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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 2020)
NEWS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 City will negotiate for land at Geer/Harper intersection By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR ONLINE City staff have a green light on pursuing property at the intersection of Geer, Harper and River roads in Hermiston in order to make the intersection easier to navigate. The city council discussed the proposed $1.5 million project Monday. Assistant City Manager Mark Morgan said the Y-shaped intersec- tion is confusing and has had at least nine reported crashes since 2004, but the biggest problem is there is not much room for cars to “stack” up when the intersection gets busy, particularly if multi- ple people want to turn onto River Road. “You can fi t one, maybe two vehicles between the intersection and the railroad tracks,” he said. City engineers Ander- son Perry & Associates con- ducted a traffi c study and found a mix of semi trucks visiting places like Home Depot and Marlette, plus personal vehicles coming in from Umatilla or vis- iting Theater Lane-area neighborhoods. They devised several dif- ferent options for realigning the intersection, each with pros and cons. See this story at Hermis- tonHerald.com for a map of the intersection. A single-lane round- about would keep cars fl ow- ing smoothly in and out but would be completely shut down any time a train came through. Moving the railroad crossing down to Theater Lane would untangle the traffi c at the current intersec- tion but is much more expen- sive and would put people trying to turn from River Road onto Theater Lane at risk of being rear-ended by drivers coming around a corner at high speeds. The preferred option, Morgan said, is the con- fi guration labeled Figure 5, which involves multiple turn lanes and “slip lanes” to keep traffi c fl owing and cre- ate more room for vehicles to “stack” while waiting to turn. “This serves peak traffi c best,” Morgan said. That option, like all of the options that keep the cross- ing where it currently lies, would necessitate expanding into property on the east side of the intersection. The two parcels needed total about 0.8 acres and was appraised at $65,000. County prop- erty tax records list the owner as Tommy Huxoll of Hermiston. The ordinance before the council on Monday declares that privately-owned prop- erty a necessity for the proj- ect and allows staff to begin negotiations on purchasing the property. If the property owner does not voluntarily accept an offer, the ordi- nance would allow the city to consider using eminent domain to compel a sale at fair market value. Councilor Manuel Guti- errez was the only vote against the ordinance, which passed 6-1. On Monday city manager Byron Smith told the council that the city planned to put out an online survey soon in order to gauge public opin- ion on options for city hall. The current city hall building had a fi re in December that caused about $100,000 worth of damage to the building itself. The council had previously been discussing building a larger, wheelchair-accessible city hall in a few years, and now needs to decide whether to put the insurance money into repairing the old building or press ahead with building a new city hall now. Smith said staff have been researching costs and other information related to a rebuild versus repair, and plan to present their fi ndings at the Feb. 10 city council meeting. Sometime between then and their Feb. 24 meeting the city would hold a public outreach meet- ing to gather more feedback, with the hopes that council- ors would get any fi nal ques- tions answered and make a decision on Feb. 24. Parks and recreation man- ager Larry Fetter also gave the council an update about a major city project on Mon- day. He has been overseeing efforts to rebuild Funland playground, which burned to the ground last May. Fetter presented some design options for the play- ground to the council in December, created by a cit- izens committee working with a playground-design company. Much of the feed- back he received from the council centered on cultural elements of the playground. Councilors said they wished there was more represen- tation of Hermiston’s His- panic population, and said they were only comfortable with including proposed American Indian elements if local tribes approved. DEQ fi nes Lamb Weston for wastewater violations By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR Lamb Weston was among several compa- nies that the Depart- ment of Environmental Quality issued fi nes to in December. DEQ sent out a news release on Wednesday announcing 17 fi nes, including two for alleged wastewater violations at Lamb Weston’s Hermiston operation. In the fi rst, DEQ issued a $10,000 civil penalty for unauthorized modifi cation of their wastewater permit. According to the notice, in June 2018 Lamb Weston connected a sanitary sewer line to their indus- trial wastewater process- ing facility that is “not designed to, or capable of, treating domestic sew- age and abating the threats posed by the bacteria and human disease patho- gens found in domestic sewage.” That mixed wastewater was then applied to land where crops were grown for human consumption, until the line was discov- ered and disconnected in June 2019. DEQ issued a second fi ne of $6,800 to Lamb Weston. According to the complaint, on May 14, 2019, a surge in Lamb Weston’s wastewater treat- ment and disposal sys- tem caused the system to overfl ow, sending approx- imately 6,500 gallons of industrial wastewater into the Umatilla River. The Hermiston Herald contacted Lamb Weston for comment last Wednes- day but the company had not submitted any informa- tion as of Tuesday. Other companies fi ned by DEQ in December included operations in the Portland metro area, the Bend area, Medford and Newport. So far the agency has announced one fi ne for the month of January, of $1,296,885 to Hydro Extrusion USA in The Dalles. The aluminum recycling facility was fi ned for “multiple fl a- grant air quality permit violations.” Hermiston plans wayfi nding project Gordmans to hold hiring event for new Hermiston location By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR A Hermiston retailer is holding a hiring event as it prepares to switch brands. Stage, the parent com- pany for the Bealls cloth- ing store in Hermiston, plans to convert the store into a Gordmans depart- ment store on March 31. The company is holding a job fair for positions at the new Gordmans on Feb. 4 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the current Bealls, Visitors to Hermiston will have an easier time fi nd- ing their way around town in the future. The city is working on a “wayfi nding” project that will provide a coordinated effort to direct people to what consultant Glen Swan- tak calls “Hermiston’s little jewels” through signs, maps and other features. “Think of it also as mar- keting,” Swantak, of the wayfi nding consulting fi rm MERJE, told attendees of a public meeting about the project on Wednesday. “Maybe people aren’t going to it then, but they might drive by a sign for the farm- er’s market and say, ‘I didn’t know they have a farmer’s market.’” Hermiston Planning Director Clint Spencer said the project started out as an idea for the urban renewal district to use its funds to create matching signs downtown pointing to fea- tures, such as the library and senior center. “As we started working we realized we really need a comprehensive design plan for the whole city,” he said. The project would use a mixture of elements. Cur- rent, mismatched signs at features, such as city parks, would be replaced. New signs for motorists would point the way to attractions ranging from schools to trails to government build- Thank you to everyone who sent cards, Staff photo by Jade McDowell A poster shows examples of potential designs for wayfi nding signs in Hermiston. ings, such as the courthouse or DMV. Maps and kiosks would be posted to orient pedestrians. Arches or other decorative features would beckon people to a clearly defi ned downtown district, and the city’s seven munic- ipal parking lots in the dis- trict would be numbered and clearly marked. “Currently, they have nothing,” Swantak said of the parking lots. “I don’t even know if I’m allowed to park there. So, we will label them as public park- ing and include any regula- tory information.” The signs would all fi t the same decorative theme. Swantak presented three potential design themes — one inspired by the city’s “Where Life is Sweet” logo on the water tower, one with a more historical feel and one with an out- door theme that uses natu- ral elements, such as stone and wood. Beyond signs, MERJE would also help the city create a more coordinated effort to help visitors fi nd their way around Hermiston through other means, such as providing user-friendly, up-to-date maps on web- sites and at the chamber of commerce. “When you talk about wayfi nding, people always talk about signage, but it starts before people get there,” Swantak said, add- PET OF THE Troubles is a senior Doxie/Lab mix (about 12-14 years old). She weighs around 25 pounds and is considered obese. She is very sweet, gets along with dogs and cats, is house trained and happy. As of now, we are unaware of any health issues. MaryJo Robinson and family all daughters eat 1/2 off DADDY DAUGHTER DANCE SPECIAL February 8 | Reservations starting at 5pm 541.278.1100 / Corner of Court & Main. Some exclusions may apply. REMA FLEENER love you Rita Walker & the class of 1958 - HHS MEET TROUBLES Mark Sargent, DVM • Brent Barton, DVM Eugenio Mannucci, DVM, cVMA • Jana von Borstel, DVM, cVMA Small and Large Animal Care 541.567.1138 ing he wanted messages to visitors “all talking in the same language.” Swantak said the goal for the project will be to come up with a comprehen- sive list of what attractions need highlighted, where signs for those attractions need to be located and which type of sign should be used. The list can then be presented to the city council for a vote, and the city can prioritize that list. Spencer said he had money in the urban renewal budget for signs in the urban renewal district, but other signs will need to be phased in over time as the city fi nds money through grants, dona- tions or the general fund. flowers or donations for MIKE ROBINSON and for all that came to the gathering. A special thank you to Ken Huber of Burns Mortuary and the doctors and nurses who cared for Mike. HAPPY 104 BIRTHDAY W EEK Mon: 8-6 Tue - Fri: 8-5 Sat: 8-12 Emergency Service 930 S. Highway 395, in Hermiston. Applicants are encour- aged to fi ll out an applica- tion online at gordmans. com/careers before stop- ping by the event. Full-time, part-time and temporary positions are available. The Bealls stores in La Grande and Hood River are also converting to Gordmans in March. 80489 Hwy 395 N Hermiston www.oregontrailvet.com PLACE YOUR AD HERE! Contact Audra at 541.564.4538 Today! If interested please go to fuzzballrescue.com and fill out an application. If you are not able to adopt, but would like to foster or donate, visit fuzzballrescue.com or you can mail in donations to Fuzz Ball Animal Rescue, PO Box 580, Hermiston, OR 97838
