Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current, August 07, 2019, Image 3

Hermiston herald., August 07, 2019, Page A3, Image 3

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Newspaper Page TextNEWS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2019 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 As depot transfer looms, companies express interest By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR s local ofﬁ cials wait for the former Umatilla Chemi- cal Depot to return to local control, they are ﬁ elding inqui- ries from companies interested in developing the industrially zoned portion of the property. During a meeting of the Colum- bia Development Authority board on July 31, executive director Greg Smith said one potential employer would bring in 1,200 jobs at full build-out. He said he asked what kind of wage levels the company would expect to pay and is waiting for an answer. “One thing I’m extremely sensi- tive to is that I want to recruit com- panies that would build our econ- omy,” he said. The CDA is a partnership between Umatilla County, Mor- row County, Port of Morrow, Port of Umatilla and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Res- ervation. While part of the former chemical depot has been turned into an Oregon National Guard training facility, the U.S. Army plans to turn over part of the depot for a wildlife refuge managed by the tribes and nearly 4,000 acres for the CDA to market as indus- trial, commercial and agricultural use. As Smith pointed out with the mystery employer that could bring 1,200 jobs to the community, not all economic development is equal when it comes to things like pay- ing a family wage. He said it will be up to the CDA to weigh all offers, and to consider things like the impact an employer will have on schools, ﬁ re districts and other A HH ﬁ le photo As local oﬃ cials wait for the former Umatilla Chemical Depot to return to local control, they are ﬁ elding inquiries from companies interested in developing the industrially zoned portion of the property. local services. Board member Don Russell, who represents Morrow County on the CDA board, said his county was “extremely proud” of how their average wage compares to other counties in Oregon. If a com- pany wants to come in and pay 130% of the average wage, great, he said. “If they want to pay 65%, I’m not interested,” he said. Kim Puzey, who represents the Port of Umatilla on the board, said “just dropping” 1,200 jobs into the Hermiston area in one go would probably not work out well for an employer, given the workforce and housing currently available, but he said companies will likely be able to ﬁ gure that out for themselves as they do due diligence. Smith said as he ﬁ elds inter- est from developers in various industries, he has kept in mind the board’s mandate that the depot property should be an alternative to other local industrial lands if those lands don’t completely meet a company’s needs, instead of try- ing to beat them out for viable projects. “We’re here to collaborate and partner, not compete,” he said. After years of working through agreements on everything from water rights to asbestos abatement, the CDA and CTUIR recently signed a memorandum of agree- ment over cultural and histori- cal preservation — the last major hoop to jump through. Now all that is left is for the proper state and federal agencies to sign off on that agreement and for the trans- fer deed to be written up and push through the ﬁ nal layers of federal bureaucratic red tape for approval. Last Wednesday, Smith pro- posed forming subcommittees that can prepare recommenda- tions the CDA can act on as soon as the transfer is complete. He said one subcommittee should tackle preservation of the depot’s Ore- gon Trail ruts. For the ruts run- ning through the industrial section, he said they would likely pre- serve about 200 yards, with a pub- lic parking area, picnic tables and kiosks. A second subcommittee, Smith said, should start working with the Oregon Department of Transporta- tion on planning for a new offramp leading from Interstate 82 to the industrial portion of the depot. A third subcommittee could work on water issues, including ways to coordinate with the Oregon Mili- tary Department on plans for ﬁ re suppression. “I want to put together these subcommittees now, so when the depot does transfer we’re ready to implement these things,” he said. A ﬁ nal suggestion Smith had for the board was that near the begin- ning of 2020 they should begin discussing how they might use roughly $1 million in “state of the art” tools and equipment they are inheriting. He suggested creation of a regional STEM (Science, Technology, Engineer and Math) center might beneﬁ t the region. “We need to start thinking in those terms, of how do we build something that will beneﬁ t every- one,” he said. After an executive session, the board wrapped up the meeting by approving a ﬁ ve-year renewal of an $8,000 annual lease of 40 acres of farmland to Columbia Basin Farming. One teen in jail, two injured in Hermiston shootings it was unfortunate problems from outside Hermiston end up in the town. Umatilla County Fire District 1, Ore- gon State Police, Stanﬁ eld Police Department, and the HERMISTON HERALD H ermiston police late Monday arrested a Umatilla teen in con- nection with two shootings hours earlier. Carsen D. Rawe, 19, faces two counts of sec- ond-degree assault and one of unlawful use of a weapon. Second-degree assault falls under Oregon’s mandatory minimum sentencing law and carries a prison sen- tence of at least ﬁ ve years, 10 months. The case began with gun- ﬁ re at about 6:38 p.m. at the intersection of West Cherry Avenue and Northwest Sec- ond Street. Police Chief Jason Edmiston reported ofﬁ cers arrived and found several spent .45 caliber casings in the road. Police soon after found a 17-year-old male from Ken- newick at a residence. He had gun shots to both legs, according to police. The injuries were not life-threat- ening, and an ambulance took him to Good Shepherd Medical Center, Hermiston. Approximately 20 min- utes later, a second Ken- newick teen male emerged ` Families and businesses whose names were featured on the fence around Fun- land playground in Herm- iston will be able to col- lect those fence pickets in September. The approximately 900 engraved slats were taken down and stacked onto pallets by volunteers before demolition of the burned playground began last week. They will be available for pick-up at Staﬀ photo by Tammy Malgesini Law enforcement from area agencies investigate reports of shots ﬁ red Monday evening in the vicinity of West Cherry Avenue and Northwest Second Street, Hermiston. from a different teen for rape. Police residence, Edmis- contacted Uma- ton reported, with tilla County Juve- a non-life-threaten- nile Services, which ing gunshot wound authorized police to in the shoulder book him into jail in area. He, too, took Walla Walla. Rawe an ambulance to Edmiston stated the hospital, where while many of the medical staff treated and people ofﬁ cers talked to released him. about the shootings “were Police, however, imme- less than cooperative,” the diately arrested him. Edmis- investigation pointed to ton reported Washington Rawe as the suspect. Police state had a warrant for the caught him at about 11 p.m. the Hermiston Commu- nity Center, 415 S. High- way 395, on Sept. 20-22 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. If anyone is not able to come in during those dates, they can contact Larry Fetter at lfetter@hermis- ton.or.us or 541-667-5009 after Sept. 22 to make an appointment. The city plans to rebuild Funland in early 2020, but the parks and recreation department determined that the wooden pickets from the playground that burned down earlier this year were Technology... Value... TV!... and booked him into the Umatilla County Jail, Pendleton. “We are certain these individuals know each other as we have informa- tion about an unreported and undisclosed crime hap- pening in Washington, in the recent past, involving this trio,” Edmiston said. “We also know of an earlier encounter with this group in Hermiston at a car wash.” The police chief lamented /mo. CALL TODAY Save 20%! ground at Butte Park. The Funland Rebuild Commit- tee will select a design ﬁ rm on Thursday after inter- viewing each of the teams. “I am impressed with the quality of the propos- als and the local support to rebuild, so it is encouraging to get moving on this proj- ect,” he said. LET US MEAT YOUR NEEDS PORK $ 50 BOX INCLUDES: Add High Speed Internet 190 Channels America’s Top 120 too deteriorated to reuse. New opportunities for sponsorship of fence pick- ets, plaques and other items will be announced in the coming months. Fetter said the city has received seven proposals from playground design teams from across the coun- try to rebuild Funland play- BOX Your Family Deserves The BEST ® LifeSteps Weight Management Program Funland fence pickets available for pickup Sept. 20-22 By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR Umatilla County Sheriff’s Ofﬁ ce assisted in the case. Edmiston also said ofﬁ - cers are continuing the investigation using search warrants. Subject to availability. Restrictions apply. 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