November 2011
More than 700 Manufacturing Jobs Depend on Rail Line, which Closed Four Years Ago; State and Federal Aid Critical to its Reopening
There is truly good news to report on the major effort by the IFA and our local, state and federal partners over the last four years to reopen the vital rail link between the South Coast and the Willamette Valley. On October 11, the first portion of the rail connection reopened and Governor John Kitzhaber noted the critical connection it provides between key South Coast manufacturers (employing hundreds of Oregonians) to their markets and customers in the Willamette Valley and beyond.
"The reopening of the Coos Bay Rail Link is an important boost to the South Coast and Oregon's economy," said Kitzhaber. "The partnership between the Port of Coos Bay, the state of Oregon and the federal government delivered a much-needed prescription for economic renewal in this part of the state."
In September 2007, the southern Oregon coast economy suffered a significant blow with the closure of the Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad, which runs between Eugene and Coos Bay. The rail closure impacted more than 700 manufacturing jobs that depend on the line. That's about 40% of manufacturing employment in the affected area. Approximately 6,000 rail cars moved goods from the region to national markets annually.
The newly reopened rail connection will serve several key area employers including Southport Lumber, which plans to ship about 25 carloads of lumber a week; and Roseburg Forest Products, which could ship another 20 carloads of wood chips a week; according to local officials. Port officials said 2,500 deteriorated railroad ties and 65,000 tons of ballast had been replaced, and all nine of the tunnels along the route were fixed up as part of the project.
After its closure in 2007, the Port of Coos Bay rallied to buy and reopen the rail line. Thanks to the help of Business Oregon's Infrastructure Finance Authority (IFA) and the federal government, the rail line is now operating again. The IFA awarded the Port 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 subsequently secured additional state and federal funding to pay for repairs.
I especially want to thank U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio and his staff who helped the Port secure $7.2 million in a congressional reallocation of funds to help repay the loan for the initial $16.6 million purchase. The Port also received $7.8 million in federal grant money through the Oregon Transportation Commission's Connect Oregon program, which uses money from lottery-backed bonds to pay for improvements to rail, public transit, air, marine and port projects.
The IFA initially helped the Port's required Feeder Line application with $50,000 from the Port Planning and Marketing Fund and $350,000 from the Governor's Strategic Reserve Fund.
With 23 public ports in Oregon, it was no surprise that it took our recently hired IFA Ports Coordinator Patrick Sieng nearly a week this September to visit 16 of them. Sieng joined Ray Bucheger, a partner with FBB Federal Relations in Washington, D.C., for a five-day tour of Oregon ports. FBB Federal Relations represents the IFA ports division, advocating for Oregon ports in the halls of Congress and with federal agencies.
Prior to the start of his tour, Sieng met with officials from the Port of Alsea in Waldport, attended the Port of Toledo's Wooden Boat Show and joined state leaders at the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Marine Operations Center—Pacific (NOAA MOC-P) grand opening at the Port of Newport. Dignitaries attending the ceremony in Newport included U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, Gov. John Kitzhaber, State Sen. Joanne Verger and State Reps. Jean Cowan, Dennis Richardson, Gene Whisnant, Vicki Berger, Mitch Greenlick, Lew Frederick and Phil Barnhart.
Governor Kitzhaber noted that the arrival of the NOAA MOC-P will bring 175 jobs and approximately $19 million each year to the region.
On their tour, Sieng and Bucheger visited 16 of the state's ports, starting at the Port of Brookings Harbor and ending at the Port of Umatilla.
"This was a great opportunity to see the different projects that our ports are working on to create jobs in their respective communities," said Sieng. "Ports in Oregon are leading economic development efforts in our rural areas and the state strongly supports these efforts."
Some projects discussed or viewed included post-tsunami dock repairs at the Port of Brookings Harbor, the reopening of Port of Coos Bay Rail Link, the Port of Toledo's new boatyard, the new international shipping terminal at the Port of Newport, the Port of Garibaldi's wharf reconstruction, log shipments from the Port of Astoria, industrial development at the Port of St. Helens, a sustainable agriculture visitors center at the Port of Morrow and grain shipments at the Port of Umatilla.
Also joining at various points on the tour were staff from the offices of Sen. Wyden and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley as well as from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
"The trip was a great opportunity to see firsthand the challenges each port faces and become more familiar with individual port priorities, which helps us to better advocate for the ports' interests," Bucheger said of the tour.
Oregon State Senator Frank Morse, an ex-officio IFA Board member, was honored in August with a "Champion of Small Business" award from the National Coalition for Capital. Senator Morse and 28 fellow legislators and officials from across the nation were recognized for their leadership at the annual National Coalition for Capital Awards in San Antonio, Texas.
Champion of Small Business Awards recognize individuals for demonstrating leadership in supporting policies and initiatives designed to promote access to capital for small businesses and entrepreneurs, especially those in economically distressed communities. Senator Morse also previously served on the Oregon Innovation Council.
The Port of Garibaldi recently became the first Oregon port to develop a strategic plan and sign an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the Infrastructure Finance Authority, creating a formal business relationship between the department and port. The IFA recently completed a statewide strategic plan for ports, which led to the requirement that Oregon's ports produce their own strategic business plans and sign an IGA with the department.
The signed IGA will provide more coordination around key projects that the Port of Garibaldi hopes to accomplish in order to encourage job creation and business development in the region. The port is currently working with the department to purchase an RV Park business and complete its working wharf.
In addition to project coordination, the IGA requires the IFA to provide port-specific training for port commissioners and staff, create a best practices handbook for port policy and procedures, and assist with finding state and federal funding for port projects.
In September, Douglas County Commissioners agreed to hire an engineering firm to study the feasibility of locating a wave energy facility off the coast at Winchester Bay.
Douglas County received a $45,000 Renewable Energy Feasibility Fund (REFF) grant in June of last year. Additional Funding for the $88,000 study will come from Energy Trust of Oregon, Oregon Wave Energy Trust, Douglas County and the Scottish consortium of Voith Hydro Wavegen, which looked at Winchester Bay in 2007 as a possible location for a shore-based energy converter.
The Renewable Energy Feasibility Fund (REFF) is a grant and loan program within the Special Public Works Fund (SPWF) administered by the IFA. It is designed to help public agencies finance renewable energy feasibility studies with the goal of reducing Oregon's dependence on fossil-based energy sources.
Under the scope of work for the project, the county will retain services of a marine structural engineer to complete a feasibility study to assess the technical, environmental and economic viability of a wave-energy facility at the jetty at Winchester Bay. The engineering firm will also provide the county a cost estimate for the project, which unlike the Ocean Power Technology's wave buoys scheduled to be installed next year in the area, does not require structures to be anchored in the ocean.
Says He Is "Goin' Fishing!"
Regional Services Manager Jim Zelenka has announced his upcoming retirement after more than a decade of service at the IFA.
Zelenka has worked all across western Oregon in a career spanning nearly three decades. Most recently, he focused on delivering millions of dollars in infrastructure grants and loans to partners in every corner of the state. As Regional Services Manager, Zelenka managed the operations of all IFA programs and the activity of 10 regional coordinators across Oregon.
Zelenka, the coordinators and our IFA team delivered 184 total projects with $137.5 million in loans and grants in 2007-09. The projects received awards from the Safe Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund, the Water/Wastewater Fund and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) among others. At any one time, Zelenka juggled the management of 30-50 ongoing projects in all stages of development from design and engineering to final construction. Jim was also very focused on delivering federal stimulus projects and their dollars to Oregon communities.
Zelenka's professional career included work as an economist recruiting industries such as secondary wood products and fisheries to the Roseburg area for Coos Curry Douglas Business Development. He also worked in the 1980s as a private business development consultant—work that took him to the South Pacific island of Vanuatu for several months. Zelenka worked as an economic development coordinator for the Lane Council of Governments before joining the IFA in 2001.
Zelenka lives in Keizer with his wife, a nurse at Sacred Heart Hospital in Springfield. The Zelenkas raised two sons and are the proud grandparents of three grandsons. Zelenka is a seasoned fisherman—he is the head of the Salem chapter of the Association of NW Steelheaders. He also helps conduct safety and orientation courses in a drift boat for the North Santiam River Guides Association.
We're not 100% sure, but we are guessing that Jim may be doing some more fishing in the future. Congratulations Jim on a job well done for your team and for Oregon's communities. We wish you the very best.
The IFA Regional Services Team is pleased to announce that Linda Walker has accepted a six-month developmental job rotation as a regional coordinator. As most of you know, Linda has been an administrative assistant for several years on the Regional Services Team in the Community Development Division. Linda will cover the Baker, Malheur, Union and Wallowa counties in far eastern Oregon. In addition, Linda has recently completed Project Management Certification in addition to training at the NW Community Development Institute.
The next IFA Board meeting will be December 9 from 10:30am to 12:30pm. 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.
The city of Myrtle Creek was having problems meeting water needs during times of peak usage, Business Oregon's Infrastructure Finance Authority helped the city solve their capacity problems with a $1.6 million loan from the Safe Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund.
American Institute for Economic Research examines best locations for manufacturing-based companies, Oregon ranks best in nation.
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