Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, December 25, 2024 -- SEVEN
Heppner’s Parade of Lights continued from page one
AWANA takes winter break
Junior AWANA leader Zethan Humphreys displays the craft
project the Spark club members completed over a series of
weeks. -Photo by Andrea Di Salvo
Older club members listen to leader Dick Temple during
large group time Dec. 17. -Photo by Andrea Di Salvo
Commissioners give green light to $35
million circuit court budget plan
-Continued from PAGE ONE abnormal heart rhythm for letter that we need to have revised schematic space
ro u g h l y 21,000 gr oss
square feet. The team had
already been working in
that direction, but Stewart
added the caveat that the
reduced price would also
mean moving quickly. Fur-
ther delays could add in
more escalation costs.
Jensen noted that the
$35 million figure did in-
clude funds already spent as
well as those it will take to
complete the project.
When it comes to the
state’s share of the cost,
DLR Group principal Lori
Coppenrath said that, once
they figure out what portion
of the building will belong
to the circuit court, the state
will pay 50 percent of that.
Right now, she said, that
looks like around 38 per-
cent of the total project cost.
“That number will
change as the square foot-
age is refined,” she added.
Jensen said removing
the justice court from the
building would likely save
another three to five million
dollars.
While the numbers
were an improvement,
Sykes said he was still
concerned about how the
county got to this point.
“I’m not arguing on the
substance of circuit court or
soft costs or anything like
that,” Sykes said.
He then began to read a
proposal in which he asked
the other commissioners to
proceed with only the basic
courthouse facility and to
create a structure of long-
term capital improvement
planning in the county.
“A capital improve-
ment plan has previously
been discussed by the BOC
administration and staff.
However, it has never been
initiated,” Sykes said. “We
are currently considering
major facility expendi-
tures.”
That was where Sykes’s
interaction at the meeting
ended. Sykes experienced
a medical incident and was
transported by ambulance
to Good Shepherd Medical
Center in Hermiston. He
apparently experienced an
which he already had sur-
gery scheduled at Kadlec
Medical Center.
The minimal-invasive
procedure was completed
Dec. 19. In a letter of thanks
to the community, Sykes
said it went well, and he is
feeling fine, but he will be
taking some time off until
after the holidays.
After a short break,
the BOC meeting resumed
with BOC Vice Chair Jeff
Wenholz taking the helm
as acting chair. Wenholz
continued by reading the
remainder of Sykes’s state-
ment.
“We’re currently con-
sidering major facility ex-
penditures in an ad hoc and
at times seemingly sponta-
neous manner bereft of any
needs or fiscal planning,”
Sykes’s statement said.
Sykes also wrote that
the county currently has
11 committees advising
commissioners and staff
in almost every aspect of
county operations and ex-
penditures.
“Yet we have no advi-
sory committee or planning
process in place to map out
our future capital improve-
ments and infrastructure
needs and expenditures,”
Sykes wrote. “Whether
through an advisory com-
mittee and public input
or other means, I feel we
need to think through our
future needs and demands,
know our estimated future
revenues and apply those
revenues accordingly in a
planned and orderly man-
ner.”
“We all know the infra-
structure and facility proj-
ects are needed moving into
the future, including the
current request to remove
the Justice Court,” the state-
ment finished. “How will
we in future BOCs make
these capital allocation
decisions? I would hope
through planned and order-
ly methods.”
Both Drago and Wen-
holz said they agreed with
Sykes’s point about the
capital planning.
“I don’t disagree with
the major premise of his
capital infrastructure plan-
ning process and figure
out how we’re going to
be paying for these,” said
Wenholz. “On the other
hand, personally, I would
like to see the justice court
be moved with (the circuit
court).”
“Don’t get me wrong;
$35 million is a lot of mon-
ey for us,” he added. “But
in the scheme of the project,
it’s really a small percent-
age.”
“And then, it’s going to
be cheaper to do that today
in the process than in the
future with an addition,”
added Drago.
Wenholz said it made
sense to him to have both
the circuit court and justice
court in one facility. He said
he thought it would make
it easier for citizens who
had to attend either court to
have both under one roof.
“I would appreciate
that we move forward with
the idea of $35 million,
including the justice court,
because as the point you
made, it’s never going to
be cheaper to do it,” he told
Drago.
“I believe that we
should be keeping both
courts in the same building.
That’s been my thought all
along,” replied Drago. “I
was one that brought that
forward. I still stand on
that.”
The two commission-
ers voted to authorize the
county staff and design
team to proceed with the
design, including the justice
court, with a targeted total
project cost of $35 million.
Of that, the county’s
current estimated cost
would be around $21.5 mil-
lion, with the state chipping
in $13.5 million.
Coppenrath added
some perspective to the
process by pointing out
that DLR Group was first
hired to look at the exist-
ing courthouse and how
that might be expanded.
Since then, through changes
in county leadership and
new DOJ requirements,
the project had morphed
significantly.
The original thought of
$800 per square foot had
also gone by the wayside.
“But the construction
costs just continue to go
up,” Coppenrath said. “This
is aligned with other proj-
ects we’re working on in
the state.
“We’re at the $1,200
to $1,300 square foot for
construction cost number,
which is a lot,” she added.
“And that’s how we got to
where we are right now.”
“I think that this has
kind of been a learning
process for all of us,” said
Wenholz. “We had the $25
million out there, and none
of us maybe knew or under-
stood or made it clear that
this was really just a really
big ballpark idea.
“From our standpoint,
the messaging to the com-
munity could have been
better,” he added.
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AWANA Sparks create a craft with their leaders last week.
-Photo by Andrea Di Salvo
Heppner AWANA Club
held its last meeting of 2024
on Dec. 17 with “Birthday
Candle Night” to celebrate
the birth of Jesus.
The local club will re-
sume Jan. 7 with “Snow-
flake Night.”
The mood was festive
last week as the club mem-
bers played games, sang
songs and participated in
Bible lessons and mem-
orization. The Sparks—
ages kindergarten to third
grade—also completed a
craft project for Christmas.
The Heppner AWANA
program is the combined
effort of local churches to
teach children what the
Bible is all about. AWANA
stands for “Approved Work-
ers Are Not Ashamed,”
based on II Timothy 2:15.
New members are al-
ways welcome. For more
information on the Hep-
pner AWANA Club, contact
AWANA Heppner secretary
Andrea Di Salvo at awana.
heppner@gmail.com, 757-
285-5792, or via Facebook
Messenger.
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