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.
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