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Hermiston council approves sewer contract, supplemental budget and equipment loan; orders street-name review
Summary
The Hermiston City Council unanimously approved a $308,000 contract for Evelyn Avenue sewer replacement, adopted a roughly $785,000 supplemental budget, approved an interfund loan for a parks mower and directed staff to review renaming East Airport Road and to revisit mobile-vendor license caps.
At its regular session, the Hermiston City Council approved several routine actions on a unanimous roll call.
Contract award: Council accepted a low bid of $308,000 from Bolen Construction for the Evelyn Avenue sewer-line replacement project, a capital-improvement item that has been on the city CIP since 2017. Public-works staff said seven bids were received and recommended awarding to the low bidder.
Supplemental budget: City Manager Smith presented a supplemental budget described in the meeting as "a little over $785,000," with adjustments across the general fund, transient room tax fund, utility fund, reserve fund and a new building inspection fund; staff said the adjustments are covered by fund-specific resources. The council adopted Resolution 24-09 by unanimous vote.
Interfund loan for parks mower: Council authorized an interfund loan from the utilities fund to the parks reserve fund to purchase a high-capacity mower the city said will reduce wear and improve productivity. Staff noted an interfund loan at roughly 4% interest would be cheaper than a private lease-purchase option cited at about 6.49% and recommended the internal loan structure.
Street-name review: After a discussion about misdelivered packages and wayfinding confusion caused by two 'Airport' roads within the urban growth boundary, the council directed the city engineer to review street names within six miles and report on whether it is in the public interest to consider renaming East Airport Road. Council members debated costs to residents of address changes versus longer-term benefits to clarity and marketing for the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center (EOTech).
License policy direction: Following the vendor ordinance discussion earlier in the meeting and public testimony about limited permit availability, the council directed staff to revisit the cap on mobile food-vendor licenses and prepare a recommendation for council consideration.
All items were approved by unanimous roll call. Staff said follow-ups for these items will return to council in future meetings as implementation steps or contract awards progress.
