Draft Findings Supporting Exemption of the Harbor Project from Competitive Bidding

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 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 Parkwater 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, infrastructureand services within the Industrial Parkand 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 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.

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 areongoing 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 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.

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 lead-time that may be required for scarce materials.

END OF FINDINGS OF FACT

Page 1 of 5 – Findings In Support of An Exemption From Competitive Bidding