A steering committee for the Department of Public Safety Standards Training has recommended state-owned property in Salem as the site for its new emergency services academy, according to Sweet Home City Manager Craig Martin.
Martin said DPSST Director Diane Middle called him on Monday to inform him of the decision.
The recommendation will go to the Department of Administrative Services for review then on to the Legislative Emergency Board for funding and the governor for final approval, Martin said.
Site cost estimates for Sweet Home increased from $1.9 million in May to $4.8 million now, Martin said. The site cost estimates for Salem decreased from $5.4 million to less than Sweet Home’s.
Martin was unable to find out Monday why the committee’s figures for the Sweet Home site had escalated.
“We’re disappointed,” Martin said. “We question the process. I think I have the same concerns of at least two other communities on the short list that it was predisposed to go to Salem.”
Martin believes the steering committee may have violated open meetings law, he said. After Rep. Elizabeth Johnson of Scappoose raised the issue, DPSST opened a Thursday meeting to the public but later rescinded that decision, closing the meeting.
Martin plans to express his concerns to the Emergency Board. He also plans to contact local elected officials and send a communiqué to the governor’s office about the validity of the process.
“We intend to question the process, the validity and the fairness and equity,” Martin said. He understands that DPSST was required to consider state-owned property first, but instead of hiring an independent consultant to evaluate the site, DPSST staff handled it.
Throughout the process, DPSST has been “very unresponsive” to requests for information by Sweet Home and other communities, Martin said. “I think there’s a huge public credibility going with how DPSST” has handled its site selection process.
“In essence, the appearance was that they were hiding behind closed doors,” Martin said. “Whether that was intended or not, that’s the message that was sent to these communities.”
While it may sound like “sour grapes” from a community that was not selected, Martin said, he retains his concerns about the process.
The City of Sweet Home was assured that it would be notified of major upcoming decisions throughout the process, Martin said. Sweet Home and other communities were not kept apprised of much in the process until recently, he said.