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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2019)
NEWS/PUZZLES WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2019 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A13 Holiday Happenings Staff photo by Kathy Aney Santa’s in town At left , Eva Shrestha visits with Santa Claus at the Union Club in Hermiston on Dec. 7. The man in red has made appearances throughout the city in the past month, including several businesses, nursing homes, the Harkenrider Senior Activity Center and the Festival Street. Living Nativity scene Above, actors portray angels during the “Living Nativity” on Saturday night at the First United Methodist Church in Hermiston. Contributed photo by Binita Shrestha State gas tax to go up by 2 cents in January By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR As the state prepares to raise gas taxes another 2 cents in January, Hermis- ton already has plans for the increased revenue. The 4-cent gas tax increase in the Legislature’s 2017 transportation package gave the city of Hermiston an extra $230,000 for street projects in 2019, and the city expects the 2-cent increase on Jan. 1 to add another $120,000 to that amount. The city of Hermis- ton hasn’t imposed its own gas tax, but all Oregonians pay 34 cents per gallon in state gas taxes and 18.4 cents per gallon in federal taxes. The state distributes 30% of its gas tax to cities, 20% to counties and 50% to the Oregon Department of Transportation. City Manager Byron Smith said the city used the additional gas tax funds it received to increase the number of projects it com- pleted, instead of using them to backfi ll the budget. “We want to be very Contributed photo by the city of Hermiston A Hermiston Water Department crew replaces a valve from the early 20th century at the intersection of Hermiston Avenue and Southwest Fourth Street in Hermiston earlier this year. strategic about how to invest the increased gas tax revenues, which we knew would be coming our way as a result of the Legislature’s 2017 gas tax increases,” he said in a statement. “That’s why we didn’t simply absorb those funds to pay for business as usual, but we chose to pro- gram those dollars for spe- cifi c capital improvement projects, which have been CRYPTOQUIP needed for many years.” Hermiston also gained additional money for roads through a 33% increase in franchise fees, which the city council passed in 2017. Utilities, such as electric companies and internet pro- viders, pay the franchise fees in exchange for placing their infrastructure in the city’s right-of-way. The increase has raised about $450,000 per year. The city spent nearly $1.8 million on street upkeep and new projects in 2019. Those projects included overlays on Harper Road, West High- land Avenue and Hermis- ton Avenue. The city also rebuilt part of Hermiston Avenue, replaced a bridge over an irrigation canal on South First Place, and is in the midst of a project to pave East Theater Lane from Northeast Eighth Street to Northeast 10th. The Theater Lane proj- ect will continue into 2020, and the city is also working on designing a $1.5 million project to realign the three- way intersection between Geer Road, Harper Road and North First Place where they cross the railroad tracks near Theater Sports Park. That project is expected to be complete in 2022. Other projects the city will spend road funding on in the future can be found in its capital improvement plan. Assistant City Manager Mark Morgan said back in 2017 the city looked at a number of ways to raise rev- SUPER CROSSWORD: MIX OF FISH enue for roads, but decided against a local gas tax because so many Hermiston residents buy their gas from cheaper locations along the interstate, outside city limits. “For Hermiston, it would generate revenue — all taxes generate revenue — but it wouldn’t be as impactful as, say, Pendleton or Stanfi eld that are right on the free- way,” he said. They also ruled out a fee added to utility bills, because Hermiston has more than 4,000 people who live outside city limits but inside the city’s urban growth boundary, meaning many of the people who drive on the city’s roads every day wouldn’t pay the fee. As Pendleton considers new taxes to raise money to fi x crumbling streets, it can be easy to draw comparisons between the quality of roads in the two similar-sized Umatilla County cities. But Morgan said it’s not apples to apples — Hermiston experienced growth much later than Pendleton, and roughly one-third of its city streets were built in the past 30 years. “Hermiston really grew after the point where vehic- ular travel was already the norm,” he said. Some of the numbers bear that out. A February study com- missioned by the city of Pendleton found that Pend- leton’s road quality was a couple points lower than Hermiston’s on the pave- ment condition index, although Hermiston’s data only included arterials and collectors, typically a town’s largest and busiest streets. The Pendleton City Council is planning to make up for the deferred mainte- nance by implementing a local gas tax, hotel room fee, and an increase to the street utility fee in 2020, although the gas tax will need voter approval before it goes into effect. The city expects these new taxes and fees will gen- erate more than $1 million in revenue, but Public Works Director Bob Patterson said the state gas tax will still play a role in future street funding. SUDOKU DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK EASTERN OREGON EVENTS The place to fi nd everything happening in Eastern Oregon. Post your events. It’s fast and easy! e-Edition For Hermiston Herald information 541-567-6457 • info@hermistonherald.com 333 E. Main St. • HermistonHerald.com Exact digital replica of this print edition is available online, every Wednesday by 5:30 a.m. Check out Hermiston Herald.com for more information.
