WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
NEWS
Building official may impose fines Festival of Trees
plants holiday spirit
Enforcement option
will work much like
nuisance ordinance
By TAMMY MALGESINI
COMMUNITY EDITOR
By JADE MCDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
The city of Hermis-
ton added some teeth to its
building code enforcement
during a city council meet-
ing last week.
The council passed an
ordinance allowing its
building official to issue
civil penalties for violations
of the building code.
City Manager Byron
Smith said the ordinance
before the council at their
Nov. 13 meeting would
institute a system similar
to the city’s nuisance code
enforcement,
including
warnings and opportunities
to appeal.
“We need to have an
enforcement mechanism,”
he said.
Under the ordinance
unanimously passed by
the council, the build-
ing official will be able
to issue stop work orders,
revoke permits, order vaca-
tion of unsafe premises or
issue fines after the offi-
cial has made “reasonable
attempts to secure volun-
tary correction.”
Hermiston’s
current
building official is Chuck
Woolsey.
Prohibited acts that could
draw a penalty include vio-
lating building codes, build-
ing without a required per-
mit, lying on applications
for permits or ignoring a
lawful order from the build-
ing official.
According to the ordi-
nance, “Violation of a pro-
vision of this chapter shall
be subject to an adminis-
trative civil penalty not to
exceed more than $5,000 for
each offense or, in the case
of a continuing offense, not
more than $1,000 for each
day of the offense.”
The
council
also
approved a plan for side-
walk in-fill.
Assistant city manager
Mark Morgan said over
the summer an intern from
STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL.
A section of worn-down grass on Orchard Avenue across from the Hermiston Post Office
shows one area the city is considering including in its sidewalk in-fill program.
Anderson Perry & Associ-
ates created an inventory of
every sidewalk in the city,
creating a map that shows
gaps in the city’s sidewalk
system.
The city has required
developers to add sidewalks
to developments since the
1970s, so Morgan said gaps
around town are in front of
undeveloped lots or proper-
ties developed prior to the
1970s.
The city attempted a
pilot program offering to
match between 30 percent
and 75 percent of the cost of
a sidewalk on properties in
the Newport Park neighbor-
hood and got “exactly zero
interest,” Morgan said. The
question now is whether the
city wanted to pay for side-
walks in high-traffic areas.
“It is going to be difficult
to look developers in the
eye and say ‘You’re going
to have to put in a sidewalk,
but we did just pay for one
in front of this property,’”
he said.
On the other hand, Mor-
gan said, there were sec-
tions in town where a home-
owner had little incentive to
shell out thousands of dol-
lars for a sidewalk but the
public would greatly bene-
fit from the increased acces-
sibility and safety. He used
the example of a property
on Orchard Avenue near the
post office where pedestri-
ans had to choose between
walking on the street or on
someone’s grass.
Morgan recommended
the city begin budget-
ing $30,000 for projects
on main roads with high
foot traffic, where filling in
“bite-sized pieces” of side-
walk would create long
interrupted sidewalks. The
first recommended project
would be four small sec-
tions of Orchard Avenue
during the 2019-2020 fis-
cal year. Morgan also rec-
ommended that the city use
private contractors so that
the street department’s time
wouldn’t be tied up.
Mayor David Drotz-
mann asked if corporations
located along sidewalk-free
areas such as Elm Avenue
and First Place could be
asked to contribute money
toward sidewalks.
Morgan said the city
could always ask if they
would be interested in a
partnership with the city.
Councilor Roy Bar-
ron asked if the city would
consider a larger project
around Sandstone Middle
School, where he has heard
complaints about the lack
of sidewalks for children
walking to school.
Smith said the city has
applied for some Safe
Routes to Schools grants
that could help with larger
projects like that.
The council unani-
mously approved the rec-
ommendation to start bud-
geting money each year for
sidewalk in-fill.
The council also heard
a short update from Uma-
tilla Electric Cooperative
CEO Robert Echenrode. He
said UEC is the tenth-fast-
est growing electric cooper-
ative in the nation in terms
of kWh sold and its work-
force has increased 20 per-
cent since 2010. He said the
cooperative’s rates are 38
percent below the national
average.
“We have a distinct
advantages in the area, and
we hope to be able to con-
tinue to leverage that,” he
said.
The unofficial kick-off
to the holiday season in
Hermiston is just around the
corner.
Although tickets are all
sold out for the Festival
of Trees gala event’s din-
ner, people can still come
out and place bids on beau-
tifully decorated trees,
themed gift baskets, stock-
ings and wreaths. In addi-
tion, the Family Day is open
to everyone. And, tickets are
available for a chance to win
a special raffle tree.
The gala event is Satur-
day, Dec. 1 at the Hermiston
Community Center, 415 S.
Highway 395. It begins at 6
p.m., with dinner served at 7
p.m. People without dinner
tickets are invited to arrive
prior to the start of the live
auction at 8 p.m. A no-host
bar will be available.
About two dozen trees
are available — each with a
creative theme. People can
bid on such large creations,
complete with gifts: “Christ-
mas Season at the Farm,”
“A Merry Magical Mashup”
and “Happy Trails.” The
smaller trees are just as
sweet, including “The Choc-
olate Connoisseur,” “Love
the Wine You’re With” and
“Pair-a-dice.”
With a theme of “Down
on the Farm,” tickets for the
raffle tree are $10 each. The
drawing will be held during
Family Day — and the win-
ner doesn’t have to be pres-
ent. Money raised will be
used to upgrade “Kiwanis
Falls,” a Highway art fea-
ture near Umatilla.
Money raised from
the Festival of Trees is
split between the Hermis-
ton Kiwanis and the Good
Shepherd
Community
Health Foundation. Money
supports a variety of proj-
ects in giving back to the
community. In addition,
the Festival of Trees Caring
Community
Sponsorship
will provide a donation to
Hermiston/Pendleton Spe-
cial Olympics. The program
offers athletic training and
competitions for individuals
with intellectual disabilities.
Activities sure to spread
holiday spirit are featured
during Family Day. Also,
the large trees from the gala
event will be available for
viewing.
Family Day is Sun-
day, Dec. 2, from noon to
4 p.m., also at the commu-
nity center. A fundraiser
for the Soroptimist Interna-
tional of the Greater Herm-
iston, there is a suggested
donation of $5 per family
— however, no one will be
turned away. A pair of local
Boy Scout troops will run a
snack shack with food avail-
able for purchase.
Music will fill the air and
activities will be scattered
throughout the community
center. Kids will be able to
check out stations with dif-
ferent holiday-themed fun,
including creating their own
Christmas ornaments and
decorate cookies. In addi-
tion, kids can make gift
bags and tags and spin art.
In addition to sharing their
Christmas wish lists with
Santa, they can pose for
photos. The pictures will
be available for pick-up at
a later date at 60 Minute
Photo.
The Soroptimists work to
improve the lives of women
and girls. Money raised will
help fund scholarships for
women in need.
For more information
about the Festival of Trees,
search Facebook.
The most valuable and
respected source of local news,
advertising and information for
our communities.
www.eomediagroup.com
Family Health Associates opens second location
By JADE MCDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
A new Family Health
Associates medical clinic in
Umatilla is expected to pro-
vide faster and more con-
venient care for Umatilla
residents.
The clinic, located at the
Umatilla Hospital District
building at 1890 7th St.,
opens Thursday. The public
was invited to an open house
on Tuesday night and toured
the building’s six exam
rooms, procedure room and
storage and office areas.
Clinic manager Jolene
Lloyd said the new clinic
will help FHA better serve
its Umatilla patients, but
it also helps relieve some
crowding at their Hermiston
location on the Good Shep-
herd Health Care System
campus.
“We have space issues in
Hermiston because we’ve
grown so much,” she said.
“We’re practically Vel-
cro-ing employees to the
ceiling, so this will free up
some space.”
Dr. Derek Earl, FHA’s
medical director, said they
have about 1,200 patients
from Umatilla, so open-
ing up a location there was
a “natural fit.” He said they
already had 35 patients
scheduled to be seen in the
first two days the new clinic
will be open.
“We’re excited to be
here,” he said.
The building was orig-
inally occupied by Encore
Wellness 4 Life, which pro-
vided medical care under a
contract with the Umatilla
Hospital District. When the
district decided to end its
contract with Encore and
put out a request for propos-
als, Family Health Associ-
ates was one of several enti-
ties that submitted one, Earl
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The Umatilla clinic will
offer all of the same services
as the Hermiston location —
including physicals, casting,
minor procedures, pediatrics
and concussion care — with
the exception of their cos-
metic clinic.
Lloyd
said
patients
should still call the main line
at 541-567-6434 to schedule
appointments. Umatilla tax-
payers whose money funds
the Umatilla Hospital Dis-
trict will be “fast-tracked”
for appointments with FHA,
Lloyd said, as part of the
agreement with the hospital
district.
Shera Salverda, a pri-
mary care nurse practitioner,
will provide care in Umatilla
Monday through Wednes-
day while the rest of FHA’s
providers will take turns
covering Thursday and Fri-
day. The clinic will be open
from 7:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.
Monday through Thursday
and 7:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. on
Fridays.
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