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County weighs four taxing scenarios for LNG facility
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BY CHELSEA DAVIS
Town halls
The World
COOS BAY — The future of the Jordan Cove Energy Project’s financial contribution to the Bay Area lies in four “what if” scenarios. The home for Jordan Cove’s proposed liquefied natural gas export terminal and power plant lies on more than 400 acres on the bay side of the North Spit. In the last few weeks, a Community Enhancement Plan to manage the expected revenue windfall from the facility has been discussed at town halls. Grassroots advocacy group Boost Southwest Oregon has been at the forefront of efforts to present the plan at city council and school board meetings. The group initially received $15,000 from Jordan Cove. “They’re our cheerleaders, so of course we support them,” said Jordan Cove public affairs director Michael Hinrichs. “They support us.” The Urban Renewal District in which Jordan Cove would locate is also in the Bay Area Enterprise Zone, meaning businesses are exempt from property taxes on improvements. Coos County assessor Steve Jansen forecasts four outcomes: Jordan Cove receives a 20-year, long-term rural enterprise zone tax exemption; Jordan Cove launches with a five-year standard enterprise zone tax exemption and the urban renewal district doesn’t take its share of the pie; Jordan Cove
■ 4:30 p.m. March 10: North Bend city council ■ 6:30 p.m. March 10: Bandon school board ■ 6:30 p.m. March 10: North Bend school board ■ 7 p.m. March 20: International Port of Coos Bay ■ 5:30 p.m. March 24: Southwestern Oregon Community College board
moves forward with no changes to the urban renewal district or enterprise zone; or the enterprise zone is destroyed and the urban renewal agency rejects its share. Scenario 1: Jordan Cove receives a 20-year long-term rural enterprise zone tax exemption, pays community service fee through Community Enhancement Plan The Community Enhancement Plan currently being developed and discussed is the result of input from the four enterprise zone sponsors: the International Port of Coos Bay, Coos County and the cities of Coos Bay and North Bend. Proponents say this scenario — fees instead of property taxes — gives public entities the immediate revenues they need to provide services for the influx of people and needs in the area once construction takes off. Without the plan, the taxing entities wouldn’t get any revenues at all during the five-year standard enterprise zone tax exemption. SEE LNG | A8
By Lou Sennick, The World
Former senior living facility director sentenced to prison The World
INSIDE
The former director of a Coos Bay senior living facility was sentenced to almost a decade in prison Thursday for stealing from the residents under his care. Judge Richard Barron sentenced Gary Brink, formerly the executive director of Ocean Crest Assisted Living, to nine years in prison on 60 counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment, 23 counts of second-degree theft, four counts of third-degree theft, two counts of first-degree theft, aggravated firstdegree theft and two counts of second-degree forgery. Brink was convicted in February following an investigation that began more than two years ago. Elizabeth Ballard, the Oregon Department of Justice prosecutor who handled the case, said he ran
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more than $51,000 in residents’ money through his personal bank account. “He, by his own admission to the police officer, was taking the money on a monthly basis to pay his bills,” Barron said. A prominent figure on the South Coast, Brink was formerly an administrator at B a n d o n ’ s Heritage Place Gary Brink before taking the helm of Ocean Crest. His wife and mother-in-law own and operate several stores in Old Town Bandon. Ballard said the investigation began when Carol Craul, the daughter of an Ocean Crest resident, noticed a large check had been made out to Brink from her
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BY THOMAS MORIARTY
mother’s bank account for no apparent reason. Her mother, Edna, had been complaining that her daughter wasn’t sending her any money. When she reported the case to the Department of Human Services, the agency’s North Bend office saw a potential conflict of interest. In 2010, Brink had worked with agency investigators looking into employee thefts of property from residents’ rooms. The case was referred to the Douglas County office, who continued the investigation with the Coos Bay Police Department. the investigators Quickly, uncovered dozens more victims. “It just snowballed,” Ballard said, speaking by phone Friday morning. Brink, it seemed, had created his SEE BRINK | A8
Peggie Henrikson, Bullhead City, Arizona Katherine Yandell, Coos Bay Mary Durkee, Reedsport Kenneth Taylor, Reedsport
Jordan Cove: Tax incentives weren’t a draw to Bay Area COOS BAY — Tax incentives did nothing to draw in Jordan Cove. Jordan Cove Energy Project public affairs director Michael Hinrichs said tax abatement never plays a role in large-scale operations choosing a location. “You look at things like making sure it’s not near neighboring population centers, making sure it’s a sound foundation, making sure that it has clear access to emergency preparedness agencies,” he said. “You don’t really look at the exact economics of what kind of incentives you have.” The Community Enhancement Plan discussed at recent town halls analyzes how revenue from a community service fee (paid in lieu of property taxes if Jordan Cove receives long-term rural enterprise zone status) would be distributed to local public agencies, mostly schools. But Jordan Cove doesn’t care whether the enterprise zone — long-term or standard — exists. “When you’re spending $7.7 bil-
Roger Booher, Reedsport William Burdon, Crescent City, Calif.
Obituaries | A5
FORECAST
Creswell celebrates their overtime victory over Blanchet Catholic Friday morning in the 3A consolation semifinal round at North Bend. Creswell advances to meet Cascade Christian in the consolation final today at 9:45 a.m. at Marshfield High. See full results in today’s 3A Hoops section. See photo galleries of all the games online at theworldlink.com/gallery.
lion on a project, and this seems ridiculous, but when you are spending that much, the half billion-dollar tax incentive over 20 years is not needed,” Hinrichs said. “We will have 25-year long-term contracts with our customers. That is the business. You don’t depend upon incentives.” The tax incentive back-andforth won’t matter if the project doesn’t get the required permits. So far, the project is on track to break ground in the first quarter of 2015, Hinrichs said. If it meets that benchmark, the facility would be operational by the first quarter of 2019. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will give Jordan Cove the green light — or the axe. FERC gas and LNG spokeswoman Tamara Young-Allen said “there is no statutory time frame” to announce when the environmental review will happen. Hinrichs expects FERC’s draft
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