Tuesday, December 10, 2019 at 9:50:07 AM Mountain Standard Time Subject: Verifica(on of accuracy Date: Monday, November 18, 2019 at 9:44:24 AM Mountain Standard Time From: Pat Caldwell To: Dan.Joyce@malheurco.org Dan, At the Enterprise, we strive for fairness and accuracy in our reports. I am sharing draO excerpts for our impending story about Malheur County's real estate development efforts.. Please review each statement for factual accuracy. If you see an error, please iden(fy the error and provide what you believe to be the correct informa(on. At this juncture, I am not seeking addi(onal informa(on or comments. To be considered, please provide your response by the close of business on Monday, Nov.18. Thank you. Pat Caldwell, reporter Malheur Enterprise STATEMENTS TO VERIFY FOR FACTUAL ACCURACY: 1. Dan Joyce, Malheur County judge, recently signed the loan paperwork for the county to borrow $2.1 million from the state economic development agency to buy two big chunks of real estate in Nyssa. The county would also borrow $600,000 to buy land for the reload center, to be repaid by the state. 2. The state Transporta(on Department is giving the county $600,000 to buy land needed for the Treasure Valley Reload Center. 3. County officials say they need $2.1 million to buy the rest of the property on which the shipping center would sit and to buy a second nearby property. 4. The county applica(on, though, doesn’t iden(fy poten(al employers or say how many jobs could land on the raw land. 5. Across the county there is already more than 600 acres of privately owned industrial land, much of it developed and ready for industry. 6. In its loan applica(on, county officials explain that money to repay the $2.1 million borrowed from the state’s economic development agency would come from “Malheur County as well as future land sales.” That means, according to state officials, that county taxpayers would be on the hook for the loan. 7. Dan Joyce and Greg Smith, Malheur County economic development director, have a standing prac(ce of declining interviews with the Enterprise. The two didn’t respond to detailed wri`en ques(ons about the real estate deals and debt. 8. Malheur County inked a deal in July 2018 to buy a 285-acre parcel known as the Farmer property as the site for the shipping center. When the state said it would only pay for 65 acres, county officials in October cut down the size of the buy but it s(ll exceeded the state’s limit. 9. That leO county officials seeking $1.7 million from somewhere else to buy the raw land that is envisioned as an industrial park adjacent to the rail shipping center. 10. The borrowed money won’t cover another major expense in industrial development – puhng in u(li(es needed to serve industrial customers. 11. The county had already applied to the state in October to borrow that money when county commissioners also decided to buy another Nyssa parcel and borrow even more as part of the same loan. This 79-acre parcel is near the site of the rail shipping center. 12. The county applied for a special state program that would reimburse up to $4.5 million in u(lity and street costs. 13. County officials haven’t disclosed where they would get that $4.5 million in the mean(me to pay for such costs. Page 1 of 2 Page 2 of 2