BOARDMAN — The Columbia Development Authority board has reversed a previous vote the board took stating its intent to deed industrial land on the former Umatilla Chemical Depot over to the Port of Morrow and Port of Umatilla.

The change was a welcome one to the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners, which had opposed the original decision. County board chair John Shafer said he appreciated the CDA’s willingness to spend more time considering the issue.

“I think this was the right decision,” he said.

During a Thursday, Oct. 22, meeting, the CDA board voted unanimously to rescind the original 3-2 vote taken Oct. 8 to “memorialize” the board’s intent to deed the industrially zoned portions of the depot on the Umatilla County side to the Port of Umatilla for development, and the portions on the Morrow County side to the Port of Morrow after the depot is transferred from the U.S. Army to the CDA, and then the CDA disbands seven years later.

Umatilla County Commissioner Bill Elfering and Bill Tovey of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation were the dissenting votes during the Oct. 8 meeting, stating the entities they represented were interested in being the ones in control of the lease on at least portions of the Umatilla County side. Afterward, Umatilla County commissioners said they felt “blindsided” and “ambushed” by the decision, which had not been listed on the agenda for the Oct. 8 meeting.

Port of Umatilla General Manager Kim Puzey, who had been the one to propose the Oct. 8 vote, made a new motion during the Oct. 22 meeting that the board’s previous action be rescinded, “because it was not on the agenda.”

Board members voted unanimously in favor to rescind the previous motion to deed the land to the ports, and did not discuss it further in the meeting.

Prior to the Oct. 22 meeting, however, CDA board members had time to take the discussion back to their own entities they represent.

During its Oct. 21 meeting, the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners discussed adopting an official statement that the industrial land should go to the county instead of the port. But Elfering, who represents the county on the CDA board, said he would prefer a motion merely urging the CDA to rescind their previous action and take more time to study and discuss the issue.

The commissioners adopted Elfering’s suggested motion.

Morrow County Commissioner Don Russell represents the county on the CDA board, and on Oct. 8 voted in favor of deeding the land to the ports. At the time, he stated it was his understanding that had “always been the plan” on the Morrow County side, since the Port of Morrow has more expertise and money for industrial development.

Commissioners John Doherty and Melissa Lindsay thought the CDA’s vote had been premature, however, and on Oct. 20 the board of commissioners sent a letter to the CDA stating a vote of that significance should not have been taken when it was not listed on the agenda ahead of time.

“This topic deserves to be correctly noticed in an agenda and allow all parties to be prepared to discuss the matter,” the letter stated.

Zoning maps show 1,872 acres of industrial land in Morrow County and 1,278 acres in Umatilla County, mostly along interstates 84 and 82. Other parts of the roughly 20,000-acre former depot have gone to the Oregon Military Department for a National Guard training center or are slated for a wildlife preserve that will be managed by the Tribes.

Umatilla County Commissioner George Murdock said the county estimates the Umatilla County side to be worth about $20 million to the residents of Umatilla County.

During the CDA’s Oct. 22 meeting, the board also discussed preservation of historical assets on the depot, including portions of the Oregon Trail and the site of a munitions explosion that blew up one of the reinforced concrete storage igloos and killed six people in 1944.

The board discussed having Morrow County be in charge of the south portion of the Oregon Trail slated for preservation, and placing Umatilla County in charge of the explosion site.

A collection of Oregon Trail advocates have been pushing for the CDA to adopt a legally binding covenant protecting the portions of the trail on the depot forever, but the CDA has not done so as it works through the required Section 106 process, planning for mitigation or preservation of historical and culturally significant assets on the property.

One of the Oregon Trail advocates, Daniel Clark, invited CDA Executive Director Greg Smith to a meeting out at the depot on Nov. 5 to tour the portions of the trail and discuss plans for preservation. But Smith told the board that the CDA’s legal counsel had advised him not to attend the meeting, as it could reopen the Section 106 process and set the depot transfer back.

“This circumvents a two-year process to which all of the signatory partners have agreed and I just think it’s not a smart move on our behalf,” he said.

Clark and Wendall Baskins, another Oregon Trail advocate, voiced their disagreement with Smith’s decision not to participate in the meeting, and with the CDA not enacting a binding covenant for preservation of the trail.

“I do want to put in my voice to say that we need something in writing … to make sure that the property is saved for posterity down the line,” Baskins said.