PENDLETON — The city of Pendleton could buy the land where the Blue Mountain Equine Center is and then lease it to Blue Mountain Community College.

The Pendleton City Council at its meeting Tuesday, March 18, considers two motions: one, for the city to accept ownership of the property from the Round-Up, and second, to approve and sign the agreements related to the property.

According to the city staff report, the original land lease plan was for the Round-Up to own the property and lease it to the college. In exchange, the college would make the arena available to Round-Up during the rodeo and other events.

“For our part, the city had committed $150,000 and donated parcels of property that had been acquired over several years to meet the future needs of the campus,” the report stated. “We had also worked with the partners to solicit funding from the state of Oregon. BMCC had recently obtained $13 million in grant funds for the construction of the arena.”

However, it was later discovered the property would be taxable if the Round-Up was the owner. As a result, the proposal now is for the city to own the land and lease it to the college.

In addition, BMCC requested a management agreement between the city and the college, asking Pendleton Convention Center staff to oversee booking and managing events in the arena. Revenue from these events will go toward paying the city for its services and to maintain the building.

According to the staff report, the college should  see significant, positive benefits from having such a premier rodeo and education facility. Additionally, the facility could boost tourism in Pendleton, particularly during the winter months.

The leasing agreement will involve the city, the college and Round-Up, and address potential conflicts that may arise between the parties, such as future sponsorships, parking, disputes and other related matters, according to the staff report.

If all three parties do not come to an agreement, the alternative would be for the city not to become the landlord. In that case, the partners would be left to pay significant property taxes on their own.

Shifting gears, the city plans to relinquish its rights to the unoccupied graves at the catholic section of Olney Cemetery and allow St. Mary’s Catholic Church to take ownership of those graves. The action is under the meeting’s consent agenda.

The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia transferred ownership of unused graves at the cemetery to the city of Pendleton on March 1. The church requested the graves be used for “the needy.” However, since the city does not have a policy on how to allocate graves, none of the graves have been assigned or used so far.

Liam Hughes, director of Pendleton Parks and Recreation, said the Catholic Church owns much of the east side of the cemetery, but one section belonged to the Sisters of St. Francis, which was traditionally used for burying nuns. With no nun in town, those graves were transferred to the city. But St. Mary’s was running out of space in its section and requested the graves. The city was willing to transfer the land to the local Catholic Church.

Also under the consent agenda the council will appoint Kristine Hudson-Bonniot to Pendleton Planning Commission. She ran for the city council at-large seat in 2024 but lost to Councilor Stephen Campbell.

The Pendleton City Council meetings starting at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers at city hall, 500 SW Dorian Ave., following the council meeting at 6 p.m. as the Pendleton Development Commission.