At the direction of the Port of Coos Bay management and commission, the taxpayer is right now paying to repair the Coos Bay Rail Link that will allow Roseburg Forest Products to ship raw logs as “pseudo-processed products”, chips and pulp from its North Spit facility out of the country, possibly to Asia. As Bill Barton points out in his excellent essay, “These products could be processed here in our state, employing thousands of Oregonians in living wage jobs”.
Instead, RFP which recently laid off more than two hundred people, is using taxpayer dollars to create jobs overseas. Ironically, the Port, with the assistance of the local paper, has sold the non-competitive bidding process employed under a declared state of emergency to make the repairs as a quick way to create thousands of jobs. In a form of economic blackmail, a job hungry public are held hostage to economic development schemes believing there is no alternative but to pay up.
The Port has been unwilling to provide any evidence that RFP has a qualified business opportunity that warrants declaring a state of emergency but several people have pointed out there may be a conflict of interest with this transaction. Kathy Wall, Marine Facilities Manager at the Port of Coos Bay is married to Mark Wall, Oregon Forestry Manager for Roseburg Forest Products and requests have been filed with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission to investigate whether this Port action violates Oregon statutes.
Oregon government ethics law prohibits all public officials from using or attempting to use their official position to obtain a financial gain or avoid a financial cost for themselves, a relative or member of their household, or business with which they or their relative or household member is associated, if that financial benefit is only available to them because of the official position they hold. [ORS 244.040(1)]
In addition, the conflict of interest provisions in ORS 244.120(2)(a) require that public notice be given before the public official on a commission participates in any action, decision, or recommendation which could result in a private economic benefit or detriment to the public official, one of their relatives or household members, or a business with which any of them are associated.
Whether Kathy Wall meets the definition of a “public official” is up to OGEC but the Port has been implicated in violations of Oregon’s conflict of interest rules in the past. During the legal battles revolving around the decision by Central Oregon Pacific Railroad (CORP) to embargo the line and the Port’s feeder line application with Surface Transportation Board lawyers for CORP filed a supplemental response on September 29, 2008 to an earlier reply from the Port. The reply takes issue with a bid submitted by West Coast Contractors at triple the cost of other bidders and accused the Port of 1) trying to drive down the value of the line and 2) not declaring that West Coast Contractors is owned by Port commission president, Dave Kronsteiner.
…the Board should reject the Port’s Reply claim that the NLV of the line should be reduced by approximately $6 million to account for the cost of removing the two bridges.
B. Mr. Kronsteiner’s “Bid” To Dismantle The Bridges.
CORP’s estimate of the potential cost of removing the Siuslaw and Umpqua River bridges is based upon actual bids to perform that work submitted by two disinterested third party companies, L.B. Foster, a national rail line salvage firm, and Staton Companies, a company with extensive experience in bridge demolition located in Eugene, OR. Foster’s purchase offer included a $2,000,000 net cost for removing the two bridges. Staton’s bid for removing the bridge spans over the waterways was $2,065,790.…In a desperate attempt to rebut these three independent (but mutually reinforcing) estimates submitted by CORP (two of which are actual bids that provide prices for which experienced contractors stand ready to perform the bridge removal work), the Port’ s Reply offers a “bid” prepared by West Construction Contractors, Inc. (“WCC”) of Coos Bay, OR….
…First, the WCC estimate is not a bona fide “bid.” It consists of a memorandum addressed not to CORP (the owner of the bridges and the party that would be removing them), but to the
Port….Second, even if the WCC estimate were somehow considered a “bid,” it must be disregarded because it embodies a blatant conflict of interest. According to witness Davis “the Port solicited and received a second, separate bridge removal bid from West Coast Contractors, based in Coos Bay, OR.” See Reply V.S. Davis at 13 (emphasis added). Witness Davis states that wce’s quoted price for removing both the Siuslaw and Umpqua River bridges was $8,119,980. ld. What he fails to disclose is that the WCC “bid” was submitted WCC’s President, David Kronsteiner, who also serves as President of the Port ‘s Board of Commissioners.
Now, of course, that the Port owns the line, we are assured the bridges need only minor repairs to support a Class I railroad.
Meanwhile, China, unlike Oregon, has put restrictions on raw exports and is being accused of breaking “global rules” and giving its manufacturers an unfair advantage upsetting WTO members including the US.
Chinese restrictions on exports of nine raw materials violate global rules and give the country’s manufacturers an unfair edge, a World Trade Organization panel said, backing a complaint by the U.S., the European Union and Mexico.
Read the entire article as there are some interesting issues surrounding rare earths, but illustrates the complexity of relying upon global supply and demand rather than focusing on existing local resources.
magix Wrote:
aghast! and gene – don’t be shy about filing a complaint with OGEC regarding the charges alleged in the CORP documents.
I read how well they responded to your complaint. About they same response I have received from all my letter writing campaigns in the past.
I see and expect no further results from contacting any government agency concerning the problems in Coos County, so my efforts have been reduced to yelling to the public, and calling a spade a spade, if it pisses em off, well good, I’m trying to.
aghast! and gene – don’t be shy about filing a complaint with OGEC regarding the charges alleged in the CORP documents.
As I and others have said before, The Governor is a crook and as corrupt as the locals he appointed to the port,
Jon, round up your buddies and tell them time is running out, pack your bags, you guys and gals should be getting more nervous as election time approaches, We know there will be no investigation into your actions, too much money on your side,(tax funds as well). The amount of residents wising up to the stealing of public money for the good of the few, is growing daily, because people like myself are talking and telling on you. This whole system is about to collapse in your laps. To the rest of you reading this, keep up the fight against this corruption, When the fall starts it will be like dominoes.
Read the entire attachment to this article and I have to ask how Kronsteiner is still on the port commission? That type of behavior puts all of us at risk.
Thanks, RU, I do have it on good authority that you are not the only non-progressive reading the blog. As a point of clarification, I do not regard most Democrats as progressives either, particularly Obama. If I did, I might join the party.
Speaking of parties, the libertarian/progressive alliance between Ron Paul and Ralph Nader looks like something to watch closely
Message to all of them there peoples reading mgx was intended to be – I read your stuff daily from whereever I may be – some postings several times. You know that our politics are polar opposites. I believe and trust neither major political party. I do know who rode with Paul Revere to warn citizens that the French were coming – one by motor boat, two by Chevy Suburban. This Sagittarius recognizes another polarizing individual who is not afraid to speak with knowledge on a subject. I may be the only non progressive (Democrat) reading and commenting. My fingers sometimes trail my brain by seconds and I missspell. I am guilty of not checking spelling. The DA recently alerted me to the fact that last October I referred to him in a mgx posting as “fat” and not as intended, “fair”. Sorry! I appreciate your endeavor to remove the cloak that most local professional politicians cover subjects with. The local citizens may not have what more affluent communities have but they are proud and they are not mushrooms to be kept in the dark and fed lots of bullshit. I appreciate that you often report the stories and facts that the daily (soon to be only five days – four if its a holiday – per week) bird cage liner refuses to cover (and if you believe the publishers half page ad with reasons why – have I got a bridge to sell to you). Often, I believe, forcing the liner to cover the story days later because you have done so. Thanks.
Thank you, RU, correction made
Its “Bill” Barton of “excellent essay” and Jon barton of do nothing SCDC.