Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (June 3, 2020)
COMMUNITY A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2020 City council votes to continue with city hall plans Methodists to resume Open Table meal service By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR The city of Hermiston will continue to move forward with design work for a new city hall, councilors agreed during their Tuesday, May 26 meeting. City Manager Byron Smith painted an optimistic picture of Hermiston’s eco- nomic outlook at the meet- ing as he made the case to the city council that it was worth continuing down that path for now, while interest rates are low. “If the bids all come back way too high we could back off,” he said. The pandemic has put one private project on hold that the city hoped would provide enterprise funds for the new city hall, but Smith reminded the council that Amazon is still planning its project that will result in $40 million in payments to local taxing dis- tricts over 15 years. He said there are other companies that continue to express inter- est in building in Hermiston. Smith pointed to the recent completion of the West Proj- ect, an irrigation project that will open up about 30,000 acres of land for high value irrigated crops, as another boost to the economy that will increase agricultural out- put. He said he expects the increased production to spur more investments from the food processing industry as well. He said Umatilla and Morrow counties’ diversi- fi ed economies have resulted in lower unemployment rates from the pandemic than the state as a whole, and state economists predict a similar pattern to the 2008 recession, when unemployment levels in the area stayed lower than the metro areas. “Our economy is not based on those things that have been most affected by the virus,” he said. Smith also revealed that Umatilla County is “will- ing to bring $3 million to the table for this project and also be a partner in ... revitalizing downtown Hermiston.” While Smith had previ- IN BRIEF HERMISTON — For almost 40 years, mem- bers of the Hermiston First United Methodist Church, 191 E. Gladys Ave., served a meal at the church each Thurs- day. With the onset of COVID-19, the church suspended the meal in order to protect the guests and workers from spread- ing the virus. On Thursdays, the meal, in the form of a sack lunch for now, will once again be available to anyone from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. More informa- tion is available at her- fumc@outlook.com or 541-567-3022. Staff photo by Jade McDowell A sign marks the old Carnegie Library in Hermiston as a temporary city hall, after a fi re in the HVAC system and smoke damaged the previous city hall. ously stated that a govern- ment entity was willing to lease space in the new city hall to help pay for it, Com- missioner George Murdock told the East Oregonian that the plan was not for a straight- forward lease, but rather that the county would help fund construction of the building upfront and in return be given use of about 5,000 square feet of space. The poten- tial arrangement would also include the county contribut- ing some money for utilities and janitorial services. Currently some county staff from departments, such as alcohol and drug or pub- lic health, are located at the Cook building at 435 E. Newport Ave. Murdock said they could be moved into the new city hall. The county and city are getting $500,000 apiece in enterprise zone funds each year for 15 years from Lamb Weston’s 2019 expansion, and they partnered to use the fi rst $4 million to build a new water tower in Hermis- ton. Murdock said the county plans to continue using enter- prise zone funds for capital projects in the communities where the funds were gener- ated, and the new city hall fi ts that plan. “That’s what the money is for, to invest in the communi- ties where we get it from,” he said. “We were very pleased with the water tower project. We’re already starting to see benefi ts from that.” The city’s estimate for the total city hall project is $9 million. The money would buy a new three-story build- ing where the current city hall, which was damaged by smoke and a fi re in the HVAC system in December 2019, sits. It would also pay for a renovation of the basement of the Hermiston Public Library, which would fi rst serve as a temporary city hall and after- ward as an expansion of the library’s collections. “Right now, we’re all spread apart, and it’s not very effi cient,” Smith said of the city staff who were moved to other locations after the fi re. “We’ll still need a place to operate the city for a year, year and a half probably, for construction.” New city councilor During their meeting councilors also approved appointment of David McCa- rthy to the city council. He will be sworn in at their next meeting. McCarthy, who was the only applicant, will serve out the remainder of John Kir- wan’s term during 2020 and said he plans to run for a new term in November. Kirwan resigned his seat in April to pursue a career opportunity. McCarthy is the sales manager for KOHU/The Q radio station, president of the Hermiston Kiwanis Club, and a foster parent along with his wife. In response to ques- tions from councilors, he said he moved to Hermiston from Spokane in 2016. He said in Spokane he was heavily involved in theater produc- tions, which took up most of his time, but now he is more interested in serving in lead- ership and volunteer roles. The most valuable and respected source of local news, advertising and information for our communities. eomediagroup.com WORSHIP COMMUNITY LANDMARK BAPTIST CHURCH 125 E. Beech Ave. • 567-3232 Pastor David Dever Sun. Bible Classes...................10:00am Sun. Worship Service..............11:00am Sun. Evening Worship..............6:00pm Wed. Prayer & Bible Study......6:00pm www.hermistonlmbc.com Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church 565 W. HERMISTON AVE. DAILY MASS: Monday-Friday ...............................English 7:00 am Thursday...............Spanish 6:00 pm SATURDAY:.........English 5:00 pm ...............................Spanish 7:00 pm SUNDAY:..............English 9:00 am ..........................Bilingual 11:00 am ..............................Spanish 1:00 pm Office..............................567-5812 St. Johns Episcopal Church Join Us On Our Journey With Jesus. Scripture, Tradition and Reason Family service 9am Sunday N.E. Gladys Ave & 7th, Hermiston t. PH: 567-6672 We are an all inclusive Church who welcomes all. First Christian Church “Proclaiming the Message of Hope, Living the Gospel of Love” Sunday School...9:15 am Worship Service...10:30 am Children’s Church 10:45 am 567-3013 775 W. Highland Ave., Hermiston NEW BEGINNINGS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP Worship Service 10:30 AM Sunday School 9:00 AM Pastor J.C. Barnett Children’s Church & Nursery Available 700 West Orchard Avenue P.O. Box 933 Hermiston, Oregon 541-289-4774 Seventh-day Adventist Church Saturdays Sabbath School........9:30 a.m. Worship Service......11:00 a.m. English & Spanish Services 567-8241 Hermiston Jr. Academy 1300 NW Academy Lane, • Hermiston To share your worship times call 541-278-2678
