OREGON
A8 — THE OBSERVER
TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2022
Cost overruns hit Treasure Valley Reload Center
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
NYSSA — Building the Trea-
sure Valley Reload Center to orig-
inal design specifi cations would
cost almost one-third more than
originally estimated, prompting
proponents to scale back the
project.
The truck-to-train loading
facility to be built north of Nyssa
would ship onions and other
commodities east to major mar-
kets. Southeast Oregon and
southwest Idaho produce about
a quarter of the country’s fall
storage onions.
The 2017 Legislature approved
a $26 million ConnectOregon
grant from lottery-backed bonds.
Legislators this year approved
a $3 million grant, from federal
coronavirus recovery funds, to
the city of Nyssa, for a water line
extension for the reload center and
future industrial development.
Greg Smith, Malheur County
Economic Development director
and offi cer of the separate Mal-
costs. The corporation will solicit
heur County Development
new bids.
Corp., said the project is about
About $3 million could be
$9.8 million over the original
saved by delaying construction
$35 million budget. The original of one of the three rail spurs for
plan called for opening
three years, he said. And $1
nearly 290 acres of indus-
million could be saved by
trially zoned ground for
using a septic waste system
development.
instead of a lagoon system
He said an overarching
serving several companies.
solution is to reduce the
Smith said $2 million
budget and features “from
could be saved by elim-
a Cadillac to a Chevrolet”
Smith
inating all access roads
including eliminating
except the one to the reload
“unnecessary wants.”
center. Industrial park roads
Cost overruns include about $5 could be added later as funding
million in unexpected necessary
becomes available.
excavation to deal with excess
Substantial excess groundwater
groundwater, a price from lone
lies in the path of planned rail
building-construction bidder TCG spurs. An engineering solution
Construction, Meridian, Idaho,
that uses riprap rock to displace
that was about $2.9 million above
water and add support strength is
expectations, and steel and asphalt expected to reduce remediation
costs driven by high infl ation.
cost by about $1 million, he said.
Smith, the state representa-
Another $300,000 could be
tive for District 57, said construc-
saved by reducing offi ce square
tion bidding interest has dropped
footage.
due to development in southwest
“We don’t need $10 million, we
Idaho and high transportation
need $3 million,” Smith said.
The development corporation
is inquiring with legislators and
state economic development unit
Business Oregon about potential
solutions.
Smith, who is also the project
manager for the Columbia Devel-
opment Authority in Boardman
and the director of the Eastern
Oregon University Small Busi-
ness Development Center in La
Grande, said potential funding
sources are the Legislative Emer-
gency Board, which meets
between sessions, and the state
Special Public Works Fund that
provides low-cost fi nancing to
municipalities.
A Special Public Works loan
would be repaid by Malheur
County or the city of Nyssa,
depending on which applies.
He said it would be backed by
the development corporation,
either through the 65 acres it has
acquired or future sales of indus-
trial park lots.
Malheur County Judge Dan
Joyce, who heads the commis-
sion-like county court, said com-
missioners likely would be hes-
itant to borrow. The county at
the outset did not plan to spend
money on the project but ended up
doing so to help the corporation
purchase the site.
But the county supports the
economic development project
“and would like to see it come to
fruition,” he said.
Nyssa City Manager Jim Maret
could not be reached immediately.
Site work started in October,
triggering state funding. Steel for
the building is on-site. Smith said
rail will be placed starting by late
this month or in early May.
“Our goal is to ship onions by
Oct. 1, and as of right now we are
within that schedule,” he said.
A less expensive building is
an option, though capacity to
place and briefl y store onions is
important to handling effi ciency,
Smith said.
Reload center features would
be added as funding becomes
available, he said.
Wyden reports strong fundraising as Dems’ Senate majority wobbles
By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
WASHINGTON —
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden,
D-Oregon, has raised $11
million over the past two
years, solidifying his spot
among the “solid Demo-
crat” seats on the 2022 elec-
toral map.
The fi ve Republicans
running in the GOP pri-
mary have raised less than
$500,000 all together.
Wyden’s latest Fed-
eral Elections Commission
report lists over $7.87 mil-
lion still in his campaign
fund.
Since winning a special
election for the seat in 1996,
Wyden has been reelected
four times to full six-year
terms, never receiving less
than 57% of votes cast.
Despite a slump in Pres-
ident Joe Biden’s approval
rating, Wyden’s reelec-
tion is rated as “strong” or
The Associated Press, File
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, has raised $11 million over the past
two years in his bid to win a fi fth term in 2022.
“solid” among major polit-
ical forecasters, including
the Cook Political Report,
FiveThirtyEight and the
Center for Politics at the
University of Virginia.
While impressive by
Oregon standards, Wyden’s
political bankroll is small
when compared to some
other Senate races.
The Federal Election
Commission reported that,
as of Saturday, April 23,
candidates running for the
35 U.S. Senate seats on the
ballot this year had raised
$797.8 million.
Republicans totaled
$405.4 million while Dem-
ocrats had raised $389.3
million.
Sen. Raphael Warnock,
D-Georgia, had raised over
$67 million to defend the
seat he won in a 2020 spe-
cial election. Sen. Tim
Scott, R-SC, has raised
$41.9 million.
Sen. Mark Kelly,
D-Arizona, was third at
$38.9 million. He also won
a 2020 special election and
now must run for a full six-
year term.
The Senate fundraising
is part of the fl ood of money
reported to the FEC.
During 2021, candi-
dates for the U.S. Senate
and U.S. House raised $1.3
billion and spent $720 mil-
lion. Political parties raised
$862.6 million and spent
$668.3 million.
Political action com-
mittees supporting a spe-
cifi c cause or group raised
$3.2 billion and spent $2.5
billion.
Wyden is chair of the
Senate Finance Committee.
While the odds-on favorite
to win reelection, Wyden’s
role in the Congress that
convenes in January could
change for the second time
in two years.
Republicans were a
majority in the Senate
through 2020 but lost con-
trol to Democrats when the
election gave Democrats 48
seats, along with two inde-
pendents who caucus with
the party. The total of 50
seats matched the number of
Republican senators.
The 50-50 tie was broken
by the election of Presi-
dent Biden and Vice Pres-
ident Kamala Harris. The
vice president also holds
the largely symbolic posi-
tion of president of the
Senate. Harris can break
some tie votes but, more
important, she gives Dem-
ocrats and their allies an
offi cial majority, which
include the chairmanship of
committees.
History shows that
holding on to the majority
will be tough. Over the past
100 years, the party of a
newly elected president has
lost seats in the U.S. House
at the fi rst midterm all but
twice — in 1934 amid the
Great Depression and 2002
in the fi rst voting after the
9/11 terrorist attacks.
Because all House seats
are up for election every two
years, it is a barometer of
the nation’s political mood.
Tying the election of sen-
ators to the popularity of a
president is more diffi cult.
The 100 senators are elected
in three staggered “classes.”
The party of the president
typically loses Senate seats
in the fi rst midterm.
There are 35 Senate seats
up for election in 2022 — 21
held by Republicans and 14
held by Democrats.
The majority of seats up
for election are considered
safe for the current party
incumbent — including
Wyden.