Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 2017)
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2017 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7 LOCAL NEWS City, county ask for long-term EOTEC plan By JADE MCDOWELL Staff Writer The Hermiston City Council and Umatilla County Board of Commis- sioners agree it’s time to lay out a long-term plan for the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center. During a joint work ses- sion Monday the two gov- erning bodies discussed the need to come up with a concrete operations plan as soon as possible, and to increase the focus on mar- keting so that the center is busy year-round and not just during the Umatilla County Fair and Farm-City Pro Rodeo. “The fair and rodeo are an event, one month out of the year,” city council- or John Kirwan said. “We should be looking two to three years out.” He said it seems the EO- TEC board’s focus has been on getting the project done in time for the 2017 fair and rodeo, and it should be making sure the center is busy year-round so that the city and county aren’t saying “we need taxpayer money to keep this going.” He also said that city manager Byron Smith, who chairs the EOTEC board, is spending about 20 to 25 percent of his time on EO- TEC, taking away from other city concerns. That can’t be the case forever, he said. Smith and county com- missioner Larry Givens, who also sits on the EO- TEC board, told Kirwan they share his concerns. Givens said the center does not have bonds to pay off, which puts it ahead of most event centers in terms of becoming profitable. How- ever, when it comes to mar- keting he said one current problem is that business manager Heather Cannell — currently the center’s only employee until a new administrative assistant starts in February — is shoveling snow, cleaning bathrooms and setting up tables in addition to trying to book events. “Sometimes when you try to save a dime it costs you a dollar,” he said. “We may be at that point.” Cannell said it is also hard to market a half-fin- ished project, because people want to know how many seats the rodeo arena will have or what day the barns will be finished, and she can’t tell them for sure. “I rented to an RV ral- ly and had to call and say, ‘Please still come, but we won’t have any grass for you,’” she said. “... I don’t want to over-promise and under-deliver.” She said since the event center building opened in May 2016 there have been 40 events at the center, gen- erating about $36,000 in net profits, and she has 43 more events booked so far into early 2018. Councilors and commis- sioners asked Smith and Givens to go back to the EOTEC board and ask for an operations and staffing plan to be ready in the next month or so for the two partners to review a second joint work session. They acknowledged it might mean some invest- ment by the city and county up front to pay for a direc- tor focused on marketing and making the center via- ble long-term. “It’s going to cost a lit- tle, but Byron can’t run EO- TEC forever,” mayor David Drotzmann said. The city council gave the county commission a heads-up that it would be making a formal request to change the name of East Airport Road, where EO- TEC is located. The city has been getting complaints from truck drivers, contrac- tors and others who ended up lost on the adjacent Air- port Way. During Monday’s work session the city and coun- ty also received updates on construction. John Eck- hardt of Knerr Construction said things are on sched- ule to break ground on the barns by Jan. 30 and finish them by July 14. “We do not have a lot of flexibility in our schedule,” he said. Carl Hendon of Hendon Construction said work on the rodeo arena has contin- ued with heaters and insu- lating covers over the con- crete where possible to push through the cold, snowy weather. The original “ag- gressive” schedule would have had the arena finished before June 1, but due to the long stretch of below-freez- ing weather Hendon said that date is now June 14. In response to a ques- tion from the city council about the safety of pouring concrete during such cold weather, Hendon assured them that all the tests have shown the concrete has cured properly and is as strong as it needs to be. “It’s not going to fall down,” he said. The EOTEC board has a meeting Friday at 7 a.m. at the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center. New Members 4 Seasons Paint Co. Hermiston 541-571-1885 Hermiston (541) 788-4432 PetSense 1968 N. 1st, Hermiston (541) 303-1472 Chamber Events Chamber Business Connection Every Tuesday at 8:30am KOHU 1360am Network Hermiston at Hometown Mortgage Thursday, January 26th 5:30pm Ribbon Cutting at Nookies Catering Thursday, January 27th 12:00pm Distinguished Citizens Awards Banquet Wednesday, February 1st 6:00pm Chamber Ambassadors Wednesday, February 8th 7:15am Latino Business Network Wednesday, February 8th 9:00am Leadership Hermiston Class 20 Tuesday, February 14th 7:30am Network Hermiston at US Bank Thursday, February 15th 12:00pm Business to Business Luncheon Tuesday, February 28th 11:45am 541-567-6151 415 S. Hwy 395 Hermiston GIVE BACK TO YOUR COMMUNITY! 541-567-6562 182 E. Main • Hermiston ELM ER'S IRRIG ATIO N , IN C. " Proudly serving & investing in the future of our communities " AFFORDABLE FAMILY EYEWEAR Hermiston’s Best Value in all Eyewear Hwy 395 • Hermiston 541-567-5572 541-567-3790 • 541-567-3791 fax 1045 N. 1st • Hermiston, OR ~MARCIA LAMBERT~ www.affordablefamilyeyewear.com CAROLLEEN LOVELL Certified Public Accountant, LLC Since 1985 541-567-1780 Complete Collection Service Licensed • Bonded No Collection • No Fee www.carolleenlovell.com 541.567.8073 53 W Beebe Ave, Hermiston, OR 635 SE 4th St. • PO Box 747 Hermiston, OR 97838 Tim Mabry President 461 E. Main Hermiston, OR 97838 (541)289-9107 www.creditsinc.com Become part of the Keep It Local Shell by calling Jeanne Jewett at 541-564-4531 or Audra Workman at 541-564-4538. Custom e r Se r vice Is O ur #1 P r ior ity! HOME • COMMERCIAL 24 HOUR EMERGENCY 541-567-3781 • 1-800-238-1223 905 Diagonal • Hermiston www.osokleen.com Complete Collection Service 750 W Elm Ave. Hermiston, Oregon At UEC we aim higher than just being your electric service provider. We strive to meet the needs of our growing communities while offering products and services that help our members save money, conserve energy and natural resources. Licensed • Bonded No Collection • No Fee 541-567-6414 www.umatillaelectric.com Tim Mabry President 461 E. Main Hermiston, OR 97838 (541)289-9107 www.creditsinc.com • Temporary Staffing Services • Recruiting • Human Resource Management • Risk Management • Payroll Administration • Worker’s Comp Insurance 1055 S. Hwy 395, Ste 333 • Hermiston, OR (541) 567-9670 • Fax (541) 567-4427 251 NE Eldridge Drive, Boardman, OR (541) 481-2666 • Fax (541) 481-2239 WWW.BARRETTBUSINESS.COM