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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 2020)
NEWS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2020 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A11 Umatilla commissioners ‘blindsided’ by CDA vote By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR What was expected to be a routine board meeting for the Columbia Development Authority on Thursday, Oct. 8, caught Umatilla County commissioners off guard when the board voted to draw up paperwork stating the Port of Umatilla and Port of Morrow should receive all of the industrial lands on the former Umatilla Chem- ical Depot once the CDA disbands. “The word I would use was ‘blindsided,’” Uma- tilla County Board of Com- missioners Chair John Sha- fer said. “I was kind of shocked. It wasn’t even on the agenda.” Commissioner George Murdock described the vote as an “ambush” and said he and Shafer supported Com- missioner Bill Elfering, who offi cially represents the county on the CDA board, in his vote against the decision. “We are not happy,” he said. The U.S. Army has already transferred 7,500 acres of the depot to the Ore- gon Military Department and is preparing to transfer the other 9,500 acres to the CDA, a partnership between Umatilla County, Mor- row County, Port of Mor- row, Port of Umatilla and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reser- vation. As part of the agree- ment, the CDA will oversee the property for seven years before it disbands. At the end of the Oct. 8 CDA meeting, after the board chair asked if anyone “has anything else for the good of the order,” Port of Umatilla General Manager Kim Puzey made a motion that as soon as the Army transfers the land to the CDA, the board adopt doc- uments to “memorialize our intent” to deed the industri- ally zoned portions of the property to the Port of Uma- tilla on the Umatilla County side of the county line, and Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald, File Storage igloos line the former Umatilla Chemical Depot on July 14, 2020. the Port of Morrow on the Morrow County side of the line. Zoning maps show 1,872 acres of industrial land in Morrow County and 1,278 acres in Umatilla County, mostly along interstates 84 and 82. Puzey’s motion was sec- onded by Port of Morrow Manager Ryan Neal. “I think that was the intent all along, but I don’t think we ever put any- thing in writing, so I think it’s important that we’re all on the same page because there’s a good chance that a lot of us won’t be there when it happens,” Neal said. Morrow County Com- missioner and CDA Board Chair Don Russell said turn- ing the industrial property on the Morrow County side of the depot over to the Port of Morrow was “always the intent,” because the port had more expertise and money to develop the land, com- pared to the county. Elfering said Uma- tilla County was interested in obtaining the industrial land in its territory when the seven years is up and he did not think the board was ready to make a fi nal deci- sion about ownership yet. Bill Tovey, who rep- resents the CTUIR on the board, agreed. “It’s great getting wild- life properties, but it would sure be nice to be part of the industrial as well,” he said, referencing the plan to turn the wildlife habitat por- tion of the depot over to the Tribes. Tovey and Elfering were outvoted by Puzey, Neal and Russell, however. Elfering said after the vote that he felt it was inap- propriate for the decision to be made for the Uma- tilla County side when two of the three board mem- bers from Umatilla County voted against it. He also said he didn’t think the deci- sion needed to be made now, when the CDA will continue to exist for seven years after the transfer takes place. “I think we’re getting way out ahead of our skis on this issue,” he said. Neal responded that get- ting the industrial par- cels shovel-ready to attract development would require an extensive amount of investment in everything from demolition to new bridges. “You could potentially be putting resources to some- thing that never comes to fruition,” he said. “At least from our standpoint, when we start looking at infra- structure, if I’m going to put a 30-inch pipeline out to the depot, I need to have some sort of guarantee that I’m going to be able to ser- vice customers out there or have marketable land there or something.” Puzey echoed that sen- timent. He said if entities, Fuzzball Animal Rescue is looking for donations to help our sweet Daisy. She is in need of non-slip dog socks and medium size diapers. such as the Port of Umatilla, are being asked to invest in the property, they should have a guarantee of what will happen to that invest- ment when the seven years is up. He also referenced the CDA’s need to make deci- sions soon on how exactly to use the “perishable” $9 million the Oregon Legisla- ture appropriated in its 2017 transportation package for road projects at the depot. “There are needs on both sides of the county line and there are limited resources that have been made avail- able,” he said. After the meeting, Puzey said his understanding in 26 years of work trying to get the depot returned to local control has always been that the ports would receive the industrial land. He said he brought the motion to the fl oor after lis- tening to talk of possible solar projects on the wild- life habitat area that would benefi t the CTUIR, and talk of easements and feasibil- ity study funding for Uma- tilla County for water and wastewater projects on the depot that would benefi t the county. He wanted to make sure the ports didn’t get left out. “From my perspective, it had to do with parity and proportionality so that everyone gets something,” he said. He said ports in Oregon have a legislative mandate to “diversify the economy and expand trade,” and that nar- row focus was better suited to handling the property than a county, which also over- sees functions, such as pub- lic health and the sheriff’s offi ce. County commission- ers said they wanted to see the county take ownership, however, not the port. Shafer said after the meeting that it made more sense for the Port of Mor- row to take over the Morrow County parcels, because it is a “very active” port. “The Port of Umatilla is not,” he said. “Why would we want it to go to an inac- tive port?” He said the county does not consider the matter set- tled after the vote, and will push for more discussion on the issue. As the CDA board went through agenda items during the meeting, Exec- utive Director Greg Smith outlined various reports and paperwork that had been completed, and said at this point the CDA had done all it could on its end for the transfer, and is just waiting on the signa- tures of the proper federal authorities. “The good news, gang, is that we’re getting pretty close here,” he said. SURPLUS SALE Friday, October 16 • 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Downtown Hermiston Festival Street • Desks • Tables • Chairs • Cabinets • Electronics • Children's Items • Office Supplies and More She is not up for adoption at this time. Mark Sargent, DVM • Brent Barton, DVM Eugenio Mannucci, DVM, cVMA • Jana von Borstel, DVM, cVMA Small and Large Animal Care Mon: 8-6 Tue - Fri: 8-5 Sat: 8-12 Emergency Service 541.567.1138 80489 Hwy 395 N Hermiston www.oregontrailvet.com Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, animal shelters need our help more than ever. Please donate to your local shelter, or offer to foster an animal in need. 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 Stay for the Friends of the Library Book Sale Fri , Oct. 16 & Sat, Oct. 17 9am-3pm on Festival Street
