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State Grant Provides Port Review Funding by Dean Brickey East Oregonian, February 12, 2010

BOARDMAN - Hoping to have about 2,000 acres state-certified as "shovel ready" for industry, Port of Morrow commissioners Wednesday accepted a state grant.

The technical assistant grant for up to $60,000 will help finance a $72,000 environmental and cultural review of the port's East Beach industrial area. The matching grant is coming from the state's Special Public Works Fund. That means the port must pay for $12,000 of the work.

"This will be a big help toward getting the property certified as industrial," said General Manager Gary Neal.

Lisa Mittelsdorf, the port's economic developer, said Plateau Investigations of Pullman, Wash., will conduct the review. All of the property, which is east of the port offices, is zoned industrial. Industry has leased some of the property and some remains in agricultural production.

In other business Wednesday, commissioners:

• Confirmed Lisann Currin as a new member of the port's budget committee and reconfirmed Greg Barron and Dick Graham for three-year terms. They will join Kevin Taylor and Joel Peterson.

• Learned from Mittelsdorf the 40,000-square-foot warehouse expansion is on schedule with the roofing planned next week.

• Discussed the pending lock closures on Columbia River dams, which will stop barge shipments. The navigation locks at Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day and McNary dams will close March 6-20 for annual maintenance.

Neal said the closures will help provide a reliable shipping system for the next 30-50 years.

"With this longer term closure comes sustainability and longer-term reliability for our shippers," he said.

Commissioner Joe Taylor added, "We're trying to take care of these problems now rather than later."

And Commissioner Don Russell commented, "It'll be a one-time inconvenience for shippers from Nebraska west."