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Morrow County's Rural Transportation Equity Project Awarded for Excellence
Morrow County Rural Transportation Equity Project Awarded for Excellence
HEPPNER – Oregon’s statewide advisory committee on equitable community engagement, the Community Involvement Advisory Committee (CIAC), has awarded the Most Outstanding Project – Small Jurisdiction: Achievement in Community Engagement Award to Morrow County and its partners who researched and developed the report, “Rural Transportation Equity in Morrow County.”
The Achievement in Community Engagement or ACE Award recognizes organizations and individuals who have actively promoted and implemented the values of Oregon's Statewide Planning Goal 1 through an outstanding community engagement strategy. All projects recognized with an ACE Award make innovative use of resources, build partnerships across and throughout the community, and intentionally engage historically marginalized and underserved communities.
“This project's goal was to better understand the challenges of community members who live and work in Morrow County,” said Dr. Daniel Paul Costie, Assistant Professor of Public Administration at Eastern Oregon University (EOU) and lead author of the report. “The research team consisted of Morrow County, Euvalcree, Rural Engagement and Vitality Center (REV), and EOU. Under my supervision, and with feedback and guidance from Morrow County and Euvalcree, two outstanding students created a survey which was then distributed by the research partners. We then analyzed the data for key themes, then drafted the report based on the findings.”
“We submitted our application for the ACE Award on behalf of these community-focused organizations, because we felt strongly that they deserved recognition for this amazing contribution to our county,” said Morrow County Planning Director Tamra Mabbott. “The level of engagement we had from our community was outstanding. We have learned so much from this process.”
“The CIAC is thrilled to recognize Morrow County and their partners with this award,” shared CIAC Chair Leah Rausch. “Rural engagement is a challenge, and Morrow County succeeded in ways that demonstrate an ongoing commitment to the work.”
In 2023, Morrow County was awarded a grant through the Oregon Department of Land Conversation and Development (DLCD) to study ways to engage traditionally underserved community members to identify opportunities to improve access to transit. The county planning department’s vision was also seeking to learn how to engage traditionally underserved populations with planning. DLCD Transit Planner, Madeline Phillips, engaged directly with EOU and REV program staff, set up a Technical Advisory Committee comprised of businesses, special districts, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation who provides a free transit service throughout the region.
In Spring 2024, Morrow County launched a fixed route bus system in Boardman that provides transportation for employees who work at companies in and around the Port of Morrow. The survey results provided valuable insight the Planning Department will also use in the 2024 Heritage rail Plan update.
The CIAC was impressed by the following project elements:
- Using demographics to understand the audience and coordination with existing community-based organizations to reach them,
- Meeting community members where they were,
- Coordination with Eastern Oregon University for survey development and analysis, and
- Consideration of and future aspiration to update Morrow County’s Goal 1 plan to accommodate less traditional modalities in community engagement.
Partners in the project included Morrow County Planning Department, Eastern Oregon University, the Rural Engagement & Vitality Center, and Euvalcree, a culturally specific organization. Each organization will be recognized with an ACE Award. The report can be found at www.revcenter.org/reports.
The Land Conservation and Development Commission has committed to uplifting and celebrating the values of Oregon’s Statewide Planning Goal 1 for equitable community engagement through the ACE Awards and other activities. The tenets of the ACE Award support the commission’s commitment to the ongoing improvement of community engagement throughout Oregon.
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Please direct inquiries to:
Matthew Jensen
County Administrator
