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Port of Tillamook Bay’s FEMA Alternative Projects
Tillamook, Oregon
Findings in Support of an Exemption from Competitive Bidding
for the class of public improvement projects
January 14, 2011
1. General
ORS 279C.335 (2) permits a local contract review board to exempt contracts or
class of public improvement contracts from traditional competitive bidding upon
approval of findings of fact showing that an alternative contracting process(s) is unlikely
to encourage favoritism or diminish competition and that the process will result in
substantial cost and time savings to the public agency.
ORS 279C.400 – ORS 279C.410 describe the Request for Proposals method of
solicitation as an alternative to traditional competitive bidding. Pursuant to ORS
279C.410 (8), a public agency using the Request for Proposals method may award a
contract to the responsible proposer “whose proposal is determined in writing to be the
most advantageous to the contracting agency based on the evaluation factors set forth
in the request for proposals and, when applicable, the outcome of any negotiations
authorized by the request for proposals.”
PURPOSE OF THESE FINDINGS: In the best interest of increased public commerce
within the greater Tillamook area, the Port is seeking to utilize alternative methods of
contracting for the class of public improvement projects known as FEMA Alternative
Projects for whatever the LCRB deems best to use. Several of the alternative methods
of contracting are but not limited to the CM/GC method, Design-Build, or
Prequalification of a selected group of bidders. These Findings of Facts below shall
apply to the entire class of public improvement projects described below and in
accordance with ORS 279C.330 (3).
2. Background
In December of 2007 the Port of Tillamook Bay (POTB) experienced significant damages
to its railroad line. These damages were eligible for funding repairs under the Federal
Emergency Management Administration’s (FEMA) disaster declaration DR-1733-OR.
The Port Board has determined the public interest would not best be served by
repairing the damaged railroad using these funds. In lieu of using Federal share
contribution funds to repair/restore the damaged railroad line, the Port Board elected
to use these dollars to improve existing Port facilities and to construct new Port
facilities. The Federal share is matched partially with Oregon Lottery Bonds.
Port facilities are at or nearing lease capacity. In addition, many of the buildings within
the Port of Tillamook Bay Industrial Park are in need of repair. The Port has made
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application to Oregon Emergency Management (OEM) and FEMA to improve these
facilities and to construct new facilities as "FEMA Alternate Projects" to provide
additional for-lease space to promote a fiscally sustainable Port of Tillamook Bay that
contributes to the economic health of Tillamook County through responsible
management of Port assets, resources and capabilities as well as to mitigate the loss of
the rail business.
“Class of Public Improvement Projects” known as the FEMA Alternate Projects include:
 Airport Fixed-Base Operator (FBO)
 Airport Business Park Development
 Airport Executive Hangars
 Tillamook Biogas (Hooley Digester) Facility Upgrade
 Grain/Lumber Transload Facility (to be constructed upon POTB Railroad property
in Buxton, Oregon)
 Industrial Park Building Improvements
 Industrial Warehouse Business Park Development
 Port Shop Facility Improvements
 Property Acquisition
 Capital Equipment Purchase
 Secure Truck Storage Facility Development
 Road Improvements
 Tillamook RV Park Improvements
 Truck Scales (2)
 Septage Receiving and Sewer Lagoon Facilities Improvements
 Southern Flow Corridor Project (through Oregon Solutions)
 Industrial Park water utility improvements
3. Findings -- Information
(a) Operational, Budget and Financial Data
The proposed budget for the work to be performed under the Alternative
Projects is in excess of $44 million dollars.
(b) Public Benefit
The public will benefit from the successful completion of the FEMA Alternative
Projects completed within the Port of Tillamook Bay’s Industrial Park and elsewhere by
increased commerce through attracting public interest and lease options for small
businesses. Per ORS 777, Ports have authority to create and maintain world trade
commerce. The general enhancement of the surrounding facilities, infrastructure and
services within the Industrial Park and Airport, as well as the general benefit to greater
Tillamook County will provide the opportunity for businesses to locate and create new
family wage jobs, as well as provide construction jobs during the project duration and
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the economics associated with construction – supplies, fuel, food and living expenses –
that will be spent in the county. The $44 million of capital infrastructure projects will
greatly augment not only the assets and critical infrastructure of the Port of Tillamook
Bay, but Tillamook County and the State of Oregon as well.
(c) Value Engineering
The negotiated contract approach gives the contractor an increased opportunity
to engage in value engineering (the process of identifying construction economies that
can be achieved through incorporation of design revisions/refinements), which
increases the likelihood of cost savings to the Port.
(d) Specialized Expertise
The project(s) will require special knowledge and experience of the FEMA
process, OEM and State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) requirements associated
with the Project Worksheets. Due to the volume of projects associated with the
Alternative Projects throughout the Industrial Park and outside, each project will be
unique to budget, scope, and time planning; some attached to historic considerations
while others are not. A strong working knowledge and experience in construction while
current facility operations are ongoing will be required.
(e) Public Safety
All work will be performed in accordance with OR-OSHA safety regulations. The
Port and the contractor(s) will work with the public to minimize hazards related to
construction with existing operations taking place.
(f) Market Conditions
The Port anticipates that there will be many competitors available to offer
competitive proposals for the Alternative Projects.
(g) Technical Complexity
The District’s Industrial Park, where the majority of the projects will take place,
has over 170 existing users who will need to keep their existing operations going
throughout the construction work. Given the extensive work scheduled for road, utility,
new buildings, and upgrades to existing structures, close coordination on a daily basis
with existing tenants and operations will be crucial. Access to, and operations in, the
Tillamook Air Museum are crucial to the local economy as a year round tourist
attraction and educational facility. The historic nature of the District’s Industrial Park
being a former naval air base requires close coordination, planning, and investigation to
preserve any and all historic character under the guidelines from the State Historic
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Preservation Office. All projects fall under the FEMA Alternative Projects mandate as
administered by OEM and require specific budgeting, scheduling, billing, and reporting
requirements for each project.
(h) Funding Sources
The projects will be funded from FEMA, state match dollars and other sources of
funding .
4. Findings – Competition and Cost Savings
The use of proposed alternative contracting methods is unlikely to encourage
favoritism or diminish competition and will result in substantial cost savings to the Port.
(a) Unlikely to Encourage Favoritism or Diminish Competition
Favoritism will not play a role in the selection of contractor(s) for these projects.
The selections will be conducted through open and advertised Request for Proposal
processes. All qualified firms will be invited to submit proposals. The Port will publish
legal notices in the Daily Journal of Commerce in order to provide project information to
all interested contractors. The Port will also publicly advertise the RFPs to prospective
bidders in any other manner it thinks appropriate to obtain solicitations from as many
qualified and interested proposers as is feasible.
All qualified firms will be able to participate in an open, competitive selection
process. Contractor selections will be based upon criteria relating to price, quality of
performance, and other factors specified in the RFP documents or developed through
discussions with competitive proposers. Evaluation of the proposals will be
accomplished by an objective committee.
(b) Will Result in Substantial Cost Savings
Use of the alternative methods of contracting will lead to substantial cost savings
by reducing the time of construction by encouraging the development of cost-saving
construction processes.
Time Savings
Use of Construction Management/General Contractor (CM/GC) or other
alternative contracting methods will allow construction work to commence relatively
rapidly on some portions of the work while design continues on the remaining portions.
This will shorten the overall duration of the construction and provide for completion of
the project by the due date.
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The Port has a fixed budget available for the project that cannot be exceeded.
The completion date cannot be exceeded. Early reliable pricing provided by the CM/GC
or other alterative contracted contractor during the design phase will reduce the
potential for time delays due to later discovery of higher-than-anticipated costs and
consequent changes of direction.
Cost Savings
The project will benefit from the active involvement of a CM/GC contractor or other
alternative contracting method during the design process in the following ways:
 The contractor’s input regarding the constructability and cost-effectiveness of
various alternatives will guide the design toward the most economic choices.
 Consideration of the specific equipment available to the contractor will allow
the designer to implement solutions that utilize the capacity of that
equipment.
 The contractor will be able to provide current and reliable information
regarding the cost of materials that are experiencing price volatility and the
availability of scarce materials.
 The contractor will also be able to order materials while design is being
completed in order to avoid inflationary price increases and provide the leadtime that may be required for scarce materials.
END OF FINDINGS OF FACT
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