(,*+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