Umatilla County Public Officials Update March 17, 2021

(Shared by Umatilla County Commissioner George Murdock.)

To:  Public Officials

From:  George Murdock

Subject:  Weekly Public Officials Update – Providing Information, Advocacy and Commentary

Date:  March 17, 2021 – Volume 48

New Target

   Having spent several weeks enjoying the benefits of moving down from extreme to high, people are beginning to ask about the path to moderate.  Here it is:

   Below 8% test positivity, and less than 80 cases over 2 weeks. 

Medical Report

   Good News!  Our numbers dropped to a net of 43 last week which is the lowest total since some time last spring.  While not there yet, we are even flirting seriously with going from high to moderate which would be a major achievement.  Our latest two-week rolling average is 90 with a positivity rate of 4.7%.  These figures are minus the counts from the Department of Corrections.   

   In addition, both St. Anthony and Good Shepherd report no COVID-related hospitalizations.

County Offices

   Umatilla County Offices are now open by appointment only for business that cannot be conducted in some other manner than in-person.

Introduction

   Having just celebrated the first anniversary of the major flood, we were reminded of how lucky we are to live in Umatilla County where, in times of emergency, people are willing to come together selflessly to help their neighbors.  While the EO sought to illuminate the multiple ways in which this happened, too many things happened to be aware of them all.

   Since March 1, we have been given a second reminder of the kind of people we enjoy as friends and neighbors by the presence of a pandemic. 

   Almost from the beginning, we have been aware that many of our most fragile citizens have relentlessly sheltered in place.  They have been enabled by others who have done their grocery shopping and have run their errands.  Businesses have instituted a number of new practices and offerings in the interest of public safety. 

   I don’t have time to explore all of the COVID-related instances in which people have risen to the occasion, but I do know the list would be long.  It would certainly include caring for those stricken by COVID, babysitting because schools are closed, providing assistance for children learning on-line, helping provide for those suffering economic hardships, and many more.

   For purposes of this addition to the Update, I want to focus on what we have experienced in getting out the vaccine.  As more and more doses are available it has been necessary to call on volunteers to assist the staff and, in return, the response has been amazing.

   We are also finding it necessary to find locations for remote clinics.  Tum A Lum in Pendleton was extremely gracious in providing use of the former Gilbert Auto facility, which will soon become their new home.  When Joe Fiumara, our public health director, contacted the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Milton-Freewater for use as a potential site, they couldn’t have been more cooperative.  We are finding that all over and we anticipate finding the same reception in the days to come when we will ramp up vaccinations to the point we are able to visit other communities around the county.

   As the end of March approaches and as the eligibility guidelines expand to front-line workers, we are planning a major effort to create vaccination events at farms and processors in agricultural areas.  As preliminary plans are being made, we are finding the farms and processors couldn’t be more cooperative as partners in the vaccination efforts.  This will be critically important as perhaps as many as thousands of workers return to Umatilla County.  Protecting their health and safety is of prime importance.   

Stimulus Bill

   One of the topics we will be visiting about more in the future is the impact of the stimulus bill, particularly those parts that are focused on support for cities and counties and our efforts in dealing with COVID and subsequent recovery efforts.  While we were advised we would be receiving $15.122 million at the county level from two payments, we will be certain when the first check clears the bank.  That is expected to be about 60 days away. 

   The federal bill is different from state support in that distributions are coming across a wider area.  Cities are to get their own allocation as are health agencies, businesses, food, shelter, and other relief programs.

   Even before the bill was signed, agencies like ours started to study it in depth in order to learn more about the multiple pots of money that will be made available because beyond the direct proposed allocations, there are a myriad of other programs that are also being put into play.  Not too many decisions have been made to date except for one guiding principle and that is the fact we won’t have the luxury of adding personnel because this is what is hard not to call a once-in-a-lifetime infusion and in the case of adding staff, there always has to be an on-going source of funding which, in this case, there is not. 

   This is also true for our communities which are getting their own allocation.  Several of those towns have very limited resources to work with and this will no doubt provide an opportunity to help address issues they would not otherwise be able to take care of.  According to Senator Wyden’s Office, this is what our local communities will receive:

   Adams          $72,769

   Athena          $ 223,186

   Echo               $144,722

   Helix               $37,505

   Hermiston    $3,624,574

   Milton-Freewater   $1,441,921

   Pendleton     $3,422,167

   Pilot Rock        $307,585

   Stanfield        $430,497

   Ukiah              $42,397

   Umatilla      $1,492,268

   Weston         $132,696

Thorn Hollow Bridge

   Commissioner Dorran and Public Works Director Tom Fellows held a press conference last Wednesday to announce that the timing on the replacement of the Thorn Hollow Bridge has been moved up dramatically.  They were joined, the area director for ODOT.  The estimated cost of the replacement has been pegged at $5 by Ken Patterson million.

   There has been concern for a year that it might take until 2027 to replace the bridge.  This provides concerns about access and public safety including school buses, inclement weather, and simply the time it takes to get from one point to another.  Particular concern has been expressed by the Tribes since the bridge is located on the Reservation.

   Shortly after the flood waters subsided, county officials began visiting with the Tribes and with the offices of Senators Wyden and Merkley about potential funding to speed up the process.

   More recently, Dorran, Fellows, and Patterson had pursued an avenue more focused on state funding.  As a result, the county recently learned it would be provided with a $613,000 grant for engineering and permitting.  As discussions continued and as the party continued to stay at the table in search of better solutions, the outcome appears to be that rather than launching the project in 2025, demolition of the bridge could occur as early as the summer of 2021 and possibly even 2022 with actual construction underway by 2023, which is about four years ahead of earlier predictions. 

   At the same time, it also appears funding has been secured through the state but also utilizing some of their federal dollars, and a portion slightly more than ten percent that would be matching funds from the county. 

McKay Creek

   Commissioner Dan Dorran toured McKay Creek and the rehabilitation/mitigation work being performed by the City of Pendleton last week.   As impressive as the work in the Community Park is, there is still a lot of work to be done. At this time the remove-move-fill process is proceeding upriver of the pedestrian walk bridge in the park. The process will help open channels and move flow back to original channels to some extent. The goal is to have a manageable stream flow while protecting existing environmental habitat. A high skilled balancing act.

   The aforementioned project is only a small part of overall planning/permitting/implementation being attacked head on by the City of Pendleton, Lower McKay Creek Water Control District, Umatilla County, Umatilla County and property owners. There are several studies underway addressing mapping, mitigation and projections. However, what is probably the most critical study, the McKay Creek Basin Study, which will take a holistic look and come back with suggestions and recommendations is just underway. A steering committee of sorts, The McKay Creek Recovery Group, continues to meet monthly to make sure progress is being accomplished. Where there is hesitation by agencies and others, this group is not shy in refocusing those that may need to re-engage in a positive way.

Daylight Savings Time

   A bi-partisan group of senators have produced what they call the sunlight saving bill.  I always get a little nervous on those protection, preserving, and saving bills because they generally amount to limiting the amount of area available at our discretion.  In this case, however, saving sunlight was something different.  Here is their rationale for a permanent daylight savings time. 

• Reduces car crashes and car accidents involving pedestrians: better aligning daylight hours to drivers’ standard work hours’ increases visibility, according to the American Journal of Public Health and the Journal of Safety Research. Also reduces the number of vehicle collisions with wildlife by 8 – 11 percent by shifting normal traffic patterns to an hour off from nocturnal wildlife’s behavior 
• Reduces risk for cardiac issues, stroke and seasonal depression
• Reduces the number of robberies by 27 percent, according to a 2015 Brookings Institution because of additional daylight in the evenings.
• Benefits the economy, according to a study by JP Morgan Chase, which found that there is a drop in economic activity of 2.2 percent – 4.9 percent when clocks move back.
• Reduces childhood obesity and increases physical fitness, according to studies published by the International Journal Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity and the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, children see an increase in physical activity during DST. The Journal of Environmental Psychology found that DST increased pedestrian activity by 62% and cyclists activity by 38% because of additional daylight.
• Benefits the agricultural economy, which is disproportionately disrupted by biannual changes in time by upsetting the synergy between farmers’ schedules and their supply chain partners.
• Reduces energy usage, a 2008 study by the U.S. Department of Energy found that during the 4 weeks the U.S. extended daylight savings from the 2005 law, there were savings of about 0.5 percent in electricity per day. Later studies have also shown that the energy savings are minimal but a small savings does occur.

Project Turnkey

    CAPECO took a step forward in dealing with a combination of transitional housing for those without a roof over their head and a host of issues that contribute to homelessness with the purchase of the Whiskey Inn in Pendleton thanks to a $1.3 million dollar grant through Project Turnkey.  There is interest in finding a way to pursue a similar way to explore a companion alternative in Hermiston.

   Project Turnkey, which is funded by the Legislature, is designed to address Oregon’s desperate shortage of low cost housing.  New construction runs around $200,000 for many of those projects.  Project Turnkey, which lists the Association of Oregon Counties among its proponents, provides housing for a fraction of the cost.  It also provides housing in a hurry and in certain cases re-purposes abandoned or struggling motels.

   The first phase of Project Turnkey was focused on wildfire victims in the Valley.

   One of the critical elements of this endeavor is that it is not “forever housing,” but rather transitional in nature.  By design, once the immediate need of COVID has passed, more focus can be devoted to one of the premier elements of the design – combining the housing with transformational programs that help those without shelter address the causes of their plight.  This would include mental health, drug and alcohol addictions, job skills, family difficulties, or other issues.

   In last Thursday’s EO there was a letter from an individual in Portland talking about HB 3115 which he notes “gives over all public spaces, city, county and state parks, sidewalks, city parking structures, city halls, public trails, to a homeless and transient population without regard to, input from, or concern for the rest of the people who live in Oregon and pay the taxes to support and maintain these public facilities and spaces.”  This is only part of his letter, but he raises important questions.

   In making the announcement regarding the motel purchase, Paula Hall, CAPECO executive director, notes there will likely be pushback to the idea of housing and programs for the homeless.  The writer of the above letter, who lives in Portland, reminds us of the alternatives to be experienced by a “head in the sand” approach.

   There are certainly humanity issues attached to the issue of those without homes.  There should also be pragmatic issues.  Unless we address alternatives and meet the problems head-on, could we anticipate beginning to look like Portland, Seattle or Salem?  Watching the You-Tube video “Seattle is Dying” is well worth the hour it takes.  I don’t think any of those communities have a prayer of turning things around.

    On the other hand, there are communities who have demonstrated the courage to address such issues upfront with the idea of controlling their own destiny.

   For a variety of reasons, CAPECO will be quickly changing the name of their new acquisition.   

Immigration Reform

   Last Thursday I spent several hours on a ZOOM conference involving the National Association of Counties Immigration Reform Task Force of which I serve as vice-chair.  Some of you will remember I joined that group in a visit to the border in El Paso to view conditions.  One of the commissioners from El Paso who hosted us during our visit was on the call and indicated conditions have changed since we were there.  What we witnessed was changes to address the concerns that had caused such an uproar – most notably regarding the housing and treatment of unaccompanied minors.  He noted that unfortunately, things have regressed and the crisis situation has returned. 

   His community is being overrun and they are straining to keep up although he appreciates the fact those who were sent back to Juarez to wait, are now being helped to wait on this side.  He is concerned that residents of El Paso are being immunized while those in Juarez are not.  His other concern is that there are simply too many unaccompanied minors coming in to be provided appropriate housing.

   Much of the on-line conference was really about an on-going conversation about the need for provisions which would provide an adequate work force in a wide variety of occupations most notably those on the front-line and those tasks local residents are reluctant to perform.   We were told there are about 2.4 million immigrants working in agriculture and about half of them are undocumented.  We also know that 2.4 million workers are still not enough to handle the workload.    

   Another high point is the fact several major pieces of immigration legislation will be on the agenda of the House next week – most likely on Thursday.  Those are projected to be the DACA bill and a farm worker modernization act.  They are hoping this could actually be bi-partisan. 

   It is important to remember that the economy of Umatilla County is dependent upon having enough farm workers here.

 Representative Benz

   I had the unique opportunity to have an hour-long one-on-one with Representative Cliff Bentz and three of his staff members last week.  Now that he is able to get his feet on the ground and able to begin assembling a staff, Representative Bentz is working hard to get his arms and his mind around an incredible number of issues related to getting his office up and running.

   One of his objectives is to begin visiting with the 63 commissioners who make up his district and I am pleased that Umatilla County was near the top.  Compare this with Congressman Earl Blumenauer of Portland who has about five county commissioners in his Portland-centric district.

   One of his early goals is to be able to produce a newsletter so that constituents can be kept aware of the major issues through his eyes.  I asked what he would say is the greatest frustration of the many new members of the House might be and he said that as far as his party is concerned, it is the fact they are being provided very little opportunity to be engaged with the work of the House as members of the minority party.    

   This often does not come out in the media, but as we are finding in Oregon, those in power at this point have put procedures in place that are not friendly to the minority.  At the federal level, there is hope that once the fervor associated with a long list of executive orders and new programs has been instituted, there will be renewed interest in bi-partisan conversations.

   Representative Bentz said the major issues on his agenda right now are getting students back in school and putting people back to work.  He is also keenly interested in the impact of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Bill and the proposal to remove the Snake River Dams.  He worries so much has been spent there might not be enough left for attention to the infrastructure. 

Final Thought

   As they say, this isn’t my first rodeo.  Forty years ago I was a high school principal supervising the halls of a 1,000 student secondary school.  As a result, I have plenty of experience encouraging proper distancing among teenagers.