Why Build?
Fire Safety:
Fire is an increasing risk to our area. Mosier Fire provides extensive aid to our neighboring fire districts, including the 2021 fires that threatened the Google data center and the Warm Springs reservation. Our own community has experienced multiple close calls in the past 11 years alone: Microwave Fire of 2010, the Oil Train Derailment of 2016, the Memaloose I & II Fires of 2018 and Mosier Creek Fires in 2020. We’ve had the national news media trucks parked on 1st Street more times than we’d like. Right now, our Mosier Valley Volunteer Firefighters work and train in two outdated buildings. The Mosier Center will give them greater ability to protect our community, while providing emergency shelter and help for fires, floods, power outages, and earthquakes, as well as a place to clean their equipment without having to clean at home.
Community:
This building will provide a food pantry, gathering space, and emerging small business opportunities for our diverse and growing community. The City’s Hispanic community is served by our local school, two new lunch carts and three businesses. Their contributions to our community are culturally broad and have proven entrepreneurial and a benefit to all. This building will facilitate additional local economic development through a community gathering space and commercial kitchen. It will also provide a Food Pantry & Space for Emergency Shelter to support our community in times of need.
Equity:
The population of Mosier is 35.6% Hispanic and 40% of the children who attend Mosier Community School are on free and reduced lunch. As of 2019, the estimated median household income in Mosier was $58,045, or 86% of the Oregon median household income of $67,058.
100 years ago three of our most iconic structures were added to Mosier: the school, the Fruit Growers and the bridge on Hwy 30 crossing Mosier Creek. We see Mosier Center not only as a way to boost the vibrancy of our main street today but as our gift to the community of Mosier in 2120.
Economic Stability:
The Mosier Center will include a commercial kitchen with flex space for developing farm-to-table food products from our Agriculture community as well as innovative creative services. The outdoor area is designed to be used as a permanent farmers market location for up to 6 months of the year. And the building will include a visitors’ welcome center to point travelers to our local businesses, tasting rooms, and guides to trails.
Connection to History:
This building will give us a permanent place to display our historic photo and artifact collections along with the interviews conducted at the time and performances from Voices From the Past.
MOSIER CENTER, OREGON
A Special Place to Gather
P.O. Box 456
208 Washington Street
Mosier, OR 97040
Phone: 541.478.3505 Fax: 541.478.3810
mosiercityhall@cityofmosier.com