Scott Hege

My experience as an elected official in addition to directing a public entity (Port of The Dalles) as staff has provided me with a broad range of skills and experience needed to oversee the operation of an entity such as Wasco County.  Additionally, my work and experience in the private sector brings operational elements where government should approach things like a business as opposed to a government.  Wasco County needs to be an efficient and effective governmental entity and it has been my mission to ensure that is the case.

In my time as a commissioner for Wasco County I have been able to develop wide ranging relationships with organizations and entities that are critical to the operation of our county — local, state and federal. Being able to call another entity or government official in a time of need and have them respond with information and help with the situation is invaluable. Relationships at the commission level are key to being successful as a county.

2) Do you support Mid-Columbia Medical Center’s proposal for a new hospital/athletic field on county-owned property in The Dalles? Why or why not?

As the owner of the land on which Mid-Columbia Medical Center is considering developing a new medical complex, our only role in how and if the hospital proceeds is the terms by which we would lease the property to them for their project.  Outside of that, Wasco County is not directly involved with their project — that’s important to understand. Personally I support high quality health care for our citizens and I believe that is what MCMC is working towards in this project and I wish them well in their mission.

Regarding the replacement/relocation of the athletic fields (Kramer Field), it is a requirement for a new facility to be developed before a new use on Kramer Field could be allowed.  If it is not possible to develop a new athletic facility, Kramer Field will stay where it is until that is possible.  I am supportive of a new and improved athletic complex for our citizens as long as we can do it with resources other than new taxes or funds that are required for essential services for our citizens.

3) A lack of affordable housing is a community concern throughout the Gorge. What role do you believe Wasco County is able to play in finding solutions, and what solutions do you support?

Affordable housing and housing availability in general is a significant concern for not only our county, but our state and our nation. There are no easy solutions that develop significant amounts of housing that are affordable to our citizens, so this issue is not going away anytime soon.

Wasco County plays numerous supporting roles in helping with this challenge. First, we support and participate in a number of agencies that directly work to deal with the shortage of and development of affordable housing directly. Mid-Columbia Housing Authority (MCHA) is a regional non-profit that focuses on all facets of supporting and developing housing for our region. Commissioners from our county as well as our neighboring counties work collaboratively in MCHA to address the needs of the region.

More directly and recently, we have worked with housing agencies such as MCHA to transfer appropriate foreclosed properties to the housing agency. When a property has potential to be redeveloped into affordable housing, the county can be asked to transfer those properties to another entity specifically for use in developing affordable housing. In the past year we developed a policy that identifies the process for doing this.

4) Homelessness is also a community concern in Wasco County. Is this a county issue, and if so what solutions do you support?

Homelessness is a county issue. While homelessness is most prevalent inside of city boundaries and in Wasco County’s case, primarily The Dalles, it does not mean that we are off the hook. We have and will continue to work on this multifaceted challenge that has increased in recent years. As with the affordable housing challenge, there is no easy solution to the issue of homelessness and they are connected in many ways.

Our support and participation in Mid-Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC) is one of the more effective ways to work on addressing the homelessness issue. Our recent financial support of MCCHA’s efforts to develop a Navigation Center to positively address the challenges with homelessness with the goal of helping this group of citizens get back on their feet and into better housing and work situations. This work requires extensive collaboration with such entities as Center for Living, the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office and our district attorney’s office, all of which are part of the county in one way or another.

5) What do you see as the county’s greatest need/priority going forward?

The role of a county is to provide a myriad of services to the citizens of the county — roads, law enforcement, 911 services, emergency management, land use planning, local public and mental health, clerk recording, assessment and taxation, district attorney, to name a few. Our priority needs to be ensuring that we do an excellent job at providing all essential services to our citizens. It’s easy to get sidetracked and be pulled in many different directions, but if it takes away from our ability to provide essential services to our citizens, we need to ensure that we provide these services before considering adding to our plate.