PENDLETON — Sometimes better late than never is true.

That was the case Wednesday, May 15, when the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners approved an intergovernmental arrangement with city of Pendleton to address an oversight from 2022.

The Pendleton City Council on March 16, 2021, voted to apply for a $150,000 Community Development Block Grant from the state to provide funds to local businesses that lost revenue during the pandemic.

According to a memo from Pendleton City Manager Robb Corbett to the city council, the Greater Eastern Oregon Development Corp. wrote the grant and planned to administer the program, which created a partnership with area cities and the county.

However, after receiving the $150,000 award, GEODC determined it was unable to administer the program. Business Oregon, the state’s business department, proposed the county partner with Euvalcree, a community-based nonprofit in Ontario, to administer the program.

Since then, the program has identified numerous businesses, including three in Pendleton, for grants of $10,000.

“As the program winds down, it was noticed that in the process of shifting the administrative duties we failed to secure IGA agreements,” according to the memo.

That deal should have been in place before Sept. 1, 2022, when the program began. The county board voted 3-0 to approve the IGA and rectify the oversight at the request of the city.

Likewise, the county board approved seven grant requests totaling $69,280:

• $20,000 to Stay Around Donuts and Pies for kitchen improvements and trailer wiring.

• $19,000 to Saager’s Shoe Shop to replace windows.

• $10,000 to the Eastern Oregon Visitors Association for a self-guided tour of the county.

• $10,000 to Stage Stop Motel and RV to expand dining facilities.

• $5,500 to Holden Hearts Boutique for a business expansion.

• $3,280 to White Eagle Grange to replace flooring.

• $1,500 to Sweet Bee Honey Co. for a pollinator trail system.

The county in other business approved several expenditures, including $15,035 to purchase a variable message reader board trailer for the Public Works Department and a $9,300 payment for emergency repairs to an elevator in the Stafford Hansell Government Center in Hermiston.