LA GRANDE — The city council of La Grande held its annual work retreat, which this year took the form of two nights of hours-long video conferences, to discuss priorities for the coming year.

The first was a session Monday night, Jan. 25, of the council in its role as the Urban Renewal Agency on economic development that also touched on COVID-19 relief. During the second meeting Tuesday evening, the council set the city’s goals and priorities for the future.

The council made no decisions during the retreat, but La Grande Mayor Steve Clements said the meetings were key in setting the council’s course for the rest of 2021, and councilors made their positions clear on issues from pandemic response and wildfire preparedness to downtown development.

COVID-19 response and recovery

The city of La Grande already allocated more than $430,000 in funds toward COVID-19 relief programs for businesses, according to City Manager Robert Strope, and the council largely expressed a reluctance to increase that figure for the time being.

“Currently, we still have quite a bit of money that’s available for loans of up to $10,000 apiece for businesses, and we’re still seeing some interest on those,” Strope said.

Strope explained he expected the city’s role moving forward to be geared more toward serving as a “conduit for information” about federal COVID-19 relief and recovery programs than as a provider of its own such programs.

Councilor David Glabe said he believed the council would be wise to keep some funds set aside to help businesses get across the finish line.

“I like the idea that we’ve got some money set aside to help businesses, because I think we have to realize that we’re still fairly early on in the winter,” Glabe said. “For restaurants, as long as they’re still having outdoor seating or takeout only — we don’t want to lose any more of those businesses.”

Clements voiced similar sentiments, saying he preferred not to commit additional resources so long as state and federal programs were available to help businesses, but he supported keeping some funds in reserve as a safety net. Councilor Mary Ann Meisner added her support for that course of action as well.

City development

One major topic of discussion during the Monday night half of the council’s retreat was the city’s business park, which La Grande has used in recent years in an attempt to attract out-of-area businesses to develop a local presence and boost economic activity.

Councilors voiced their displeasure with the park’s lackluster performance and expressed concerns about dedicating large chunks of funding toward it, especially given the pandemic largely has halted efforts to recruit incoming businesses.

“So we have $400,000 dedicated to the business park, and we’ve just talked about how we’re not going to be actively recruiting people because of COVID-19,” said Councilor John Bozarth. “Why in the hell are we doing that?”

Councilor Nicole Howard shared Bozarth’s concerns, referring to the business park as an “albatross” and suggesting the city’s efforts may be better focused elsewhere.

“Light industry is not flocking to La Grande,” Howard said. “The couple of bites we had didn’t take for all kinds of reasons, some of them unfortunate. I wouldn’t want to spend any more energy than we’re spending to get somebody out there because I don’t think that dog can hunt.”

Christine Jarski, economic development director for the city, said one reason businesses have been reluctant to invest in the park was because it is in a floodplain.

Clements floated the possibility of reallocating funds from the business park instead to be eligible for calls for projects in the downtown area.

Housing, poverty and homelessness

Since the completion of La Grande’s housing needs analysis in June 2019, which confirmed the city was in dire need of additional housing, the city council has been working toward the adoption of a housing production strategy.

That strategy has been in production for several months, Community Development Director Mike Boquist told the council on Tuesday, and could be ready for review in the coming months.

“We’ll get the public’s input on what they see as our needs for the community and challenges that may need to be overcome,” Boquist said.

Clements said he believed the issues of housing and homelessness in La Grande were closely linked. He also raised the possibility of developing a homeless shelter in La Grande, saying he did not support the city itself doing so but the concept needed to remain on the council’s radar.

“The city is unable, I believe, to bring any resources to (addressing homelessness) in any meaningful way,” said Clements, suggesting the council should find ways to be involved and keep informed on the efforts of local organizations such as Housing Matters Union County.

Howard pointed to the efforts of the Cook Memorial Library, which has implemented free Wi-Fi hotspots and technical help with matters such as printing, as an example of measures that help take on the issue of poverty.

Kip Roberson, director of the library, suggested the council follow a national trend in doing away with late fees for overdue library materials, saying the fees disproportionately burden those unable to afford them — often, those who rely on library services the most.

“The American Library Association recommends that libraries not charge overdue fines on at least the basic library materials,” Roberson said. “I would like to eliminate those. Studies have shown that doesn’t affect the return of library items, that overdue fines are not punitive to those who can afford them and they only hurt those who can’t really afford to pay them.”

The council appeared widely supportive of the idea, with many nodding in agreement as Strope entertained the idea of moving forward with a vote in the near future.

Wildfire preparedness

As the western United States has burned with more and more intensity during recent fire seasons, the destruction of towns such as Paradise, California, and Phoenix, here in Oregon, have illustrated in no uncertain terms the risk many communities, including La Grande, carry during the summer months.

While it was one of the last points the council discussed Tuesday evening, the council struck an urgent tone on the subject of wildfire preparedness. Howard minced no words on the issue.

“I think that we are not prepared. I think we do not have a clear evacuation plan or communication plan,” Howard said. “When you look at what’s happening in the West, you’ve got your head in the sand if you don’t think it’s going to happen to us this July, or this August.”

Howard went on to say La Grande needed a “clear community plan” on what to do in the event of a wildfire emergency, and development of that plan needed to happen quickly.

Mayor pro tem Gary Lillard echoed Howard’s concerns, reminding the council of the Rooster Peak Fire of 1973, which burned within a quarter-mile of Grande Ronde Hospital and threatened La Grande’s western residential areas. Clements also agreed about the need to put together a well-crafted plan and roll it out to the public.

“I’d like to see that one (be) a priority,” Clements said.