Central Oregonian

Prineville City staff members deserve kudos for helping City of Mitchell

Over the years, local officials and citizens have developed a reputation of stepping up and helping people in their time of need.

This spirit has emerged time and time again whether it’s the ability to continually pay for school sports through a growing list of fundraisers or the success of other benefits for worthwhile causes.

The City of Prineville recently provided yet another example of this praiseworthy tradition in coming to the aid of another community.

The City of Mitchell was recently awarded $50,000 in grant funding from the Oregon Department of Transportation to repair its Main Street sidewalks.

To take advantage of that funding, Mitchell officials needed to complete the necessary procurement and bid document paperwork as well as plan and budget the project. Only one problem — they rarely receive grants of this nature, and weren’t sure what to do or even where to start.

In their moment of need, they turned to the City of Prineville and staff members didn’t disappoint. Procurement/Contract Administrator Cindy MacDonald and Street Supervisor Scott Smith are no strangers to public contract requirements and were able to step in and walk them through the process.

MacDonald assisted Mitchell with the paperwork side of the project, showing them all of the required documentation. She is also continuing to help them as project invoices come in.

Smith visited Mitchell and looked over the project site to help them determine cost as well as standards and specifications.

End result — the sidewalks should be done by the end of June at the latest. Without help from the City of Prineville, they may have found themselves contracting out the same work and eating up the bulk of their grant money in the process.

We applaud the City of Prineville for its willingness to step up and assist another community. Not only does it once again demonstrate the helping spirit this community has become known for, it improves the skills that City staff members like Smith and MacDonald rely on every day.

Simply put, it’s a win-win for the City of Prineville and the City of Mitchell and we hope it further inspires local officials and citizens to step up in help people in their time of need.