Council to tour new city hall site

By Terry Murry on Monday, February 28th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

HERMISTON – Hard hats are required for the Hermiston City Council work session at 6 p.m. today (Monday). Members of the council will meet at 180 Northeast Second Street to get their headgear for a tour on the construction of a new city hall.

The council will then gather at the Hermiston Community Center for its regular 7 p.m. meeting. A public hearing regarding the Horizon Project’s annexation proposal at 80 Northeast Tracey Lane.

The annexation request for 1.02 acres of land is adjacent to the city limits and within the urban growth boundary. The annexation has already been approved by the Hermiston Planning Commission and the council is expected to vote on it after the hearing.

The council will consider a resolution that would launch Hermiston’s economic development incentive program. If approved, it will offer a bulk-discount rate related to electricity franchise fees and payments in lieu of taxes for the city’s larger industrial power users.

Another resolution before the council would expand the Greater Hermiston Enterprise Zone. The city’s E-Zone offers businesses three years of property-tax exemptions for development that creates jobs. The change would add approximately 1.34 square miles east of Interstate 82 to the existing zone.

The meeting is open to the public with the mask mandate still in effect. It is also streamed on the city’s YouTube channel.