CDA acts on fire district annexation
By Terry Murry on Friday, May 2nd, 2025 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
MORROW COUNTY – A virtual special meeting of the Columbia Development Authority Thursday saw the board of directors voting 3 to 2 on a resolution regarding fire districts covering the Morrow County portion of the land in what was the Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot.
In passing the resolution, the board rescinded a motion from February that annexation of the Port of Morrow industrial property should proceed as anticipated in a memorandum of understanding with the Boardman Fire and Rescue District. That statement was added to the new resolution along with the following:
“Be it further resolved that the exclusive farm use parcels in Morrow County should be annexed as anticipated by Irrigon Rural Fire Protection District, and that CDA will convey to the IRFPD that it should not annex other lands into its district pursuant to ORS 478.720, which was a statute enacted following execution of the memorandums of understanding in 2023.”
The motion to approve the new resolution was made by J.D. Tovey, who stressed that he was making it upon the advice of CDA’s legal counsel. The “no” votes came from Joe Taylor of the Port of Morrow and Umatilla County Commissioner John Shafer.
