In April of this year the Port of Coos Bay declared a state of emergency relating to the Coos Bay Rail Link to facilitate non-competitive contracts to repair the line. A statement in the April agenda packet that circumstances warrant the emergency declaration so that a “substantial business with commercial interests in the Coos Bay area” may take advantage of an opportunity.
As of April 6, 2011, circumstances have developed that require immediate emergency repairs to be made to the Coos Bay Rail Line. The Port has been approached by a substantial business with commercial interests in the Coos Bay area with a request that rail service between Eugene and Coos Bay be resumed no later than June 20, 2011. If the rail line can be opened by June 20, 2011, this business can take advantage of an economic opportunity for itself and for the Coos Bay area. Unless the Port is authorized to now make at least the first stage of the repairs necessary to reopen the Coos Bay Rail Line, the business will not be able to take advantage of the opportunity which has been presented…
A month later it was revealed after Don Lovelady, COO of the Coos Bay Rail Link let it slip during a regular Port commission meeting, that Roseburg Forest Products was the business that requested the emergency rail repairs. The announcement came on the heels of learning that RFP was laying off more than 200 workers. The World reported
Work is chugging along to restore North Spit rail service by July, to meet the needs of Roseburg Forest Products, Coos Bay port leaders were told Thursday night.
Dan Lovelady, interim CEO of the Coos Bay Rail Link, told port commissioners that Roseburg Forest Products had asked for expedited repairs so it could take advantage of a business opportunity. The company hopes to ship chips to its export facility on the North Spit.
Lovelady also revealed that the June 20 start up date for the rail line was no longer critical. Roseburg Forest Products, according to Lovelady, could wait until October 1 without missing its opportunity.
Mr. Lovelady said he met with Roseburg Forest Products, which is having a lot of activity but difficulty putting contracts together for early opening of the rail line. Mr. Lovelady said they compared schedules and had planned for a September 1, 2011, opening date but it looks like it may be pushed back to October 1 before the company will be ready. This will give the Port a little more time to get things accomplished prior to opening. Commissioner McKeown asked if customers were
amenable to moving the date back to October. Mr. Lovelady said the main customer is American Bridge. He has been in contact with company officials making sure they don’t have any immediate needs.
In order to ascertain what if any due diligence was conducted by the Port to validate the opportunity/emergency I requested any and all documents relating to the RFP request for expedited repairs. What I want to know is if the Port vetted all parties to this “opportunity” and if the Port demonstrated proper fiduciary care with the people’s property. Additionally, I wanted to determine if the Port took into consideration the net return to the taxpayer to determine if helping a private company deserved taxpayer assistance.
The Port effectively put up a brick wall telling me via phone from Elise Hamner, communications manager that the Port had signed a non-disclosure agreement with Roseburg Forest Products and could not share their evaluation. During this call I was informed by Hamner that Lovelady should not have violated the NDA when he mentioned RFP during the May meeting.
A series of June 29 email between myself and Hamner indicates the Port position that “Documents relating to negotiations with Roseburg Forest Products concerning market/sales strategies are exempt from disclosure under ORS 192.502 (17)”. When I advised that I wasn’t looking for “market/sales strategies” but for “documentation that shows the Port conducted proper due diligence before declaring a state of emergency in order to bypass competitive for repairs on the Coos Bay Rail Link”, Hamner replied “That [market/sales strategies] is the information that the port considered and that is exempt from disclosure under ORS 192.502 (17).”
ORS 192.502 (17) says records are exempted from public scrutiny with “applicants for investment funds, loans or services including, but not limited to, those described in ORS 285A.224.
So I requested a copy of the non-disclosure agreement between the Port and RFP and the application for services to expedite repairs on the line and offered that the Port may redact any sales strategy. Neither the NDA or the application are exempt from public scrutiny and after waiting a month without any records I submitted a 2nd request with a deadline. The Port passed the deadline and today I filed an appeal of denial with the Attorney General to have the records released.
This afternoon I received a response from Hamner telling me there is no written NDA and that RFP did not file a formal application for services.
There is no written Non-Disclosure Confidentiality Agreement between the Port and Roseburg Forest Products, and there was never a written application from Roseburg Forest Products for the emergency railroad repairs.
Roseburg Forest Products is currently pursuing a new cargo opportunity that would transport various commodities by rail to its North Spit terminal for loading on deep-draft vessels. The Port and Roseburg considered the execution of a Non-Disclosure Confidentiality Agreement regarding this new cargo opportunity, but it was ultimately determined that there was no need for the agreement since the proposed rail movement of the various commodities had been discussed during public meetings of the Port.
The Port appears to be running a pretty loose ship. Despite earlier claims from the Port it turns out there is no written or executed NDA no written application for emergency services from RFP and absent any evidence to the contrary it isn’t much of stretch to assume that no “market/sales strategies” were provided, and if they were they aren’t covered under a NDA or part of an application exempting them from public scrutiny, and that little or no due diligence was conducted by the Port before taking this emergency action. So why was the Port so adamant about confidentiality and market/sales strategies?
Further, in her response she indicates that according to Oregon statutes, the Port has the right to declare an emergency.
The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay (Port), as a State Port organized and operated pursuant to ORS 777.915 to 777.953, is authorized under ORS 279B.080 and ORS 279C.320 to declare an emergency regarding repairs to the Coos Bay rail line in order to return the line to service in support of trade and commerce activities involving business entities that have been or will be shippers on the Coos Bay line.
If the Port had this right all along why engage in the pretense of an imminent need on behalf of RFP when the company has finalized nothing and is “pursuing a new cargo opportunity?” Why feed the public this story?
Hamner concludes with the following and adds that this response is available on the Port website here
Port staff solicited Requests For Quotes from at least 12 firms with experience in rail line repair work and received responses from four firms. The estimated costs of the emergency repairs are approximately $400,000.00. The proposed minimal repairs will allow restoration of freight rail service between rail connections in Eugene, Oregon, and the North Spit of lower Coos Bay by October 1, 2011
Lastly, it has been reported here that a potential conflict of interest may exist between the Port and RFP. Harbormaster Kathy Wall is married to Mark Wall, Oregon Forestry Manager for RFP although there is no evidence the Port has ever been influenced inappropriately. RFP does, however, appear to have an unprecedented level of influence upon the Port and how it spends public money and may have too much influence with other state agencies as well.
As a recent essay suggests RFP, through its affiliate, Scott Timber, purchased mature Elliott State Forest Douglas fir worth $425 as “stumpage” for a bargain at $273.52 per MBF.
Did the Port lie to the public in April when it first declared the emergency and further lie to me and others attempting to obtain information relating to the emergency as documented above? Does Roseburg Forest Products have too much influence over state and local agencies?
Bandon Dunes – Enterprise Zone
ORC – Enterprise Zone.
12 inch pipeline – $30 million in debt, destructive to waterways, no income from pipeline.
I’m paying their taxes. Please don’t come on here and threaten and DARE us to do a damn thing. You’re a guest here, use some manners.
First, come.on, stop yelling at people here. If you want to contribute to the dialog you are welcome but you will have to stop jumping to conclusions in order to do so. This is your only warning.
Two, many, many alternatives have been written about on this blog, alternatives that have been tried and tested successfully in other areas.
Three, the $3 billion is in an enterprise zone and an urban renewal district – not one red cent goes to the general fund.
what alternatives exist. List them. If you are going to preach for other industries in Coos Bay, then lets hear it.
Go on, I dare you to compare tourism to LNG. We would be lucky to attract 50 million in revenue 20 years down the road of focusing on such a community. Coos Bay IS NOT A NICE TOWN. IT IS NOT A TOURISM HOTSPOT. GET OVER IT.
the railroad will bring extensive commerce to the region, RFP, ORC, and LNG are all potential users of this project. Furthermore, the transloading potential is extensive. If you can’t see the importance of developing economic influences intot he community, then you are ignorant.
Sure there have been failures on this front recently. Sure, the airport didn’t work out too well. But that is no reason to give up. How about we focus on the positives ahead for us? ORC worked out. That is a huge plus for our community. When LNG works out that will be monumental. When the rail comes in that will be a longstanding economic stimulus. ROI is a process, and you need to enact such processes to benefit in the end.
And this community has not seen ANYTHING as far as “bending over”. Coos Bay is a little podunk town on the coast thathas been dead since the 70’s. 10 million is absolutely nothing. LNG itself is a 3 billion dollar capital investment. A large portion of that will funnel straight into our community. Boom, problem solved.
FAA not the FFA (future farmers of america), got in a hurry, again.
350 million buys some pretty nice homes, but not where you can see two sky-scraping tanks, across the bay from the only viable airport in the region, so close that key people need to be placed in a position to guarantee no concerns about public safety are submitted to the FFA about the proximity of these future tanks and the devastation that would result from an accidental or other type of collision with a plane. Goodbye North Bend/Coos Bay.
Is it worth watching a select group of people put the rest of us in this type of jeopardy, when none exist now? There are better alternatives, but they will have none of it, it doesn’t fit the plan.
Yes, Gene, it is about results. Since I have moved here in 2003 more than $350 million of local, state and federal monies have flowed through this county in the name of economic development managed via the Port and SCDC. During that time unemployment has risen. So where is the return on investment to the local taxpayer? People have every right to be angry, they should be angry and being lied to by a public agency should make them furious enough to throw a few rotten tomatoes and demand some changes
The train could be the biggest boom for our economy if it is handled correctly. It is totally in the wrong hands at this time. Who could trust this group to have any expertise in making this work for all the people in Oregon, not just coal corps, logging corps, LNG corps, mining corps, non profit corps,and friends. A governor with vision could be telling his constituents that he would like to spend the peoples tax dollars on NEW infrastructure for this right of way. This hole they’re digging by throwing more money on an old obsolete rail system is what makes this a plan to nowhere. A rail tie contract for Doug fir ties,looks good, until further research of tie materials suggests there are better alternatives for replacement of rotted ties than wood.
I and others realize any type of ties would be going the wrong direction. We could all use a modern maglev train, not just these corporate leash holders. Same money, same right of way totally different results for our area and economy.
This is not about the railroad. The railroad is a great idea. This is about the way the Port of Coos Bay does business. There is a long pattern of deceitful practices and hiding the truth. The Port will announce a change in the application for collossal Post -Pananmax sized vessels to enter Coos Bay. Bye Bye Fishing industry. Jobs ! Jobs! What else are they not telling us? Mary Geddry has dug up a long trail of shabby , petty corruption and cover up by this port.
What is wrong here is the Port is also working to create an LNG terminal on Jordan Cove. Now it comes out that it is for export too. Just like that opponants have been saying all along to the jeers of those in favor. The sort of slack, sloppy, incompetent and lies by ommission that is the way this port operates is dangerous flaming death to the people of Coos Bay and to the taxpayers of Oregon. This LNG Terminal is in the direct path of an Earthquake and Tsumani and your lives depend on a significantly higher order of business than the connivers and double dealers that run theis Port. The string of Democratic governoers are at the top of this list.. This terminal is a firebomb and terrorist target. What sort of federal security presence is the Port also not telling us about. The railroad and the lieing about business developmentcash is the example of the way this Port Does business and elected official of both parties look the other way because RFP tells them to. That is the problem.
The real story here, in my mind, is not that the Port would misrepresent details of one of their development schemes, but rather the implication that RFP can hold so much influence over the county and the state. Something is seriously wrong
Att: comeon
A couple of things. “Its painful to watch as some community members fight off any and all advances because they think something better is out there. ” I object to these schemes because I realize and admit what the BOC, PoCB, SCDC, CoC, and others refuse to admit: THERE IS NOTHING BETTER OUT THERE.
Our officials scatter money as if it was dragons teeth hoping to grow jobs when every community in the country is in the same boat. As you say, this place has nothing exceptional to add in competition with 90% of the others looking for the same deal. What I want is for these tax payer funded entities to realize the same thing and start to create a workable society from within. Use the tax dollars to fix our area and take care of our own. Business is attracted to liveable communities.
As for old ideas, one of the oldest is greed which is why we are in this mess. People who have more than enough and still want more.
“Its painful to watch as some community members fight off any and all advances”
Perhaps it’s because some community members have been paying for the ‘pleasure’ of this gigantic ‘reach-around’ for decades.
“Most states, and communities within the states bend over backwards”
Perhaps it’s because our backsides are sore from all the damn ‘bend overs’ we’ve participated in for the ten years I’ve been here. We bent over for those 2,900 jobs Whitty promised when we ‘accepted’ the thirty million in debt for the 12 inch pipeline. Or the 50 million for the uneeded, unused second airline terminal and tower which isn’t even a part of the system. Or the water and sewer lines I’m paying for to ‘service’ the North Spit for all this business it will bring. And now a Rusted Railroad to Nowere? What are we into this now, 50 or ahundred million?
We’ve heard it all come, so why don’t you take Mamas’ computer and go away and shut the hell up. We’ve all heard your shilling too many times.
Please find some newcomers to ‘come’ all over come, we’re on to you and don’t care to hear your bleating any longer. Did you lose your teat? I doubt it.
If you come up with something to add to a discussion among adults, please come back. Otherwise shut the hell up and keep it at your IBO luncheons. You’ll get nothing but disrespect here for your tired old excuses for hanging onto the publics’ teat.
It will take a well done fiscal impact analysis to determine if demurring to the needs of RFP and the Port’s overall management have been in the best interests of the public. As for what I want, this blog has more than 3,100 posts many describing tried and proven strategies that don’t involve dirty industry.
so whats wrong with a railroad? all it means is additional royalties tot he county in the long run. Its return on investment will be substantial, and may help bring more commerce to the area. What else is there in this town anyways? Not much tourism- its not that nice of an area to be honest. Not much business- obstructionists keep fighting everyone. Most states, and communities within the states bend over backwards to bring business in. Oregon should be no different if it wants to get out of its economic hole.
And old ideas? Yeah I love old ideas. Ideas such as commerce, economics, and MONEY are all far older than the 1900’s. So I’ll take everything that improves any of those ideas.
I apologize if you aren’t against the rail, but the philosophy surrounding such a stance is mind boggling considering how much this county is hurting. Its painful to watch as some community members fight off any and all advances because they think something better is out there. Well what is it then? It sure isn’t tourism. It sure isn’t more casinos. It sure isn’t becoming a welfare state. What do you want? Be specific, and stop talking in riddles- even children can dissent in that manner.
come? Why don’t YOU buy the railroad and repair it with YOUR own money? The Port wants a damn Rusted Railroad To Nowhere, let THEM pay for it with their own money, not mine. I’m sick of it. You’re a lousy shill come. The folks on this blog aren’t your “run of the mill fifth grade educated Coos Countians”. You have to be careful around here. Want to discuss ‘coming’ out of this hole Coos County finds itself in will NOT happen with 19th century thinking !
The railroad is coming, the railroad is coming !!!!! For gawds’ sake come, can’t YOU even think beyond the early 1900s either? All you know is diesel?
the train might be great but I object to how the Port does business and how it deals with the public
come.on reminds me of Prickering
Once again you are way off base @come.on. Most of us would love to see the railroad working and it is the Port and SCDC that shoots down jobs opportunities. Apparently, they are better off it the rest of us are poor an unemployed.
so whats wrong with reopening the rail then? The area needs the commerce it would involve. You wonder why Coos County has astronomical unemployment, bad schools, and drug problems then oppose each and every attempt to bring us one step closer to resolution? The rail would be nothing but beneficial to the community, and Roseburg Forest Products should be commended on helping to bring it back- not criticized.
I hear your frustration and raise you two. Will the Oregonian or the Guard cover this?
Lies, lies, and more lies. Kitzhaber would be wise to keep his Shit Kicker boots on when he comes to this area, it will be easier to hose off the crap, when he leaves. His appointed commissioners and their staff are a disgrace to the people of Oregon. The tax monies spent on this train to nowhere, by people who must be filling their pockets with that money, is disgusting. Middle men are very proficient at skimming off the top any and all dollars that pass through their hands. If the OAG doesn’t investigate this public entity then that office is just as corrupt as the port and the governor.
Tax dollars spent for the benefit of corporations to make a profit (real or not), has to be the biggest scam this area has going, and there are plenty to choose from as candidates for that prize. Second prize would have to be shared by SCDC and the BOC, for their stage sets.