Umatilla County to ask CDA to rescind vote ousting the county
By Terry Murry on Monday, April 22nd, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
HERMISTON – The Columbia Development Authority holds a board of directors meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) at 1 p.m. at the Stafford Hansell Government Center in Hermiston.
The CDA voted 3-2 at a recent meeting that the land set aside for economic development would be the property of the Port of Morrow and the Port of Umatilla. The two opposing votes were from long-time CDA partners Umatilla County and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
The county has said this is the second attempt to deal it out of attracting developers for land near the intersection of Interstate 84 and Interstate 82. Umatilla County Commissioner John Shafer is calling for the two ports and Morrow County to rescind that vote, saying it was in violation of the authority’s regulations. Shafer said he will be attending the Tuesday board meeting and he hopes the parties can work out the disagreement instead of turning it over to arbitrators or attorneys.
“If this vote isn’t rescinded on Tuesday then the county is prepared to move forward with that,” he said.
The board meeting is open to the public. It can also be attended via Zoom. The meeting ID is 840 3477 5464 and the pass code is 039461.
