SILVERTON

Brooks proposal passed over for $25 million in state funds in favor of Millersburg

Bill Poehler
Statesman Journal

The Oregon Transportation Commission on Thursday passed over the Kevin Mannix-led group trying to bring an intermodal facility to Brooks in favor of a facility in Millersburg at the former International Paper site.

An intermodal facility transfers containers carrying goods from trucks to railroad cars so they can be shipped more efficiently to ports and then overseas.

Kevin Mannix

The Millersburg group and Treasure Valley both received grants -- $25 million to Millersburg, $26 million for Treasure Valley -- that were funded through the $5 billion House Bill 2017 transportation package.

 Both were fronted by State Rep. Greg Smith.

In not choosing the Brooks proposal, the commission voiced concerns about the Oregon Port of Willamette’s lack of commitment from the BNSF Railroad for service, its economic viability, its desire to build the facility on land currently zoned exclusive farm use and the ability for the infrastructure in Brooks to handle more traffic.

“It’s very difficult to make a decision when there isn’t that commitment,” commissioner Julie Brown said about the railroad.

The commission repeatedly delayed making its decision about choosing one of the intermodal projects in the Mid-Willamette Valley or one in Treasure Valley, citing concerns about spending public funds with no guarantee the benefits would be realized by taxpayers.

An independent third-party reviewer, The Tioga Group, repeatedly stated the intermodal facility proposals in the Willamette Valley would not be commercially viable.

Much of the Tioga group’s skepticism centered on the groups' lack of agreements with rail and shipping carriers and stated the operations would need subsidies to be viable.

An area west of the Powerland Heritage Park in Brooks is being considered by group including former state representative Kevin Mannix to create Oregon Port of Willamette, an intermodal rail and freight site in Brooks.

The commission stated Linn County is offering to subsidize the Millersburg group in the short term. 

In its approvals, the commission said the Millersburg and Treasure Valley groups are going to have to meet benchmarks along the way to receive the full funding.

"It's not as if Ed McMahon walks in with a large check and hands it over," chairperson Tammy Baney said. 

The commission raised concerns about the rates of the proposed Millersburg facility and the purchase of the former paper mill. 

"I just think the Millersburg project is a little stronger than the Brooks project," commissioner Bob Van Brocklin said. 

In his legislative seat on the Joint Transportation Committee, Smith voted to approve funding HB 2017, which funded the intermodal facilities.

In addition to his duties with the state legislature, Smith also is the project manager of Malheur County Economic Development Corporation, and is being paid by the Millersburg group.

His involvement in the groups seeking public funds brought much scrutiny to the commission’s decision.

But an opinion rendered by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission on May 31 stated the members must declare possible conflicts of interest on the intermodal facility and refrain from voting on it. All five commissioners stated Thursday they had no conflicts of interest.

An area west of the Powerland Heritage Park in Brooks is being considered by group including former state representative Kevin Mannix to create Oregon Port of Willamette, an intermodal rail and freight site in Brooks.

That report also looked at Mannix due to his time as a state legislator, but found no conflicts of interest.

Ultimately, however, the commission decided the Millersburg group had a better chance of being a solid investment toward helping transportation in the Willamette Valley than Brooks.

"I don't see this (Brooks) project moving forward toward achieving that goal," commissioner Martin Callery said. 

bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com or Twitter.com/bpoehler