HERMISTON – It was a case of not following a predetermined checklist that prompted the Hermiston City Council to decline a request for a liquor permit Monday night.

The council voted 5-2 against a request by Inderjit Singh of Pasco for the permit before the Hermiston Planning Commission approved the construction of Metro Mart at 1100 W. Highland Ave., at the corner of Highland Avenue and 11th Street.

The company most likely wants to be sure that a portion of its business will be ready to go when it builds, said city planner Clint Spencer.

The council doesn’t usually approve liquor applications before the Planning Commission approves a construction plan and before the Oregon Liquor Control Commission approves the license.

“This was a case of the cart before the horse,” said council member Rod Hardin.

But council member Ken Thorpe said if he were trying to open a business, he would want all of his paperwork in order to be sure he would be successful.

Because the proposed building site is within 500 feet of a church or school, the nearby church will most likely be notified if the OLCC receives an application for alcohol distribution, Spencer said.

Also Monday night, the council:

Approved three rebids for the Hermiston Digester Rehabilitation project.

Northwest Metal Fabricators, Inc. of Hermiston was awarded a $120,941 bid to do crane work and the cleaning and repair in advance of the painting to be done by Coatings Unlimited of Kent, Wash., for $78,400. Both the contractors proposed removing the covers and working on them on the wastewater treatment plant site. The city will pay a total of $199,341 for the project.

The original bids opened in August ranged between $410,500 to $730,000. The engineer’s estimates were between $150,000 and $200,000.

Refurbishing the steel covers is the first phase of the city’s plan to renovate the wastewater treatment plant – a project that is expected to cost $8.5 million during the next six or seven years.

Approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Oregon Department of Aviation for a grant project to improve the city airport off of Highway 395 on the south side of town.

The Federal Aviation Administration will provide $124,200, and the city will match $14,000 from other grant sources to improve the landing lights, install pilot-controlled runway landing lights, reducing the electrical power usage, and installing an automated gate to access the rental hangers.

The same 2003 Federal General Aviation Entitlement Grant also will help make improvements at the Boardman and Lexington airports.

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Teri Meeuwsen can be reached at (800) 522-0255 (ext. 1302) or by e-mail at tmeeuwsen@eastoregonian. com.