Water News 2007

Annual Meeting:

Hermiston Irrigation District (HID) will hold a celebration of 100 years of water delivery through the project on February 27, 2008 beginning at 11:30 a.m. Again this year the location of the activities will be at the HID shop building on the corner of SE 4^thSt. and Hurlburt Ave. As usual a complimentary meal will be served; however, tickets for the meal are required. Free tickets may be picked up at one of the following locations through Friday, February 22^nd; HID office, City Hall, Banner Bank, Chamber of Commerce, and Columbia River Bank. Since this event is open to the public this year it is very important that you pick-up the free meal tickets in advance.

The celebration will involve a proclamation by Hermiston Mayor Bob Severson and some brief comments from Karl Wirkus, Deputy Commissioner and Bill McDonald, Regional Director of the Bureau of Reclamation. These Reclamation officials will be traveling here from Washington D.C. and Boise Idaho for the event. In addition there will be a presentation of the history of water delivery through Reclamation and HID over the past 100 years. Numerous photos and other displays will depict the construction of the project as well as crops grown and the development of the Hermiston area.

Following the celebration there will be a short tour of the office building where antique office furniture and equipment will be displayed along with a short Annual Meeting for HID to update patrons on the current conditions of the District.

HID Personnel Changes:

In the near future we will have some personnel changes within the District that will not change our ability to function but will put some different faces in some places. Greg Dell, our current field manager, has taken an opportunity to pursue the life of a Montana cattle rancher. Greg will be with us until early March and has spent the last 10 years with HID, 9½ years as field manager. During his 9½ years as field manager Greg has played a major role in the success of projects that the District has undertaken. Even though we hate to loose his knowledge and skills we wish him and his family happiness and success with their new endeavors.

Upon Greg’s departure Rick Hlawek will assume the responsibility of field manager. Rick has also been with the District for the past 10 years and has good knowledge of our system and its operation. Rick’s previous experience with the District ranges from ditch rider to maintenance and equipment operation as well as lead man when the crew is split up on different projects, proving his ability to be a leader.

Bryan DeChand will be our new west side ditch rider. Bryan has been working with our maintenance crew since last fall and brings construction and maintenance experience with him.

With these personnel changes we anticipate a successful water year for 2008.

Fall and Winter Maintenance:

The fall of 2007 and winter of 2008 has kept our maintenance crew very busy with seasonal repair and maintenance on the facilities. In addition they have spent a considerable amount of time installing phase II of the “L” line piping project which will completely replace the old “L” line. This gravity pressure pipeline will require that all patrons receiving water from it will have to sprinkle irrigate which will be much more efficient and provide more uniform irrigation.

Although there have been some questions about how it will work and some individual concerns, the cooperation of the patrons along the easement has been commendable. With their continued cooperation we will be able to maintain an accessible easement for future repair and maintenance activities.

At the present rate of progress this project should be completed by the end of February which will leave the month of March to prepare for another irrigation season to begin in early April.

We do have a list of items that need our attention prior to another irrigation season. These range from leaks to be fixed, weed rack repair, head gate repair and other miscellaneous items. If there are repairs needed in your area please notify us as soon as possible so that we can get it taken care of before irrigation season. The last minute or late notice items may not get fixed so be sure to notify us soon to allow adequate time to schedule the necessary repair.

Drop Structure Repair:

The drop structure repair project which has been in the works for the last several years is now scheduled for construction in the fall of 2008. At present bids for the project will be posted in late February for the bid opening in late March. There are still several details related to financing of the project that need to be finalized to allow the project to be completed. With present construction costs in mind the engineers cost estimate for the repairs is approximately 1 million dollars. Once bids are in we will have a firm cost of the project and be able to finish getting the financing in place. If all goes according to plans construction will begin in mid August and be completed by October 31, 2008 in time to start filling the reservoir for the 2009 season.

Easements & Rights-of-way:

Due to the continuing problem of encroachments such as buildings, fences, unauthorized gates, debris, and various other items that prohibit the District from their right of free unobstructed access to their facilities, the Board of Directors has recently adopted a resolution to address the problem.

The goals of enforcing this resolution are to (a) ensure that the easements pursuant to which the district delivers water are clear from encroachments in order to allow access and an open way for the District to inspect, operate, manage, repair and improve the water delivery system; (b) encourage water users to remove existing encroachments and deter future encroachments; and (c) allow the District to assess and collect charges based on the class of violation in order to defray the District’s additional costs associated with encroachments.

For those of you who have encroachments on the easements you will first receive a Warning letter which will identify the encroachments and describe the corrective action necessary. Failure to comply with the corrective actions in the warning letter will result in a Notification of Violation in writing being issued and a non-removable administrative charge being assessed. The notification of violation will state the class of violation, corrective action necessary and a deadline for performing the corrective action to avoid additional charges. There are 3 classes of violation ranging from minor to severe with corresponding charges attached.

A copy of the complete resolution may be reviewed at our web site www.hermistonid.org or by stopping in at the office to receive a printed copy.

Assessment & Collection Policies:

Assessments are mailed out in February and are due by March 1^st. The Board of Directors allows patrons to pay their assessments in two installments when needed. Under this payment arrangement the first half of the assessment is still due March 1^st however, the second half may be paid by July 1^st without any penalties or interest.

Any assessments not paid in full by July 31^st are considered delinquent and are subject to collection procedures as follows:

March 31 Begin charging interest plus a $2 per month statement fee on all accounts that do not have at least the first half of assessment paid.

July 31 Begin charging interest plus a $2 per month statement fee on the balance of the account.

August Send out Fair Debt Act Notice. Any patron in dispute must submit their dispute in writing within 30 days or the debt will be considered valid as presented.

September Notice of Claim of Lien is filed with the Umatilla County Court. A $150 lien fee and a $15 certified letter fee is added to the account.

November Delinquent accounts are presented to the Board of Directors.

December Accounts are forwarded to the District’s attorney for foreclosure proceedings as directed by the Board.

Accounts sent to the District’s Attorney for collections or foreclosure will be charged as follows: A $150 initial attorney contact charge, $325 for Title Search Request Fees, and all actual costs incurred by the District. Delinquent statement charges and interest will be added accordingly.

If you are unable to pay the assessment in the timeline given, PLEASE call the bookkeeper and make acceptable payment arrangements. We do not want to see anyone have to go to collections. It is costly for yourself and the District.

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Staff Directory

Chuck Wilcox , Manager - 567-3024 or 561-5387

Rick Hlawek, Field Manager - 567-3024 or 561-7680

Annette Rambel, Bookkeeper - 567-3024

Dawn Henderson , Customer Service - 567-3024

Marcelino Ortiz – Maintenance Crew

Doug Brown - Relief Ditch Rider / Maintenance Crew

Mike Christley - East Side Ditch Rider - 561-7681

Bryan DeChand - West Side Ditch Rider - 561-7682

Board of Directors

Charles Miller , Chairman - Division 5

Len Jeppeson - Division 1

Mike Bergstrom - Division 2

Craig Coleman - Division 3

Wes Locke – Division 4