Retire? Not a chance: Bill Harvey eager to resume contracting business after eight years as chairman of the Baker County Board of Commissioners

Dec. 28—The last syllable of "retirement" hasn't reached his ears before Bill Harvey breaks into a broad smile.

He chuckles.

The very notion, even as Harvey approaches his 70th birthday in April, that he would not return to the construction business, strikes him as amusing.

No matter that his career as a builder, which spanned four decades, was interrupted during the previous eight years as Harvey served two terms as chairman of the Baker County Board of Commissioners.

He was first elected in 2014, and reelected in 2018 to the only full-time position among the three-member board of commissioners.

Harvey's job was roughly analogous to that of city manager. He presided over his final meeting on Dec. 21, and starting in January his position will be taken by Shane Alderson, who won a two-candidate race over Dan Garrick on Nov. 8.

Harvey said he decided not to seek a third term, but not because he didn't consider the chairman's job rewarding, or because he had no more goals to accomplish. Rather, Harvey, who moved to Baker County in 1972, was eager to resume the business he set aside when started his first term in January 2015.

"I have 40 years in construction, and it went by so fast because I loved it so much," Harvey said on Tuesday morning, Dec. 27, from his office in the business complex he built on 10th Street in Baker City starting in 2001. "

There was always a desire for me to go back."

Harvey, who has built more than 50 custom homes in Baker County, maintained his contractor's license throughout his tenure as a commissioner.

He said he's already busy, as he gestures to a sheaf of blueprints on a table in the office where he and his wife, Lorrie, work.

Harvey said he is excited about returning to construction, including working with his son, William Harvey, who has his own construction business in Baker City.

"I'm thankful for the opportunity to work with my family," the elder Harvey said.

"It's a rewarding industry for me — always has been. It's a blessing to be able to build things that are lasting."

Harvey said one of his fondest memories is when he was driving his daughter and her friend to an event, many years ago, and his daughter pointed out a home to her friend, saying "my daddy built that."

Yet even though Harvey is thrilled at the prospect of building homes again — providing housing for local families is his chief goal in this second phase of his career — he acknowledges that concluding his tenure as a commissioner, working on behalf of the residents in the county he loves, has been an emotional experience.

During his final meeting Dec. 21, Harvey's voice broke slightly as he thanked county employees and talked about the "great joy" of working on behalf of residents.

"I have mixed emotions," Harvey said on Tuesday, Dec. 27, talking about his decision not to seek a third term. "It was really tough. In eight years you grow attached to people. They were great people to work with, truthfully they became family."

He noted that although he served eight years as commission chairman, his service to the county is much longer. Harvey was a member of the county's planning commission for 12 years before being elected in 2014.

Projects in progress

Harvey said he's pleased that the county, during his final meeting, finalized the purchase of a 70-acre property just south of Hughes Lane, between the Leo Adler Memorial Parkway and the Baker Sports Complex.

He believes that property is an ideal site for a year-round, indoor facility that could be used for a variety of youth sports.

Harvey envisions tournaments and other events that would bring hundreds of visitors to Baker City, including during the winter, helping motels, restaurants and other businesses during months when the tourism economy declines.

"It's a great opportunity for Baker County," Harvey said.

He said he will continue to advocate for beneficial uses of the property, potentially including a new site for the Baker County Fair.

Accomplishments

Harvey cited the county's clean up of the former lime plant near Huntington as an important project during his tenure, one that left the county with a potentially valuable industrial property.

He noted that the county didn't use any general fund dollars for the project.

Harvey also touted other infrastucture projects, ones that with his construction background he was well-equipped to shepherd. These include replacing the roof at the Baker County Sheriff's Office, rebuilding a road department shop in Halfway, constructing two buildings at the county's Hewitt Park near Richland, construction of a bridge over East Eagle Creek in the Wallowa Mountains, and acquiring the former Oregon Department of Transportation building on South Bridge Street.

Harvey said he believes the county government is in solid financial shape, due to prudent budgeting and, over the past two years, an influx of almost $10 million in COVID-19 aid from the federal government.

The county used some of that money to buy the 70-acre property.

Defending the county

One of Harvey's signature policy positions has been protecting the county's interests in its relationship with the federal government, which manages about 51% of the county's 2 million acres.

Harvey said he learned much during his first few years about the county's legal rights, in particular the federal law regarding "coordination." That law requires federal agencies, including the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, to work with the county when writing its management plans and in designing specific projects such as timber sales.

"We have made some great headway working with the federal government," Harvey said. "Once they found out we're not the enemy, things started to work out fairly well."

He cited as examples the ongoing campaign to reduce the risk of wildfire in the Baker City watershed through logging and prescribed fire, as well as other, similar projects elsewhere in the county.

Harvey said he has consistently lobbied the Forest Service and BLM to be more aggressive in trying to reduce the wildfire threat, and boost the economy, through targeted tree-cutting.

"When timber sales are proposed, we're involved immediately," he said. "We've been very direct in our positions. That's what the citizens here asked me to do."

Although the county's last sawmill, Ellingson Lumber Co. in Baker City, closed in 1996, Harvey said he continues to believe there is potential to open a small mill in the county, if the county and other advocates can persuade the federal government to ensure a steady, long-term supply of logs.

Harvey said he was proud to work in conjunction with local groups, such as Forest Access for All, in advocating for Baker County as the Forest Service worked to revise its management plans for the three national forests in the Blue Mountains, and in the proposed Travel Management Plan.

Harvey said he remains committed to urging the Forest Service to maintain the current level of motorized vehicle access on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.

The forest unveiled a Travel Management Plan in 2012 that would have closed more than 2,000 miles of roads to motor vehicles, but the agency quickly withdrew that proposal. The Travel Management Plan process is on hold, pending the approval of new forest management plans.

"What we've asked is to leave things as they have been," Harvey said. "We're not asking for something new. The people who live here take better care of the forest than anybody else."

Pandemic

Harvey's tenure was of course marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. He believes the county did well in adapting to the situation, including keeping the courthouse open but also giving employees, and the public, other options, such as watching public meetings online, if they were more comfortable doing so.

"We stayed open and were still able to conduct business," Harvey said. "Our staff did a phenomenal job."

Harvey said he believed many of the restrictions that Gov. Kate Brown imposed through executive order were not appropriate for Baker County, with its relatively small population.

Harvey filed as an intervenor in a May 2020 lawsuit challenging Brown's order limiting attendance at gatherings. He said he was motivated specifically by the restriction on churches, which he believes was a clear violation of the First Amendment.

Looking ahead

Harvey's enthusiasm is palpable as he talks about his goal of building housing for local residents, and his belief that Baker County is on the cusp of an economic surge that will result in slow but steady growth — a level that will benefit local residents, and give high school graduates a chance to stay in their hometown or return after college, without diminishing the attributes that make the county special.

Harvey said he cherishes those traits, and he will advocate for their preservation as much in his return to the private sector as he did during his eight years in the public realm.

"Becoming satisfied with your life is the best reward you can have, and I'm very satisfied," he said. "Living in Baker we have the best life we could have. Do we have everything? No. But we have everything we need."

Which explains why he's ready not for retirement, but for the next phase in his career.

"I plan to live here the rest of my life," Harvey said.