Remote Surveillance Trailer in John Day, OR

JOHN DAY — The John Day City Council and Urban Renewal Board agreed to a settlement with Iron Triangle for the final plat of Ironwood Estates Phase 2.

The city council at its meeting March 10 voted 5-0 to accept the settlement, and the URA board, which is made up of the city council, on the same date voted 4-1, with Councilor Bradley Hale being the lone “no” vote.

The deal is pending legal review.

Iron Triangle submitted the final plat Ironwood Estates Phase 2 to the city for approval in October 2024 and the city’s public works director conducted a site inspection Dec. 5, 2024. Despite that, Iron Triangle said the city took no action on the matter for several months.

Iron Triangle in July 2025 filed a writ of mandamus seeking court-ordered approval.

Iron Triangle argued the city had approved its plan and paid for it. The city attested that deviations between the preliminary and final plats for Ironwood Phase 2 were substantial enough to warrant a public process, and the city’s former public works director should not have approved public improvements unilaterally.

Following a hearing to show cause, Wallowa County Judge Jared Boyd on Dec. 14 issued a peremptory writ of mandamus, ruling the city had an obligation to decide to approve or deny the final plat, but he could not compel the city to approve the plat as Iron Triangle had requested.

Boyd gave the city 30 days to decide whether to approve or deny the final plat. The court granted the parties three extensions. The final extension expired March 12.

John Day ultimately approved the Ironwood Estates Phase 2 Final Plat after both parties signed the settlement agreement.

As outlined in the agreement, Iron Triangle has contacted its engineer and obtained a letter confirming the installed sewer lines servicing the Phase 2 and Phase 3 public improvements have been capped and pressure-tested. Iron Triangle also provided a letter to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality dated Feb. 13 regarding the inspection and certification of proper construction of the sanitary sewer system for Ironwood Estates Phase 2 Subdivision in lieu of a DEQ-provided inspection and certification of proper construction form.

Iron Triangle has terminated a private easement that proposed a right-of-way within Phase 2 through the recording of a conditional termination of easement in the Grant County Court’s official records. The agreement states the conditional termination only occurs if Iron Triangle dedicates certain right-of-ways and the Phase 2 final plat is recorded.

Iron Triangle agreed to provide and represent certain slope easements within Phase 2, including language on the Phase 2 final plat concerning the right of the city to access, maintain and preserve slopes within the slope easements, and to clarify that areas subject to the slope easements may not be altered, disturbed or improved without prior written consent from the city.

Iron Triangle also included a notation in the agreement clarifying that testing for the as-built plans associated with Phase 2 improvements had been conducted, as there was no geotech report for the project, sanitary sewer lines were pressure tested, manholes vacuum tested and no mandrel testing was done. The native rock was unsuitable for nuclear gauge testing; the streets were proof rolled at the subgrade and top of base rock.

According to the agreement, the city will submit a payment to DEQ in the amount of $1,034 for technical reviews associated with the wastewater infrastructure for Phase 2. The city also will provide DEQ with a land use compatibility statement for Phase 2, an agreement to provide sewer service and a capacity statement for Phase 2, and the latest as-built plans for Phase 2 public improvements that Iron Triangle provided.

Iron Triangle will pay for its company engineer to produce or submit any revisions, supplements or further certifications DEQ may request in response to the city’s submission within 10 days of notice from DEQ. If DEQ doesn’t accept direct submission of the DEQ letter, the city will submit such documents to DEQ within three business days of receipt.

The city also agrees it will not request or advocate that DEQ impose further requirements.

Iron Triangle will have to complete and pay for any additional testing or supplemental information the DEQ requires before the earlier of any deadline DEQ gives or 30 days after the city notifies Iron Triangle of the DEQ requirements. And Iron Triangle has to provide the city written results of any DEQ-required testing within five days of the tests or DEQ’s deadline.

Iron Triangle also has to pay for any redesigns, alterations or other corrective work or actions DEQ requires before the earlier of any deadline or 30 days after the city provides Iron Triangle with notice of the DEQ requirements.

The city agreed to accept DEQ’s approval and resolution of the DEQ submission and will not impose additional requirements before recording Phase 2 of the final plat.

The city and Iron Triangle agreed to enter into a pair of easement agreements associated with the final plat for Phase 2. The first is a utility access agreement that will terminate after the acceptance and recording of the final plat of Phase 3. The second is an access easement and maintenance agreement for a northern portion of Government Way.

The city and Iron Triangle agreed to amend the development agreement that updates the description and depiction of the development and clarifies which lots within Ironwood Estates Phase 2 will be eligible for Urban Renewal Agency incentives.

Iron Triangle agreed to provide the city with a warranty bond for the Phase 2 Public Improvements starting March 12. The city has agreed to provide any documents the warranty bond company needs to issue the bond.

The city will provide an affidavit stating that there are no liens or outstanding bills associated with any Phase 2 public improvements. Iron Triangle agreed to pay the city a $2,000 review fee within 24 hours of the approval of the Phase 2 final plat.

With the approval of the final plat, Iron Triangle has agreed to pay for and take all actions necessary to record the plat in Grant County’s official records. The city has agreed to reasonably assist Iron Triangle with actions necessary to record the Phase 2 plat within 60 days. Iron Triangle will file a Notice of Satisfaction of Judgment or equivalent document to the Grant County Circuit Court after the county records the plat.

The city and Iron Triangle also agreed they cannot use the deal to blame for liability or wrongdoing.

Representatives for the city of John Day simply said the agreement is needed to move forward with the project. Representatives for Iron Triangle said there are several requirements that have to be adhered to and are waiting for the final plat to be recorded before giving an official statement.

JOHN DAY — A John Day small business owner is voicing concern over year-round water and sewer bills that are putting a strain on her summertime business.

Robin Olterman runs a small business consisting of a single-engine airplane that she leases out to Baker Aircraft in Baker City. Olterman also owns an aircraft hangar at the Grant County Airport, in which she installed a bathroom and a small sink in 2013.

The nearest restroom is about two blocks from Olterman’s hangar, making the bathroom in the hangar a comfort and time saver for the on-call pilots and firefighters using the building in the summer.

In public comments to the John Day City Council on March 10, Olterman said she does not charge fire crews for the use of her hangar because they protect us all. Instead, she pays all the utilities.

Olterman said in the past she’d turn the water to her hangar off during the months when fire crews are not using the space. She’s now unable to simply turn her water off and must completely remove her meter and disconnect from city water service per John Day’s city code to avoid the year-round charge.

Failure to do so will result in a water bill every month, even when no one is using water at the site. Olterman said the city is charing her $280.57 per month for service to her hangar, double the standard commercial rate.

Disconnecting water service and removing the meter every year comes with a $1,600 reconnect fee every time service is restored. Simply turning water service off is $50 with a $25 connection fee.

Olterman also has a sewer line running to her hangar, which complicates matters further. Even if she were to disconnect from city water service, she would receive a monthly sewer bill unless the city caps and inspects the sewer line.

Olterman said her bills result in $3,366 in yearly water and sewer fees. The cost to Osterman comes out to more than $1,000 a month when divided among the three months her hangar operates.

“That makes for very expensive flushes, and I can’t imagine it would be a justified expense in anyone’s business plan,” Olterman told the council. “It certainly is not in mine, and is unsustainable.”

Olterman said John Day City Manager Melissa Bethel told her she was paying double the standard commercial rate because her hangar is on airport property and outside city limits. Olterman said Bethel further explained everyone was going to have to pay for water service year-round if they are connected to city service to help pay for the city’s new wastewater treatment facility and maintenance.

Olterman took issue with the city charging her double the standard rate because of where her meter is.

“The meter, where the city’s responsibility to me ends, is within city limits,” she said.

Bethel said the increased rates and year-round water bills for temporary residents came about as a result of a rate study the city used to determine how much revenue it needs to maintain its facilities. Year-round payments were put in place so John Day residents would not see their rates further increased to subsidize temporary residents.

Olterman said she does not want to permanently disconnect from city services, as it wasn’t cheap to pay for the service to be brought to the hangar, install the meter and pay for the connection.

“Most of all, I want to continue to provide a working facility for the pilots and fire crews that use my hangar,” she said.

Olterman said she hopes for a compromise between herself and the city that would allow her to simply turn her water off and not receive a bill when it is not in use. Bethel said that would result in just the kind of subsidization the city is looking to avoid.

Olterman thinks it is reasonable for the city to charge a fee to turn services on and off, but draws the line at year-round charges.

“I can see charging a nominal fee for turning off and on services to a building,” she said, “but charging inflated base rates year-round when a facility is not in use is a hardship, and in some cases, impossible to sustain, especially for seasonal businesses and homes.”

Olterman added she is not the only person with this problem, as other businesses and individuals have expressed similar sentiments.

JOHN DAY — The John Day City Council at its Feb. 24 meeting unanimously voted to amend its owner-engineer agreement with Keller Associates for a second time.

Amendment No. 2 adds scope, compensation and contract terms to complete a value engineering study the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality requires as part of the city’s infrastructure financing application. DEQ notified the city that a completed value engineering study to satisfy funding requirements for the wastewater treatment plant project.

The study looks at the function and cost of the project’s major components to ensure the city receives the best overall value. Keller Associates will lead the process, prepare the study report and develop an implementation technical memorandum documenting recommended improvements.

According to city documents, the amendment updates task 5.4 contingencies to include: conducting a DEQ‑approved value engineering study based on the 30% design, leading a VE workshop with a minimum six‑member multidisciplinary VE team, utilizing value methodology, and the VE job plan, evaluating cost‑saving alternatives, performance improvements and constructibility, preparing a VE study report and preparing an implementation technical memorandum summarizing recommended proposals.

The amendment clarifies the VE Team will use selected analysis tools, such as cost models, but not all methods listed in the DEQ’s checklist.

The amendment increases the contract amount by $15,960, bringing the overall contract cost to $3,835,569.

John Day City Manager Melissa Bethel said the need for a VE study took the council by surprise because it had been told there was no need for it. The state environmental regulation department later reviewed project documents and determined the study was necessary.

“We have no choice, in order to get the money, we need the report,” John Day City Manager Melissa Bethel said at the meeting.

Councilor Bradley Hale called the timing and the study’s price tag into question at the meeting.

“I would go to them and say, ‘Look, we’re already in over our head and you are bringing something to us at the last minute.’”

Behtel said the city was told the study would cost it $60,000. After discussions with the DEQ, the city and its engineers managed to get the price tag down to just under $16,000.

Mayor Sherrie Rininger added that nobody is happy about the need for a value engineering study this late in the process, but it has to be done so the project can move forward. John Day has been approved for $23.5 million in loans from the Oregon DEQ for its wastewater treatment plant project.