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Ballots are out, now what?
Eastside housing Here’s what your County Elections Office has to say study reports residential for the May primary development wereBallots sent out on April 29. It about a week to arrive so if not feasible takes you’re reading this and still haBy Nate Schwartz World Editor
ven’t received a ballot, you can reach out to the county clerk’s By Nate Schwartz office to double check. World Editor In speaking with county clerk Julie Brecke, there are some The Coos Bay City Council helpful tips to share for making heard a presentation last month sure your vote is counted quickly on the final findings from AKS and securely, as well as some inEngineering and Forestry; the teresting insights on the process. consulting firm was contracted to “Once mass mailing starts, we judge the feasibility of a housing open up all the ballot boxes. At development in Eastside, Coos that point we do start processing. Bay. The study found that a deAs we get ballots we start scanvelopment of that kind would not ning them, start signature veribe feasible. fying,” said Brecke. “Once we The work was commissioned get enough, we can actually start in a partnership with the Port of doing tables, opening them, and Coos Bay, who own the 110-acre sending them through tabulation. tract of land, as an attempt to find No results can be made public solutions to the area’s housing until after election night.” needs. It was done thanks to a If you have your ballot here grant from Business Oregon. are some important reminders The 45-page report (including a ahead of the Election Day deadfurther 290 pages of appendixes) line at 8 p.m. on May 19: is comprehensive in its analysis, Oregon uses a closed priwith detailed looks at everything mary system. Those registered from geotechnical surveys to as Democrats or Republicans market viability. Zach Pelz was will get a chance to vote on the the principal point of contact candidates from their respective for the project and he gave the parties. Depending on your party presentation to the council. registration your ballot may look “We moved forward with some different from other members of work that the city had conducted your household. back in 1996, and followed up Those registered as non-affiliwith in 2000, and really updated ated with either major party will that work based on current market still receive a ballot with nonparconditions, current construction tisan positions, local elections, costs, current housing price eval- and ballot measures. uations. Then we met with the Once you’ve made your choiccommunity two times to get their es, hopefully after some research feelings in regard to development and thought, make sure you sign in this area,” opened Pelz. your ballot. It is important that The report was conducted you use the same signature that with a four-part framework: The you usually sign with; checkaforementioned geotechnical ing your driver’s license for a and market analyses, financial reminder is a good idea. No need modeling of the costs versus the to use an overly formal or extra potential revenue and communireadable signature as those verity engagement through the two fying your ballot will be compartown halls and further stakeholder ing it to your normal, everyday meetings. “John Hancock”. The engineering drawbacks of When your ballot is fully the project were a large part of completed you have a couple the issue with developing the site. of options for where to take it. The earth on that part of Eastside consists of deep, soft dredge that would require significant mitigation, to the tune of nearly $225,000 per acre, in order to support large scale development. “There are three compounding factors working against the site. First, there’s dredge fill on top of deep, soft soils that is liquifiable during an earthquake. It requires By Nate Schwartz World Editor expensive ground improvement before anything can be built,” Last week, Congresswoman said Pelz Val Hoyle and Oregon Senators “Second, nearly half the site is Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden potentially jurisdictional wetannounced another federal fundlands, which is really costly to mitigate. And third, the surround- ing package was awarded for the ing infrastructure. Roads, bridges, Port of Coos Bay’s Pacific Coast Intermodal Port Project (PCIP). intersections, other public works such as sanitary pump stations are The $11.2 million dollar federal either constrained or at capacity.” grant comes from the U.S. MariAKS conducted multiple analy- time Administration’s (MARAD) Port Infrastructure Development ses of potential housing options, from a full buildout, to small and Program and is specifically large-lot family homes, apartment allocated for development of the buildings and commercial spaces. Coos Bay Rail Line (CBRL), a They found that given the costs to critical component of the proextend infrastructure and mitigate posal. “Large infrastructure projects the wetlands, returns on investmove forward one step at a time, ment would not be viable. and this funding advances an imFor instance, according to the portant next phase,” said Melissa market analysis if apartments were developed, rents would need Cribbins, Executive Director of the PCIP in an official release. to reach $3,500 to $4,000 per “We remain focused on month to support the project. That responsible planning, durable is nearly double what is achievable in the market. Homes would partnerships, and delivering measurable progress, and we are need to sell between $672,000 incredibly grateful to Oregon’s and $788,000, which is between 40 to 70 percent higher than what federal delegation for their steadfast support of this effort.” the market can support. AKS Slated to be the first entirely stated that it would take a nearly 40 percent subsidy of total devel- ship-to-rail port on the West Coast, the PCIP relies heavily on further development along the STUDY CBRL, which is owned and opContinued on Page 12 erated by the Port. Improvements
Photos by Nate Schwartz
(Top) The drop box for Coquille is a walk-up just outside the county courthouse on N Baxter Street. Each city has their own convenient drop location. (Bottom) Voting booths line the hallway up to the county elections office for those who want to hand in their ballots with that in-person feeling.
Most clerks recommend using one of the 24-hour ballot boxes. For Coos County, there is one in each city: Bandon: Bandon Library, 1204 11th St SW, Bandon. Drive-up outside. Coos Bay: Coos Bay City Hall, 500 Central Ave, Coos Bay. Drive-up outside. Coquille: Coquille Courthouse, 250 N Baxter St, Coquille. Walk-up outside. Lakeside: Lakeside City Hall, 915 North Lake Rd, Lakeside. Walk-up outside. Myrtle Point: Myrtle Point City Hall, 424 5th St, Myrtle Point. Walk-up outside. North Bend: North Bend Library 800 Sherman Ave, North Bend. Drive-up outside. Powers: Powers City Hall, 275 Fir St, Powers. Walk-up outside. Ballot drop boxes are monitored via camera 24/7. Couriers
from each town work in pairs to get the secured ballot bags back to the county elections office as quickly and safely as possible. Only those within the elections office have the codes necessary to open them, not the couriers themselves. Those who insist on seeing it through themselves can hand their ballot directly to someone at the elections office in the Coos County Courthouse in Coquille
during open hours from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Mailing is also an available option but due to recent cuts to the U.S. Postal Service, it is recommended you do so at least one week ahead of the deadline on May 19. If you are planning to do so close to election day, it is BALLOTS Continued on Page 12
Federal lawmakers announce further $11 million for rail portion of PCIP project
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wage jobs and the opportunity to build a future for working families on the South Coast.” According to Hoyle’s office, these funds will be used to support the triplicate track and run-around section on the North Spit in preparation for increased cargo movement as the project develops. The project, which has not been without its detractors, will be right across the federal navigation channel from the Hollering Place in Empire. The port is still in the pre-permitting stage and has yet to begin the necessary impact studies through the Army Corp of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency. Estimates for the cost of the entire project have ranged from 2.4 to 4.4 billion dollars, with the construction of the terminal itself contracted to Kansas City-based commercial developers NorthPoint. Oregon’s D.C. delegation have all been strong supporters of the project claiming it will create jobs, bolster the national supply chain and keep trucks off the road, paving the way for a green-
Another federal funding package was awarded for the Port of Coos Bay’s Pacific Coast Intermodal Port Project (PCIP). The $11.2 million dollar federal grant comes from the U.S. Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Port Infrastructure Development Program and is specifically allocated for development of the Coos Bay Rail Line (CBRL), a critical component of the proposal.
to sidings, crossings and bridges are only a small portion of the upgrades necessary to make the huge increase in rail traffic viable for the project. The containers unloaded from the supermax shipping vessels at the port will be loaded directly onto train cars which will make the journey from the North Spit to the rail yard in Eugene, before heading to the Midwest and beyond. It has been estimated that improvements to the line as a whole, including an expansion of that Eugene yard, could cost over a billion dollars.
“I want to thank Secretary Duffy and MARAD for recognizing the importance of this project,” said Hoyle. “This award reflects and builds on the tens of millions we’ve already secured for it, and reflects a serious investment in Coos Bay. We’re determined to make the South Coast a place where working people can find good-paying jobs, support their families and build a future. It’s about time we start delivering on the promise that we made after the timber industry died to transition to an economy that provides family
PCIP Continued on Page 15
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