http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel en-us N/A engageinlife@gmail.com Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:16:43 EDT 20 http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1249/1/Alternatives/Page1.html
Other funding opportunities for WOW, which will provide  an additional $2 million added revenue for local school  districts per year, are being explored at the State level as we  speak. The outlook is still good for funding in this upcoming  fiscal budget cycle but it will be weeks before I will be  able to report anything definitive.  It is not for lack of effort, however, as this project and  the myriad technical and financial and regulatory mazes a  project of this scope must go through are very time consuming.  The benefits of investing in our children, however,  make the effort and the expense well worth it.

Thank you to everyone that has exerted so much effort to  help us get this far in the process and who have offered to  facilitate the long list of bureaucratic steps looming ahead  of us. The plan is to put a website chronicling this project  from start to finish and encourage suggestions, feedback  and provide a list of tasks people may volunteer to do, if  they have the time and ability. The address will be published  when the site is available.
]]> no@spam.com (Mary Geddry) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1249/1/Alternatives/Page1.html http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1211/1/Alternatives/Page1.html
We also have a four-member capstone team at Portland  State University working out the motor control circuitry and  data collection sensors and parameters. Everyone is working  feverishly now to make of for time lost awaiting one  part delayed by, of all things, weather.  The WOW (Western Oregon Wind) Project is making its  way through the House subcommittee on Energy and Water  and has garnered a lot of support around the state. There  are still hurdles to cross before we secure federal funding  for the 40% cost of WOW but thus far we are clearing  every one.  The smart/micro-grid proposed in the WOW project has  some very high-powered technical brains working in the  background to help make WOW a reality and provide alternative  funding for our local schools.

We have engineers in  Portugal and Washington State along with experts in  Brussels and Virginia all contributing to this unique concept.  Coos County is blessed to have such abundant renewable  resources and so many willing and capable contributors to  bring a wide scale renewable energy model to fruition here  on the coast. Things are beyond busy for me right now  hence the brevity of this week’s column but I can sure the  excitement for those of us working on this project is reaching  a fever pitch.  Brian McAndrew, a bright young journalism student  from the University of Oregon, interviewed me today. We  talked about the LIM and the WOW project and how important  it is to invest in our youth as well as our infrastructure.

For this reason, once again, I urge everyone to write or call  Congressman Peter DeFazio and thank him for carrying the  WOW project to committee. His contact information locally  is  Congressman DeFazio  125 Central, Suite 350  Coos Bay, OR 97420  Phone: (541) 269-2609
]]> no@spam.com (Mary Geddry) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1211/1/Alternatives/Page1.html http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1210/1/The-name-of-the-game/Page1.html
“I think it’s a critical point right now that people start  finding out what the truth is going on in your county. And  the first truth that is a fact is that we have three Coos  County commissioners that were hired by the voters of Coos  County, not just Kevin.”  Stufflebean continued to deny the claims of Van Elsberg  and Citizens for Fair and Open Government, that public  process had not been met.  “People keep talking about the process was flawed.  Coos County Commissioners and our managers followed  the process by law in order to do what was right for you as  a taxpayer.”  Previously, Stufflebean has blamed The World newspaper  for failing to inform the public about impending layoffs.  (The World reporter denies hearing anything about layoffs.)

At the debate hosted at the IBO Luncheon and held at the  Mill Casino, April 15, the commissioner accused a local  labor counsel representative for not getting the word out.  “There was no hidden agendas, there was no secret  meeting, everything was done on the up and up and we  have all the public proof, … if we were trying to be secretive  there is no way at any time that I would have had a  conversation with a member of the South Coast Labor  Council that handles the media information on December  3rd saying we needed to look at a budget reduction and layoffs  in the road department.”

There is no South Coast Labor Council, however The  Sentinel spoke with Shawn Jennings, Committee on  Political Education (COPE) Director, for Southwestern  Oregon Central Labor Council who regularly attends Board  of Commissioner meetings and she denies any conversation  regarding pending layoffs ever took place.  Before his opening statement was finished, Stufflebean  had taken a shot at The Sentinel and pointed out that  Commissioner Nikki Whitty, who confirmed this to The  Sentinel in January, was responsible for pressing the decision  to reorganize the County Road Department be made in  advance of Bob Main taking office.  “I personally wanted to hold off on the decision until the  first meeting in January however the other board members,  and I did support that, wanted to go ahead and act on that  on December 31st. I have no guilts with doing that on that  date because it was a board decision that we were going to  move forward with that.”  Stufflebean spread more than blame after a question from  the audience, asking why he would not vote to reconsider  the reorganization as moved twice by Bob Main, was  answered by accusing Main of collusion with the road  workers.

“We actually did consider that but the problem we ran  into was that it was obvious that Commissioner Main had  already met with uh, members of the road department and  made promises to them he couldn’t meet. Our job was to  move forward with the process that was best for the taxpayers  and not looking at hidden agendas like so many individuals  have.”  Main responded to Stufflebean’s accusation, “In my  opinion, supposed actions by someone else is never a reason  for a competent administrator’s business decision.

Diverting attention from his actions is a common tactic to  avoid responsibility.”  Van Elsberg, meanwhile kept his focus on the recall committee’s  belief that public process may have violated at least  the spirit of open meetings laws.  “Kevin, without any public input prepared ten year projections  that were never approved or ratified by the Board  or the public and used those projections despite having a  fully funded and approved budget to work with. Kevin  apparently felt the citizens who elected him and oversaw the  budget did not deserve the respect of having their budget  adhered to.”  County Counsel Jackie Haggerty was served with a subpoena  last week to provide tapes and notes taken during  executive sessions prompting an Unfair Labor Practice  complaint filed by Teamsters 223 on behalf of the road  workers.
]]> no@spam.com (Mary Geddry) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1210/1/The-name-of-the-game/Page1.html http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1169/1/Alternatives/Page1.html
Producing energy from renewable sources is clearly a  growth industry judging from the number of federal agencies  receiving stimulus money dedicated to renewable energy  and carbon neutrality.

While rural America is not a direct  recipient of most of the stimulus money, especially in  Oregon where it is being divvied out to more populous  areas, being able to produce energy locally opens the door  for indirect investment.  Developing manufacturing capability for solar and wind  generators on the South Coast allows public agencies to  spend their stimulus dollars here bringing in badly needed  outside capital.

Still, as written here before the real opportunity  in renewable energy is in the ongoing production and  sale of electricity.  It is this concept that motivated the development of the  Western Oregon Wind Project to help earn additional revenue  for local schools. Once again I want to personally  thank Congressman Peter DeFazio for supporting this project  and encourage everyone reading this to call or write the  Congressman or stop by The Sentinel and sign a letter of  support for this project.  Despite the tremendous potential of renewable energy it  is important to understand that clean storage technology  must be developed to fully capitalize upon clean energy.

Clean storage, the ability to capture power from clean  sources for later use, is the proverbial ‘holy grail’ of the  renewable energy industry.  Presently, renewable energy must be used, stored in batteries  or lost or fed back into the centralized grid as a credit  against future use. Using a coal-powered grid for clean  energy storage is counter-intuitive. For quite some time I  have been working to acquire the rights to an emerging  clean storage system to replace batteries and this week  made significant progress in that direction.  Ultra-capacitors are a clean storage source capable of millions  of charge and discharge cycles, utilize organic electrolytes  and dielectrics and unlike batteries need never to be  replaced. A capacitor roughly the size of refrigerator could  store sufficient power from clean sources to run an average  home for almost a week.

The capacitor technology will not be available for a couple  of years but I hope that it is encouraging to devotees of  renewable energy to know great strides have been made in  this area. With luck and perseverance the Southern Oregon  Coast may be a leader in the implementation of this technology  as well as wide scale distributed energy.
]]> no@spam.com (Mary Geddry) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1169/1/Alternatives/Page1.html http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1103/1/Alternatives/Page1.html
Congressman Peter DeFazio received 200 appropriations  requests for the 4th District totaling $200M and last week  submitted 62 projects totaling $71M to the House  Appropriations Committee.

Four requests from Coos  County made it to committee.  The Port of Coos Bay submitted four requests only one  was chosen for Dredging and Jetty Repair for $5,091,000  reduced from the original request of $13, 625,000.  South Coast Interagency Narcotics Team requested  $600,000 to hire three detectives and support staff to maintain  ongoing SCINT activities.  Coos Historical and Maritime Center requested $780,000  for construction of a new waterfront community center and  walkway.

The WOW (Western Oregon Wind) filed with Operation  Coquille for $2,000,000 to create regional energy independence  and build a diversified, sustainable economic template  for coastal communities that will be driven by a clean,  renewable energy source. The WOW creates new jobs and  saves existing jobs and will provide $2,000,000 additional  revenue for local schools.  Please send Congressman DeFazio a big thank you for  supporting local schools and taking this request to committee.
]]> no@spam.com (Mary Geddry) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1103/1/Alternatives/Page1.html http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1065/1/Recall/Page1.html
According to the recall committee Citizens for Fair and  Open Government, headed by former Roadmaster Larry  Van Elsberg, a recall had been under consideration for some  time but it was the 11th hour layoff of 22 road workers  from the County Road Department on New Year’s Eve that  pushed the committee to action.

Earlier, after an executive  session, then Commissioner John Griffith along with Nikki  Whitty and Stufflebean voted to ‘reorganize’ the department  despite adequate funding through the current budget year  and with no warning to the employees or the Teamsters  Union.

For weeks, citizens stood before the Board during regular  commission meetings and citing public safety concerns  pleaded with the Board to reconsider. So many people came  each week that Whitty was prompted to use a timer, limiting  public participation to three minutes further infuriating  the public. Newly elected Commissioner Bob Main twice  made a motion to reinstate the road crew through June  when their contracts were up to allow for public input and  both times Whitty and Stufflebean let the motion die.

The two incumbent commissioners claim there was ample  time for public input and cited December 3, 16 and 31 as  dates the matter was discussed. Citizens present during  these meetings remember nothing to indicate 60% of the  road department was about to be laid off and the Board was  accused of speaking in code to deliberate obscure their  actions from the public. This perceived opacity on the part  of the Board is the main premise of the recall effort.

An unexpected consequence of the layoff and the manner in  which the Board handled it prompted Teamsters Union 223  representing the road crew to file an Unfair Labor Practices  Complaint with the Oregon Employment Relations Board.  That complaint has been accepted by the Administrative  Law Judge and will be heard at the end of June. Should the  ULP prevail it could cost the County in excess of $650,000  in back wages and benefits with no services rendered. The  County has paid over $15,000 in legal fees to outside labor  attorneys.

Amidst public outcry questioning whether 14 people can  handle 600 miles of county roads Stufflebean, who acted as  interim roadmaster after Van Elsberg resigned April of  2007, claimed an analysis had been done and the new  department would be more efficient and would easily handle  critical road safety functions. After repeated attempts by  The Sentinel to obtain copies of the analysis it was  acknowledged that no written analysis existed adding fuel  to committee assertions the road department reorganization  was ill conceived and put the public at risk.

The recent drowning death of 88 year-old Dean Caudle  after trying to drive through 4’ of water on Arago Fishtrap  Road had new Roadmaster John Rowe scrambling to  explain why barriers closing off the road were not put up  until after Caudle drowned. Former road worker Dennis  Backman said this was, “…the type of thing we were afraid  would happen.”
]]> no@spam.com (Mary Geddry) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1065/1/Recall/Page1.html http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1057/1/Alternatives/Page1.html
by Mary Geddry

This week I met with Congressman Peter DeFazio in his  DC office about the Western Oregon Wind Project a  5MW renewable energy smart/micro-grid to generate $2  million in alternative funding for local schools.

Happily, he  agreed to carry the request to the House Appropriation’s  Energy and Water Subcommittee but cautions it is a very  competitive arena and he has received $800 million in  requests from the 4th District alone.  In Coos County the unemployment rate has reached  almost 14% and Coquille Schools are facing an $850,000  budget reduction next year. More than ever our local leaders  need to start looking for alternatives for our greatest  resource, our children.

 Oregon already has one of the shortest  school years in the nation while at the same time spending  more on corrections than higher education. There is a  correlation between poor education and crime and prisons.  Studies have indicated for a family of four to make ends  meet and have one stay at home parent requires $24 per  hour. The WOW will save or create 196 family  wage jobs right out the gate and because the  $1million now being exported out of the local economy to  import power will stay local many more jobs will spring up.

Repeating the WOW template ten times will  generate, over ten years, $310 million to put  back into Oregon schools.  Additionally, $35 million in federal stimulus money is  being set aside for projects in Oregon that reduce fossil fuel  emissions and energy use. Coos County can harvest electrons  through its rich wind and solar resource and sell those  electrons just exactly as it harvests timber and get paid extra  to do it by helping the state achieve carbon neutrality.

Before returning to Oregon I am meeting with the US  Department of Energy to learn how best to bring these and  other federal energy stimulus dollars into our area working  through the Oregon DOE. Opportunities are abundant  despite the dire news and if we work together, organize and  maintain pressure on our federal and state representatives to  support decentralized power generation in rural Oregon and  beyond our children can expect the same or better educational  benefits as every other child in America.
]]> no@spam.com (Mary Geddry) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1057/1/Alternatives/Page1.html http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1023/1/Alternatives/Page1.html federal appropriation that will help fund a 5MW distributed
energy smart/micro-grid that can generate additional revenue
for some of our local school districts. The project is
called WOW (Western Oregon Wind.)
The WOW request is through the Energy and Water
Subcommittee of the House Appropriations a very competitive
arena. Nevertheless, after meeting with the Governor’s
office last week and speaking with both Oregon and US
Department of Energy officials it is clear our proposal is
being well received.
Smart grid software experts from around the world are
already tackling the technological hurdles even though the
optimum locations in Coos County for the power generators
have not yet been determined. The more daunting challenges
deal with structuring the project to best take advantage
of State and Federal incentives in order to finance the
grid. Thank goodness for smart lawyers and pedantic
accountants who delight in weighing these options and figuring
these things out.
The WOW will be a model system that can be duplicated
and ported to other areas and has already received a lot of
interest from budget strapped California and Texas. Work
will continue in my absence to complete the stator, wind
coils, set the rectifiers and busses and align the magnets on
the V-LIM rotor. PSU has ordered anemometers and sensors
and motors and circuit boards to enable the data collection
required to certify the V-LIM and connect it to the grid.
Looking forward to the development of this micro-grid as
the prototype nears completion it is clear the hard work is
not behind us but in front of us. Thankfully the weather in
DC has always been kind to me and forecasts look good for
this trip as well.
]]> no@spam.com (Mary Geddry) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/1023/1/Alternatives/Page1.html http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/951/1/Alternatives/Page1.html
Oregon school calendars are three weeks shorter than the national average already and some of our local districts are looking at shortening our already short terms. Some of the problem may lie with Oregon’s low corporate tax rate one of the lowest in the nation and the legislature is talking about raising the minimum corporate tax. Another possible solution for struggling school budgets is to convert their utility expense, what they pay for electricity, to capital improvements. Spending exactly the same amount of money already spent as an expense and investing in local power production can generate revenue.

This is the concept Rogue River Wind, Ltd will be pushing to Congress in the ensuing weeks to support an appropriations request to fund a 5MW distributed energy smart/micro-grid. This project will supply all electrical needs to the participating school districts and still generate an additional $2M in annual revenue for the schools by selling excess power to the neighborhood. RRW is working with Dr Gerry Sheblé of Portland State University and through him with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to ensure the technical details are worked out to install this highly efficient and profitable smart/micro-grid. PNNL will be developing the software that will manage the power plant and grid.

Carefully investing our tax dollars has never been more crucial than it is now. For this reason I am inclined to question the apparent intent of the County to invest a minimum of $450,000 to upgrade a serviceable rural country road to industrial status in order to ‘grant’ a conditional use permit to ORC for mining.

In October, 2007, the County Planning Commission granted a conditional use permit to ORC subject to various conditions including Condition 13. Condition 13, on the surface sounds good for the taxpayer in that it holds ORC accountable for any damage done to the roads by excessive travel from heavily laden tracks. Unfortunately, Condition 13 also binds the County to paying to improve the condition of the road to support their proportional share of the wear and tear upon the 4.7 miles of road at W Beaver Hill.

In theory establishing proportional share and the precedents presumably set by Federal Supreme Court case Nollan vs California Coastal Commission and an Oregon case, Dolan vs City of Tigard protect property owners from paying more than a proportional cost. The ORC situation may fully apply here but I wonder if the intent of the above precedents is interpreted correctly.

In the matter of ORC the upgrade of W Beaver Hill Road to an industrial standard road benefit only ORC and are not necessary for the historical use of the roadway. When mining operations cease the improvements are not likely to be necessary for further industry. Investing half a million dollars or twice that if a 2” overlay is adopted to support possible future mining operations without any guaranteed revenue may not pay the returns taxpayers deserve.]]> no@spam.com (Mary Geddry) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/951/1/Alternatives/Page1.html http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/900/1/Oregon-Resources-Corp/Page1.html by Mary Geddry

As everyone knows, ORC (Oregon Resources Corp) wants to mine or explore several thousand acres of Coos County property and are going through rigid permit applications with DOGAMI and other regulatory agencies to mine Weyerhauser timber property as well. Pursuant to this matter Coos County Board of Commissioners upheld a Planning Commission’s decision to grant a Conditional Use permit authorizing mineral sands mining October 5, 2007. Recently, as a consequence of the much debated road department layoffs Condition 13 of the Conditional Use Permit has received attention and Dan Smith, COO of ORC asked publicly at a meeting held last Tuesday at the Owen Building if the County agreed ORC had met Condition 13. Condition 13 says “The Applicant shall be responsible for the proportionate cost of maintenance, repair and upgrades of County roads on the designated transport route… To determine proportionate impact…County shall commission a traffic impact analysis [TIA] on the affected County roads, at the expense of the applicant, which shall include the proportionate cost of all necessary maintenance and repair over the duration of mining operations…”

URS Corporation prepared a ‘Pavement Analysis Report’ for W Beaver Hill Road and I have quoted from it before here. The cost of the report was paid for by ORC but it is unclear whether the report was commissioned by the County or by ORC because URS states the analysis was prepared on behalf of ORC. Generally, if there is a bias in any prepared study it leans in favor of the party paying the bill. Oregon law forbids charging any entity more than their proportional share for ongoing maintenance. In this case, the URS study seeks to determine existing traffic patterns and its continued effect upon the road to determine the County’s rightful share. The URS study indicates W Beaver Hill Road has only a little over a year left and adding 1″ of asphalt overlay at a cost of $450K will extend the life of the road ten years for existing traffic only.

The study is a little ambiguous because it also states absent the improvement existing traffic “is not anticipated to fail the pavement section”. Failure to add this overlay, however, will likely cause total failure within a year with mining related traffic amounting to a $2.75M total rebuild for the 4.7 miles of road. Commissioner Stufflebean has spoken publicly the County will opt to lay 2″ of overlay in anticipation of the mining traffic. Condition 13 appears to impose conditions not only upon ORC but also upon the County, a sort of Catch-22. The Planning Commission may have bound the County to committing these funds so that ORC may mine private property, i.e. Weyerhauser. Meanwhile, Weyerhauser, potentially the recipient of a modest 3% royalty, incurs no costs at all. ORC has promised 70 to 75 badly needed new jobs for Coos County.

A phone call and email sent to Dan Smith last month to get specifics on these jobs and when they may begin has gone unanswered. Subtracting the 22 employees laid off to fund the road improvements reduces ORCs job offerings to the community almost 30% and will cost taxpayers upwards of $450K. There is still the public safety issue to be addressed. Larry Van Elsberg, speaking at a BOC meeting shortly after the New Year’s Eve layoffs, recommended the Board hire Public Works Management, Inc a consulting firm. On January 14, Joe Strahl of PWM met with Road Department staff and to evaluate the current status of the department and reorganization. Strahl has worked previously with the County and former roadmaster, Van Elsberg.

Strahl filed a report on January 23, 2009, three days after the final day of employment for most of the department. “It is questionable that a 60% reduction in personnel will allow for the same or improved road conditions on a system- wide basis, but the ability of the department to keep up with the needs of the system at lower staffing levels really depends on the line staff and managers who remain and their ability to organize and accomplish the work safely and efficiently.” Strahl makes several observations and believes it is fortunate the County has hired a new roadmaster, John Rowe, with extensive management experience and notes that Rowe acknowledges he may have to hire seasonal or additional full time help. Strahl further indicates the department may have to redefine ‘maintenance’ in order to meet the public expectations, by eliminating ‘hand brushing activities, road patrol, and frequent shoulder maintenance’.

Strahl was provided the same budget spreadsheets released to the public to make his assessment and was also provided a ‘County Prioritized Project List’ for fiscal year 2007- 2008. The list of roads and bridges included for priority repair and maintenance does not include W Beaver Hill Road. Land use hearings on County property will begin only after ORC obtains mineral rights, a point still in limbo pending the County seeking outside legal advice. At Tuesday’s meeting Whitty and Stufflebean each seemed amenable to Main’s request to engage mineral expertise before engaging in a deal with ORC. At Wednesday’s regular BOC meeting, Whitty appeared less enthusiastic and expressed concern about spending money on outside specialized legal counsel.]]> no@spam.com (Mary Geddry) http://www.oregonbeacon.com/CoquilleSentinel/articles/900/1/Oregon-Resources-Corp/Page1.html