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POMEROY–Chairman of the Garfield County Hospital District (GCHD) Board of Commissioners Cindy Wolf, addressed the Garfield/Pomeroy Community Economic Development Forum about the upcoming $860,000 levy vote April 28, to support the GCHD. Ballots will be sent out April 10, 2020. For the levy to pass, a minimum of 435 votes are needed to be cast, with 60% (261 votes) in favor.

The assessment amount for taxpayers has increased since the previous election in November, 2019, from $1.40 per $1,000 assessed property value, to $1.56. The reason stated for the increase, verified by Garfield County Tax Assessor Brian Bartels, is that the windmill valuations have dropped significantly, by millions of dollars.

Wolf announced that the GCHD has formed a committee of community leaders who strongly support the hospital levy to brainstorm ideas on how to promote a positive turnout and vote. The committee has already met a few times, and Wolf invited anyone interested in participating with the committee to come to a meeting being held that evening in the hospital’s learning center.

She summarized how the staff and board have been working to improve the GCHD, including collaboration with other surrounding health care facilities for advice and to share resources, and contracting with Allevant to improve revenue from the swing bed program at the hospital. Wolf announced the hiring of two new providers for the Emergency Department, and that the GCHD is very close to finalizing a contract with a full-time medical doctor for the clinic. She added that it is extremely important to the hospital staff to have community support to give them a sense of security, and participation in the U.S. Census by everyone will also help the GCHD when applying for grants.

Jack Peasley asked Wolf if the Garfield County Fire District would be able to operate the ambulance service independently if the hospital was to close. Wolf stated that they would have to hire many more people to be able to provide enough service to get patients stabilized and transported to the Lewis-Clark Valley in a timely manner. Currently, the Fire District depends heavily on volunteers, who are not always available due to other jobs, and they have no paramedics who would be able to dispense all life-saving medications a patient might need.

U.S. Census Coordinator Juan Sanchez, working through the BMAC, explained about the process of collecting information, and how the 2020 Census is different from previous years. There are three ways to fill out the survey, which only takes about 10 minutes, and only contains 10 questions. Letters will go out to all residents, which will have personal Census ID numbers for each household. However, they will not be sent to P.O. Boxes. For those residents who receive all mail through a P.O. Box, those letters will be hand delivered to the physical address. The Census Bureau is encouraging everyone to use the internet to submit their surveys, which will give the Bureau a quicker response. Census takers who come to private homes will have internet access with them, and the Census Bureau will be hosting some “events” such as a kick-off being held at the Senior Center, March 18, 2020, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. This will allow anyone to have face-to-face assistance with the survey. However, paper surveys are still available by request.

Census takers will come to each non-reporting home multiple times in an attempt to get everyone involved. For the last Census in 2010, Garfield County had an 81.9% response rate, which is good compared to some surrounding counties. The goal is to increase that amount so that Garfield County will have every opportunity to qualify for grants and government funding for the good of all residents. According to Sanchez, and Jack Peasley with SEWEDA, over the last ten years, Garfield County missed out on about $5 million in funding due to the 19% that did not respond to the 2010 Census. Peasley stated that “an increase in reporting around the state potentially means increased dollars for the state, and for Garfield County.”

Peasley outlined progress being made on two projects underway to help promote the Pomeroy community. One is to update the gazebo in the Pomeroy City Park, for which more funding is needed to complete the work. The gazebo, which has long been a beloved landmark in the park, was built in 1909, and it has been discovered that the concrete foundation especially needs to be replaced because it was built with no reinforcement. The cost involved is $22,000, and some assistance has been pledged by community members as well as Pacific Power. Grant Morgan, County Engineer, is also lending a hand with the concrete construction.

The second ongoing project is to install a booster pump to allow City of Pomeroy water service to the east end of town. This would provide the infrastructure needed to attract developers for new housing projects to that area. In 2019, the City received a $96,000 grant as funding for the booster pump, but then learned that it would require much more. Recently, a new request of an additional $15,000 has been made to cover the design portion of the project. Peasley is hopeful that they will then be able to qualify for more grants once the new Census figures are available.

Port of Garfield Director, Diana Ruchert, gave an update on the progress of the Port’s broadband system. The construction for the fiber network has begun and could be up and running by summer time. The deadline for the construction of Phase 1 is the end of October, 2020. The installation and service fees will be set by individual internet service providers. Some providers will be doing some preselling as the construction progresses.

The Pataha Flour Mill was the site of the Garfield County/Pomeroy Community Economic Development Forum meeting held February 25, 2020. About 30 people attended, representing various local entities, including the Southeast Washington Economic Development Association (SEWEDA), Garfield County, Garfield County Hospital District (GCHD), Pomeroy City Council, Garfield County Transportation Authority, Garfield County Aging and Long-Term Care, Inland Cellular, Garfield County Health District, U.S. Census Bureau, Blue Mountain Action Council (BMAC), Port of Garfield County, Pomeroy Partners, and Garfield County Sheriff’s Department.