Hermiston voters will see an Oregon State University Extension taxing district on their ballot in May.

The city council voted Monday to allow OSU to include Hermiston in the district being proposed to voters.

“I’m all for letting the citizens decide what they want to do with their tax dollars,” Councilor John Kirwan said.

City Manager Byron Smith said that agriculture is an important driver of Hermiston’s economy, and the 33 cents per $1,000 of assessed value would provide a steady funding stream for the research and other support for local growers. However, he also noted that the new district would pull away about $87,600 from the city’s general fund due to compression.

Since 1991 Oregon has capped property taxes at $5 per assessed value for schools and $10 per assessed value for other services. When voters pass more taxes than the $10 rate, through a new taxing district or a rate increase for a current district, each piece of the existing pie shrinks a little to fit in the new tax. Hermiston’s general fund is now losing about $291,000 per year to compression.

Supporters of the district testified the benefits to Hermiston’s economy would outweigh the loss.

“Continued growth in agriculture will support continued growth in our economy,” Steve Williams said.

Compression also came up during the 6 p.m. work session, where assistant city manager Mark Morgan presented the public infrastructure committee’s proposal to raise franchise fees on electricity, cable, internet and other utilities to help pay for $11.75 million in major street projects around town. Morgan said under the city’s current general fund trends, it would take about 59 years to earn the money for the projects if the city stopped other road maintenance altogether.

Projects the committee has prioritized in the capital improvement plan include paving Gettman Road, paving East Theater Lane, re-aligning the intersection of Harper, Geer and First Place, widening and improving NE 10th Street near Sandstone Middle School and revamping North First Place, including better traffic control at its intersections with Orchard Avenue and Highland Avenue.

If the city raised all franchise fees on utilities (currently 3 to 5 percent) up to 7 percent, that would raise about $413,000 per year. Added to the legislature’s transportation package, which will give Hermiston the money for the North First Place project in 2022, Morgan said the city could finish all projects on the list in roughly 11 years, not counting routine maintenance.

He said the committee felt a gas tax would just drive more people to buy their gas outside city limits, and a flat $5 fee on water and sewer bills would not catch the more than two thirds of Hermiston workers who live outside the city limits but still drive on Hermiston roads on their way to work in town.

The city council said they were willing to formally discuss and vote on the proposed franchise fee increase at their Aug. 28 meeting.

During the regular session, residents on Gettman Road testified to the need to pave the road as the southwest portion of town grows and more people use it. The discussion came as the council voted to annex 13 acres along Gettman Road into the city and zone it for low-density housing. The vote was based on an application by developer Frank Gehrig, who said he plans to build 46 large homes worth $275,000 to $325,000 in a new subdivision there over the next four years.

Three neighbors said they appreciated the need for more housing in Hermiston but they worried about traffic and dust caused by the increase in people using the road. They said since Armand Larive Middle School was built nearby there have been problems ranging from frequent wrecks to constant clouds of dust.

“I think the traffic will be unsustainable,” Gary Stolz said.

When they noted school buses traversing the dirt road, city planning director Clint Spencer said part of the school district’s conditional use permit for Armand Larive was a stipulation that no buses use that route, so if that were the case he would send a warning about the violation. Councilors said they were aware Gettman needed paved, and hoped to get it done in the next few years using the plan Morgan presented.

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Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4536.