PENDLETON — The Pendleton City Council at its Tuesday, April 5, meeting was supposed to consider an ordinance that would allow ride-hail services to operate within city limits. Instead, the council will go back to the drawing board.

In a report to the city council, city attorney Nancy Kerns wrote the situation changed after the city was able to get in contact with Uber, the ride-hail giant based out of San Francisco.

“Uber advises that it would like to be able to offer its technology and service to the residents and visitors of Pendleton,” she wrote. “However, the ordinance, as previously proposed, would not enable Uber to bring their service to this community. Uber is willing to participate in conversation aimed at finding a policy which meets the mutual goals of the parties involved.”

Kerns’ recommendation was to “direct staff with plans for future discussion.”

On April 1, Kerns declined to comment beyond what was in her report.

Before talking with Uber, city staff had negotiated with a group of Pendleton residents who wanted to drive for Uber but were prevented from getting started because of the city’s taxi ordinance. Represented by couple Alicia and Jesse Reynen, a group of aspiring Uber drivers asked the council to amend its taxi laws to give ride-hail services a chance to compete.

The request ran into swift opposition from Elite Taxi, the city’s only taxi business. The owners of Elite argued that competition from ride-hailing services such as Uber likely would put them out of business. That meant Pendleton would not only lose taxi services but also the contractor that provides the city with its transportation services for low-income, disabled and senior residents.

The council eventually directed city staff to broker a compromise between the ride-hail drivers and Elite that would form the basis of a new ordinance. City staff returned in March with the framework of a deal: Elite would operate mostly during the day and ride-hails during the evening hours, with some exceptions made for tourist events, including the Pendleton Round-Up. The set-up would be a part of a pilot program that would be revisited by the council at a later date.

Elite told the council it was satisfied with the agreement, but the ride-hail drivers weren’t sold. The Reynens said they wanted to be able to operate 24/7, but they agreed to the deal under pressure from city staff. Some city councilors were skeptical as well, pointing out the city couldn’t properly evaluate the program if both weren’t running at the same time. Mayor John Turner eventually cut off debate and requested staff return with an ordinance the council could consider at its April 5 meeting.

Missing from these discussions was Uber. While Uber sets some standards around drivers and vehicles, all Uber drivers are independent contractors rather than employees. That meant the aspiring ride-hail drivers were acting independently rather than at the direction of Uber.

Whatever objections Uber had with the proposal, the city is staying mum about it. Kerns declined to say if Uber took issue with the city’s day-night split between taxis and ride-hailing services.

At the meeting, the council also will consider establishing the Pete Wells Aquatic Scholarship, a swimming lesson discount program named after the former Pendleton city attorney and municipal judge.

Wells died late last year from complications from a head injury. In a report from Parks and Recreation Director Liam Hughes, he wrote that Wells volunteered at the aquatic center and with the local swim team. Hughes wrote the aquatic center has a program for low-income families that provides discounted season passes, but nothing similar for swim lessons.

The council meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the council chambers in city hall, 500 S.W. Dorion Ave. The meeting also will be available online live via Zoom at bit.ly/3iaPLbo.