Senators say four Oregon stimulus projects wasteful

SALEM, Ore. - Two Republican senators have come up with what they call the top 100 most wasteful federal stimulus projects in the United States and four of them are in Oregon.

The four projects in Oregon that Sens. John McCain and Tom Coburn said are wasteful are the renovation of the Edith Green/Wendell Wyatt Federal Building in downtown Portland, lead paint removal on a railroad bridge in Salem, a wetland project in Albany to cool wastewater, and an effort to recover crab pots lost at sea.

Albany city leaders said they welcome the fight over the Talking Water Gardens project. The senators said the project is a waste of money but critics said the report gives the impression that it is some kind of water show.

Albany’s Public Works Director Diane Dennis said the report is misleading and it’s inaccurate for “many reasons.”

The project will create 39 acres of wetlands that will be used to naturally cool city wastewater before it is dumped into the Willamette. It will also include walking paths and places for the public to see how the water is purified.

City officials said the project is necessary to meet new state requirements for dumping wastewater and Dennis said “it’s going to create jobs.”

She said it will create about 100 local jobs.

In Salem, Mayor Janet Taylor is fuming about the senators’ criticism of a $3.5 million project to repaint a railroad bridge over the Willamette River that has been converted into a footbridge.

Taylor said the report doesn’t tell the whole story and said the senators were looking for projects to criticize to score political points.

She said the federal stimulus money is being used to make the bridge safe for people and the river. About 20 workers will repaint the bridge and will secure two giant counterweights once used to raise the bridge so they don’t fall.

Taylor said the city of Salem wants the bridge repainted so the lead paint that is there now won’t flake off into the Willamette River. She said it will also keep the metal from corroding.

The senators also said the Edith Green/Wendell Wyatt Federal Building is as expensive to renovate as it is to build a new one. It will get a $133 million makeover to become more “green”.

Local officials said it is worth the money because not only will it be more energy efficient the project will create hundreds of construction jobs.

The fourth project will spend $700,000 to recover crab pots that have been lost at sea by crabbers. The senators said crabbers could purchase 10 times as many crab pots for what is expected to be reclaimed.

Read the report: Stimulus Checkup