The Wallowa County Board of Commissioners has agreed to bridge the gap and facilitate once and for all the right-of-way issue that has been slowing plans to build a new hospital and a new public safety building in Enterprise.

“We are good at leveraging dollars,” said county commissioner Ben Boswell. “I’m sure we can provide the resources to fill the gap. We have two very important projects on hold.”

The commissioners did not say where they would find the money, but agreed to fund the balance of a $12,000 fence and help with the construction of a $40,000 horse barn on fairgrounds property.

As discussed at the board of commissioners meeting Monday morning, the city of Enterprise would be held to previous offers to pay $13,000 for the right-of-way property and $3,000 for the fence. It was agreed that the $13,000 would be used as seed money for the horse barn and the $3,000 as seed money for the chain link fence.

The fair board would relinquish rights to a 35 foot strip of right-of-way for a distance of 1,320 feet, enabling the proposed new hospital to have an access route 80 feet in width to meet city standards for a new road. The fair board would be give up two small horse barns which would have to be dismantled. In return for that monetary loss the fair board would receive up to two years of free water from the city.

Boswell suggested that the county could finance their end of the deal through video lottery dollars, then added that that source of funding could be eliminated if the Feb. 3 election to repeal the legislature’s temporary three-year surcharge tax is passed.

The fair board met Monday night and drew up an agreement amenable to all parties that would transfer the property over to the city of Enterprise.

Pleased spectators in the right-of-way settlement are members of the Wallowa County Health Care District board of directors which bought 15 acres of land west of Les Schwab Tire Center hoping that the right-of-way matter would be settled.

Boswell said that Monday morning was the first time that the board of commissioners had officially been asked to comment on the issue.