Port of Toledo plan

By Terry Dillman Of the News-Times

Port of Toledo officials recently adopted the Waterfront Development Strategic Plan for development of its properties along Depot Slough in the center of Toledo.

“This plan focuses on enhancing use of the waterway, as well as job creation through light industrial and commercial development,” said Port Manager Bud Shoemake. “It will act as a tool to allow the port to actively market the properties and pursue funding to complete an attractive and efficient upland area.”

Using a $29,750 port planning and marketing grant from the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department, port officials brought in consultants from Cook & Associates of Astoria, and Portland-based Mitchell Nelson Group LLC to develop the strategic plan based on input from port and city officials, business owners, and residents during a public input process that began February 28. The essential components include future utilization of currently vacant property; expansion of the marina and provisions for “transient moorage”; public open space, accessibility, and facilities; development and design guidelines; and potential funding sources.

The plan features three light industrial lots, with access to Depot Slough, and one commercial lot suitable for a two-floor, mixed-use building. Those lots - on a total of three acres - comprise “an important economic asset,” said Shoemake. “Leases of undeveloped sites and building space will provide an income stream for the port, and enhance Toledo's economy.”

The plan includes a set of guidelines for port officials to use in reviewing building and site design proposals. It also incorporates public use aspects to balance economic and community benefits.

A public trail system along the shoreline of Depot Slough and through the interior to NW First Street will provide an all-weather, accessible route to the marina and future transient moorage, public restrooms, a park pavilion, and open green spaces suitable for outdoor events. Artistic elements, seating areas, and lighting will enhance the pathway, native riparian vegetation will protect and beautify the shoreline, and trees and shrubs will buffer the industrial sites.

The process wrapped up in June with the publication of the plan.

Shoemake said now it's time to begin an all-out marketing effort to entice prospective developers, investors, and grants to put the plan into action. Many folks - among them port commissioners Gregg Harrison, Chuck Gerttula, Jim Buzby, Stu Strom, and Cody Gray - provided input on the way to forging the strategic plan.

“We hope the final plan reflects their values, priorities, and personal vision for the Toledo waterfront,” Shoemake noted.

One other person who contributed much to the overall effort - late Mayor Sharon Branstiter - did not live to see the final results. Port officials dedicated the plan in memory of Branstiter, who died April 22.

“Sharon was always the strongest and most vocal advocate for her beloved Toledo,” the dedication page states. “She recognized that when the city and the port worked as a team, the community was the beneficiary. Sharon's vision, tenacity, and hard work made Toledo a better place in which to live and play. We are all fortunate to have known her.”

Shoemake said they will work to maintain the spirit of port-city cooperation Branstiter fostered as they move forward with the strategic plan.

Clearing the channel

As exciting as port officials find the strategic plan, they know improving the waterfront will bring Toledo nothing if vessels cannot navigate the waterways.

Port officials received good news with the July 17 announcement of $848,000 in federal funding to allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the Depot Slough navigation channel on the Yaquina River. Last dredged in 1995, the channel has filled to the point where one vessel recently grounded during a nine-foot tide - an unhappy circumstance Shoemake doesn't want to repeat.

“Dredging remains our number one priority,” he noted. “Without it, our existing waterfront businesses can't function. We want this to be a working waterfront, providing access to Toledo through the water as part of the effort to revitalize Toledo.”

Congresswoman Darlene Hooley (Oregon-District 5) secured the funding under the 2008 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act (HR 2641) that also brought $2 million to repair the Tillamook Bay north jetty and $15 million for Columbia River channel improvements. “As a coastal state, Oregon's economy and regional competitiveness depends on safe, stable, and navigable waters,” Hooley said. “Federal investments in our ports and our rivers will allow for the continued free flow of commerce that benefits local businesses and citizens across the state.”

Shoemake agreed.

“Depot Slough is the lifeblood of the Port of Toledo,” he said. “The success of our marine businesses and the Georgia-Pacific barge dock, located on the slough, depends on having adequate draft. This allocation for dredging will assure the continuation of existing businesses and set the stage for other projects on Depot Slough.”

Clearing the channel and working toward sustainable development is the heart and soul of the newly hatched waterfront strategic plan.

By coordinating with other economic development efforts within the city, and continuing the cooperation between city and port officials, Shoemake is certain they can move toward a thriving, diversified Toledo by making full use of the waterway that first put the city on the map when it was founded more than 100 years ago.

Terry Dillman is a reporter for the News-Times. He can be reached at (541) 265-8571 ext. 225, or terrydillman@newportnewstimes.com.