FARM II gets $3.5 million

By Terry Murry on Thursday, November 4th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

PENDLETON – Blue Mountain Community College’s FARM II is going to be fully funded. The proposed facility that would include an indoor rodeo arena got some funding, but not all it needed, from the Oregon Legislature and other supporters. Mayor John Turner said the remaining $3.5 million for the $13 million project is coming from Gov. Kate Brown.

“On Monday afternoon at 4 p.m., we had a Zoom conference with Gov. Brown, and she is coming up with the last $3.5 million dollars,” Turner said. “We are very grateful to her for that. This comes out of an education fund that is very competitive. Every school district, every college, and every university in the state is trying to get money from this fund.”

Originally, the legislature had fully funded the Blue Mountain Community College project. Then, due to COVID-19 cutting into lottery revenue, that funding was delayed. The second time around the lawmakers only funded a portion of it.

Turner said the fastest possible track to groundbreaking would be after the Pendleton Round-Up next year.

“That would be the best case basis, but it could be a year after that,” he said. “The good news is we have the money, and we can be moving ahead.”