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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 11, 2016)
A14 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 2016 LOCAL NEWS City approves New drainage basin at Newport Park collecting stormwater senior center plans with extra investment By JADE McDOWELL Staff Writer By JADE McDOWELL Staff Writer The city of Hermiston has decided to add a base- ment to the new senior cen- ter planned for downtown. The city council ap- proved plans for the Har- kenrider Center on Monday night, including a $550,000 basement that would come from the city’s general fund reserves. The rest of the building would be paid with the re- maining $1.63 million from a Community Development Block Grant. The city will pursue other options for the $200,000 needed for the parking lot, but could eventually end up paying for that too if other possible funding sources don’t pan out. “$2 million doesn’t go as far as you’d think it would,” grant director Larry Fetter said, referring to the origi- nal grant amount. The current Herm- iston Senior Center on the fairgrounds is 5,500 square feet. The plans ap- proved Monday include a 7,200-square-foot main level (including great room, reception area, kitch- en, storage, two breakout rooms and an ofice) and a 3,800-square-foot base- ment with elevator access. Cutting back the main loor plan from the $2.5 million design presented a month ago to the $1.6 million design presented Monday came with some sacriices, and members of the senior center told the council they were unhappy with the changes. Virginia Beebe said changing the ireplace from a double-sided one in the center of the building to one against the wall meant people would end up look- ing out the window instead of at the ireplace. “If we’re going to have a ireplace it belongs in the middle of the building,” she said. There were also con- cerns that the kitchen size had been reduced — de- spite still being 50 percent larger than the current se- nior center kitchen — and that the senior center bus would be parked in a secure area at the public works de- partment instead of an on- site garage. City administrators and councilors responded to the concerns by pointing out that the previous plans had included everyone’s wish list, but budget constraints made it impossible to pay for everything on the list. “We all have big dreams, but we also have pocket- books those dreams have to answer to,” Mayor David Drotzmann said. Previously, there had been some debate about whether it was worth spending $550,000 to add a daylight basement. Coun- cilor John Kirwan said he heard from several constit- uents that they hoped the city added the basement because it had been a long time since the city had made a major investment in the downtown area. Contractually, the se- niors will always have priority use of the build- ing. But after ive years the building can also be used by the community for events ranging from yoga classes to private wedding rentals. “Bringing people down- town is hard to put a price tag on, but I do believe a basement makes this more marketable,” Fetter said. The city’s next step is to reine the approved loor plans into architec- tural blueprints and put the project out to bid, starting construction in October and inishing sometime in sum- mer 2017. The seniors will have to leave their current center in May 2017, when Hermiston School Dis- trict begins demolition of the fair and rodeo grounds where the center is located. City Manager Byron Smith said the city could pull the $550,000 from the general fund reserve and still maintain the reserve levels required by city council. The neighborhood around Newport Park experienced some looding as last Wednesday’s storm overwhelmed rainwater collection systems across Herm- iston, but it would have been worse without renovations to the park. In the fall the city removed elements of the park’s softball ield, including the dugouts, and lowered the ield 18 inches so that it would act as a drainage basin during storms, like the one that blew through the area on Wednesday and illed the new basin to overlowing. Hermiston Parks and Recre- ation Director Larry Fetter said after the softball ield’s eleva- tion was lowered there were oth- er storms that would have lood- ed the neighbors’ homes in the past, but the water was diverted to the park instead. During those times the ine silt in the soil kept the park looking like a lake for days afterward, but Fetter said a series of gravel “dry wells” the city has since installed under the surface of the ield should make the water drain much more quickly in the future. “It did a great job of collect- ing water, we just want it to drain out of there,” he said. Right now the ield doesn’t have any grass on it, but Fetter said the city will hydroseed the playing ield in the next week or so, and it will take four to six weeks after that for the grass to be ready for use. “It’ll come up pretty quick- ly,” he said. The project was controversial for community members with fond memories of playing Lit- tle League baseball and softball at Newport Park. But the city council greenlighted the proj- ect after hearing the city kept having to pay insurance claims to neighbors whose homes sus- tained substantial water damage when it rained enough to over- whelm a nearby city pump sys- tem. The city doesn’t schedule Newport Park for regular use by any teams, but there are some groups that use it unoficially for extra practices. Fetter said once everything is put back together they should be able to still use the ield for batting practice or pick-up games unless there was a recent storm. “We appreciate the neighbor- hood being patient,” he said. He said the city is incorporat- ing a similar but much smaller drainage basin into its expan- sion of Sunset Park on Fourth Street to combat looding there. EOTEC: continued from Page A1 STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL The Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center’s main event building opens to the public May 13. tion,” Smith said. Some of the events al- ready scheduled for EO- TEC, such as the Farm- City Pro Rodeo and private events like weddings, would take place in Hermiston no matter what. But Smith said Heather Cannell, EO- STAFF PHOTO BY DANIEL WATTENBURGER Mike Arreola, working for the City of Hermiston, surveys a looded Newport Park in downtown Hermiston on Thursday morning after a rain storm Wednesday night, May 4. STAFF PHOTO E.J. HARRIS A rain-water collection basin was created in the softball ield of Newport Park to stop looding in neighborhood houses around the park in Hermiston. TEC’s business manager, is talking with home and gar- den shows and other events that haven’t taken place in Hermiston in the past. “There just hasn’t been a place large enough to do that,” Smith said. Once the event center piece of the project opens Friday, there is still much work to be done. Designs for the livestock barns to be used for the fair and other agricultural events are complete and ready to go out to bid, with a bid package for the rodeo arena not far behind. Con- tractors will also need to be hired to complete small- er projects such as food stalls, restrooms, fencing, landscaping and lighting. And the EOTEC board is in negotiations for the water Need Shade or Outdoor Living Space? Put a smile on the heart with the power of flowers. W e’ve Got YOU covered! FREE estimates! 541-720-0772 Visit our showroom: 102 E Columbia Dr. Kennewick, WA 99336 Pa�o Covers Pergolas · Sunrooms R t t bl A i Retractable Awnings Screen Rooms Handrail · Sun/Solar Shades & More! License #188965 rights to irrigate massive green spaces used to host everything from outdoor concerts to RV parking. 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