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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 2015)
PROGRESS 2015 PAGE 2: Housing starts rebound PAGE 4: PAGE 6: PAGE 4: Hill Meat Co. a Pendleton staple Districts place focus on STEM programs Shearer’s makes big strides in 2014 BOARDMAN Port of Morrow a recession-buster Expansion continues in eastern Oregon BY GEORGE PLAVEN EO MEDIA GROUP The Port of Morrow continues to cement its sta- tus as the economic engine of eastern Oregon after an- other strong year of growth in 2014. Two companies com- pleted multi-million dollar expansions of their facil- LWLHV ZKLOH SRUW RI¿FLDOV oversaw a number of infra- structure projects designed to make the East Beach Industrial Park even more attractive for new develop- ment. Despite an economic recession that spiked Or- egon’s unemployment to near-record highs, the port actually saw 88 percent growth between 2008-2013. By mid-2013, port-related businesses boasted nearly 4,000 direct jobs and $1.6 billion in annual output. 7KRVH ¿JXUHV ZHUH ERO- stered further in 2014, as Lamb Weston cut the rib- bon on a $200 million ex- pansion of its frozen potato plant and Tillamook Cheese ¿QLVKHG D PLOOLRQ H[- pansion of its cheese-mak- ing facility to process whey and lactose powder. Together, they added about 140 new jobs tied directly to the region’s agri- cultural base. The port now DFFRXQWV IRU SHUFHQW RI all direct employment in Morrow County, according to a 2013 economic report. Gary Neal, general man- ager at the Port of Morrow, said their success attract- ing business is the result E.J. HARRIS PHOTO The Port of Morrow saw new investments in 2014 with the $200 million expansion of the Lamb Weston frozen potato facility. of forward-thinking steps that have added up over time. Companies looking to build in rural areas like Boardman have a few spe- FL¿FQHHGVLQRUGHUWRWKULYH in the marketplace, he said: shovel-ready land, reliable transportation, water and electricity, all of which the port has readily available. “This is where the infra- structure comes together where we can create these jobs,” Neal said. Lamb Weston’s project increased its capacity to produce an additional 300 million pounds of french fries per year, while Tilla- mook now has the ability to make lactose powder and dried whey protein on site — instead of sending the leftover milk to another location. Mark Wustenberg, Til- lamook’s vice president of quality and operations, said they had no reservations about making the invest- ment locally, in part be- cause of their good working relationship with the port. “Working with them through (the project) was a great process,” Wustenberg said. “They were very ac- commodating.” In order to keep busi- nesses happy, Neal said the port is constantly making improvements at its indus- trial park. That includes $15-$16 million worth of capital projects during the ODVW¿VFDO\HDUVXFKDVURDG upgrades and a new cold storage building for frozen vegetables. E.J. HARRIS PHOTO Tillamook Cheese finished a $90 million expansion of its cheese-processing facility at the Port of Morrow this last year. &UHZV UHFHQWO\ ¿QLVKHG SDYLQJ ¿YH PLOHV RI URDG on Lewis & Clark Drive, connecting east to Highway 730 and providing an ad- Port of Morrow, by the numbers The Port of Morrow, located in Boardman, is Ore- 2WKHU¿JXUHVIURPWKHSRUW¶V(FRQRPLF,PSDFW gon’s second-largest port behind the Port of Portland. It Analysis: is run by a staff of about 50 employees and governed by • $1.6 billion in annual economic output D¿YHPHPEHUSRUWFRPPLVVLRQ • $266 million in labor income There are 57 port-related businesses with a total • $48 million in state and local tax revenue employment of 6,850 — not including the recent ex- FRQVWUXFWLRQMREVH[SHFWHGRYHUQH[W¿YH\HDUV pansions at Lamb Weston and Tillamook Cheese. That • Return on investment shows one local job is created EUHDNV GRZQ WR GLUHFW MREV LQGLUHFW MREV or retained for every $15 in local tax revenue collected DQGDGGLWLRQDOMREVZLWKLQWKHVXSSO\FKDLQ by the port ditional point of entry into the port. Neal said this will relieve congestion of trucks heading in and out from the interstate. Additional roads were also paved off of Lewis & Clark Drive east of Colum- bia Avenue, opening about 1,000 acres of land for de- velopment. In November, the Ore- gon Department of Trans- portation approved a $6 mil- lion matching grant to help build a 100,000-square- foot cold storage building, which will be linked to the industrial park by a 2,500- foot rail spur. The warehouse is ex- pected to handle 150-200 million pounds of frozen IRRGVLQLWV¿UVW\HDUDORQH as processors continue to grow. “It’s going to be a cata- lyst for a bunch of oppor- tunities,” Neal said. “We’re very excited about that.” Looking ahead to 2015, Neal said the port is once again in position for a big year. Kodiak Carbonic, a company based in Ama- rillo, Texas, is building a $7 million plant to liquefy carbon dioxide generated at another port business, Pa- FL¿F(WKDQRO Kodiak will purchase 200 tons of carbon dioxide SHU GD\ IURP 3DFL¿F (WKD- nol. Liquid carbon dioxide can be used to make dry ice. “It’s a good use of a by- product coming out of the ethanol process, and it’s good for the environment,” Neal said. A Minnesota-based com- pany, Novus Energy, also hopes to have the funding in place to break ground on a proposed anaerobic diges- tion plant that would take food scraps and manure to make natural gas. 2QH KLJKSUR¿OH HQHUJ\ project, however, remains in limbo. Coal exporter Ambre Energy had intend- ed to ship coal from Wyo- ming and Montana to Asia through a rail-to-barge ter- minal at the port, though the Oregon Department of State Lands denied a permit needed to build in the Co- lumbia River. Both the port and Ambre ¿OHGDSSHDOVZKLFKZLOOEH heard by an administrative law judge in December. Neal said the agency’s de- cision has resulted in an un- fortunate delay, wrapped up in emotion and politics. “For us, it’s important to continue to have termi- nal operations available to move commodities,” Neal said. “We don’t get caught up in what that commodity may or may not be.” Taking a moment to re- ÀHFW RQ 1HDO VDLG it was another productive year that sets the stage for 2015 and beyond. “We have a lot more work ahead to accomplish our mis- sion and our goals,” he said.