Infrastructure Finance Authority News

August 2011

Legislature Allocates $10 Million to Recapitalize Special Public Works Fund

The $10 million recapitalization of the Special Public Works Fund (SPWF) by the Oregon Legislature is a very welcome development for Oregon communities. The fund is self-supporting and provides for the staffing expense of the program. The increase to the fund provides the opportunity to explore additional program benefits to make needed system improvements affordable for lower-income communities and systems with few users.

The high expense of system improvements is difficult for many communities to afford. To address this challenge, the IFA Board and staff will be exploring a potential program modification that will hopefully provide the incentive for communities to complete the repairs that are necessary, with the IFA offering financing that is in line with what the community can afford.

While the state legislature is making this investment in community infrastructure, the federal picture is cloudy and potentially threatening to our ability to provide adequate infrastructure funding to communities across the state. Congressional budget talks are not resolved, but early indications are clear that domestic programs will continue their trend toward decreasing allocations to the states. For the past three years, the Community Development Block Grant program has received approximately $2 million less each year. Budget discussions for the 2012 program year indicate further reductions, ranging from 25% to 40%.

A similar trend appears to be underway at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—the source of funding for the IFA's Safe Drinking Water program. Present discussions in Washington, D.C., indicate a possible program reduction in 2012 of 40%. So, we are faced with a new reality: as the federal support for infrastructure declines, the pressure on state programs commensurately increases.

—Lynn Schoessler, Director

Ashland City Administrator Martha J. Bennett Appointed to Infrastructure Finance Authority Board

I am happy to announce that Governor John Kitzhaber recently appointed Ashland City Administrator Martha J. Bennett to serve a four-year term as a member of Business Oregon's Infrastructure Finance Authority Board. Bennett replaces Jon Nelson, who is retiring as the city manager of Corvallis. Jon's contributions will be missed by all of us here at the IFA.

Bennett has served as Ashland's City Administrator since 2006, where she is responsible for managing the daily operations of all the city's departments. Prior to her work in Ashland, Bennett served from 2001-2006 as the executive director of the Columbia Gorge Commission. Bennett also worked as an assistant city manager in both Milwaukie and Albany. Bennett also serves on the League of Oregon Cities Board of Directors.

The IFA Board is a nine-member independent board with oversight of the Infrastructure Finance Authority and the state's infrastructure activities. Six board members are appointed by the Governor; three are direct appointments of the Legislature.

Brookings Port Repairs to Begin as Funding Chase Yields Success

Repairs to the tsunami-damaged Port of Brookings harbor are underway following the allocation of federal and state funding for the estimated $7.1 million effort. The funding will pay for reconstruction of damaged piling and the steel wall along the inner edge of the boat basin.

The Harbor sustained significant damage in the March 11 tsunami caused by a massive earthquake across the Pacific in Japan. One of the final funding pieces was put in place when the IFA approved interim financing for the required FEMA program match. The federal government will provide $5.3 million in federal emergency management (FEMA) funds for the project.

The IFA $1.4 million loan to the Port to allow it to begin repairs immediately and will be combined with more than $500,000 of grant funding from the IFA's Special Public Works and Port Planning and Marketing funds.

The tsunami waves and surges caused major damage in the Port of Brookings Harbor. When the tsunami-generated surge met the flow coming down the Chetco River, water rushed into the port's boat basins, sinking boats, destroying docks and piling, and eroding shoreline.

The federal grant is for repair and replacement of approximately 3,630 feet of floating docks that were swept away or destroyed. The damage affected facilities in the harbors, commercial and recreational basins, including facilities for the U.S. Coast Guard, which in 2010 performed 100 search and rescue missions from the harbor. Half of the economy for the Brookings area is directly related to the commercial fishing and recreational boating provided out of Brookings Harbor.

IFA Hires Ports Coordinator; Names New Policy Coordinator for Safe Drinking Water Program

There are some new faces here at the IFA, and we're saying goodbye to some familiar ones that have moved on. First, all IFA staff extend a heartfelt "thank you" to Del Little, who leaves the agency after more than 15 years of service. Most recently, Del helped lead the IFA effort to deliver nearly $75 million for safe drinking water projects across the state—the most ever recorded in a single year by a western state, according to U.S. EPA (see story below).

"I have had many opportunities to expand professionally and try my hand at several positions within this organization that has been very rewarding," Del told fellow staff members. "Over time you develop relationships that are not unlike those of a close knit family, so leaving is quite an emotional event. I will have many fond memories..."

So will we Del, thank you.

Patrick Sieng has joined the IFA as our new Ports Coordinator. This is a new position approved in the IFA's 2011-13 budget. Patrick will work for Dave Harlan and will be concentrating on the Individual Ports' Business Plans and the subsequent intergovernmental agreements between the Ports and Business Oregon.

Patrick has spent the past four and a half years as Chief of Staff for State Representative Jean Cowan (Newport). His prior experience includes serving on various local, state and private non-profit boards, and operating his own Web site design and political consulting firm. He also served for more than two years as a reserve officer for the Portland City Police. Welcome aboard, Patrick.

Finally, congratulations to Robert Ault, who was recently named the new Policy Coordinator for the IFA's Safe Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund program. Robert has served as Regional Coordinator for Crook, Deschutes, Gilliam, Hood River, Jefferson, Sherman, Wasco and Wheeler counties since June of last year.

EPA Lauds IFA for Closing Record Amount of Safe Drinking Water Fund Loans

$74 million+ is Largest Annual Loan Amount Ever Closed by a Western State; Bend Project Honored by Feds
Federal EPA officials recently congratulated Oregon on the impressive amount of Safe Drinking Water improvement projects the IFA was able to finance in fiscal year 2010. The IFA made more than $74 million in loans to Oregon communities from the Safe Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund in 2010, the largest annual loan amount ever by a Western state according to the EPA. The funding, which was significantly augmented by an infusion of so-called "stimulus" funds, will be used to improve the quality and safety of drinking water in communities across Oregon.

"This amount of loans shattered Oregon's previous high loan total of $32 million," wrote EPA Region 10 DWSRF (Drinking Water State Revolving Fund) Program Coordinator Richard E. Green. "Since the DWSRF started in 1998, this is the largest dollar amount of loans signed by any Region 10 state during a single fiscal year."

The IFA's recently retired Del Little, along with Karen Homolac and many other staff members, deserve credit for delivering so much to so many so quickly. We'd also like to thank our state partner on such projects—the Department of Human Services—which was also responsible for making it all happen.

"I recognize this accomplishment required a lot of hard work by a lot of SDWRLF staff," Green wrote in a letter to the IFA. "Much of this work was made more difficult by the new requirements and tight deadlines associated with ARRA (stimulus funding), and often confusing implementation guidance about those new requirements. Despite these challenges, Oregon did far more than just muddle through ... to produce environmental and public health benefits as well as create or retain much needed public and private sector jobs."

In addition to shattering the record for total amount loaned, IFA staff received accolades for their work with the city of Bend on one of the recently funded "stimulus" projects to upgrade the city's drinking water system. EPA officials called the project "exemplary of a well-managed and well-organized program."

The $5.6 million project's energy efficiency and water efficiency elements tallied up to $2.1 million, or more than a third of the state's Green Project Reserve as required by the ARRA funding. The project was split into multiple parts, but all contributed to the overall goal of modernizing the distribution system for more efficient water management. For example, the installation of an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) system made it possible to obtain system flow information remotely, eliminating trips to individual meters and ensuring leaks are detected more quickly.

The total project cost was $5.6 million, and was financed entirely by the DWSRF loan from Oregon. This project was split-funded with "base" DWSRF funds and ARRA DWSRF funds. The ARRA portion of this loan was $2.8 million, and was offered as 100% principal forgiveness. The combination of direct subsidy from the principal forgiveness and the subsidized interest rate savings means that Bend ratepayers stand to save about $3.1 million on this project.

Coos Bay Food Bank Construction Begins

CDBG Funds Will Help Reduce South Coast Hunger
Work is now underway on the construction of a new community food bank in Coos County thanks to an $800,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from Business Oregon's Infrastructure Finance Authority (IFA).

Officials from Oregon Coast Community Action and Coos County broke ground on the site for the new food bank warehouse in late June on La Clair Street in Coos Bay. Local officials said the new food bank will be able to feed more hungry families on the South Coast and serve as a gathering space and distribution hub to reduce hunger.

Becky Bryant, a regional coordinator with IFA, said the new facility will allow for 50% more food to be distributed, jumping from two million to three million pounds a year. The new food bank is expected to open in the spring of 2012.

"Today is only the beginning and we are just really looking forward to the day of the ribbon-cutting and actually to be able to see some numbers of people being afraid of where their next meal comes from, to decrease,"said Bryant. "And I think with this project, we will see that and we will see fewer children being hungry."

The $1.6 million facility, financed with the CDBG grant plus a matching amount from other partners, will construct a 12,000-square-foot warehouse including a freezer, cooler and racking equipment. The warehouse will have appropriately-sized docks for pick-up and delivery from both large and small vehicles. The building design will also take into consideration energy efficient materials as well as natural lighting and ventilation measures.

This project is made possible by the partnership and support of Coos County. Other funders include the Ford Family Foundation, the Emergency Food Assistance Program Infrastructure Grant Program, the Coquille Tribal Community Fund, the Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation and donations.

NOAA Pacific Fleet HQ Will "Officially" Open in Newport August 20

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Port of Newport will hold the dedication ceremony for the new Marine Operations Center-Pacific facility on Saturday, August 20, 2011. Public tours will be held following the dedication on August 20 and again on Sunday, August 21. The dedication and tours will be free and open to the public.

The formal opening comes exactly two years after federal officials announced the fleet's relocation from Seattle to Newport. The public open house of the new 40,000-square-foot center follows upon the arrival of the NOAA Fleet's ships, which has been going on for more than a month. On July 1, NOAA Chief Jane Lubchenco, formerly of Oregon State University, traveled to Newport to welcome the fleet to its new west coast home.

Newport will now be home port to four ships, and host visiting ships as well. The headquarters is expected to pump $19 million into the local economy every year. The $38 million, five-acre project will have a staff of 175, including 110 officers, and should use as many as 1,200 vendors to support its operations.

Business Oregon loaned the Port of Newport $1.2 million from the Brownfields fund to help clean up and rebuild the International Terminal site. In addition, Business Oregon's Infrastructure Finance Authority (IFA) gave Port of Newport officials a $25,000 grant from its Port Planning Fund to help local officials prepare their successful application to NOAA.

Upcoming Events

The next IFA Board meeting will be August 12 from 10:30am to 1:00pm. The meeting will be held in the Salem office, 775 Summer St, NE, Salem, 97301, 2nd floor, Conference Room 201. The meeting agenda will be posted on the Web site when it is available.