MOSIER — Funding for Mosier’s Joint Use facility hit a roadblock this July, but the project is still alive. Oregon State Sen. Daniel Bonham and Rep. Jeff Helfrich visited Mosier Senior Center on July 15 to discuss next steps with the Joint Use Facility Committee.
The grant-funded project would house City Hall, the fire department and a community center. Mosier has raised 3.75 million in grants and UPR settlement money over several years, but will lose some grant awards if the remaining funds — about $2.5 million needed to build the current design — isn’t secured soon.
About $4 million of funding already awarded is at risk from the delay.
Leaders had asked the legislature for money. House Bill 3870 in the Oregon Legislature originally included a request for $2.5 million for the center. Bonham said he’d seen the bill with the request in it, but later it was removed. He said he did not have any knowledge as to why or how that happened.
Bonham also said that any money Mosier asks for in the short legislative session would be funded by bonds sold in April 2027, most likely. He then spoke on the economic forecast, saying nobody knows what that will be and people are very nervous about it, particularly with the federal administration cutting federal dollars.
Bonham continued to state his support for efforts and encourage the committee to ask for funding. He hesitated to assure success, adding, “We are in weird times.”
Both legislators encouraged the committee to go ahead with a draft letter and lobbying efforts to the Joint Emergency Board, which can allocate money when the legislature is not in session. But neither legislator was positive the funding would be provided.
The board has never funded a project like this, but it’s just possible, Bonham said.
“We are an arrogant bunch with massive egos,” he told the meeting.
He said other groups found success in being “squeaky wheels,” with a constant presence in Salem, flattering and engaging lawmakers, which moved their requests forward. Shocking stories help, too — like the time Mayor Witt Anderson worked a wildfire with dead mice in his boot, because firefighting equipment has to be stored on the ground.
Bonham said there is “non-traditional” support for the project, citing a representative from the “opposite” party who sees the value and has “historically” been supportive. He also said that the Hood River Bridge just got monies for replacement and that Mosier is in the same district, so people say, “Bonham, we already gave you $45 million for a bridge.”
Bonham noted that with healthcare, transportation funds and others to be resolved, the state chose to spend money on other things. “We are spending about $1.2 billion in this next biennium to provide Medicare to non-citizens, so people that are not residents in the state of Oregon, they’re not residents United States, and we’re going to spend 1.2 billion to make sure that they have health care,” Bonham said. “It’s a tricky, nuanced conversation, right? You’ve got maybe — ‘Well, wait a second, I’m a taxpayer, I want that service,” but that money, ultimately, is funding into the hospital systems — it’s keeping them afloat,” he said.
However, many undocumented immigrants are long-term residents of the United States and Oregon. Many pay income tax and interact with local institutions like schools, police and the IRS, according to Harvard University.
After the legislators left, Mosier Fire Board president Todd Reeves expressed concern about the remaining funds from grants and donors, which could be recalled if the current design doesn’t move forward soon. Reeves suggested working as though that $2.5 million won’t be granted, and trying to preserve current funds — changing the building’s design, if necessary.
Committee members agreed to schedule a work session for August to answer those questions in more detail.
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