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NEWS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2020 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 County, city approve agreements for more Umatilla data centers By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR Umatilla County and the city of Umatilla have both approved enterprise zone agreements with Amazon Data Services for two new $200 million data center campuses in Umatilla. Umatilla City Man- ager David Stockdale said the agreements differ some from previous tax abatement agreements the city has entered into for data centers in the past, but are very simi- lar to agreements that Herm- iston and Boardman have both entered into with Ama- zon over the past year. The long-term enterprise zone agreement exempts Amazon from property taxes on the developments for 15 years, provided Amazon makes at least a $200 million investment in each develop- ment, hires at least 10 full- time employees for the site Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald Umatilla County Commissionar John Shafer, right, listens as county counsel Doug Olsen describes the enterprise zone agreement with Amazon Data Services during a board of commissioners meeting on Nov. 4, 2020. and provides compensation for those employees at least 130% of Umatilla County’s average wage. Stockdale said the for- mula for payments that Amazon will make in lieu New fl oral shop opens in Hermiston By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR Hermiston Floral Shop is now open for business. The shop, located at 174 W. Hermiston Ave. in Hermiston, is owned by Esperanza and Lucio Ochoa, who also own a jewelry store and boutique in the building. According to informa- tion provided by the shop’s employees, it sells custom fl oral arrangements, includ- ing corsages, table center- pieces, wedding bouquets, vases, funeral arrangements and more. The business also offers gift baskets, boxes of chocolates and other gifts, and can provide customized names and messages on rib- bons, water bottles and other items. Orders can be picked up curbside during the pan- of taxes includes a mini- mum of $2 million per year to be split between the city and county (higher if more than two buildings are built), plus $50,000 for education, $50,000 for public safety and payments to all taxing districts equivalent to what the company would be pay- ing in taxes on the fi rst $25 million of assessed value. In 2017, Umatilla County signed a different type of HERMISTON HERALD This fall-inspired fl oral arrangement is for sale at Hermiston Floral Shop, which opened on Nov. 12 in Hermiston. demic, and Hermiston Floral Shop also offers delivery. It is open seven days a week. The store had its grand opening on Nov. 12. For more information visit the Hermiston Floral Shop Facebook page or call 541-289-0213. half to reinvest that money back into economic devel- opment in the community where it was generated. At a Nov. 4 Umatilla County Board of Commis- sioners meeting, commis- sioners voted unanimously to approve the two agree- ments for the new Amazon campuses. County coun- sel Doug Olsen told com- missioners the two planned projects would be identical in size and adjacent to each other in the Wanapa indus- trial area on the east side of Umatilla. He said the plan is for construction on the fi rst campus to begin “shortly.” “The terms of the agreement are very simi- lar to previous ones with this developer,” he told commissioners. Commissioner George Murdock said the county and city had worked together as co-sponsors of the enterprise zone to forge the agreement. Umatilla County Public Health announces three new COVID-19 deaths Hermiston’s ZIP code still holds the record for most cases in the state with 1,767 Hermiston Floral Shop/ Contributed Photo tax abatement agreement with Amazon’s subsidiary Vadata, known as a Strategic Investment Program agree- ment, sparking a major dis- agreement between the city of Umatilla and the county over how the payments in lieu of taxes should be split. The county decided to give Umatilla about $1 million of the $4 million payment, but the city manager at the time, Russ Pelleberg, argued that the city should receive at least half, and threatened legal action. Since then, Stockdale said, he is “proud to say the city and county have made some really great strides in our relationship.” He said the city appreci- ates the county’s philosophy with the long-term enter- prise zone agreements that not only should cities where the projects are located receive half the payments, but the county should use its Umatilla County Pub- lic Health announced three more county res- idents have died with COVID-19. In a Nov. 16 news release, the local health department stated 49 county residents have now died with the virus. According to the news release, an 81-year-old man who tested positive on Oct. 27 died Nov. 8 at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston. A 63-year-old man, who tested positive Oct. 29, died Nov. 8 at Trios Southridge Hospital in Kennewick. A 66-year-old woman with underlying condi- tions tested positive Nov. 2 and died Nov. 13 at Ore- gon Health & Science University in Portland. Over the seven-day period between Nov. 11 and Nov. 17, the health department also announced a total of 271 new cases in Umatilla County. The county has had a total of 3,924 cases since the pandemic began, with a majority of the cases centered in Hermiston. According to the Oregon Health Authority’s latest weekly report, released Nov. 11, Hermiston’s ZIP code still holds the record for most COVID-19 cases of any ZIP code in the state, with 1,767 since the pandemic began. Oregon Health Authority continues to track workplace out- breaks, updating its list in its weekly report each Wednesday. According to the Nov. 11 report, worksites in Umatilla County with at least 30 people work- ing there, that have seen COVID-19 cases among employees in the past 30 days, are Eastern Ore- gon Correctional Institu- tion in Pendleton, Lamb Weston’s Hermiston site, Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston, J&J Snack Foods in Weston, Home Depot in Hermiston and Dutch Bros Coffee in Hermiston. Worksites in Morrow County on OHA’s report are Lamb Weston East in Boardman and Lamb Weston Board- man Pac. The report also lists an outbreak of 35 cases at Avamere Herm- iston, an assisted living facility. Statewide, the Nov. 11 report showed 6.8% of COVID-19 cases have been hospitalized and 1.5% have died. As of Nov. 17, the state has reported 58,570 cases of COVID-19. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports there have been more than 11 million COVID-19 cases since the start of the pan- demic and 246,232 deaths. In the past seven days, the CDC reports, the coun- try has reported 47.5 new cases per 100,000 people. NEW 2021 RAV4 LE 2021 RAV4 XLE Premium model shown. $ 239 39 $ 2,999 PER MO. MOS. AFTER $500 LEASE BONUS CASH APPLIED TO AMOUNT DUE AT SIGNING DUE AT SIGNING, PLUS TAXES AND FEES NEW 2021 VENZA LE $ 299 36 $ 2,999 PER MO. MOS. 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