The Port of Coos Bay is seeking to renew an existing $25M option to purchase land from Weyerhauser, however, the option has been modified without public consent or comment. Jody McCaffree raises serious concerns about the public process and the terms of the option. Additionally, the option price appears to be based upon future value of the property after other development. The 3rd Amendment Weyerhaeuser can be read in full.
Jody McCaffree Sent Via Email and Fax to (541) 269-1475
Individual / Executive Director,
Citizens Against LNG
P.O. Box 1113
North Bend, OR 97459January 17, 2011
Oregon International Port of Coos Bay Commission
David Kronsteiner
Caddy McKeown
Brady Scott
Dan Smith
Jerry Hampel
125 Central Ave, Ste 300
Coos Bay, OR 97420Dear Commissioners:
According to the public notice of the January 20th Port Commission meeting, the Commission’s final decision on extending the Port’s Jordan Cove/Weyerhaeuser Land Option contractual arrangements will be on the consent agenda. This means the public will have no opportunity to hear the staff’s justification for this complicated transaction – and no opportunity for citizen comment. This is not the same transaction originally approved by the Commission, and the reasons for the changes and the lack of updated appraisal information have not been made public. Unfortunately, this is only one of several times that public scrutiny of this transaction has been circumvented. The latest occasion was only a month ago.
The Jordan Cove/Weyerhaeuser Land Option modified contractual arrangements were originally scheduled to be discussed at the December 16th, 2010 Oregon International Port of Coos Bay Commissioner meeting. The meeting was suddenly canceled by a note taped on the door of the Port offices the night of the meeting; it said an unexpected lack of quorum had occurred. The Port then scheduled a special meeting for December 21, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. At the special December 21st meeting, the Port Commission did not allow public comment as they authorized Port Director Jeff Bishop to revamp the Port’s complicated Weyerhaeuser / Jordan Cove Land Option contractual arrangements. From the statements made at the meeting, the extent to which even the Port Commissioners were briefed on the details of their decision was indiscernible.
Therefore, as you consider extending and revamping these option agreements to purchase land from Weyerhaeuser, please ask Port staff about and take into consideration the facts outlined below.
First, a fresh appraisal is needed: the appraisals used to justify this purchase are now 4 years old. The appraisals themselves both state they are good only at the time they are delivered and that there can be dramatic changes in a real estate market. Ask yourself, have there been changes in the Coos Bay real estate market in the last 4 years. In standard real estate and lending practices, appraisals are good for only 6 months. No private company or investor would purchase property with appraisals 4 years old. Why would the Port?
Second, appropriate environmental reviews need to be done on the Weyerhaeuser property in question. There is nothing in public records so far indicating the Port’s willingness to commit $25 million was preceded by an EPA Phase III environmental investigation that is now standard prior to the purchase of large previously-occupied industrial parcels. In this case, such a precaution is not a mere formality. The property has been filled over many years with material dredged from a bay surrounded by heavy industries, and the property was used by Menasha and then Weyerhaeuser for many years before strict contamination controls were required. In July of 1999, Nucor Corporation withdrew from purchasing 575 acres of land on the North Spit from Weyerhaeuser. Nucor purportedly backed out because Weyerhaeuser insisted on transferring all potential liability for past contamination of the property to the buyer. Under the Port’s proposed purchase agreement, the Port would similarly be in the position of accepting all liability for possible past contamination.
The Port has the right under the option contract to conduct environmental investigations on the property as long as the results are kept confidential. Were EPA Phase III examinations done? If so, why is the public not even allowed to find out that they occurred? At the very least, the public is entitled to some assurance that the Port Commissioners have been told whether such investigations have been conducted and what the results were. If the Phase III investigations were done, the results should have been included in the EIS for the Jordan Cove project. If EPA Phase III examinations were not done, why not? If the Port will conduct such an investigation before exercising the option and will make exercising the option contingent on a favorable outcome, the Commission should clearly say so.
Third, complete Cultural Resource studies need to be done and a Cultural Resources Project Plan needs to be developed. Such studies have yet to be done on the Weyerhaeuser property, both in the sand stockpile storage areas and in the area of the proposed Marine Slip and LNG facility. These areas may be considered a Traditional Cultural Property of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians with special cultural significance. Such cultural studies should include land areas below the current dredge fill currently located on the property. The construction of the two-berth slip, off-loading facilities, tanks, power plant and sand stockpile may destroy cultural resources.
Federal law dictates no impact to such cultural resources by any federally permitted project, regardless of land ownership. Under state law (ORS 358.905-955) it is a Class B misdemeanor to impact an archaeological site on public or private land in Oregon. Impacts to Native American graves and cultural items are considered a Class C felony (ORS 97.740-760).
In 1932, Coos ethnographic informant Jim Buchanan listed the traditional villages, campsites and resource processing areas within the area of the proposed import and storage facility when interviewed by Melville Jacobs. The pre-historic sites are listed as Tlechi ‘ya, Q’aliya and Ku.na’dech in JACOB’S NOTEBOOK 92: pages 150-152. In addition, as indicated by the record, the cultural resources inventory report for the Port of Coos Bay Dredged Material Deposition site (Byram and Purdy, 11 January 2008), filed May 22, 2008 with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, acknowledged and noted the locations of the historic Indian villages of Eliekatich/Sand Point Village, Kollea, and Jarvis Landing; the John Henderson ranch of 1861; the North Spit trail; the 1857 ferry house; and the 1889 “pest house” — all of which are in the vicinity of the Port Sand Stockpile area.
Fourth, on May 19, 2010, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sent a letter to Randy Miller of the Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline L.P (FERC ref # 20100602-0006). The Port was CC’d on this letter. This letter raised many questions and issues about dredging, wetland and waterbody impacts /mitigation and cultural resources. There has been no public response to this letter. Before any further action is taken by the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay concerning the Weyerhaeuser property, the Port Commissioners and the public should be provided verifiable assurance that the Corps’ concerns have been fully addressed.
I urge the Port Commission to carefully consider the above issues and to permit public comment on the modified Weyerhaeuser land deal at their next commission meeting. Isn’t a $25 million land transaction significant enough to warrant giving members of the public an opportunity to present substantive input before a final decision is made? Since we tax payers in the Port district will be responsible for paying back loans and for any liability taken on by the Port, we have the right, and are at least owed the courtesy, to have our thoughts and values taken into account.
Sincerely,
Jody McCaffree
CC: Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber;
Attorney General John Kroger
Don’t We The People have a right to know the REAL value of these lands who reside in a half walnut shell? It IS our money Bishop and your Merry Men. Who did the original appraisal, anybody know? Does the public have ANY rights whatsoever in asking where is the money, and why no current appraisals are warranted at this time? What does that tell us about how our money is being spent? Perhaps the King and his rooks will step up and tell us.
Or maybe not.
Enabling Bishop to enact changes without public comment is one of the reasons the public is now so suspicious of the port. Why renew an option on this property for this enormous price? Who is competing for the property, especially at this price?
I don’t understand all of Jody’s comments. I do understand contracts and option agreements. Do we have brain dead folks running the peoples port, railroad, and some day a looney tunes amusement park? So many questions arise after reading amendment number three. First, if your overpaid port executive director Bishop is empowered to execute documents for the people (port), amendment three is a done deal. That’s his chop at the bottom of the document. Nothing in that document says it requires more chops before being effective – the document says effective 20 days ago.
What unknown idiots are climbing all over themselves to buy the Weyerhauser property that the port seeks some day – maybe? Nobody! Who does not understand that land values, especially those for North Spit property that comes closer to a Cascadia Subduction earthquake and tsunami each day, are significantly less today than they were four years ago? Weyerhauser is eager to sell, why did the port not negotiate out in amendment three the risky $2 million in option exercise payments and liquidated damages. And, so much more. Maersk will never put a terminal here. The Jones Act weill prevent cruise ships from stopping at the charming tourist attracting port of North Spit (when they could stop in San Francisco, Seattle, Alaska, San Fedro, Baja.
I only have one question, well in reality, I have a whole bushel full, but mainly, I’d like to know:
WHERE’S THE MONEY?
All these clowns are claiming the 25 million, but where EXACTLY is it? Who is holding it?
I’ve always felt this is some kind of a shell game with the $25 million. They ALL claim it, then don’t use it, then it’s resurrected again, and then it goes somewhere else.
Hey Port !!!!!
WHERE’S THE MONEY?