and how we got here—and why I’m writing this
For “Why”, please scroll to end.
FACT: Approximately $475,000 upfront costs for earlier legal setup fees and engineering fees to Windsor Engineering paid by the City. For that, we got a Precisely Engineered Safe Design, Long Term West Side Slide Prevention, and Geological Research That Backs Up this Design.
FACT: TLT FUNDS IN MANZANITA’S GENERAL FUND= GREATER THAN $3.7 million dollars of unappropriated General Fund revenue comprised of TLT collections was available . . .was ready for Manzanita’s Classic Street as designed by Windsor Engineering.
DEFINITION OF TLT: Key Priorities for TLT Investment by Tillamook County
The county uses these funds to balance the impact of tourism, with key priorities including:
Investing in infrastructure to support tourism (e.g., parking, restrooms). (My example: CLASSIC STREET’S ORIGINAL WINDSOR ENGINEERED VERSION: A much safer, wider, longer lasting, heavily used traffic (RVs) and pedestrian byway to and from the center of Manzanita and the State Park.)
Protecting sensitive ecological areas.
Enhancing visitor experience and educating tourists on being good stewards. (My note: The original PAID FOR AND THEN DISCARDED design for a 20% wider thoroughfare would have been a great example of enhancing visitor experience and safety.)
Supporting year-round economic stability through shoulder-season tourism.
FACT: Original Bid for this Superior Version DELETED apparently solely by City Manager: BACK TO SQUARE ONE WITH HARDLY ANY TURNAROUND TIME FOR MORE BIDS.
5/2025= ORIGINAL PURCHASED DESIGN—Received Bid to City by Previous Contractor, $3.5 Million LOW BID. STATE PORTION OF THAT PAYS APPROXIMATELY $2.7 MILLION. THEREFORE NET COST TO MANZANITA= ROUGHLY $800,000. MANZANITA HOLDS OVER $3,000,000 OF FUNDS FROM TLT TAX IN ITS OWN GENERAL FUND. PERFECT USE, AS CLASSIC IS USED FOR VISITORS TO AND FROM PARKS WITH LARGE RVS.
CONSIDERATIONS: “VALUE VS. COST CALCULATION”=VERY HIGH VALUE AS ROAD WILL LAST A LONG TIME. PLUS, IT IS SAFER FOR LARGE VEHICLES COEXISTING IN THE SAME LIMITED SPACE WITH PEDESTRIANS.
LOWER COST VERSION = LOW VALUE: THE CHEAPER VERSION CHOSEN MERELY TO “ARRIVE WITHIN BUDGET” —AGAIN, WHO CAME UP WITH THE BUDGET NUMBERS? IF IT WASN’T AN EXPERIENCED CONTRACTOR, THAT NUMBER IS NOT AN ACCURATE REPRESENTATION..
WINDSOR ENGINEERING’S APPROXIMATE $424,000 BILL PAID FOR BY MANZANITA INCLUDED A SUPERIOR VERSION OF A COLLECTOR ROADWAY=22’ WIDE, 2’ WIDE BETWEEN ROAD AND PATHWAY, PATH=6’
TOTAL WIDTH= 30 FEET WIDE.
REJECTION: WELL, THE DESIGN WE ALL CHOSE WASN’T BUILT.
5/2025= CITY MANAGER, APPARENTLY ON HER OWN, REJECTS BID BY EXPERIENCED CONTRACTOR OF $3.5 MILLION AS EXCEEDING “HER ESTIMATE OF $3.1 MILLION”. HMMM —THAT REJECTED CONTRACTOR WHO REBUILT TIMBER ROAD (SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 26 TIMBER JUNCTION) AFTER LANDSLIDES CLOSED IT PROBABLY KNOWS A LOT, MAYBE EVEN MORE THAN CM, (CALL IT EXPERTISE) ABOUT PROPER COSTING OF RETAINING THE WEST HILLSIDE ON CLASSIC.
SHAVED VERSION (LOWER VALUE) ROADWAY=20’ WIDE, PATH=6’
TOTAL WIDTH= 26 FEET WIDE
.
COST DIFFERENCE PER FOOT FOR THE WIDER PATH AND WIDER ROAD WITH PEDESTRIAN SAFETY BUFFER, MAYBE $200 PER FOOT BUT OUT OF TLT VISITOR FUNDS ALREADY GIVEN TO MANZANITA FOR THIS SORT OF PROJECT AND IN THE BANK, JUST WAITING FOR A VISITOR ORIENTED USE.
COMPARISON OF SUPERIOR ENGINEERED ORIGINAL VS NET COST DIFFERENCE TO CITY OF “NARROW VERSION” SAVINGS OF $400,000 OF “FREE MONEY” ON, SAY, A PROPOSED 50 YEAR LIFE OF CLASSIC STREET??
YOU DECIDE.
FACT: (REMEMBER: IN THIS SCHEME, REAL NET COST OF $3.1 MILLION IS TRUE COST TO MANZANITA OF APPROXIMATELY $400,000. (OREGON PAYS THE $2.7 MILLION MAJORITY OF TOTAL PRICE). A SMALL SAVINGS IN DOLLARS, BUT AT A STEEP COST TO CANCEL THE HIGHER VALUE ORIGINAL DESIGN. PREDICTION: MANZANITA WILL ADD THE $400,000 DIFFERENCE IN COST OVERRUNS AND ATTORNEY FEES. THEREFORE, THE PURPORTED DIFFERENCE WILL BE – – GONE.
PLUS: MORE NEW ENGINEERING COSTS;
PLUS: ATTORNEY FEES FOR LEGAL ACTION FROM THE REJECTED, EXPERIENCED BIDDER.
FACT: THE STATE WOULD HAVE PAID APPROXIMATELY 77% OF THE PRICE IN A WINDFALL TYPE GRANT. COULD WE EVER HAVE IMAGINED WE COULD REBUILD CLASSIC STREET FOR $800,000? BUT IT WAS REJECTED BY ONE ADMINISTRATOR WITHOUT GOING THROUGH THE COUNCIL.
THE NEW “SHAVED” NARROW VERSION, NO WESTERLY RETAINING WALL: “NEW BID / NEW BIDDER” WINS THE CONTRACT. COST TO SWITCH = CLOSE TO $500,000 SO FAR, WHEN ATTORNEY FEES TO COUNTER LEGAL ACTION BY FORMER CONTRACT BID WINNER ARE ADDED IN.
FURTHERMORE, MOST IMPORTANTLY, THERE IS NO WEST SIDE RETAINING WALL, THE LONG-TERM “SURE FIX” FOR SLIDES, ROAD RAVELING AND THE WIDEST COLLECTOR AND SAFEST FOR PEDESTRIANS AS WELL AS BIG VEHICLES SHARING A NARROW ROAD. REDESIGN.
OK, SO PLEASE FOLLOW ME HERE, AND DO CORRECT ME IF YOU SEE AN ERROR:
IF WE HAVE PAID OUT $400,000 FOR THE WINDSOR DESIGN, AND THE NEW CONTRACTOR CHARGES $3.1 MILLION, THEN ARE WE NOT AT THE $3.5 MILLION PRICE CURRENTLY WITH MORE ATTORNEY CHARGES TO PAY IN THE OFFING?
OH, AND BY THE WAY, THE ORIGINAL CONTRACTOR WOULD HAVE FINISHED THE IMPROVEMENTS TO CLASSIC ALREADY! (FALL 2025(!!)
DISCUSSION: OUR COUNCIL / CITY MANAGER (CM) DYNAMICS ARE APPARENTLY NOT WORKING AS THEY SHOULD. IT APPEARS THAT A CITY MANAGER MADE THIS SUDDEN, SURPRISING DECISION WITHOUT DISCUSSION WITH COUNCIL. IN THIS CASE, CORRECT, INSIGHTFUL QUESTIONS WERE NOT ASKED BY THE COUNCIL. IF I WERE ON THE COUNCIL, I WOULD BE LESS THAN HAPPY IN THIS CIRCUMSTANCE. REMEMBER, WHAT STARTED IN 2005 AS A PLANNED COLLECTOR ROAD CONCEPT FROM OREGON D.O.T. IN 2005, THEN MORE RECENTLY WAS UPDATED, DISCUSSED AT LENGTH WITH PUBLIC AND WINDSOR ENGINEERING IN MEETING AFTER MEETING . . .
MANZANITA CITIZENS APPROVED THE SUPERIOR 30’ WIDE CLASSIC STREET IMPROVEMENT OVER MANY MEETINGS. IT WAS TOSSED. APPARENTLY. BY. ONE. ADMINISTRATOR.
CONCLUSION: OBVIOUSLY THE DYNAMIC BETWEEN THE COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER SEEMS FLAWED. WHAT ARE OUR CITIZENRY LESSONS HERE FOR THE FUTURE?
YESTERYEAR -or -HOW IT USED TO BE WITH A PREVIOUS MAYOR AND A FORMER CITY MANAGER:
FROM THE HEADLIGHT HERALD, March 20, 2017, an article about Jerry Taylor, former successful City Manager of Manzanita —
“Manzanita City Manager celebrates 20 years.” “It’s a good team, it’s been that way for a long time”, he said. “Many times, the City Manager is much like a symphony conductor. He can wave his stick around, but it’s the people playing the instruments. Some of what I get credit for is work they have done.”
I observed the teamwork between Garry Bullard, a successful attorney, and Jerry Taylor. The Mayor had, believe me, a whole lot of input to any CM decisions. Can we say “assertive” versus this present Council?
SOME QUESTIONS AND OBSERVATIONS I HAVE FOLLOW:
COST OF CUSTOM ENGINEERED ROAD OF $470,000 WAS EFFECTIVELY THROWN AWAY, DELETED, AND NO LONGER THE SPECIFICATION STANDARD TO WHICH OUR CLASSIC STREET WOULD BE REBUILT. NO WESTERN RETAINING WALL FOR A STEEP SLOPE.
ITEM: DOWNSLOPE DEVELOPMENT OF A HOTEL STRUCTURE WILL KEEP ANY RETAINING WALL FROM EVER BEING CONSTRUCTED. FOREVER. NEVERMORE, AS POE WOULD HAVE WRITTEN.
ITEM: CLASSIC STREET WOULD HAVE BEEN FINISHED BY LAST FALL IF THE ORIGINAL DESIGN AND BID, BY A VERY SEASONED CONTRACTOR (WHO ABLY REBUILT THE TIMBER ROAD OFF 26 AND FIXED LANDSLIDE AREAS).
ITEM: THAT CONTRACTOR NOW HAS A LEGAL ACTION AGAINST THE CITY. WE ARE PAYING LARGE ATTORNEY FEES EVERY MONTH ON THIS ISSUE.
COMMENT 1: WHAT? THE CM (FIRST CM POSITION) GETS TO MAKE A SOLO DECISION AGAINST A VERY WELL QUALIFIED BIDDER ON A COMPLEX ENGINEERED PROJECT THAT HAS INVOLVED CITIZENS, MEETINGS, BEST VALUE?? WHERE IS THE QUESTIONING FROM THE COUNCIL? ANSWER: NON-EXISTENT.
DISCUSSION: OUR COUNCIL / CITY MANAGER (CM) DYNAMICS ARE APPARENTLY NOT WORKING AS THEY SHOULD. IN THIS CASE, THE RIGHT QUESTIONS WERE NOT ASKED. WHAT ARE THE LESSONS HERE FOR THE FUTURE?
BIBLIOGRAPHY: From Windsor Engineer’s website: “The City of Manzanita obtained an appropriation to construction public infrastructure improvements. Windsor designed the project for the City. The project includes over 2,000 feet of road widening, a new 10 ft. wide paved pedestrian path, over 3,000 ft. of new water main, over 1,000 linear feet of retaining walls, and stormwater improvements. The project was performed with the assistance of Pali Consulting (Geotech), North Coast Civil (Local Engineering), Onion Peak (Survey), MacKay Sposito (Landscape), and DKS (Traffic Consulting).”
BIBLIOGRAPHY: From a Windsor Engineering Document: NOTE: WESTERLY SLOPE IS OVER 30 DEGREES IN AREAS. “Pavement cracking along the edge of Classic Street is interpreted as due to ongoing creep of loose sands beneath the roadway Retaining walls are recommended to stabilize the downslope edge of Classic Street. Final design of the walls will depend on final seismic design requirements, which are to be determined. The loose sand soils will not hold steep slope angles or have stable trench walls at any significant excavation depths. They will also be prone to raveling.”
TENETS OF OREGON ADMINISTRATIVE LAWS AND APPROACH TO GOVERNANCE:
Authority relationship in Oregon:
Council Holds Ultimate Authority: The city council is the elected legislative body, acting as the highest authority for policy decisions, such as budget approval, tax rates, and major, long-term goals.
Manager Implements Policy: The city manager is appointed by the council to implement policies, oversee day-to-day operations, and manage staff.
Binding Authority: The manager is bound by the actions of the council and must keep the council advised of city affairs.
Exceptions (Emergencies): In some jurisdictions, a city manager may have authority to award contracts in cases of emergency, but they are typically required to report these actions to the council promptly.
Termination Power: If a city manager acts without consulting the council, the council has the authority to terminate the manager at any time.
What a City Manager CAN do independently:
Hiring and firing of city employees (except often for the city attorney or municipal judge).
Directing day-to-day operations and department heads.
Developing staff recommendations for council consideration.
What a City Manager CANNOT do without the Council:
Set city policy.
Approve the annual budget.
Pass laws or ordinances.
Hire or fire the city attorney or municipal judge (usually).
While city managers have strong administrative control, they are always subject to the direction of the council.
SOME QUESTIONS AND A “SELF SURVEY”
WE (CITIZENS OF MANZANITA) DON’T GET MORE INVOLVED IN CIVIC KNOWLEDGE AND COMMENTING BECAUSE:
**YOUR OWN CHECKMARK OPPORTUNITY — SELF-GRADED ——-PLEASE CHECK AS MANY AS APPLY TO YOUR SITUATION AND THOUGHTS
____I’m about the average age here, 65
___I have many activities, no spare time
___I feel overloaded with the Trump-caused chaos in the USA
___I’m involved with only state or national politics, not local politics.
___I don’t have time to watch Council meetings and critique (not criticize, but critique)
___iF you have followed City Council meetings and dynamics, please rate the Council on how well it did vis-a-vis the solitary CM decision of a narrower, unretained on the west side of street, referring to the “TENETS” above:
_____Great_____Average_____”No Show” Council Fail
___I agree with what you have written, but residents need a united front. How do you do that? A lot of people I talk to agree with me, but I think people are fed up with being ignored.
___I just live here part-time, don’t vote here, frustrated that my voice is not heard.
___Hey, I pay under $500 per year in property tax that goes to this City, why should I be concerned?
___At my age of arround 65, because of age / health, I may have to move sometime, so why should I worry about years ahead of narrower road and walking path?
___I’m new to town. I would like to get more knowledge of the City and participate in these discussions as I learn more about current affairs.
___I’m friends with one or more on the Council, and afraid of criticizing.
___If I publicly criticize decisions, there are people on anti-social media who will insult me without the correct facts. (Ad hominem attacks). I don’t need that.
___People seem to have thin skin and get angry in a non-professional way. I don’t need that.
___I think some on the Council, like many today, also have thin skin and become angered in a non-professional way if they are subject to questioning by voters.
___Wow, that’s a lot of “free money” from TLT that coulda shoulda been used to build the very best road and pathway that we have wanted for 20 years! Plus, I did not know that the State has paid for most of the improvements and we could have spent a relatively small percentage more to get a superior street and path.
___We have a couple of lawyers and a couple of administrators on Council. I’m sure they do a perfect job, but haven’t listened to a meeting or checked a rerun of Council meetings on YouTube.
___I think we should hold our leaders to account.
___Perhaps if we paid the Council members for their time (hey, they just hired another $100K employee, why not instead incentivize more people to run? Skip the employee and divide the $100K by 5.) Then maybe we would attract more talented people to run for office and they would be more accountable.
___This whole thing makes my head hurt and is too hard to figure out. And—I’m just tired of controversy, way too many facts and truths to take in, and it’s always the same people with facts, and that irritates me. I’ve tuned out.
___I’m really tired of the Council that puts more value for each member voting the same way. It seems that’s more important than asking searching questions at Council meetings. (Witness the apparent complete lack of participation in the decision discussed above . . .unbelievable!). Give me some dissension. Please.
____We no longer have local media employing reporters who analyze the many City issues with talented insight. We only seem to have social media that can be incorrect and can divide us rather than unify us with knowledge.
____What? We paid $475,000 out for engineering, construction checking and initial legal assistance for this project that’s now in the trash can?
____So . . . if we now magically had the $475,000 of newly “sunk cost”, could we have paid down some of the mortgage on the new City Hall??
____Hey, why didn’t the CM ask “Do I have a half million dollars somewhere in this budget that I can realistically go to the Council and the Council can then go to the Community and say, ‘We can still do this project.’ People might just say, ‘Why ask us, yes, go ahead and do it!’” — We did not have that conversation, apparently even between the Council and CM.
____Do you suppose anyone on the Council was unhappy about that lack of advise and consent in this matter? Why weren’t they given the option?
Please consider adding your own questions
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OK, why did I write this?
I don’t really have time for writing this, just like you may not have time to read it or even care. And the most ideal version of a renewed Classic Street is in the rearview mirror. End of that story. Opportunity lost. Not the first misstep in Manzanita political history. I wrote this because, thank goodness, we don’t have another $4 million project coming up to make mistakes on but:
The Council are neighbors, nice people, honest, giving volunteer time to the City and other local entities, but certainly could do much better with their leadership, which seems to be completely missing in this instance. . .(Examples above)
There is a certain apparent arrogance from the united front of Council and CM. That’s apparent in what happened with this project combined with the related current legal action (lawsuit) by the contractor who lost the bid against the City. The many meetings involving citizens taking their time to help decide the Classic rebuild mattered for nothing in the end. Presenting their Council as a united front seems to matter most to this group. By effectively always agreeing with each other on a united stance with zero questioning after the fact of a CM’s critical lone decision (apparently without the Council’s knowledge), _______________________________________________________(Please fill in the blank area with your own end to the sentence)
The combination of CM and Council had the ability to use money given by TLT share to supplement the $3.1 “target” amount with $400K to fill out the coffers for the superior wide road and path. But, perhaps one person mistakenly wanted to bring in the project for what was budgeted, claiming savings, even if the extra $400K was analogous to “free money”. Penny rich and pound poor, just to stand on the laurels of “I stayed with the budgeted amount”. BTW, where did that particular Budget target come from?
Conclusion: I hope, as new projects and spending decisions come up, that leadership from Council to CM is much more active, and that more citizen involvement (that’s us, folks) will also be more active.
