Baker County commissioners decided May 21, 2025, to buy this 3.15-acre property near College and H streets in north Baker City, the site of an historic Catholic cemetery. (Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald)

Three Baker City residents want to allow Baker County voters to decide whether the county can pursue a plan to build a multipurpose event center just south of Hughes Lane and east of the Baker Sports Complex.

Sharon Bass, Richard Scrivner and Amber Monpas, who all live near the county-owned parcel where the center could be built, signed a prospective petition seeking to put an initiative measure on the ballot.

The petition states that any event center construction project in the county that exceeds $1 million and either might require an increase in taxes or require the county to hire full- or part-time employees, or would result in the county acquiring property through eminent domain, would have to be approved by voters.

A copy of the ballot title is available on the county’s website — bakercountyor.gov — under the “What’s New” tab. The prospective petition is 2025 IP-2.

Any voter can file a petition calling for a review of the ballot title. The deadline to request a review, in Baker County Circuit Court, is 5 p.m. on July 16. More information is available by calling the Baker County Clerk’s Office at 541-523-8207.

Once a ballot title is approved, the petitioners would have to gather 526 verified signatures from registered voters in the county to put the initiative on the ballot. It’s not clear when an election could potentially take place if the initiative qualifies for the ballot.

Bass and Monpas both objected to the county commissioners’ decision in May to buy a 3.15-acre property from St. Francis de Sales Cathedral. The property, which includes an historic cemetery, is part of the College Street right-of-way, a proposed access route to the event center property.

The county bought that 74-acre parcel in 2022 for $1.45 million, using some of the county’s $6.5 million in federal aid during the pandemic.

Bass, whose home is just west of the College Street right-of-way, told commissioners during their May 21 meeting that she objected to the county buying the property from the church.

“Let’s slow down on this,” said Bass, who has lived in her home for 32 years.

Commission Chairman Shane Alderson and Commissioner Christina Witham both said during the May 21 meeting that the county would not pursue eminent domain, also known as condemnation, to acquire any property for the proposed event center.

Condemnation, also known as eminent domain, is the legal process by which a government agency can seek to force a property owner to sell at a price determined by a jury or judge.

“If Sharon Bass doesn’t want to sell her house, we’re not going to take it,” Alderson said. “That’s the final word on that.”

Witham said she’s “totally against” using condemnation for the event center project.

Event center planning history

During the May 21 meeting, Bryan Tweit, the county’s contracted economic developer, told commissioners that he and others have been working on the event center concept for about six years.

Tweit said the 74-acre property the county bought in 2022 is ideal for an event center.

The land, formerly a field, is bordered on the north by Hughes Lane, on the east and south by the Leo Adler Memorial Parkway, and on the west by the Baker Sports Complex.

A 2023 master site plan the county contracted for envisioned multiple buildings that could host events including sports tournaments, rodeos, conventions and concerts.

Tweit said the center could include a basketball court that would help alleviate scheduling challenges during the state Class 1A basketball tournaments that have been played in Baker City for more than 40 years.

Tweit told commissioners the county’s plan is to seek grants to build the center, which would cost tens of millions of dollars.

Tweit said he believes rental fees from the center would generate revenue to pay to maintain the facility.

He told commissioners he believes the center, by attracting visitors from around the region who would patronize local motels, restaurants and other businesses, would create a “massive revenue windfall” for the local economy.

Tweit said Baker City’s 2013 Comprehensive Plan shows as a possible project extending College Street north from H Street to Hughes Lane. He said the city many years ago installed a 15-inch-diameter sewer line along the route of the street.

Tweit told commissioners he believes that extending College Street would reduce traffic in the neighborhood around College and H streets by 80%. He believes most people attending events at the Baker Sports Complex would use Hughes Lane for access rather than coming from the south, along College or Fifth streets, as they do now since that is the only driving access to the complex’s main parking lot.

Bass and others told commissioners they have concerns about how extending the street, and building the event center, would affect the neighborhood as well as potentially increase city residents’ tax burden.

Bass said she believes taxpayers will end up “footing the bill” to maintain the center.

Monpas, who lives on College Street near H Street, told commissioners she doesn’t think the county has done enough public outreach to let herself and other residents in the area understand the event center project and its potential effects.

Like Bass, Monpas urged commissioners to seek approval from voters before moving ahead.

“I agree it sounds great,” Monpas said. “If it is such a huge benefit, why aren’t the voters being brought in on this?”

Tweit said the county can’t take more action, such as seeking a permit from the city to extend College Street, without going through a public process.

The county would also have to apply to rezone the 74-acre property from residential to commercial before building an event center. In that case the city/county planning department would notify residents of adjacent properties about the proposed rezone.

Commission chairman says community support needed

Although commissioners voted 3-0 to buy the smaller property from the Catholic church, Alderson said his continuing support of the event center is contingent on Tweit gaining community support for the project.

Speaking to Tweit, Alderson said he advocated two years ago for the economic developer to explain the proposal to the public and try to secure support from local residents.

Failing to do so, Alderson contends, led to the current situation, with some residents upset about what they consider a lack of public outreach.

“I think it’s a good idea, and it’s in just the right spot,” Alderson said, referring to the proposed event center, and talking to Tweit. “But I am telling you, if you can’t show me you have community support by the end of this summer, I am pulling my support for it.”

Alderson also apologized for the county not being “more open” about the event center proposal.

Tweit said earlier in the meeting that he’s willing to talk with residents at any time, whether publicly or privately, about the project.