Board of Commissioners Meeting Oct 7th, 2026

The Umatilla County Board of Commissioners meeting, identified in the title and transcript as October 7, 2026, included presentations from the Walla Walla Basin Watershed Council and Umatilla County Fire District 1. The watershed council reviewed water-recharge, stormwater, water-quality, and habitat projects, many supported by grants, but no county procurement or funding award was approved for those projects. The fire district described its proposed local-option levy to sustain 16 firefighter/EMT positions after its $6.9 million FEMA SAFER grant expires; the levy was presented for public information, with no board action taken.

The board approved $157,500 from the System Sustainability Reserve Fund for the City of Pendleton’s existing transit projects: $25,000 for funding-match requirements, $75,000 for its senior and disability taxi program, and $57,500 for its fixed-route bus program. It also approved a $5 increase in the bed rate under the county jail contract with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, from $120 to $125. Other actions included adopting an order transferring a county road segment to the City of Umatilla and approving reimbursement for eligible non-disabling claims; the reimbursement amount is garbled in the transcript. An ODOT intergovernmental agreement related to a proposed Highway 395/Punkin Center roundabout was discussed, but no vote is captured in the transcript.