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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 26, 2020)
NEWS WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2020 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 Hermiston no longer considering sale of community center By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR City Manager Byron Smith announced Monday night that the city of Herm- iston is no longer consider- ing the sale of the Hermis- ton Community Center. More than six months ago, a private business approached the city about possibly buying the com- munity center and rede- veloping it for a different use. At the time, city staff told the developer that they would be willing to take a formalized offer to the city council for a public vote. But the proposal did not materialize within a nego- tiation timeline set by the city, according to a news release, “so the discussions are considered concluded at this time.” Smith said in a statement that it is in the best fi nancial interests of the taxpayers to give careful consideration to potential opportunities that arise. “However,” he contin- ued, “allowing uncertainty to tie up community assets for too long can inhibit our ability to effi ciently manage these resources. We have given ample time for this proposal to develop, and now we are moving on.” Despite rumors to the contrary, the city never sold the building, and would have had to do so through a public process that would have included opportunity for public comment and a vote by the city coun- cil during a city council meeting. In 1994, the city pur- chased the building — a former Safeway store — and community mem- bers raised the money to remodel the building into a HH fi le photo A business interested in purchasing the Hermiston Community Center has missed the deadline for making an off er. community center. The Hermiston Com- munity Center currently houses the city’s parks and recreation department offi ces and hosts a variety of events. The East Orego- nian reported on 28 differ- ent events in the center in 2019, including fundraiser dinners, community meet- ings, arts performances, job fairs and events hosted by the parks and recreation department. That total does not include private rent- als such as weddings, or smaller meetings to which- the general public was not invited. Residents fear new subdivision would threaten their neighborhood By JESSICA POLLARD STAFF WRITER Before the subject of a new city hall took the spot- light at Monday night’s council meeting, talk about another possible building project raised eyebrows for public attendees: a 20-acre land annex that would allow the construction of a 100- home subdivision off East Punkin Center Road. If approved, Northeast Sixth Street on the south- east corner of the plot, which is currently a dead- end road, would become a through street for the sub- division. It has nearby resi- dents concerned. “I don’t see any posi- tive coming from this,” said Linda Cummings, who lives nearby where the subdivi- sion would be. “The lot sizes would not allow enough room for families to move NEW WEBSITE Residents can check the progress of diff erent projects from the city’s Capital Improvement Plan at the new website: www.hermistonprojects.com. in with children and have a safe place to play within their homes. It’s pretty nice up there and I don’t want to see that change.” Several residents of the neighborhood in conversa- tion came to express their worries Monday night. “I too am concerned about children,” said Kalinda Har- ris, who also leaves nearby. “I’m glad our town’s grow- ing, I’m just concerned about safety.” She added she was wor- ried that people living in the new two-story homes would be able to see straight into her backyard, and asked if it would be possible to only allow one-story homes to be built in the southeast part of the plot. Others feared the addi- tion of 100 new families off East Punkin Center Road would create traffi c fl ow issues, increase crime, and put neighborhood children at risk. Some residents said they were led to believe that Northeast Sixth Street would always remain a dead end. One woman said that the dead end was a large factor into her family purchasing a home in the neighborhood. “This (dead end) in par- ticular was always intended to be a through street,” said city planner Clint Spencer. “We absolutely have to have street access for the water and sewer lines.” On February 12, the plan- ning commission held a pub- lic hearing about the possible annex, and ultimately rec- ommended the city approve the plan. The commission found that a single-family development would “greatly increase” property taxes paid to the city. According Spencer, in addition to the 100 homes, MonteVista Homes would construct a new public park and a walking trail in the area. Construction of the homes would also require that a portion of East Punkin Center Road near the new neighborhood be widened and have a sidewalk added to it. Councilor Jackie Myers questioned the need for the subdivision to have access to East Punkin Center Road, expressing concern about speeding cars and traffi c. “It’s a terrible road,” she said. “It’s terrible.” But Spencer said he wouldn’t recommend that. Ultimately, the council voted four to two to annex the land (councilors Lori Davis and Doug Primmer were absent), before real- izing that they needed fi ve votes to reach a quorum on such a land use decision. By the time that city council realized the error, many of the interested res- idents had left the meeting. “We’ll reconsider the ordinance at the next city council meeting,” said mayor David Drotzmann. Also at Monday’s meet- ing, an annual utility rate increase was ratifi ed. A rate restructure the coun- cil adopted in 2019 built in an annual increase based on infl ation in construction prices. The combined water and sewer bill increase for 2020 will be 1.8% — an average of $1.78 per month — effective March 1. The change is anticipated to bring $167,000 in addi- tional revenue, on par with infl ation. Assistant city manager Mark Morgan also unveiled the city’s new capital proj- ects website, which cata- logues all capital projects happening across Herm- iston. The website will be updated multiple times a month to refl ect the progress and cost of each project. “This gives us another transparency tool to make sure we’re sharing with the community,” Drotzmann said of the new site. The next city council meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 9 at 7 p.m. Hermiston High School students get taste of fi nancial management Both Mildred Moreno, 18, and Cynthia Gonzalez, 17, chose to be veterinary technicians because it’s what they want to do after high school graduation. Now that they know what it’s like to live off of $2,000 a month, both agreed they’ll probably have to take on second jobs to sustain their passion. By JESSICA POLLARD STAFF WRITER It would seem that Herm- iston High School’s class of 2020 is thrifty with a keen eye for homeownership. In partnership with the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce and Sim- mons Insurance Group, the Hermiston School District hosted a fi nancial simula- tion for high school seniors called Financial Awareness Basics, or “FAB” Life, this week. The goal was to teach students about budgeting after graduation. “It’s been so fun to have students see what adult- hood is like,” said Herm- iston Chamber CEO Kim- berly Nevil. Each student received a job title, salary and a family assignment. Some people were married, while others had to factor children into their budget as single par- ents. The highest paying job title in the simulation was doctor, at $178,000 a year. The lowest was as a temporary employee, at $17,280. Students had to budget everything — from hous- ing, to internet and cell- phone packages to phil- anthropic donations — on their assigned monthly budget within a single class period. Whoever had money leftover at the end of the simulation got a PayDay candy bar, and whoever went into debt got a Zero candy bar. Student Antonio Leo- nides, 17, chose to be a translator for the simula- tion with a yearly salary of more than $45,000. He was also cast as a single parent. “I chose a translator because I thought I could do that. I speak two lan- guages,” he said. He’s now considering pursuing the role after high school. Leonides said his Staff photo by Jessica Pollard Deborah Wainwright, right, a branch loan offi cer with Columbia Bank in Hermiston, assists Hermiston High School senior Antonio Leonides, 17, with fi nancial information during a FAB Life simulation at Hermiston High School on Thursday afternoon. monthly budgeting was going very well until he received a “Crystal Ball” simulation card that showed that there was an oil disas- ter near his home. He had to dish out $122 he hadn’t anticipated and They’re even reconsidering where they’ll go to college in the fall. “I didn’t realize I’d need two jobs,” Moreno said. “Everything adds up so quickly. It’s a steep hill.” Both Gonzalez and Moreno chose to rent apart- ments with roommates for the simulation in order to save money . But according to Tracy Hunter, a broker at eXp Realty who volunteered to help at FAB Life, choosing to rent was not the overall norm for the high schoolers. “Most kids are taking this really seriously,” she said. “Students are choos- ing to own. In the Hermis- ton market, a mortgage can be more affordable.” OPEN HOUSE Feb. 28th and 29th headed to the “bank” to reconsider his personal spending for the month and make up the difference. Not the easiest task as a single parent. “Parents go through a lot having kids,” he said. Oregon is experiencing an opioid crisis, involving misuse, abuse, overdose and death. *Naloxone reverses the effect of narcotics in emergency, overdose situations.* COMMUNITY NALOXONE TRAINING Wednesday, March 11, 2020 1:00-2:00pm FACTORY REPS ON SITE Good Shepherd Medical Center Conference Rooms 1 & 2 LOCALLY BUILT • NO SHIPPING COSTS FREE training on how to use Naloxone. Hear from local professionals on the importance of Naloxone. FREE Naloxone. 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