PENDLETON — The Umatilla County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday, July 21, approved payments for COVID-19-related billboards and contact tracers.

Joe Fiumara, the county’s public health director, requested the county extend its contract and fund four billboards that for months have included COVID-19 and vaccine messaging. The commissioners unanimously approved the payment of $25,440 for the billboards to stand for another year.

In addition, the commissioners approved the health department’s request to employ its seven contact tracers permanently.

The contact tracers have worked in the county since May 2020. The health department has enough funding from the Oregon Health Authority to finance the positions through summer of 2022, Fiumara said. The commissioner approved the request unanimously.

The meeting then moved on to local community grants and payables. The commissioners approved $35,000 in federal stimulus funds for a city park in Adams and $75,000 for flood control in Echo.

“These will help communities in most incredible ways,” Commissioner Dan Dorran said.

Commissioner George Murdock noted residents and infrastructure in Echo have been in “desperate” need of support after the 2020 flooding event. Dorran said they are more than desperate.

“There are property owners losing ground right now without the engineering to support the permits,” he said, adding the funding will assist 61 ranchers and 131 land owners.

“This is critical to not just one or two people,” Dorran said.

And at the top of the meeting, the Umatilla County Public Health Department received recognition for its service during the COVID-19 pandemic from the Pendleton Honor Task Force.

Susan Bower, president of Eastern Oregon Business Source and Umatilla County commissioner candidate, represented the organization that on occasion has called attention to honor local individuals or groups. The health department had at least 16 personnel present at the meeting.

Bower said the team at the health department had done an “absolutely outstanding job” during the past year and a half.

Murdock added his praise to the department.

“I certainly will be happy when COVID is in our rearview mirror,” he said. “But I will say, if there’s one positive upside, it has been a new spotlight on public health. It’s been an afterthought by the state of Oregon. Now, I don’t think it will ever be again.”

In all, Umatilla County has reported 9,079 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began — more than 11% of its population — and the second-highest case rate among counties in Oregon, according to the OHA. The county continues to report infection rates higher than densely populated urban areas of Western Oregon.

Less than 40% of Umatilla County residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The county’s vaccination rate ranks sixth lowest in Oregon, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

During its Wednesday, July 21, meeting, the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners approved several other items, including the following:

• An updated emergency plan that Tom Roberts, the county’s emergency manager, presented.

• A maintenance request for retiling the first-floor bathroom in the Umatilla County Courthouse.

• A maintenance payable for the chiller in the Stafford Hansell Government Center.

• A payment for the county’s dispatch software.