Some of you may recall how late commissioner the Nikki Whitty testified in Salem to encourage the passage of a bill that exempted private operators utilizing the county owned 12″ pipeline, in this case NW Natural, from taxes. The $51 million pipeline was never meant to be economically viable and the taxpayers should not expect any return on the investment in the form of revenue from private use. The bill passed assisted by Senator Arnie Roblan during his tenure as a representative and was unique and applies only to Coos County.

According to The Register Guard the Oregon House has just sent a similar bill regarding the Coos Bay Rail Link to the Senate. HB 3276, “…would eliminate an annual property tax bill of about $180,000 that the state Department of Revenue says the Coos Bay Rail Link should pay — money that would go to a long list of local government and school taxing districts in Lane, Coos and Douglas counties”.

Proponents, including several coastal legislators, argue that the new rail endeavor is still in its infancy and can’t afford the tax burden. Shippers moved 2,480 rail cars of wood products, steel, cattle feed, and chromite ore on the line last year, but the customer base is still being built, they say. Rail speed continues to be limited. Trains always stop overnight in Mapleton on trips between Eugene to Coos Bay.

Rep. Caddy McKeown, a Coos Bay Democrat and former Coos Bay port commissioner, says the line needs a great deal of improvement work, including an estimated $60 million in work on its bridges alone.

“The more money we can plow into that rail line, the more quickly we can get this thing off the ground,” she said.

Port spokeswoman Elise Hamner said “private investment” not “daily operations revenue” is what will be needed, if the line is to be brought up to speed quickly

According to the paper there has been no real opposition to the bill. (Did the local paper report on this?) It may be well past time for a contingent of locals to testify in Salem against the continued blind investment, plowing if you will, in economic development schemes that never shows a positive return. Perhaps it is time to ask Salem to demand a full accounting and analysis of the money “plowed” by the Port of Coos Bay in just the last two decades and put the agency on a results only funding cycle.

[Photo http://www.coosbayraillink.com/]