PENDLETON â Pendletonâs cut of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act hasnât dropped into its account yet, but the cityâs various tourism interests were already ready with a presentation.
Dubbed âPendleton Comes Alive,â the plan called for the city to use $250,000 from Pendletonâs federal stimulus payment to boost the local tourism industry. Led by Pendleton Economic Development Director Steve Chrisman, including representatives from the Pendleton Convention Center, the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce and the Pendleton Round-Up Association, the group thinks it can help the cityâs tourism recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by creating new initiatives like horse and buggy rides and sending people dressed in Western garb downtown to interact with tourists.
SALEM â It could soon get a lot harder to access public records from the Pendleton Unmanned Aerial Systems Range.
State Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, has introduced a bill that would exempt the city of Pendleton from disclosing records produced by the test range if making them public âwould cause a competitive disadvantage to the test range or its users.â The exemption covers a broad range of records, âincluding but not limited to pricing, intellectual property and customer records.â
At a Feb. 11 Senate Committee on Labor and Business hearing, Pendleton City Manager Robb Corbett called passage of the bill âcrucialâ before introducing Steve Chrisman, the cityâs airport manager and economic development director.
PENDLETON â Over the next four months, a good chunk of the expenses of local restaurants will be covered courtesy of the city of Pendleton.
At a special meeting of the Pendleton Development Commission, which is helmed by the city council, members voted to approve the Save Our Amazing Restaurants grant program, which will provide non-chain restaurants with an up to $5,000-per-month grant for four months.
The total cost of the proposal is $600,000 for restaurants in and outside the urban renewal district, and itâs unlike any other grant or loan program the city has done before. Pendleton Economic Development Director Steve Chrisman said the circumstances of the stateâs COVID-19 restaurant shutdowns required a significant response.
And a price tag.
Following up on a Jan. 12 presentation with Pendleton Economic Development Director Steve Chrisman, Cheri Rosenberg, the CEO of the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce, returned to city council chambers on Tuesday, Jan. 19, with more details on whatâs now being called the âSave Our Amazing Restaurantsâ relief program. Under the proposal, the city and its urban renewal district would spend $400,000 for the program.
The programâs proponents argue that it wouldnât just save a vital part of Pendletonâs business and tourism community, but also avoid a significant drop in property tax revenue from the empty storefronts that would pop up if restaurants closed down permanently.
PENDLETON — As the pandemic stretches into 2021, Pendleton’s elected leaders are considering more drastic measures to preserve the city’s restaurant industry.