TEN - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Lexington council discusses
CREZ funds, water system
progress, and work sessions
During its April 8 meet-
ing, the Lexington Town
Council held a wide-rang-
ing discussion on upcoming
budget priorities, water
system upgrades, and how
to better structure council
work.
Mayor Shiela Miller
opened discussion about the
town’s recent allocation of
CREZ (Columbia River En-
terprise Zone) funds, stating
her belief that some of the
money should be direct-
ed to the fire department.
Lexington’s fire department
did not receive a separate
allocation because it does
not have its own board apart
from the city council.
Councilor Katie Imes
noted that, historically,
CREZ funds had gone into
the water reserve fund for
infrastructure improve-
ments and suggested the fire
department could consider
forming a separate board.
Miller pushed back on that
idea.
“The board manages
the money and the assets.
Which is what we do,” she
said. “We manage the mon-
ey and the assets. We need
to think about, some of this
money should go to the fire
department.”
Councilor Will Lem-
mon said the allocation of
funds should be a topic for
the budget committee, not
the regular council meeting.
Miller also reported
progress on the income
survey needed for grant
applications related to the
town’s water system up-
grades. After taking over
the survey effort herself,
she said she has already
completed more than half
the required responses.
“It will take longer than
expected,” she said, “but
they missed entire streets,
including Main Street,”
referring to the company
originally hired for the
project.
“I wish we could get
our money back from
them,” Lemmon added.
Senior engineer Brad
Baird of Anderson Perry
& Associates provided an
update on the town’s water
project, noting they had
spent time earlier that day
reviewing lines and system
components. He said the
full design should be fin-
ished by summer or early
fall.
“To be well ready if you
get any funding for both the
well and the rest of the proj-
ect,” Baird said. “I mean,
the well design is done and
approved. It’s ready to go.
It’d be great if we could
drill the well, but I’d hate
for you to spend more than
you would have to out of
your nest egg.”
The town is actively
pursuing grants to fund
the new well and related
improvements, with the
income survey being a key
part of that process.
Maintenance Director
Larry Hess reported that he
has sprayed approximately
250 gallons of weed con-
trol around town so far this
spring and is scheduled to
take his sprayer certifica-
tion test. He also plans to
borrow a mini excavator
from Morrow County Pub-
lic Works in June to clear
the Blackhorse drainage
canal.
Hess said he had re-
searched a potential road-
way vacation after a res-
ident inquiry. Miller also
raised concern about over-
growth of hemlock along
the creek, saying, “We’ve
got to do something. It’s
going to be horrendously
out of control.”
Town Recorder Au-
tumn Crumpton told the
council she has been re-
viewing and cleaning up
the town’s budget in prepa-
ration for the first budget
committee meeting on May
5. She confirmed the 2024
financial report was submit-
ted on time.
“So technically we are
all caught up on our finan-
cial stuff,” said Crumpton.
Mayor Miller proposed
adding work sessions to the
council’s schedule to allow
the council to discuss com-
plex issues in more depth.
“Some of the things
that we vote on up here
and do, you know, it makes
this meeting very long and
we sometimes don’t feel
like we can give our opin-
ion on everything,” said
Miller. “And I think that a
work session beforehand on
some things would really
be nice.”
Councilor Imes sup-
ported the idea and sug-
gested a session focused on
comparing budgeted versus
actual expenditures. She
also stressed the need for a
clear agenda at each work
session.
“I know how easy it is
to get off on a tangent and
end up a mile down the road
from where you really want
to be,” Imes said. “Here’s
the discussion topic. What
outcome do we want from
that discussion?”
The first work session
is scheduled for Tuesday,
April 30 at 6 p.m. The first
budget committee meeting
is May 5, and the next reg-
ular council meeting will be
May 13 at 6 p.m.
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