May 2011
IFA Funds Will Match Federal Aid Following Disaster Declaration Approvals for Coos, Curry and Lincoln Counties
Business Oregon's Infrastructure Finance Authority and state officials responded quickly to the March 11 tsunami damage to the Port of Brookings Harbor and other parts of Oregon's southernmost coast and, thankfully, the recovery of these areas is already well underway.
"The port (of Brookings) is doing relatively well," Port Manager Ted Fitzgerald recently told the Curry Coastal Pilot.
The March 11 tsunami waves surged into Oregon's coastal harbors just after low tide, tearing boats from moorings and docks from pilings. In Brookings, a seawall and a fish loading pier collapsed, all while horrified boat owners looked on. The estimated damage to the port is $6.7 million. However, in the month following the tsunami, port crews, volunteers, fishermen and others have worked hard to bring the port back to working order. The results of the efforts are starting to show on the east side of the commercial boat basin.
"The response from local officials and the community has been really quite remarkable," Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber said the following day, March 12, after flying to Brookings to survey the damage along with Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley. Kitzhaber vowed "to do what we can to get this community back up on its feet. We will do everything we can at the state and federal level."
A few days after leaving Brookings, the Governor backed up his promises by formally asking President Barak Obama for a Federal Disaster Declaration for Curry, Coos and Lincoln counties. He also directed multiple state agencies to provide the port with assistance.
Here at the IFA, we moved quickly and pledged to provide a $40,000 recovery grant for engineering expenses and to set aside a $500,000 emergency grant to be used to provide matching funds for the anticipated federal disaster funds. The IFA also agreed to suspend the Port of Brookings's debt payments on its existing previous state loans to provide some additional breathing room.
On March 21, President Obama granted the Governor's request with a federal disaster declaration for Curry County. That declaration made those areas eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding assistance. In addition to the Curry County declaration, late last month, FEMA also approved Kitzhaber's request for federal assistance to Lincoln and Coos counties to help recover from tsunami damage in those areas. Kitzhaber said the FEMA assistance will go mostly for repairs at the Port of Depoe Bay and the Port of Coos Bay's Charleston Harbor.
Fitzgerald said the most pressing concern is the $79,000 the port spent in emergency operations in the two days following the tsunami. FEMA funds will eventually pay for new docks to replace those that were destroyed, and to upgrade surviving docks to standards, he said.
Undoubtedly, the most immediate response to the tsunami waves that hit the Port of Brookings was mounted by Fitzgerald and his crew along with local Coast Guard personnel who worked to secure loose vessels as multiple surges hit the harbor. By the time the surges subsided, six boats had sunk in the port, four had been swept out to sea and dozens more were damaged and adrift in the port's boat basins, along with pieces of the marina docks and floats and debris from other damaged infrastructure.
Chris Cantwell, the port's operations supervisor, said 70 percent of the port's commercial fishing boat basin and 40 to 50 percent of the port's sports basin facilities were destroyed by the surging waters.
The tsunami surges also caused some damage at Curry County's other two ports in Gold Beach and Port Orford.
Port of Brookings officials are working closely with FEMA officials to assess the damage and prepare a cost estimate for repairing the port's facilities. The devastation hit just a month before the start of the commercial shrimp fishery and ahead of what was anticipated to be a booming summer sport fishery.
"We need to have the ability to move forward," Curry County Commissioner Bill Waddle said upon hearing the Governor's and Business Oregon's pledge of funding assistance.
In addition, Brookings officials, concerned that potential tourists will bypass Brookings this summer because of perceived tsunami damage, recently committed $1,000 toward an advertising campaign announcing the "Port of Brookings Harbor is open for business."
NOAA Research Fleet Headquarters Schedule to Open in June
I am excited to announce the posting on the Business Oregon Web site of a recently produced video showcasing IFA's successful partnership with Port of Newport officials to clean up and redevelop the Port's International Terminal site as well as the nearby Port of Toledo's boatyard. The two brownfield redevelopment projects, done in conjunction with the construction of a new headquarters for N.O.A.A.'s Pacific Research fleet, will mean hundreds of new jobs for Newport. You can watch the video here.
Redevelopment Now Boasts 700+ Jobs
Last month, one of our most successful redevelopment projects—the Reynolds Industrial Park in Troutdale—received the Grand Phoenix Award as the best revitalization of a brownfield site in the nation last year.
As you may recall, the redevelopment of the Troutdale site—the former home of a Reynolds Metals Aluminum smelter—led to the siting of a new, FedEx Ground state of-the-art, $129 million package distribution hub there, which opened late last year. FedEx is the first occupant at the former Reynolds property and the facility has already brought 700 jobs (eventually it will grow to an estimated 1000 employees) to the Troutdale area. The FedEx site is located on about 78 acres within the Port of Portland's new 693-acre Troutdale Reynolds Industrial Park.
In addition to the good work of our Business Development team, this redevelopment would not have happened without the help of the Infrastructure Finance Authority and other state agency partners. For example, the IFA awarded a Special Public Works Fund loan of $8.6 million to the Port of Portland for roadway and utility extension projects at the site. In addition, IFA also provided two Oregon Port Revolving Fund loan awards totaling a little under $3 million for the improvement of Sundial Road.
The Oregon Department of Transportation also chipped in with $1 million from its Immediate Opportunity Fund and Oregon State Parks provided a $100,000 grant to build and improve recreational trails at the site.
Among the economic, social and environmental benefits of the project cited by the awards committee:
All in all, it was a great team effort and recognition well deserved by all participants. The pictures below tell the story.
Before
After
At its April 8 meeting, the IFA Board of Directors acted to elevate the priority of certain essential community facility projects and how they are ranked in the competition for loans from IFA's Special Public Works Fund (SPWF).
IFA staff drew the board's attention to the fact that the current project scoring sheet for the SPWF program does not rate essential community facilities as police and fire stations or hospitals high enough to be eligible for funding. The destruction of and needed replacement of a fire station brought the issue to the attention of IFA staff recently. The staff concluded that while the issue might only arise infrequently, it still needed to be addressed.
The previous scoring system seemed to work well as constructed for addressing the IFA priorities for job creation opportunities, or addressing health and safety concerns in municipal water or wastewater systems. Without giving undue bias for essential community facilities, the approved revision on the scoring matrix clarifies that essential community facilities are an equally high priority for use of SPWF funding under an existing funding category. Therefore, in addition to a high rating for projects that overcome or prevent water quality issues identified by DEQ or DHS, essential community facilities that are necessary to protect the public or environment from health and safety concerns will also receive a high score.
From smoke jumping for the U.S. Forest Service to working without a net for the Oregon Infrastructure Finance Authority: that is the route taken by IFA Regional Coordinator Robert Ault.
Robert, who has served as regional coordinator for Crook, Deschutes, Gilliam, Hood River, Jefferson, Sherman, Wasco and Wheeler counties since June of last year, spent 10 years parachuting into forest fires in the wilds of Montana.
"It was a job I enjoyed and it allowed me see remote parts of the United States and Alaska that most people don't ever visit," he said. "Also, driving a parachute is about as close to flight as I will ever get, unless I decide to tie helium balloons to lawn chair."
Robert moved to Eugene with his family to attend the University of Oregon where he earned a graduate degree in Planning and Public Policy. After that, he worked for two successful community development non-profits.
"I have worked at what are arguably two of the most successful and entrepreneurial non-profits in the state, the Umpqua Community Development Corporation in Roseburg and St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County," he said. "At the Umpqua CDC, I was responsible for project management and also worked with microenterprise programs. At St Vincent de Paul, I worked on affordable housing projects."
In addition, Robert also honed his facilitation, mediation and presentation skills at Rural Development Initiatives, a non-profit based in Eugene. RDI provides leadership and capacity building classes and services such as strategic planning and board development to rural communities and non-profits in Oregon and Northern California.
Robert says he enjoys getting out of his cubicle and working directly with people in the communities he serves in Central and North Central Oregon.
"I appreciate their desire to cut to the chase and get the projects going," he said.
Robert still lives in Eugene, where he cares for a son and a daughter who he calls, "fun, funny, smart and sassy." For fun, Robert rides his road bike, plays tennis and brews his own IPA. He also bakes with his kids.
"My kids and I can whip out a batch of cookies in record time," he said. "We are a well-oiled, dessert-making machine."
Welcome aboard Robert and don't forget to share those cookies with your colleagues.
Port Selects Operator for Repaired Rail Lines
Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-Springfield) announced on April 15 that $2.5 million in federal funding has been made available to the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay to rehabilitate and repair the Coos Bay Rail Line.
The Coos Bay Rail Line, owned by the port, is tentatively scheduled to begin partial service in June, provided the port and Reedsport manufacturer, American Bridge, enter into a contract by then. The rail line's rehabilitation is making progress and full service could begin in September, Port officials told the Bandon Western World.
The restoration of this rail line is vital to the health of the coastal economy, according to the Port. The funds will be used by the Port to purchase additional railroad ties so traffic on the line can move at increased speeds allowing shippers to move loads faster and in a more cost-efficient manner.
The added funds come days after the Oregon House voted to allow the port to own and operate the rail line linking Danebo and Coquille. The bill clarifies the county agency's role as owner of the line, opening opportunities for the port to establish economic development tools and ordinances outside its taxing district, but only inside the railroad corridor it owns, according to Port officials.
The Port recently selected ARG Trans to operate the rail line. ARG Trans is an experienced rail-related transportation enterprise founded in 2003 when it acquired its principal subsidiary, San Pedro & Southwestern Railroad (SPSR), from RailAmerica. The railroad's chief sources of traffic are agricultural chemicals, feed grains and building products. In addition, SPSR operates a transload facility serving southeast Arizona.
The Infrastructure Finance Authority helped the Port of Coos Bay secure funding in several ways. The helped with $50,000 from the Port Planning and Marketing Fund and $350,000 from the Governor's Strategic Reserve Fund. To help close the transaction and purchase the rail way, the IFA helped the Port secure two Special Public Works Fund loans totaling approximately $12.6 million. These loans provided the Port with sufficient funds for purchasing the line in the summer of 2009. The Port has since secured additional state and federal funding to pay for repairs and move toward its goal of reopening the line in 2011.
The rail closure has impacted more than 700 manufacturing jobs that depend on the line. That's about 40 percent of manufacturing employment in the affected area. Approximately 6,000 rail cars moved goods from the region to national markets annually.
The next IFA Board meeting will be June 17, in Newport. Location and other meeting details will be posted on the Web site as it becomes available.
Business Oregon helped Newport land NOAA's Pacific Research Fleet, creating 175 full-time jobs, from start to finish. A $25,000 grant helped fund the port's application and a $1 million state grant helped complete much needed transportation improvements at the site.
Eastern Oregon is home to snow-capped peaks looking down on rolling hills, complex desert lands and wild rivers.
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