After the ARC of Umatilla County’s boiler gave up the ghost, community members voiced concerns about the building’s ability to host the Hermiston Warming Station this winter. But ARC board member Jan Schroth said a new boiler is being installed this week.

“We’re not going to freeze to death so we’re happy,” she said.

The ARC had already been raising money to replace the decades-old boiler in 2016, but when a technician condemned the boiler this year it put a new urgency on fundraising. Schroth said the organization wasn’t able to raise the entire $45,000 upfront but the boiler is going in anyway and they will continue to raise money to pay off the rest of the boiler, with some help from the city to fill in gaps if needed.

The city of Hermiston owns the building but the ARC is responsible for maintenance and utilities for 1940s-era structure. The next fundraiser to pay off the boiler hasn’t been scheduled yet but the organization welcomes donations at any time and is pursuing several grants.

Schroth said they are excited to host the warming station, which has been running out of room at its Main Street location on nights the temperature dips below freezing this winter. She said the warming station benefits from more room and only paying rent for five months out of the year, while the ARC benefits from a more reliable source of rent than trying to fill evenings with private one-night event rentals instead.

Schroth said most of the ARC’s own events don’t go into the evening, and if the warming station opens on bingo nights the homeless clients using the station for the night will have a choice of showing up a little later than usual or sitting and having coffee in the side room while they wait for bingo to wrap up.

The ARC of Umatilla County is located at 215 W. Orchard Avenue in Hermiston.

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Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4536.