Project at park violated bid laws.

Byline: Winston Ross The Register-Guard

FLORENCE - A project to build a main trail at Honeyman State Park not only violated state bidding laws, but flouted environmental requirements and ended up being about twice as wide as planned, a state audit concluded.

A tip to a state hot line in the spring first triggered scrutiny of the paved trail designed to link the east and west sides of the popular park via a bridge over U.S. Highway 101.

Parks officials found then that an engineer had arranged a deal with a local contractor to remove the trees and build the trail in exchange for the felled timber and $1,000 in cash. That broke state contract guidelines that require bids for projects that exceed $5,000, state officials said. They put an $85,000 price tag on the cut timber.

A subsequent audit by the state Parks and Recreation Department has found other violations, including inadequate supervision of the engineer, no erosion controls and no review of how the project would affect sensitive habitat, archaeology and the crossing of a nearby stream.

"It is rare for something like this to occur," said Tim Wood, the department's assistant director of operations. "It's regrettable and it's not acceptable, and we have and we will take it very seriously."

The audit calls for all upcoming projects involving timber harvests to be reviewed by the state's forestry unit and for "refresher training" for state employees on proper bidding procedures.

The state's internal investigation also showed that the original plans for the trail clearing were limited to 32 feet on the east side of the highway and 45 feet on the west side. In both segments, "it was found that most areas were twice as wide as the project plans specified," the auditor wrote, with trees in excess of 40 inches in diameter harvested.

But there was no evidence that the engineer had marked more trees than necessary just to offset the cost of the project, the audit found.

The extra width on the east side of the highway was considered appropriate because it met the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. On the west side, however, the audit said it "may be greater than needed."

The parks department put the engineer on leave during the investigation and he later resigned, though he's filed a grievance and said his bosses knew about the deal he struck with the logging operator. His supervisors deny that they knew about the deal, and no one else has been disciplined.

The trail portion of the project is still on hold, but this week, crews with the Oregon Department of Transportation began construction of a bridge across the highway. Once that's complete, the parks department will resume work on the trail, which is expected to wrap up next spring.

The trail contractor returned $3,291 to the state after investigators concluded that he harvested that much more timber than the value of the work performed. When the state stopped the job, there was still $27,000 worth of timber at the site - cut but not transported to the mill. The parks department will apply the sale of the logs to the project completion, estimated to cost an additional $60,000.

In an interview, former parks engineer Brett Martin said he had hoped to avoid the bureaucracy and cost involved in a public bid when he made the timber-cutting deal for the trail.

He considered it legal because the logger's net profit would be less than $5,000. Under public contracting laws, such low-cost projects wouldn't have to be openly bid. He checked with supervisors who understood that the trade would allow the state to avoid putting the project out for a public bid, he said.

"It wasn't like it was a snap decision," he said.

The audit noted that Martin was in charge of establishing contracts in his role as technical coordinator on the trail, but that two other parks officials - Honeyman park manager Dennis Davidson and area manager Jeff Farm - served as the project's coordinator and manager, respectively.

While the audit doesn't address whether Davidson or Farm knew about the deal, the last finding is that they "failed to provide adequate supervision of Martin by not ensuring that established project management and contracting procedures were followed."

Martin later resigned and is now working for the engineering firm that is consulting on construction of the highway overpass for the trail.

Fran Recht, conservation chairwoman of the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition, said the root of the problem was the state's last-minute discovery that it didn't have the money for a tunnel beneath 101 as originally hoped. When project officials realized they'd have to cross the highway above ground, they didn't take the time to make sure that the trail on either side was still in the best location, Recht said.

She also has complained to parks officials about the lack of erosion control measures on the site.

When the state stopped work, the trail portion remained exposed to rainfall, which could threaten the nearby stream, she said.

As for the felled trees, she said it appeared some were chosen for cutting to cover the cost. "That's the problem. I don't know what they're going to do to make it up to the public," she said. "Nothing, probably."

Winston Ross can be reached at [phone] or rgcoast@ oregonfast.net.