City reports post-office rebuild, Coffee Cup site cleanup plan and river-area cultural reviews

City staff provided a group of project updates during the commissioner-information portion of the meeting.

Post office: Staff said the old south wing of the downtown post office was in poor condition; the design team recommended demolition and construction of a new south wing with an almost identical footprint. The new two-story addition will extend to the sidewalk on I Street; parking will be relocated behind the building. The new design retains the previous floor plan with minor dimensional changes due to 2x6 wall construction. The project will include street improvements on the adjacent streets and a community room with a commercial kitchen intended for events and potential vendor use.

Coffee Cup site / river-area cleanup: The city reported a phase 1 environmental assessment identified contamination at the property west of the Umatilla River (the former Coffee Cup/truck-stop area), prompting a recommended phase 2 evaluation requiring excavation and additional testing. A cultural resources survey found artifacts and the state required a historic-building evaluation; staff said the building was ultimately not found to be historic and can be demolished after completing the phase 2 work. The city said it is pursuing a partnership with Baker Institute of Technology and Eastern Oregon University to deed the property temporarily to enable cleanup work at reduced cost; the partners would likely own and remediate the site for roughly two years before deeding it back to the city.

Transportation and projects: Staff said the city is coordinating with ODOT on a planned roundabout at Highway 730 and Powerline Road; anticipated bridge construction and paving are advancing, and nearby asphalt plants are expected to open within the next one to two weeks, which will enable final paving and a ribbon cutting for the bridge likely in March or early April. Staff also described overhead utility conversions to underground in the downtown alley and improvements to a plaza and ice-rink area.

Cultural-survey context: Staff emphasized that cultural and archaeological reviews are now commonly required for downtown and river-adjacent projects, and that these studies should be budgeted into project timelines. Commissioners and staff discussed potential future public access improvements to riverfront areas and constraints tied to archaeological sensitivity.