A partnership between Southport Forest Products and the Int’l Port of Coos Bay secured $506K in ConnectOregon funding to rehabilitate infrastructure that enabled Southport to ship its first load of wood chips. According to The World, “The project is expected to increase employment in Southport’s local operations, and in maritime services and the longshore labor sectors.”
The paper also reported on the company’s purchase “of 33 acres in 2011 from the Port for development of its wood chipping and log handling operation”. The port sold the land to Southport on sweetheart terms requiring only $7,500 down on a $1.3+ million purchase price and 3% interest.
Between the ConnectOregon grants and the extremely favorable purchase terms, Southport has benefited greatly from taxpayer investments considering the undefined number of as yet unidentified jobs promised.
Apparently Coos County Parks needs to purchase the whole North Spit for ourselves. Looks like we might get a good deal and out from under the Port and their plans for growth and save some money. Weird huh.
I suggest that everyone go and read this previous MGX Blog Post to understand the full depth of what is going on here:
http://mgx.com/blogs/2011/07/16/port-of-coos-bay-land-appraisals-raise-questions/
“…SouthPort Forest Products in 2004. SouthPort which had a facility in Sumner purchased almost 31 acres and a barge slip on the North Spit for $560,700 with a determined price of $14,960 per acre all within the Bay Area Enterprise Zone…”
“…In June of 2009, three months after the layoffs, SouthPort approached the Port about buying an additional 33 acres on the North Spit. Recently, the Port finalized the transaction giving SouthPort a sweetheart deal requiring only $7,500 down on a $1.3 million purchase and 3% interest over twenty years….”
“…In five years, in a down economy and in the midst of crushing layoffs, industrial property on the North Spit, absent a functioning railroad, increases in value by more than three times! It’s a miracle!..”
This was actually all about trying to get a comparable to justifying the 25 million dollar price tag of the 1,300 acre Weyerhaeuser property. At the time of the Port’s first Land Option with Weyerhaeuser the 1,300 acres had an assessed value of only around 5 million.
The Port attempted to get tax payers to fork over 5 times the assessed value for Weyerhaeuser’s property with plans to then lease portions of that property to Jordan Cove. Such a deal this would have been for Weyerhaeuser and Jordan Cove, particularly if Jordan Cove was to build their plant and then go out of business. ORC and all their “lease” deals comes to mind here….
You would think after a while the powers that be in this town would get a clue!
Hmm – $1.3 million for 33 acres including the barge slip? Good deal. The port built that barge slip in 1985 for $1.5 million.
Is the port’s latest economic priority to export wood chips? Who decided this? And what for?
When I saw this article in the paper, I immediately started adding the subsidy in my head. Thanks for putting it all together here.
Every time that I read one of these I am reminded of the TV commercial – It’s my money and I want it now. Unfortunately the port over which we taxpayers have zero control has given my money to their friend.