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
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