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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 2020)
NEWS A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2020 Dispute over right-of-way prompts standoff the alleged confl ict to be resolved soon. Waine said he’s fi led an emergency injunction to halt the project before the full case can be considered but its status remains unclear. Umatilla County Trial Court Administrator Roy Blaine said Friday that paperwork was coming in for the lawsuit and a judge may begin to look over the facts of the case this week. However, Blaine wasn’t sure how soon a ruling could come or if one could be made without an offi - cial hearing, which likely wouldn’t happen until June. Umatilla County pushes on with Airport Road project despite protests By ALEX CASTLE STAFF WRITER In the midst of a global pandemic and pending liti- gation from property own- ers disputing its claim to a right-of-way, Umatilla County charged ahead with construction of its project on Airport and Ott roads in Hermiston last week, prompting a standoff of sorts with aggrieved prop- erty owners in the process. “You can’t come out here and damage someone’s property on a hunch,” said Chris Waine, who lives on the southwest corner of Air- port and Ott roads and fi led a lawsuit in the county cir- cuit court with his wife, Monique, against the county and city of Hermiston in hopes of halting the project. The $1.2 million proj- ect’s goal is to expand the roads that connect High- way 395 to the Eastern Ore- gon Trade and Event Center into two lanes, plus a cen- ter turn lane. The county has billed the project as a needed road improvement for increased traffi c and dust in the area during the Umatilla County Fair and other events. “All someone would have to do is stand out there during the fair and it becomes awfully apparent how needed the project is,” said Umatilla County Com- missioner Bill Elfering. According to a 2017 agreement between Herm- iston and Umatilla County, the road project is also an obligation of the county to complete in order to offi - cially dissolve the inter- governmental agreement between the two entities and transfer ownership of EOTEC to the city. Hermiston City Man- ager Byron Smith said Fri- Standoff starts as project breaks Staff photo by Ben Lonergan HollyJo Beers, left, Duane Ehmer and Chris Waine discuss what Waine believes is the true boundary of his property at the corner of South Ott Road and East Airport Road near Hermiston on April 23. ONLINE See more photos and a longer version of this story at Hermistonherald. com day that the city won’t be commenting on pending litigation. Waine, who is also pres- ident of the Hermiston Air- port Road Neighborhood Association, doesn’t oppose the project’s concept for improvement, but merely its design and execution. Under its current plan, Waine says he’ll lose 11 feet on the north end of his property and 5 feet on the east end, which will cost him upward of $10,000 by requiring him to perma- nently move his septic sys- tem and impact trees, fences and other assets of at least four other properties in the neighborhood. While Umatilla County claims its surveying and engineering indicates the land is rightfully its right-of- way to use for road improve- Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Chris Waine holds a metal tag that he found near what he believes is a charred post, a historical property marker, after construction crews began grading the road surface along his contested property line on April 22. ments, Waine claims the county is relying on mistak- enly erroneous surveys and other survey records of his property going back to 1907 and historical markers dis- pute this claim. Waine’s lawsuit, which was fi led in the Umatilla County Circuit Court on March 16 and served to the county and city on April 6, seeks the property title to be cleared of the alleged erroneous survey records and a permanent injunc- tion enacted to prevent that stretch of land of being used or trespassed on by the county. But until a ruling is made, the county will move ahead with construction under its initial plans despite the dis- puted boundary. “I have not heard any dis- cussions about pausing it,” Elfering said, while not- ing the county stands by its survey records and expects Waine and other property owners in the neighborhood said they received no prior notice or a timeline for the project before crews began tearing up Airport Road the evening of April 20. Waine was greeted by another surprising sight the morning of April 21, when employees with Anderson Perry, the La Grande-based fi rm hired to engineer the project, began congregating outside his house alongside Matt Kenney from the coun- ty’s surveying department and two deputies from the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Offi ce. The meeting, which Waine fi lmed and posted to his Facebook page, was called by project manager Mike Lees of Anderson Perry without Waine’s knowl- edge, he said, though the group was waiting to speak with him about the impend- ing removal of his fence that rested in the disputed right- of-way easement. From Waine’s perspec- tive, the meeting was an attempt to intimidate him into complying with the county’s wishes. “What this looks like to me is a bully,” Waine can be heard saying to Lees in the video of the meeting. In an attempt to block the county, Waine gathered all the vehicles and farm equipment he and his neigh- bors could fi nd and began to line the fence with them later that day. But in what Waine calls another attempt to bully them into submis- sion, Larry Rowan, a code enforcement offi cer with the county, was sent to tag each vehicle and have it towed. Excavation began a few feet into the disputed ease- ment April 21, but stopped there for the week. But Waine remains concerned about historical markers that have been exposed, and the possibility of evidence he needs for his court case being tampered with as a result. So, Waine kept the vehi- cles parked along the dis- puted boundary and called for his neighbors and friends in the community to come and help him hold the line against the project. HollyJo Beers, lead of the Umatilla County Three Percenters and a candidate in the May 19 primary for Umatilla County Commis- sioner, spent time the after- noon of April 23 at the Waine’s property, pledging her and her group’s support for their cause and felt the county’s actions have been premature. “I just feel like the county should at least wait for adju- dication before tearing up his property,” she said. As the confl ict evolved last week, Waine couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if Umatilla County granted his request earlier this year to have a public hearing on vacating the right-of-way. Instead, the Umatilla County Board of Commis- sioners ruled unanimously on Feb. 5 against a public hearing, stating they felt concerns over the project had been mitigated and the aggrieved parties had their opportunity to be heard. OREGON'S 2ND OREGON'S 2ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT REPUBLICAN DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FORUM CANDIDATE FORUM Get to know the Republican candidates for U.S. Congress without leaving home. Get to know the Democratic candidates for U.S. Congress without leaving home. Primary election is May 19 Primary election is May 19 Forums will be video recorded without audience due to COVID-19 concerns. Forums will be video recorded without audience due to COVID-19 concerns. Streaming live on this newspaper’s Facebook page: Streaming live on this newspaper’s Facebook page: Saturday May 2, 2020 • 5 p.m. & 7 p.m. Friday, May 1, 2020 • 6:30 Watch after the event on this newspaper’s website or on EOAlive.tv Watch after the event on this newspaper’s website or on EOAlive.tv Submit your questions in advance by email to: CD2forum@eomediagroup.com or on Facebook Live during the event. Submit your questions in advance by email to: CD2forum@eomediagroup.com or on Facebook Live during the event. Moderated by Chris Rush - Regional Publisher, EO Media Group Moderated by Chris Rush - Regional Publisher, EO Media Group Live stream and video by EO Alive TV Live stream and video by EO Alive TV • A forum for the Democratic candidates will be held on May 1 • • A forum for the Republican candidates will be held on May 2 •
