The Hermiston City Council will vote on a pair of resolutions needed to move forward with the installation of a traffic signal and turn lane at the intersection of Elm Avenue and 11th Street.
The council will vote on authorizing a Memorandum of Agreement between the city and Good Shephard Medical Center to outline financial responsibilities relating to the new traffic signal and turn pocket near the hospital.
The city is pursuing a state grant that would fund half of the project’s $1.8 million price tag. The city and hospital have each agreed to pay for 25 percent of the project. The grant, however, is contingent on the hospital creating at least 58 new jobs through its current expansion projects. If the hospital were unable to create those 58 new jobs, the entire cost of the traffic signal project would have to be fully funded by the hospital and city.
An agreement between the city and hospital calls for the hospital to pay 75 percent of the signal project if it were unable to create the 58 new jobs, with the city paying the remaining 25 percent. The hospital, however, has indicated that it has already created more than 58 new jobs and is in the process of verifying those new employees with the state.
