Listen Live

Author: mbailey

Hood River URA Approves Moving Toward Loan For Heights Housing Project

Posted on by mbailey

 

The Hood River Urban Renewal Agency board approved having its staff move forward with Mid-Columbia Economic Development District in providing a bridge loan of $2 million for a mixed use development including affordable housing in the Heights Urban Renewal District.  The project being developed by Maui Meyer and Ben Stenn at 13th and Taylor was approved by the City in 2021, including a real component on the first floor, a structured parking area, and 28 of the 30 housing units priced for under 120 percent of average median income with an average of 112 percent.  URA board chair Mark Zanmiller says part of the purpose of the Heights district is to develop more affordable housing opportunities, and he hopes this project would spark other developments.  The URA and MCEDD would each contribute half of the loan, which would have a 25-year term.  An intergovernmental agreement between the URA and MCEDD will be put together.

White Salmon Housing Action Plan Meeting Thursday

Posted on by mbailey

The White Salmon City Council and Planning Commission will hold a joint meeting Thursday to take input on what should be part of a Housing Action Plan for the community.  Consultant Michael Mehaffy says the objective is to provide a pathway toward development of various types of housing that working families and young people can afford.  White Salmon citizens are being invited to give their views of housing issues that need to be addressed at the meeting.  It begins Thursday evening at 6 p.m. in the City Council chambers at the White Salmon Fire Hall.

Smoke Ready Week

Posted on by mbailey

This is Smoke Ready Week.  The Hood River County Health Department says it is one of many agencies trying to spread the word about being ready to deal with smoky conditions, whether it is because of wildfire or another source.  Department Public Information Officer Daron Ryan says the most important message is knowing how to get to a place that has cleaner air.  Ryan says people can learn more about dealing with smoke conditions by going to airnow.gov.

The Dalles Establishes Temporary Paid Reserve Police Officer Program

Posted on by mbailey

The City of The Dalles has established a temporary paid reserve police officer program.  City Manager Matthew Klebes told City Councilors on Monday evening that the police department is understaffed, but has reserve officers available to take some available shifts.  He added the first reserve officer was activated on Monday, and they hope to have more join the reserve program.  In other business, the City Council formally approved the budget for fiscal year 2023-24, adding in a $758,000 grant from the Oregon Department of Energy that the City will pass through to Mid-Columbia Community Action for new solar panels for their Navigation Center that is under construction.

HR URA Board Moves Westside Urban Renewal Plan To Taxing Districts

Posted on by mbailey

The Hood River Urban Renewal Agency Board has moved the plan for a Westside Urban Renewal District on to various taxing districts for their approval.  The board approved a Westside district that is 406 acres in size, reducing the size of the Waterfront Urban Renewal Area to 42 acres to accommodate it.  The board also received a preview of what will be discussed when the Westside plan gets to the Hood River County Commission.  County Commissioner Arthur Babitz, who emphasized he was speaking for himself, said it was critical to acknowledge that without annexation of lands in the district none of the plans will be successful.  He is advocating that the City and County adopt policy to have the City annex all land within the urban growth boundary within ten years.  Taxing districts are to give their comments on the plan over the next six weeks, with a City Council hearing planned for August 14 and the County Commission considering it on August 21.

Search & Rescue Demands Increase With Summer

Posted on by mbailey

With summer weather arriving, the demands on search and rescue crews in the region increases.  Forestlands, trails, and waterways lead to Hood River County being in the top six in the state every year for search and rescue calls, but the other five counties are much larger.  Hood River County Sheriff Matt English says many of the calls they receive could have been avoided.  He says at this time of year, many hikers from out of the area don’t realize as they hike on trails the further south they go, the more likely they are to run in the snow, and then decide to push through and lose the trail, and become lost.  English emphasizes hikers should let people know their itineraries, understand cell phones have limitations and may not work in some locations so take along a hand-held GPS unit, and be aware of weather and fire conditions.  Also, even if going on a day hike, be prepared for a longer stay in the wilderness.

 

Upstairs Of The Dalles City Hall To Be Remodeled

Posted on by mbailey

One section of the upstairs area of The Dalles City Hall is going to get a remodel.  City Manager Matthew Klebes says the Veterans Museum will move to the first floor adjacent to the Fire Museum in hopes of generating traffic for those exhibits, but also create more room for municipal staff, including a new economic development officer and a facilities supervisor.  The economic development position has been in place in the past associated with other duties, but now the job will have a dedicated focus to economic development.  Klebes says they’ve gone out to bid for the remodel work.

HR County Issues Reminder About Fire Safety

Posted on by mbailey

Hood River County officials are reminding people to be careful when it comes to fire when in forestlands and campgrounds.  County Administrator Jeff Hecksel says activity levels are up with the onset of summer weather, and there is a need to be mindful of the dangers of fire.  He says campfires should not be lit unless in a fire ring in an improved campground.  Hecksel says new for Hood River County is a personal fireworks use ordinance.  The County Commission does have the ability to ban fireworks use if it deems necessary.  Hecksel says they are not planning such an action at this time.

Bridge Work To Require Nighttime Closures Beginning June 20

Posted on by mbailey

The Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge will be closed to all traffic Sundays through Thursdays from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., and on Fridays from 12:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. beginning Tuesday, June 20 through July 7, 2023.  During the closures, crews will perform repairs to the steel truss members of the bridge. The work will include connection repairs, floorbeam knee brace repairs, rocker bearing modifications, debris removal, joint header repair, and sealing concrete cracks.  The Port accepted a bid from Abhe & Svoboda of $460,928 and issued a Notice of Intent to Award on May 16.  The final work schedule was determined on Friday.  The project is overseen by bridge engineering firm HDR, Inc.  Updates to the project work schedule will be posted on portofhoodriver.com.  

Mosbrucker & Songer Plan Drug Town Hall

Posted on by mbailey

Washington State Fourteenth District Rep. Gina Mosbrucker and Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer will host a town hall meeting on June 20, on the statewide drug crisis.  Mosbruckersays the town hall meeting will discuss concerns about the problem of drug abuse, addiction, and deaths from overdoses of hard drugs, including fentanyl and heroin.  Mosbruckerwill also give an update of new legislation passed during a one-day special session on May 16 that she says provides a combination of accountability and treatment for those abusing drugs.  The town hall meeting will be held at 7 p.m. June 20, at the Klickitat County Search and Rescue Training Center, 205 S. Columbus Ave., in Goldendale.

 

Adblock Detected

We have detected that you are using an adblock in your browser’s plugin to disable advertising from loading on our website.

Your Experience is very important to us, and your Ad Blocker enabled will cause our site not to perform as expected.  Turn off the Ad Blocker or add our site to your exceptions.  After you turn off or add exception please refresh the site or click ok.

Please note: Clicking OK below will NOT disable your ad blocker. You will need to make that change within the ad blocker's settings.

OK