LOCAL
A3 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2019
RV park construction halted at EOTEC
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
B
lame was cast in
multiple directions
Monday night as the
Hermiston City Council and
Farm-City Pro Rodeo board
discussed delays to con-
struction of an RV park at
the Eastern Oregon Trade
and Event Center, but the
bottom line remained the
same: the city planning
commission has put a mor-
atorium on construction at
the site.
“This is like our own lit-
tle version of the govern-
ment shutdown here,” coun-
cilor John Kirwan said.
John Eckhardt of Knerr
Construction said he didn’t
believe the RV park would
be completed before the
2019 Umatilla County Fair
if they didn’t break ground
by Feb. 8.
“I don’t believe we will
be able to pull it off,” he
said. “This is a pessimis-
tic schedule — we might be
able to pull some rabbits out
of our hat. But it is a realis-
tic schedule.”
The city hired Knerr
Construction in October
using a “bid-design-build”
process to construct the RV
park, with the hope of using
the park as a revenue source
for EOTEC. City Manager
Byron Smith said the proj-
ect was expected to cost
roughly $3 million. Due to
budget constraints, a sec-
ond project to build offi ces
and storage space for the
fair staff will be put off until
after the RV park.
Smith said after city staff
studied the project with
Knerr Construction, they
felt the best place to put the
RV park would be the unde-
File photo
Construction has been halted on the RV park at the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center in Hermiston.
veloped southeast section
of the property, between the
rodeo arena and Ott Road.
Previous plans had placed
it in the northwest cor-
ner, but moving the park
next to Ott Road would
keep residents from need-
ing 24-hour access through
the entire EOTEC property,
and would leave room north
of the event center to build
the fair offi ces. Smith said
the southeast location is also
the best scenario for utility
hookups.
As the rodeo board has
pointed out, however, there
is a downside: It would take
away part of the overfl ow
parking next to the rodeo
arena. Rodeo board member
Dennis Barnett said a total
of 2,500 vehicles parked
in the overfl ow during the
2018 rodeo, including 800
on Saturday night.
On Jan. 9, the planning
commission had its annual
review of EOTEC’s park-
ing variance, which allows
EOTEC to have fewer park-
ing spaces than would usu-
ally be required in exchange
for meeting certain condi-
tions. In light of testimony
from the rodeo board about
the RV park’s effects on
rodeo parking, the commis-
sion altered the variance to
state no new construction
could take place at EOTEC
until the commission had
approved an overfl ow park-
ing plan.
Councilors
expressed
frustration at the new devel-
opment Monday. Kirwan
said construction costs
would only keep going
up, and every month the
RV park was delayed also
meant thousands of dollars
of lost revenue for EOTEC
because “somebody didn’t
get what they want.”
“Putting this off is only
hurting everyone in this
room,” he said.
Rodeo board member
Mike Kay countered that the
city had been asked by the
planning commission to put
together an overfl ow park-
ing plan fi rst in 2017, then
by the end of 2018, and had
failed to do so.
“The parking plan is not
on us,” he said.
Barnett, along with Kay
and EOTEC advisory com-
mittee member Steve Wil-
liams, all said a major com-
ponent of the problem was
the city’s lack of commu-
nication. They said the plan
for the RV park wasn’t pre-
sented to them until the
Nov. 29 advisory commit-
tee meeting, and described
it being presented as a done
deal that would be under
construction shortly. Wil-
liams said the board wasn’t
given a chance to look over
traffi c studies, budgets or
other details, and he won-
dered what the point of the
advisory committee was.
Barnett said EOTEC has
limited space left for devel-
opment, and as it continues
to grow, stakeholders just
want to make sure the best
decisions are made for its
future.
“If this ends up being the
best place to put it, and you
make provisions for 2,500
cars, I’m all for it,” he said.
“We want EOTEC to be
successful.”
Councilor Roy Bar-
ron called the delay “fi nan-
cially irresponsible” and
lamented the loss of rev-
enue for EOTEC. But he
also expressed understand-
ing at the rodeo board’s
frustrations and admitted
that the city had dropped
the ball when it came to
communication.
“Let’s have a discussion.
Let’s talk about it,” he said.
Smith said city staff
are working on an over-
fl ow parking plan, includ-
ing possible solutions such
as a temporary lease with
EOTEC neighbors, and he
believed they would have a
plan ready to present to the
planning commission at its
February meeting so the ban
on new construction could
possibly be lifted. He also
proposed sitting down as
soon as possible with rep-
resentatives from the fair
and rodeo board, along with
EOTEC general manager Al
Davis, to further discuss the
RV park location.
Councilors asked if con-
struction could go on during
the fair and rodeo — or at
least be paused during that
week — instead of waiting
until the next year to start
construction. Eckhardt said
that would be feasible.
Mayor David Drotz-
mann encouraged city staff
to spend some time getting
feedback from stakeholders
and the community about
the location of the RV park.
“We have to be prepared
that it’s going to be delayed,
that it’s not going to be done
by the next fair and rodeo,
and I think if we accept that,
we don’t have to rush,” he
said.
BRIEFS
Truck driver hits
gas line
Herald to launch weekly entertainment section
By HERMISTON HERALD
The Hermiston Herald and its daily affi l-
iate the East Oregonian will soon be intro-
ducing a brand new section focusing on
America’s most popular pastime, screen
viewing.
Whether it is antennae, cable, dish, or a
variety of streaming services like Netfl ix,
Americans spend more time viewing news
and entertainment on screen — television,
computer, smart phone or tablet — than
any other activity besides work and sleep,
according to recent survey data.
In response, the HH and EO are launch-
ing “Screen Time,” a new weekly tabloid
section that will publish each Wednesday in
both newspapers.
“Given the viewing habits of modern
Americans on both big screen and an array
of mobile devices, it became clear to us that
it was high time to reinstate a screen view-
ing guide,” said Publisher Chris Rush.
“It has been several years since we last
published such a product.”
However, unlike previous publications,
this will be no ordinary TV guide.
“Screen Time will not only include net-
work listings for Broadcast, Cable, Dish
and DTV, but also Streaming highlights,
movies, sports, and even a weekly listing of
cooking shows,” said Rush. “We will also
include entertainment features, puzzles,
and more in a full-color 24-page package.”
The new section will be included as part
of the regular subscription price of both the
Hermiston Herald and East Oregonian and
will be supported with local advertising.
The launch date for Screen Time is
planned for Feb. 13, to continue each and
every Wednesday.
Bridge work will cause detours on
South First Street in Hermiston
By HERMISTON HERALD
A section of South First
Street in Hermiston will be
closed during February and
March as the city replaces
a bridge over the canal near
Southeast Crestline Drive.
The small bridge, which
runs over the Maxwell
Canal, is located on South
First Street (Hinkle Road)
south of Highland Avenue
and north of Gettman and
Feedville roads. Accord-
ing to a news release from
the city, “the existing canal
crossing is approaching the
end of its useful life, and
will be replaced with a much
wider box culvert in order
to accommodate continued
growth along this key north-
south corridor.”
Work is expected to run
from early February through
the end of March, and the
city will release a list of
closure dates after they are
fi nalized with the contractor.
Drivers who frequently
used the road to get to loca-
tions, such as the Hermiston
Agricultural Research and
Extension Center, will have
to plan alternate routes.
“The fact that this bridge
closure is going to cause
some major challenges for
people to navigate around
really
highlights
how
important this road section
is now, and how it will con-
tinue to grow in importance
in the future,” assistant city
manager Mark Morgan said
in a statement. “Due to the
canal and railroad cross-
ings in this area, there sim-
ply aren’t any easy detours,
which is why as our commu-
nity continues to grow to the
south, we need to work hard
to develop additional street
routes through this area.”
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A man driving a pickup
truck Tuesday around 9:45
a.m hit a gas main line on
Feedville Road, and was
transported to Good Shep-
herd Medical Center for his
injuries.
Umatilla County Fire
District battalion chief Ed
Clark said employees from
local businesses, includ-
ing Circle C Equipment
and New Holland Agricul-
ture, were evacuated for
the rest of the day, and that
Cascade Natural Gas had
turned off the line by about
10 a.m., limiting any fur-
ther danger to the public.
Clark said he did not know
the name of the driver, nor
whether he was a Hermis-
ton resident.
BENT arrests two
in Hermiston
Police arrested two peo-
ple Friday morning after
Blue Mountain Enforce-
ment
Narcotics
team
searched a Hermiston resi-
dence and found drugs.
Pendleton Police Chief
Stuart Roberts, who chairs
the drug task force, said he
only had limited informa-
tion about the bust avail-
able as of 2 p.m. Friday.
He said police secured
the home before 9:41 a.m.,
after obtaining a search
warrant, and took two peo-
ple into custody. He said
he did not have the names
of those arrested, but that a
quarter pound of metham-
phetamine was discovered
early in the search.
case where he was charged
with the murder of James
Cragun.
A judge dropped those
charges in August and sen-
tenced him to 25 months
for unlawful possession of
a weapon, but because of
time already served, Houf-
muse’s sentence ended up
being only a few months.
Houfmuse
arrested on
probation
violation
The city of Umatilla has
a new public works direc-
tor. Scott Coleman stepped
into the role on Wednes-
day, Jan. 2.
Coleman, a resident of
Prosser, Washington, has
spent most of his career
working in irrigation tech-
nology and construction,
and has worked for irri-
gation districts in Wash-
ington. He most recently
worked for the Sunnyside
irrigation district for 18
years. He said he began
looking to diversify his
career and work in the pub-
lic sector.
HERMISTON — A
Hermiston man is back in
jail about fi ve months after
murder charges against
him were dropped.
Tyree Houfmuse, 36,
was arrested on a probation
violation on Wednesday
and booked in the Umatilla
County Jail.
Houfmuse had spent
most of 2018 in county
jail, between hearings in a
Umatilla gets
new public works
director
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