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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 2016)
Hermiston A4 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016 B USINESS Work resumes at Carty Generating Station Former contractor fi red last month, near bankruptcy By GEORGE PLAVEN Staff Writer Employees are slowly getting back to work on the Carty Generating Sta- tion after Portland General Electric ¿ red the project contractor last month. In a recent ¿ ling with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, PGE con¿ rms construc- tion has resumed at Carty along Tower Road near the Boardman Coal Plant. Abeinsa, an af¿ liate of the Spanish multinational corporation Abengoa, was originally chosen by PGE to build the natural gas- ¿ red power plant in 2013. Abengoa is now ¿ ghting for its ¿ nancial life, and risks becoming the largest bankruptcy ever in Spain. A spokesman for PGE previously said they weren’t aware of any is- sues at the time with Abengoa, though at least one competing compa- ny foresaw trouble on the horizon. Calpine Corpora- tion, based in Houston, ap- pealed to the Oregon Pub- lic Utility Commission in 2013 that Abengoa did not appear to be a creditworthy contractor. Calpine had also sub- mitted a bid for the proj- ect, and later provided comments as part of a petition to the PUC. In its comments, Calpine not- ed Abengoa’s credit rat- ing had been downgraded from B+ to B with a neg- ative outlook by Standard & Poor’s earlier that year. Another agency, Moody’s Investor Service, also downgraded its rating of Abengoa from B1 to B2, with a stable outlook. “It seemed to us there were signi¿ cant Tues- tions,” said John Stephens, a Portland lawyer repre- senting Calpine. The PUC ultimate- ly denied the petition for declaratory ruling, and PGE moved forward with Abengoa. PGE spokes- man Steve Corson said the company closely evaluated all bids, as well as an inde- pendent evaluator, and de- cided Abengoa had provid- ed appropriate assurances. “We felt comfortable, the independent evaluator felt comfortable, and the PUC had also af¿ rmed we used an appropriate pro- cess in evaluating the bid- ding,” Corson said. There is no such thing as a risk-free project, Cor- son said, especially on a 440-megawatt, $514 mil- lion power plant. PGE did have a performance bond worth $145.6 million through Liberty Mutual and Zurich North America. Corson said they are now working with those sure- ties to update the construc- tion cost and schedule. “Part of our job is to mitigate risk by putting in appropriate ¿ nancial safe- guards, and that’s what we did,” Corson said. Construction was al- ready about 75 percent ¿ nished at Carty when Abeinsa began turning ap- proximately 500 workers away from the site on Dec. 14. Four days later, PGE ruled Abeinsa in default of its contract and took over the site. Since then, construction has gradually ramped back up and Corson said they expect to be back to full strength in the next few weeks. “We’re pleased to have the project back under- way,” he said. “We remain convinced this will be a very valuable and reliable resource for our customers moving forward.” Carty was expected to come online in mid- 2016, though that could change. PGE says it plans to provide an update on the schedule in February. HERMISTONHERALD.COM School district hires pre-bond architects By JADE McDOWELL Staff Writer Hermiston School Dis- trict’s board of education ap- proved the appointment of a “pre-bond” architect during Monday’s school board meeting. The board approved YGH/LKV Architects for the job. Deputy superintendent Wade Smith said the archi- tects would assist in some preliminary design work while the district “starts wres- tling with ¿ nding longterm solutions to some of our pop- ulation challenges.” In June 2015 the district approved a Comprehensive Master Plan that recom- mends the district build an additional elementary school on Theater Lane and expand Sandstone Middle School and Hermiston High School at an estimated cost of $73.7 million. More expensive ver- sions of the plan would pay for larger expansions and replace Rocky Heights Ele- mentary, Highland Hills El- ementary or both. The district recruited a Citizens Review Committee to study the recommenda- tions, with an eye on re¿ ning a plan by March, drumming up support in the communi- ty and making a ¿ nal deci- sion in January 2017 about whether to pursue a bond issue during the May 2017 election. Enrollment in the district is currently 212 students higher than during the same time period last year and 112 more than had been forecast. On Monday night the school board also listened to an informational presenta- tion by assistant superinten- dent Brynn Browning about the district’s English Learner program. Overall the district’s English-language learners are outpacing their peers in other school districts, noted Browning. Counties collaborate on powerline comments Deadline extended to Jan. 22 By GEORGE PLAVEN Staff Writer Umatilla and Morrow county planners will work together on comments to the Bureau of Land Man- agement seeking common ground on where to build the proposed Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line. As the project’s lead en- vironmental review agen- cy, the BLM is responsi- ble for coming up with a preferred alternative for the 300-mile line. Their current preference is to follow Interstate 84 from Boardman to just west of Pendleton, before breaking south to avoid the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The counties, however, say that proposal would interfere with too many homes and farms on either side of the highway. They want the line to run signi¿ - cantly farther south, but just how far south remains to be determined. Both counties are concerned with protect- ing high-value agricul- ture within their borders. Transmission towers can interrupt farming opera- tions and, in some cases, take swaths of land out of production. Boardman to Heming- way has been in the works for a decade, proposed by Boise-based Idaho Power to share electricity with the Columbia Basin during times of peak demand. The trick has been identifying the route with the few- est impacts to farms and wildlife, while keeping the project affordable. Early estimates have pegged the project at anywhere be- tween $890-$940 million. Morrow County Plan- ning Director Carla Mc- Lane and Umatilla County Senior Planner Bob Wald- her will meet to collabo- rate on comments to the BLM. Comments are due Friday, Jan. 22, after the agency granted counties a two-week extension. Umatilla County com- missioners say they favor the most southerly al- ternative, while Morrow County is focused primar- ily on placing 22 miles of line along the west side of Bombing Range Road on Navy land. Waldher said the goal is to identify and re¿ ne a route that works for both counties. “Our hope is the Umatil- la South route can tie into the west side of Bombing Range Road,” he said. McLane said most of their conversation will likely center on how far south the line needs to go to balance everyone’s in- terests. They hope to make site visits as early as this week. The Morrow County Court held a public meet- ing on Boardman to Hem- ingway last week, and Mc- Lane said residents seem BRIEFCASE Free seminar highlights business branding Business and organiza- tions can learn more about the importance of branding during a free seminar. Branding a business helps a business in por- traying a messages to its targeted consumers. Top- ics during the seminar in- clude making a positive impression, how to show your business in a posi- tive light and how to es- tablish an edge over com- petition. The free branding semi- nar is Thursday from 8:30- 9:30 a.m. at the Hermiston Conference Center, 415 S. Highway 395. For more information, contact 541-567-6151, kelly@hermistonchamber. com or visit www.hermis- tonchamber.com. Two local businesses celebrate anniversaries Hors d’ oeuvres and local wine samples are featured in the upcoming anniversa- ries of a pair of Hermiston businesses The public is invited to stop by as Home Town Mortgage Group celebrates its third anniversary and Real Business Solutions, LLC marks two years. The event is Wednesday, Jan. 20, from 5-8:30 p.m. at 505 E. Main St., Hermiston. For more information, STUDENT OF THE WEEK Delaney Clem P ENDLETON H IGH S CHOOL Delaney Clem is a senior at PHS and currently has a 4.26 GPA while involved in many sports and activities. She runs cross country and track, and is currently on the swim team. Delaney is a member of National Honors Society, Leadership, and is a student director of Link Crew. She is interested in majoring biology at Central Washington University next year, where she will also run cross country and track. Lastly, Delaney participates in the community by doing volunteer work such as Round-Up City Racers, elementry school carnivals, and multiple Salvation Army charities. Proudly Sponsored by call 541-564-5900 or 541- 567-0869. Area author to sign latest book The author of a novel that explores the everyday heroics of a family dealing with ¿ nancial worries, rela- tionship issues and grand- pa’s dementia will visit Armchair Books. Umatilla County author Ira White will sign copies of “We Won’t Forget You, Mr. McGillicuddy” Satur- day, Jan. 23, from noon to 2 p.m. at 39 S.W. Dorion Ave., Pendleton. Retired from the United States Department of Ag- riculture, White has writ- ten short stories, poems, essays and novels. He also performs speaking engage- ments about his publica- tions, as well as poverty, government surveillance and care giving for those with Alzheimer’s and de- mentia. For more information or to reserve a copy of the book, call 541-276-7323. For more about the author, visit www.irawhite.com. to understand the project is needed. It’s just a matter of compromising on the loca- tion. “At the end of the day, 3rinted on recycled newsprint VOLUME 110 ɿ NUMBER 2 Gary L. West | Editor • gwest@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4532 Tammy Malgesini | Community Editor • tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4539 Sam Barbee | Sports Reporter • sbarbee@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4542 Jade McDowell | Reporter • jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4536 Jeanne Jewett | Multi-Media consultant • jjewett@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4531 Shannon Paxton | 2f¿ ce coordinator • spa[ton@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-453 To contact the Hermiston Herald for news, advertising or subscription information: • call 541-567-6457 • e-mail info@hermistonherald.com • stop b\ our of¿ ces at 333 (. 0ain 6t. • visit us online at: hermistonherald.com The Hermiston Herald 8636 24222, ,661 75-472 is published weeNl\ at Hermiston Herald, 333 (. 0ain 6t., Hermiston, 25 973, 541 567-6457, )$; 541 567-1764. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES Delivered by carrier and mail Wednesdays ,nside 8matilla0orrow counties .......... $42.65 2utside 8matilla0orrow counties ....... $53.9 3eriodical postage paid at Hermiston, 25. 3ostmaster, send address changes to Hermiston Herald, 333 (. 0ain 6t., Hermiston, 25 973. 0ember of (2 0edia *roup &opyright 216 Love ! s e t o N Mwah Tell the world how you feel, send a message to your special someone for Valentine's Day! $ ONLY 15 00 10 Words + Photo $ ONLY 10 00 20 Words Fill out this form and send to our offices... Chris McClellan 541-278-2678 Shannon Paxton 541-564-4530 211 SE Byers Ave. Pendleton 333 E Main St. Hermiston Your Name: Daytime Phone: Address: City: Zip: Person's Name: Message: ❑ Emailed photo to classifieds@eastoreonian.com Remember: Please include a check or money order. Hermiston Herald East Oregonian ❑ $15 with Pic ❑ $15 with Pic ❑ $10 without ❑ $10 without Publishes Feb. 13 Publishes Feb. 10 ❑ I would like to pay with my credit card (Visa or Mastercard only) Cardmember's Name: Card Number: Cardholder's Address: Card Type: 2801 St. Anthony Way, Pendleton, OR • 541-276-5121 the no-action alternative just isn’t reasonable,” she said. “This really does pro- vide additional reliability to our power supply.” Exp. Date: Entries must be received by Feb. 3rd at Noon.
