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Governor: New mill signals bid to refuel area economy
By Elise Hamner, City Editor
Saturday, November 05, 2005 | 1 comment(s)
When Ted Kulongoski stepped into his office at the State Capitol as Oregon's governor, he likely wasn't thinking about his ties to Coos Bay.
He certainly wasn't thinking about the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay. At least not until he found out it was his responsibility to choose its leaders.
On Friday, Kulongoski came to Coos Bay to strengthen those ties with the port and business community. He was the guest of honor. Along with two youngsters, Kulongoski cut a red ribbon that signified the link between the new Southport Forest Products sawmill and the future, through the new railroad spur on the North Spit.
And more, Kulongoski suggested, it signified the commitment of the community to regain lost economic ground.
Tied to timber
“While this isn't 1970 anymore, the timber industry and wood products still remains and will remain a contributor to the Southern Oregon economy,” the governor said.
Kulongoski addressed a large crowd. Comfortable in a bark-brown suit, he spoke under protection of the wood-framed pavilion on the Coos Bay Boardwalk, after the threat of rain pushed the ceremony off the North Spit.
He talked about how sometimes good things just happen, with Southport's investment as the example. The company considered building a new mill out of the area, Kulongoski said.
Transportation was one impediment.
Through federal, state and local partnerships and Southport investment, the $4.4 million rail spur went in. Once Southport lays its final rails into the mill yard, lumber will be chugging off the spit along tracks that the port hopes in a few years could be linking future industrial developers' products to the nation.
Southport Manager Jason Smith also stepped to the podium. He talked about his confidence in building a mill that will be one of the most competitive sawmills in the western United States. He also expressed his surprise that his company's decision to build the mill met with no local opposition.
“For this, I'd like to say thank you to all of Coos County for your support,” Smith told the group.
He went on to ask the governor for continued support in keeping Oregon logs flowing off public lands to Oregon mills. He pointed to the drop in harvests in U.S. Bureau of Land Management forests from 200 million board feet annually to 21 million board feet a year over the past couple decades. Southport, he said, is forced to rely on imports for one quarter of its log supply.
But the North Spit investment is bigger than the millions for new rail and cross ties. The port has signed a letter of intent on an option to buy almost 1,300 acres of Weyerhaeuser land on the spit for $25 million to open it up for industrial development. The agency wants to develop a large triangular harbor on the spit to accommodate up to two ships at a time and serve as a community cargo dock.
Southport co-owner Jim Lyons, who also owns Ocean Terminal in North Bend, said he believes that if cargo materializes at such a harbor, it would send business ripples to other mostly idle terminals up the bay.
“We're at the point in vessel calls where we're on the brink of losing the industrial base,” Lyons said.
That's why some local residents looked to Gov. Kulongoski. That community call for support is why the governor's taking this effort personally. And the port is the tie-in.
Looking for leaders
“I'll be very frank,” Kulongoski said in a previous interview. “I didn't know I appointed the commissioners in Coos Bay.”
He thought the port commissioners here were elected. When given the chance to replace two, Kulongoski opted to empty all five seats. He wanted to completely change the board dynamics. In past years, the commission had been split by debate and rocked by personality differences.
He made some calls to acquaintances. He picked commissioners to lead and then step out of the way.
“My whole commitment has been to try to use the port as the economic engine for the coast economy,” he said.
The engine is sputtering to life.
Most of the commissioners he appointed had no direct ties to the port and very little knowledge of its interworkings. They moved into their seats in January 2004. They learned. They came up with a vision of where they wanted the port to go. They went to work building on the previous port commission's foundation, said Commissioner Caddy McKeown.
“You hire really good people and you let them do their jobs. And you don't micromanage,” McKeown said.
Priority No. 1 was hiring port Executive Director Jeffrey Bishop, who's credited with bringing Weyerhaeuser to the table.
No. 2 was building the rail spur.
Through it all, McKeown said, the port has been able to rely on its ties to the governor. Those ties in small ways seemed to have helped push forward efforts to buy the Weyerhaeuser land and efforts to entice a Japanese company to build a plant to produce silicone on the North Spit.
The ride's not over
Kulongoski said he doesn't want to build people's expectations, but he's optimistic when it comes to Coos Bay's North Spit.
The Japanese helped Oregon's economy grow out of the 1980s' recession, Kulongoski said. Of all states, Oregon has the longest trade relationship with Japan - a 100-year relationship.
“I want to see it happen. We have to make some more investments down there,” he said. “Let's just work and see if we can get it going.”
The financial anchor for the port would be investment by Jordan Cove Energy L.P.
The company is negotiating to build a liquid natural gas import terminal, with its proposal piloting its way through state and federal regulatory channels. Jordan Cove investors are pleased with the port's North Spit endeavors, Bob Braddock, the project manager, said in a previous interview. The company wants up to 200 of Weyerhaeuser's acres, which brings the possibility of tucking the LNG storage tanks farther back into the dunes, farther away from the airport and nearby community. Building the harbor off the channel means LNG ships would be entirely away from the shipping channel.
If the port can tie all plans together, Jordan Cove is in line to invest an estimated $350 million to $450 million on the spit, Braddock said.
If.
It's been a wild ride so far, Commissioner McKeown said Friday morning.
“We will hit some bumps. It's just going to happen. But we're a pretty persistent group and patient group,” McKeown said.
He certainly wasn't thinking about the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay. At least not until he found out it was his responsibility to choose its leaders.
On Friday, Kulongoski came to Coos Bay to strengthen those ties with the port and business community. He was the guest of honor. Along with two youngsters, Kulongoski cut a red ribbon that signified the link between the new Southport Forest Products sawmill and the future, through the new railroad spur on the North Spit.
And more, Kulongoski suggested, it signified the commitment of the community to regain lost economic ground.
Tied to timber
“While this isn't 1970 anymore, the timber industry and wood products still remains and will remain a contributor to the Southern Oregon economy,” the governor said.
Kulongoski addressed a large crowd. Comfortable in a bark-brown suit, he spoke under protection of the wood-framed pavilion on the Coos Bay Boardwalk, after the threat of rain pushed the ceremony off the North Spit.
He talked about how sometimes good things just happen, with Southport's investment as the example. The company considered building a new mill out of the area, Kulongoski said.
Transportation was one impediment.
Through federal, state and local partnerships and Southport investment, the $4.4 million rail spur went in. Once Southport lays its final rails into the mill yard, lumber will be chugging off the spit along tracks that the port hopes in a few years could be linking future industrial developers' products to the nation.
Southport Manager Jason Smith also stepped to the podium. He talked about his confidence in building a mill that will be one of the most competitive sawmills in the western United States. He also expressed his surprise that his company's decision to build the mill met with no local opposition.
“For this, I'd like to say thank you to all of Coos County for your support,” Smith told the group.
He went on to ask the governor for continued support in keeping Oregon logs flowing off public lands to Oregon mills. He pointed to the drop in harvests in U.S. Bureau of Land Management forests from 200 million board feet annually to 21 million board feet a year over the past couple decades. Southport, he said, is forced to rely on imports for one quarter of its log supply.
But the North Spit investment is bigger than the millions for new rail and cross ties. The port has signed a letter of intent on an option to buy almost 1,300 acres of Weyerhaeuser land on the spit for $25 million to open it up for industrial development. The agency wants to develop a large triangular harbor on the spit to accommodate up to two ships at a time and serve as a community cargo dock.
Southport co-owner Jim Lyons, who also owns Ocean Terminal in North Bend, said he believes that if cargo materializes at such a harbor, it would send business ripples to other mostly idle terminals up the bay.
“We're at the point in vessel calls where we're on the brink of losing the industrial base,” Lyons said.
That's why some local residents looked to Gov. Kulongoski. That community call for support is why the governor's taking this effort personally. And the port is the tie-in.
Looking for leaders
“I'll be very frank,” Kulongoski said in a previous interview. “I didn't know I appointed the commissioners in Coos Bay.”
He thought the port commissioners here were elected. When given the chance to replace two, Kulongoski opted to empty all five seats. He wanted to completely change the board dynamics. In past years, the commission had been split by debate and rocked by personality differences.
He made some calls to acquaintances. He picked commissioners to lead and then step out of the way.
“My whole commitment has been to try to use the port as the economic engine for the coast economy,” he said.
The engine is sputtering to life.
Most of the commissioners he appointed had no direct ties to the port and very little knowledge of its interworkings. They moved into their seats in January 2004. They learned. They came up with a vision of where they wanted the port to go. They went to work building on the previous port commission's foundation, said Commissioner Caddy McKeown.
“You hire really good people and you let them do their jobs. And you don't micromanage,” McKeown said.
Priority No. 1 was hiring port Executive Director Jeffrey Bishop, who's credited with bringing Weyerhaeuser to the table.
No. 2 was building the rail spur.
Through it all, McKeown said, the port has been able to rely on its ties to the governor. Those ties in small ways seemed to have helped push forward efforts to buy the Weyerhaeuser land and efforts to entice a Japanese company to build a plant to produce silicone on the North Spit.
The ride's not over
Kulongoski said he doesn't want to build people's expectations, but he's optimistic when it comes to Coos Bay's North Spit.
The Japanese helped Oregon's economy grow out of the 1980s' recession, Kulongoski said. Of all states, Oregon has the longest trade relationship with Japan - a 100-year relationship.
“I want to see it happen. We have to make some more investments down there,” he said. “Let's just work and see if we can get it going.”
The financial anchor for the port would be investment by Jordan Cove Energy L.P.
The company is negotiating to build a liquid natural gas import terminal, with its proposal piloting its way through state and federal regulatory channels. Jordan Cove investors are pleased with the port's North Spit endeavors, Bob Braddock, the project manager, said in a previous interview. The company wants up to 200 of Weyerhaeuser's acres, which brings the possibility of tucking the LNG storage tanks farther back into the dunes, farther away from the airport and nearby community. Building the harbor off the channel means LNG ships would be entirely away from the shipping channel.
If the port can tie all plans together, Jordan Cove is in line to invest an estimated $350 million to $450 million on the spit, Braddock said.
If.
It's been a wild ride so far, Commissioner McKeown said Friday morning.
“We will hit some bumps. It's just going to happen. But we're a pretty persistent group and patient group,” McKeown said.
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