WOODBURN, Ore. — With the afternoon sun beating down on them, several dozen people stood outside the Super 8 in Woodburn Thursday. They are not thrilled with the county's plans for the 81-room hotel.
"We have a huge senior community," said Carol Bolton of Woodburn Estates and Golf. "This is not a good thing for us or anybody."
Marion County plans to turn the Super 8 into a COVID-19 isolation center as soon as next week. Anyone who may have been exposed to the virus, or has a mild case of it, and has nowhere to go can stay at the isolation center. This will include farm workers and those who are under the supervision of parole and probation.
"The biggest concern I have is the fact where they're proposing to have this facility," said Woodburn city councilor Eric Morris. "The whole area around that is Senior Estates so their safety not only from a COVID perspective but public safety."
Morris is also frustrated with the process. He says the county snuck this through with very little, if any, public input.
"It's a blind spot on my part that I didn't communicate this earlier because we've been going really fast on a lot of things," said Marion County Commissioner Kevin Cameron.
Cameron acknowledges how fast things moved and he is sorry. He understands the fears and concerns over the isolation center. He says there is nothing to worry about.
"What the facility is is a place where people will be quarantined. They'll be self-isolating for two weeks, 14 days. They won't come out of their rooms. They'll be in their rooms. We'll have security on premise," said Cameron.
A large number of people are not buying what the county is selling. They hope the city can put a stop to it.
"It's very fair to say our efforts in protecting our community here are at risk," said Bolton.
According to the Woodburn city administrator, operating an isolation center in the Super 8 may be illegal due to current land use laws. The city council pledges to go after the county.