Baker Technical Institute is partnering with Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative to build a school to train electric lineworkers in the Elkhorn View Industrial Park in northwest Baker City.

The Baker City Council on March 12 approved the sale of property in the city-owned industrial park to OTEC.

OTEC will pay the city $357,240 for three lots totaling 29.77 acres.

The council also approved the sale of three other parcels in the industrial park on Tuesday, all by 6-0 votes.

Councilor Loran Joseph was absent.

Construction on the training school will start soon, with the first group of students to start training in the fall of 2024, according to a press release from BTI.

BTI president Doug Dalton said BTI and OTEC are finalizing the design of the training school so they can solicit bids from contractors.

He did not have an estimated construction cost. The property is south of OTEC headquarters, which is at Pocahontas Road and 23rd Street, just west of the railroad tracks. The training school will be in a steel building covering about 7,500 square feet. There will also be housing for students.

OTEC officials made a presentation about the proposed training school during the council’s Feb. 27 meeting.

“Our goal is to provide training of the highest standards,” Dalton said. “We want to build a reputation for graduating future linemen with a solid foundation of skills, experience and integrity that will ensure continued success and safety in the industry.”

Planning for the training school has been going on for years, according to the press release.

According to a presentation from OTEC, the training school would host three 15-week sessions per year, each with a limit of 35 students. Tuition would be $18,000 per student, and training would be done on weekdays.

The program will include hands-on training, classroom work, indoor lab and outdoor training. Students will be certified in pole climbing and pole top rescue, aerial lift rescue, overhead and underground construction, distribution system design and operation, national electric safety code, electrical theory, rigging and many other skills.

Students can also obtain their commercial driver’s license on the campus before starting line school. In addition to agreeing to the sales price of $357,240, the council agreed to OTEC’s request for a 50% reduction in water and sewer connection fees. OTEC will pay $39,942 to connect to the city’s water and sewer systems.

The land sale is for $12,000 per acre, compared with the $13,000 per acre that Simplot paid for a nearby property a few years ago where the company has a fertilizer distribution operation.

“I believe this discount is justified since we do not have any other offers on this much land currently or in the works,” city manager Barry Murphy wrote in a report to councilors. “It also reflects the nature of OTEC as a co-op and BTI as a non-profit (as opposed to for-profit businesses).

“I believe this is a great investment into the city, and an idea that will address a critical shortage in the Pacific Northwest,” Murphy continued in his report. “If the lineman school comes to fruition, it will also provide a steady influx of students to Baker City which will benefit the city in significant ways.”

OTEC CEO Les Penning said the training school will meet a “growing need for the technical and skilled labor necessary to support rebuilding and future expansion of the nation’s electrical infrastructure. BTI has proven performance in leveraging technology for innovative training in the trades, producing highly skilled workers.”

Other industrial park lot sales

Councilors on Tuesday also approved the sale of three other lots in the industrial park for a total of $70,875.

Baker Heating & Cooling

Brandon Svitak of Baker Heating & Cooling will buy a lot covering 0.81 acres for $13,200. The council also gave Svitak the same 50% reduction in water and sewer connection fees that OTEC and BTI received. Svitak will pay $6,800. Svitak said the business will continue to operate at 1730 Campbell St., near the Powder River. He said he is buying the industrial property to start a sheet metal manufacturing facility and staging for HVAC equipment.

He plans to build a 2,250-square-foot shop on the property by the end of this summer, and hire two to three new employees. The business employs eight people now.

Judy Welding

Griffin Judy, the company’s owner, is buying a 1.83-acre lot for $29,675. Councilors also approved the 50% reduction in water and sewer connection fees.

Judy will pay $12,700 in utility fees.

In a letter to the city offering to buy the parcel, Judy wrote that he started his business, on Highway 30 north of Pocahontas Road, in 2019. He is the only current employee but plans to expand.

“To accommodate a rapidly growing business, combined with the need for highly skilled tradesmen and women, we intend to construct a quality facility that will safely employ upwards of 4-6 certified welders,” Judy wrote. “While this will allow us to meet the needs of the market, it will also allow room to prepare for the future through partnering with local educators to implement an internship program for aspiring students to experience real world scenarios.”

TriSand Inc.

Mat and Sherri Sand, principal owners of the diesel repair business based in Eugene, are buying a 1.85-acre lot for $28,000. The council also approved a 50% reduction in water and sewer fees. The Sands will pay $12,439.

In a letter to the council from Mitch Grove, a real estate broker representing the Sands, Grove wrote that the couple have owned the company for 26 years and lived in Baker City for 13 years.

Mat Sand is the former girls basketball coach at Baker High School.

Grove wrote in the letter to the council that the Sands want to expand their operation in Baker City. Among the business’ customers is Behlen Manufacturing, which was the first business to locate in the industrial park when it opened its livestock equipment factory in 1996. Behlen’s factory is just north of the lot the Sands are buying.

TriSand has been using its mobile unit to service Behlen’s trucks and trailers, but building a shop in the industrial park would allow TriSand to expand its customer base and create jobs for mechanics, Grove wrote in the letter. The Sands also own TriSand Trucking LLC, and they are hoping to expand their fleet of trucks, Grove wrote.

Where does the money go?

The city has a separate fund for revenue from sales of property in the industrial park.

The fund is not part of the general fund, which includes the fire and police departments and for which Murphy has projected a shortfall of $900,000 for the fiscal year that starts July 1, 2024.

The city council is asking voters to approve a five-year property tax levy in the May 21 election, and councilors also plan to reinstate a monthly public safety fee starting April 1, among other tactics to raise revenue and bridge the general fund gap.

The industrial park fund had a cash balance of $225,153 for the current fiscal year. The city budgeted for sales revenue of $60,000. The sales approved Tuesday exceed that figure seven-fold.

Murphy said the city has not allocated any of the money from the fund for a particular purpose. The fund is designed to support economic and community development projects, he said. A recent example was the city buying property that allows public access to Central Park from Resort Street.

“With all the recent sales, the council will likely look at how to best use those funds in the future to encourage community or economic development,” Murphy said.

“Baker City is excited to see the interest in the Elkhorn Industrial Park, and the proposals for new business in that area,” Murphy said. “These are local people and businesses with innovative ideas. Having this land available gives our own residents the chance to expand their businesses and add more services to our great community. It shows the quality of people we have in Baker City. We’re enthusiastic about the growth, and we wish all the companies the best of luck as they embark on these projects.”

Baker Technical Institute’s growth

Baker Technical Institute started about a decade ago, prompted by the Baker School Board’s goal to invest in career and technical training, such as welding, construction and agriculture, for Baker High School students.

Since then, BTI has grown to include a variety of training options for adults and students.

BTI is licensed by the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission as a post-secondary institution.

BTI’s instructors, a mixture of employees and contractors, do trainings in Oregon, Idaho, Washington and California.

The scope of skills they teach has grown considerably, as well, to include commercial truck driving and heavy equipment operation, general construction, natural resources and environmental sciences, computer science, engineering, healthcare services and others.

About 80% of BTI’s clients are connected to institutions, agencies or companies.

The list includes the departments of transportation in Oregon, Idaho and California, Oregon Department of Human Services, Oregon Department of Corrections and many others, as well as private companies.

In 2023 the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) hired BTI to conduct five-week highway construction and repair training academies in that state. BTI supplied about 15 trainers for each academy, and Caltrans paid BTI about $280,000 for each academy.

With revenue from its institutional clients, both public and private, BTI can continue to offer classes to high school and middle school students at no cost through the Baker School District, BTI president Doug Dalton said.

He said that model benefits both BTI as a separate nonprofit entity, and the school district from which it arose.

BTI’s main campus is at the north end of Baker High School. It also has a satellite campus in Prineville. BTI has training programs at 23 high schools around Oregon, including Baker.