PENDLETON — The Umatilla County Board of Commissioners agreed to invest $2 million in a Pendleton infrastructure project last week. But more than a week after the commissioners approved it on a split vote, the actual terms of the deal are not publicly available.

On Nov. 10, commissioners voted to provide the city with a $2 million revolving fund. The fund is meant to contribute toward the building of a connector road between Highway 11 and Highway 30 on Pendleton’s South Hill, a piece of infrastructure city officials believe will open land for potentially hundreds of housing units.

Addressing commissioners after their vote, Pendleton City Manager Robb Corbett told them about a survey the city recently conducted with its top employers.

“There’s 500 empty jobs in the community,” he said. “There are a growing number of jobs at the airport. Consistently, in all of our conversations, the comment is, ‘We want housing.’ So there is a direct link between our economic future and our ability to provide housing.”

In an interview after the meeting, Chair George Murdock also touted the fund’s ability to help with housing.

“They can’t move forward with this development of new housing without something like this to provide the funds,” he said.

But the circumstances leading to the vote were unusual. The actual text of the agreement wasn’t available to the public or the commissioners ahead of the vote.

Murdock said the written agreement wasn’t available because county counsel Doug Olsen was out of the office and couldn’t provide it. Commissioner Dan Dorran said he supported the project, but couldn’t vote for it if he couldn’t read the actual agreement.

Dorran requested Murdock table the issue until he could see the document, but Murdock said he felt comfortable moving forward on it. Commissioner John Shafer joined Murdock in approving the revolving fund, while Dorran voted against it.

Dorran at the meeting said he supported the idea, but he needed to see the agreement in writing.

After the meeting, Murdock said the county still couldn’t share the written agreement because Olsen still was out of the office and he didn’t know the exact date of his return. He also added the commissioners have yet to sign the agreement to finalize it.

Murdock said he’s been in discussions with Pendleton for months on its housing shortage and what the county could do to help. He felt comfortable enough with his knowledge of the agreement to push it forward.

“It’s not just an outright gift,” he said. “It’s a revolving fund that has sideboards on it.”

Murdock said economic growth on the west side of Umatilla County led to new revenue to the county through tax incentive agreements. As that revenue comes into the general fund, Murdock said the county has looked into reinvesting it.

Murdock said the revolving fund only can be used for new development rather than maintenance and repairs. And the city can’t simply deplete the fund and leave it empty; the city must find ways to replenish it over time.

Pendleton Public Works Director Bob Patterson said the city could pair the revolving fund with a reimbursement district, a new funding mechanism the city created in may. As developers start building along the new road, they would pay back the city for the infrastructure costs. That money would then be forwarded back to the fund.

But there’s still a lot of work to be done before the city can begin drawing down funds.

While the Pendleton City Council already has authorized city staff to begin identifying the right of way to build the road and other utilities, Patterson said the city would need council approval to designate the revolving fund for the construction of the street.

Patterson added that $2 million wouldn’t cover the entire cost of the project, which also includes new drinking water infrastructure. Staff is working on compiling estimates for the total cost of the project, he said, and intends to provide a number in the coming months.

— Reporter Bryce Dole contributed to this article.