PHOTO BY JENNIFER COLTON
The Oregon Legislative session ended July 6, but State Rep. Greg Smith is still keeping busy with a tour of Eastern Oregon.
On Thursday, Smith and his wife, Sherri, visited Boardman, Umatilla, Hermiston and La Grande.
“I don’t have any agenda. I just wanted to come down and say, ‘hi,’ and make sure I’m still in the loop,” Smith said, who represents House District 57. “There’s always a lot going on in Eastern Oregon.”
District 57 includes Umatilla, Morrow, Gilliam, Sherman and portions of Wasco counties. Smith said he enjoys meeting with residents of Eastern Oregon both to share information from Salem and to seek feedback and comments from the region.
“We always look forward to our visits from our Rep. Greg Smith,” said Debbie Pedro, executive director of the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce, said. “He has been a champion for our region here, and really exciting things have happened for our area. It’s good, too, to hear about the challenges and what we can do to help him in Salem.”
In Hermiston, Smith spoke about not only the positives – including $33 million for water infrastructure and $1.5 million for the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center – but about challenges as well, including proposed bills on minimum wage increases and retirement benefits. At the Hermiston Chamber, much of the discussion focused on small businesses.
At the Umatilla Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center, Smith spoke with Chamber Director Karen Hutchinson-Talaski about tourism and business development. At Umatilla City Hall, conversation turned toward funding, interagency communications and transportation.
The city of Umatilla is looking at two major projects in the next decade: the development of the Umatilla Old Town site for recreation and a streetscape project on Sixth Street.
“We want to make this look less like a thoroughfare and more like a Main Street,” Umatilla City Manager Bob Ward said. “I think a lot of our issues for attracting business would go away if it looked more like a Main Street.”
Funding for transportation and city projects came up in meetings with both Hermiston and Umatilla. Smith spoke about changes in federal funding and the need for a state transportation plan. Smith said he will work toward getting a transportation plan on the floor in the next session.
“I’m a huge advocate for a transportation plan,” Smith said. “Right now, our small cities are being told they’re looking at eight to 14 years out on their small city allocations. Fourteen years? What are you supposed to do with that? That is something we need to address.”
The 2016 legislative session is expected to convene in February.
