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Firm Pulls Out Of Industrial Park Development Deal

    Phillips Manufacturing has notified the City of Umatilla it won’t be developing 20 acres inside the city’s new light industrial park.  The firm, which had purchased land from the city and was expected to construct the anchor location inside the industrial park, will instead remain at its current location in Dona Vista.
    Umatilla is developing an industrial park on the site of its former wastewater plant in the area of Golden Gem Drive, and Phillips had purchased half of the location for its new plant.  The change in plans triggers a city option to buy back the property at the same price plus interest, which the city is prepared to do. It is estimated the cost of the deal will be around $836,000.
    Umatilla City Manager Scott Blankenship this week said the city is pursuing the buyback so it can have more control over the type of business that may be located on the site in the future.  Blankenship said the city will be pursuing another 'jobs-based' customer for the location, as part of the city's stated goal of creating 300 jobs as a result of developing the industrial park.
    “We want to attract someone as good or better than Phillips,” Blankenship said.  “That’s my goal.”
    While Phillips' change of course is not ideal for the city, it maintained some control over the situation by inserting its buyback option into the original contract.  Speaking at last week's city council meeting, city attorney Kevin Stone said his discussions with Phillips on the matter had been productive and voiced confidence that a resolution could be presented in the near future.