Hughes

PENDLETON — McKay Dam area voters passed a measure to fund a rural fire protection district Tuesday night, Nov. 8.

Measure 30-161 as of Nov. 9 passed 64.2% to 35.8%, according to unofficial results from the Oregon Secretary of State.

The measure authorizes the district to impose property tax of 93.85 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to contract with the city of Pendleton for fire protection services for five years, beginning in 2023-24.

“I love that the district is staying together as part of our family,” Pendleton Fire Department Chief Jim Critchley said Nov. 9. “We can go in there, fight fires, clean up and don’t have to send out bills. I understand that not all people are pleased with what the board decided. People around the district had to pay an assessment.”

Critchley said Umatilla County is constantly looking for more firefighters and replacement equipment, but Pendleton fire could meet the McKay Dam district’s needs, until the levy runs out or residents don’t want to fund the district.

“It doesn’t change what we do,” he said. “It just makes them a district.”