Marion County commissioners and Gov. Tina Kotek want to help the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs find a different location for a veterans cemetery proposed for 307 acres of farmland southeast of Salem.

The VA announced its plans for the cemetery last fall in a notice of environmental analysis of the property at 3515 Howell Prairie Rd. S.E. The property is an active vineyard located in the unincorporated community of Macleay. The new cemetery would supplement Willamette National Cemetery, on the outskirts of Portland, which will reach capacity in 15 years.

Neighbors to the property have generally been against the veterans cemetery since the announcement, urging officials to find a more suitable site locally or in eastern Oregon, where there are none. Many share concerns that the cemetery will impact the well water that supplies their homes, affect the traffic in their neighborhoods and destroy the farmland that defines their rural community.

In a May 14 letter to federal officials, county commissioners echoed the neighbors’ concerns about the Howell Prairie Road property and offered the VA their assistance to find an alternative.

“The county and neighboring residents have previously identified several concerns regarding the present proposal,” the letter said. “Marion County would like to work alongside the Department of Veterans Affairs to identify a location that better serves veterans and their families, while also better aligning with the needs of the surrounding community.”

Commissioners also warned the VA it could not use the water that currently feeds the grapes being grown on the property for a cemetery.

The VA’s draft environmental assessment, published to Salem Reporter April 21, stated that the groundwater allowance for the proposed site would be sufficient for the cemetery’s use. But the property’s existing water certificate only covers water used in compliance with statewide land use goals, according to the commissioners.

“It is difficult to envision how a non-irrigated cemetery could provide the beautiful final resting place that veterans deserve, especially during summer months that are hot and dry,” the commissioners wrote.

Commissioners also considered the traffic influx that neighbors have been worried about. The draft assessment found a cemetery could add 275 cars to the often narrow, winding two lane roads of Macleay each day.

“(The road) conditions are not ideal for funeral processions, daily visitor traffic or the dignified and reliable access that families deserve when attending services for their loved ones,” the commissioners said.

The vineyard property is one of the farms that make up over 275,000 acres of farmland in Marion County, according to 2022 data. The VA said that the conversion of 290 acres of farmland will have “negligible impacts.”

But Oregon has already lost 667,000 acres of its farmland between 2017 and 2022, Census of Agriculture data showed.

“Agriculture is central to the identity and economy of Marion County. Large trucks move crops to market, and combines, tractors and other farm equipment regularly travel local roads at slower speeds while occupying substantial roadway space,” the letter said. “Those realities are part of rural life, but they may create challenges for families trying to arrive on time for funeral services or for the efficient operation of a cemetery receiving frequent visitors and ceremonial traffic.”

The property also bears the history of the Waldo family, who came to Willamette Valley by way of the Oregon Trail in 1843. Their home, now in disrepair, still stands on that property.

The VA wants to demolish it.

“The loss of this historic resource would be a meaningful negative impact not only to Marion County, but to Oregon’s broader cultural heritage,” the letter said.

The letter is the third county officials have written to the VA. An Oct. 7 letter communicated the same concerns, and another on March 24 from Marion County Public Works asked the VA to not demolish the historic home.

Kotek’s comments came in a one-page letter on April 30, addressed to VA Secretary Doug Collins. It urged Collins to work with the Marion County commissioners to find the “right location” for a new cemetery.

“Marion County and its board are honored to host veterans in their final resting place. Our concern is not the mission, but whether this particular parcel is the right location to fulfill it,” she wrote.

“I believe Marion County would be an exceptional collaborator in identifying the most suitable location for the expansion and am writing to encourage you to accept their offer to partner in this endeavor.”

Her letter did not cite specific concerns.

“VA appreciates this input and will respond to the governor directly,” VA spokesman Quinn Slaven said of Kotek’s letter in a Friday email. Slaven did not respond to Salem Reporter’s questions about the water certificate or whether the VA will look at other properties for the cemetery.

Marion County officials and local politicians, including state Rep. Paul Evans, a veteran, have pointed the feds to the site of the now-closed Mill Creek Correctional Facility as an alternative.

VA officials shut down that suggestion. The old prison was one of 14 properties officials looked at starting in 2023, but found it was unsuitable for a cemetery.

“Each alternative was ultimately found to be either not viable, not available or unsuitable for construction or acquisition,” Marianne Marinucci of the VA Office of Construction and Facilities Management said at a Salem meeting.

Marinucci was one of five VA executives who spoke at two Salem Public Library meetings about the cemetery on April 30. There, officials took written questions from attendees, many of them from Macleay. VA project development services director Glenn Elliot shut locals down firmly when they asked a question aloud, warning he would end the meetings if they continued to call out.

Their questions, which were penned on notecards, will be included and addressed in the final environmental assessment, Elliot said. He could not say when that report would be out.

Commissioner Danielle Bethell sat in the audience for the first meeting. She has been in contact with the neighbors about the proposal since the fall.

As the comment period draws closer to a deadline, over 40 neighbors gathered again Thursday, May 14, to discuss movement on the project and review their concerns for VA public comment.

The meeting is the fourth evening gathering about the cemetery the local neighborhood group hosted. Since the VA’s fall notice, neighbors have bonded together, gathering by the dozens to attend the community meetings, contact local lawmakers and send countless emails to the VA.

This will be the second 30-day comment period the VA has opened to them. Despite their efforts, neighbors say they often receive radio silence when they send direct questions to VA officials, including Elliot.

The environmental scoping is step two of six in the VA’s process of establishing a cemetery. If the final assessment yields a finding that there is no significant impact to the environment, the federal government can move forward with step three, land acquisition. The property owners have expressed interest in selling to the VA.

The public can comment on the project until May 21 by emailing [email protected] with the subject line, “Willamette National Cemetery Draft EA.”

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