVSHFL¿FDS- plication of the grant funds was still uncertain. The Sheriff’s Office provided their report, in- dicating that there were 15 WUD൶FVWRSVDQG¿YHDUUHVWV during the reporting period. Chad Doherty, the Pub- OLF :RUNV 'LUHFWRU GLV- cussed the activities with- LQ WKH :DWHU 6HZHU DQG Streets departments. He PHQWLRQHG WKDW WKH :DWHU department had installed water lines for the new Heppner Community Foun- dation building and re- placed multiple water me- ters. Doherty also worked on the GSI water master meter spreadsheet and spent several days working on revisions to Oregon’s lead and copper rules. In the Sewer department, they had conducted 23 septic dumps and cleaned the VWRUDJHH൷XHQWZDWHUWDQN at the golf course. They KDG DOVR LQVWDOOHG D ¿OWHU screen and pressurized the relevant equipment for the golf course on the City side. The Streets department sold an old street sweeper for $12,450 and an F350 vehicle for $4,850 on Go- vDeals.com. Additionally, they installed limited-time parking in front of the City Hall and activated the main street irrigation system for the trees. The Parks depart- ment repaired sprinklers in all the city parks and turned on the irrigation systems for all the parks. Furthermore, the report mentioned that Chad, John, and Caleb had a meeting with Skip Mathews and Joe Armato to discuss the pool overview and ex- pectations. Caleb from the shop department attended a conference in Ontario for continuing education training. City Manager John Doherty presented his re- port, highlighting the most noteworthy events and activities. He mentioned FRPSOHWLQJ WKH ¿VFDO \HDU 2024-2025 budget with in- put from department heads. He had meetings with Steve Rhea, Bill Kuhn, and Matt Jensen regarding Heppner fire response, and an In- ter-Governmental Agree- ment (IGA) between the City and County was being worked on. Doherty also mentioned meeting with Bill Kuhn of Kuhn Law to discuss the city/county IGA, delinquent payments from a former tenant on Gale St, deed transfer for the “Old Pool” property, and the sale of Chase St properties. He reported the successful completion of an Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) grant to update the City Park and the approval of a $50,000 grant from :&9('* 'RKHUW\ DOVR mentioned meeting with contractors to discuss the design for City Park and researching applications for additional grants. He had meetings with Amy IURP:KHDWODQGWRUHYLHZ upcoming profit and loss changes for CIS insurance. Additionally, he mentioned meetings with Blue Moun- tain Networks regarding ¿EHULQVWDOODWLRQIRUWKHFLW\ The city manager attended two monthly meetings con- cerning POM (Power Op- erations and Maintenance) DQGÀRRGPLWLJDWLRQWREH- gin work soon. He also had communication with John Bice about the ODOT ADA ramp project, met with Ryan Hill from NextEra for new housing discussions, and had the monthly meet- LQJZLWK:&9('*ZKLFK included discussions about their desire for property on Chase St for tiny homes. Moreover, he met with the city, the county, and the Port regarding the mill site, Urban Growth Bound- ary (UGB) expansion, and the Community Develop- ment System (CDS) infra- structure project. Lastly, he attended the manager luncheon. In regard to the Chase Street properties located at 290 and 200 North Chase Street, Doherty shared that there has been interest in developing these proper- ties. He mentioned that he contacted Sykes Real Estate to conduct a competitive market analysis to deter- mine the starting pricing point. Doherty reported that Chris Sykes provided the analysis, and based on that, he set the price at $24,000 for both properties. He em- phasized that the properties would be sold together due to their small size. The council also discussed advertising the sale in the local newspaper. Doherty QRWHGWKDWWKH:HVW&HQWUDO Valley Economic Develop- PHQW*URXS :&9('* LV interested in building tiny homes on these properties. :KHQDVNHG'RKHUW\FRQ- ¿UPHG WKDW :&9('* LQ- tends to sell the tiny homes, mentioning that they al- ready have potential buyers lined up and may even sell the houses before they are built. Doherty expressed hope that in the upcoming June council meeting, they will have bids to review for the properties. The next topic dis- cussed was the update on the city park project. Doherty informed the coun- cil that he applied for an Or- egon Parks and Recreation District grant, which could provide up to $100,000 in funding. In addition, he mentioned having a list of 8-10 other grants that he plans to apply for. He also mentioned that the city was awarded a $50,000 grant IURP :&9('* EXW WKLV amount will be disbursed in increments of $25,000. Doherty explained that he needs to provide receipts WR:&9('*WRVKRZKRZ the funds are being used. He stated that the estimat- ed cost of the city park project is around $410,000 to $415,000. He expressed plans to apply for several more grants between now and August saying “My hope is to be able to do the park right the first time, and work my tail off to get $415,000 or more.” Doherty pointed out that in the previous year, the city had budgeted $75,000 for playground equipment, but they did not purchase any. However, he noted that this year they are sticking to that budget and intend to invest in inclusive playground equipment for children with limited mobility. Doherty stressed that currently, there are no accessible options for individuals or children in south Morrow County. He also mentioned that the Heppner High School senior class had extra funds that they wanted to donate in the form of a table. John addressing a raise in the public works fees. He stated that the current septic fee is $0.16 per gallon and proposed increasing it to $0.20 per gallon or a mini- mum of $100. The current drinking water connection fee is $800, and he proposed increasing it to $1000. Ad- ditionally, the current sewer connection fee is $300, and the proposed fee is $500. John emphasized that Heppner’s develop- ment fees are lower than neighboring municipalities. It was mentioned that the proposed fees will be fur- ther researched for potential increment increases, and a “Master Fee Schedule” will be created by John, the city manager, and Chad Doherty the public works director. Chad Doherty added that the fees were last raised around 2019, and the motion to approve the pro- posed numbers was passed. John then provided an update on the street’s dis- cussion. He informed the council that they will be receiving $1.5 million in congressionally directed spending, which Rep. Greg Smith has pushed forward for the city. This funding is to be used by the end of WKHQH[W¿VFDO\HDUIRUURDG reconstruction in Heppner, specifically on Gilmore, Pioneer, and Thompson Streets, as well as storm drains on Morrow Street. Additionally, he highlight- HGWKHQHHGWR¿[WKHFRUQHU of Gale and Main Streets, as well as update the drainage RQ :LOORZ 6WUHHW QHDU WKH public works building. In addition, John men- tioned that he is collabo- rating with Kay Proctor to facilitate the distribution of ‘Yard of the Month’ awards. Lastly, the council at- torney reported that a meet- ing was held with John Doherty the city manager, Matt Jensen the county administrator, and Steve 5KHDWKH¿UH&KLHIWRHVWDE- lish an Inner Government Agreement (IGA) aimed at enhancing understanding of the emergency services available to rural residents. ~ Letters to the Editor ~ FIGHT! Remember the play- ground fights in grade school? First insults, then push comes to shove, then WKH¿VWV RU¿QJHUQDLOV WKHQ “FIGHT FIGHT!!” and a teacher would come run- QLQJ :HOO , MXVW ZDWFKHG an exchange between two Congresswomen that brought me back to those days. It was painful to watch….and embarrassing. Marjory Talor Green made a snide remark in reference to the “fake eyelashes” of Jasmine Crocket, which was an unnecessarily juve- nile dig. Ms. AOC had to chime in with “Oh Girl… Baby Girl….” and then the fireworks began, and the chaos continued. Ok, we all have our moments where insults ÀRZR൵WKHWRQJXH RUNH\- board), some more appro- priately placed than others. But Congress? Seriously folks? These are the people we elected to make deci- sions that basically control our lives. And didn’t their Mamas ever teach them it’s wrong to interrupt? So much for the dignity of our legislature. How about ZHVHQGWKHPEDFNWR¿IWK grade where they belong? “Hey Baby Girl….go get your backpack. You’re go- ing home!” And, by the way, some- body watch the encounter and try to convince me that there’s no difference between men and women. Because I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t hear a (straight) man use the term “Baby Girl” or mention false eye- lashes. Anyway, I think I’d rather see two guys duke it out than listen to two wom- HQ KDYH D YHUEDO FDW¿JKW Can you imagine these women in a debate? “You’re so stupid!” “I know you are but what am I!” It was interesting to watch the response of the men in the room. I think they were looking for the guy in the striped shirt. :KHUH¶V WKH 5HI" 6RPH- body stop the game! And the guy with the gavel was mumbling “I don’t understand a word you’re saying”. He looked a bit like he wanted to leave the premises. Hey ladies, you’ve been given the privilege of sitting in a place of authori- ty, where maturity and wis- dom are to be honored and a level of decency, man- ners, and respect should be maintained. Yes, debate the issues, speak your mind, and come to needed conclu- VLRQVWKDWEHQH¿WWKHSHRSOH \RX¶UHVXSSRVHGWREHQH¿W Try to remember where you are and leave the per- sonal attacks to the media. Currently, if you’re trying to convince the world that, as a woman and an elected R൶FLDO \RX¶UH FDSDEOH RI using the left side of your brain (or any of it for that matter), you’re failing mis- erably. You’re also letting us in on your ability to con- trol your tongue…or lack RI :DLW \RXU WXUQ VSHDN the truth, and stop throwing ridiculous insults….or take it outside. “The tongue of the wise commends knowl- edge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.” Proverbs 15:2 By Susie Crosby WWW.HEPPNER.NET Sɲɟɪɦɱ1ɢɴɰ$ɡɳɢɯɱɦɰɦɫɤ $ɫɫɬɲɫɠɢɪɢɫɱɰ /ɢɱɱɢɯɰ7ɬ7ɥɢ(ɡɦɱɬɯ 6ɢɫɡ8ɰ3ɥɬɱɬɰ 6ɱɞɯɱ$1ɢɴ6ɲɟɰɠɯɦɭɱɦɬɫ &ඈඇඍൺർඍ8ඌඍඈ6ඎൻආංඍ 1ൾඐඌඈඋ3අൺർൾ$ඇ$ൽ 2ඎඋඇൾඐඅඒඎඉൽൺඍൾൽඐൾൻඌංඍൾආൺൾඌංඍൾൺඌඒඍඈ •Submit news •Submit birth, engagement and wedding announcements •Send us photos •Submit letters to the editor •Place ads •Start a new subscription ඐඐඐඁൾඉඉඇൾඋඇൾඍ :HHNO\GHDGOLQHIRUDOOQHZVDQG advertising is Monday at 5pm. 177 N Main, Heppner • 541-676-9228 Don’t Let Salem Dictate Morrow County’s Future! VOTE NO on Recall! If Recall is successful Governor Tina Kotek will choose our next County Commissioners Do the citizens of Morrow County want Salem politicians deciding our future? If this recall is successful, Oregon Law says Governor Tina Kotek will choose our next board of commissioners. And Tina’s hand-picked people will serve two-and-a-half years! Keep Local Control VOTE NO on Recall Is this what Morrow County wants? Don’t leave Morrow County’s governance in the hands of valley politicians. Keep local control and Vote Down this misguided and unwarranted recall/power grab! Paid for by David Sykes
