County willing to continue flood-control work by Edmonds engineering firm
By John Henderer, The Chronicle, 6/29/99
Flood-control work on the Chehalis River Basin likely will continue to be led by an Edmonds-based consultant, Pacific International Engineering.
Lewis County commissioners selected PIE on Monday from a field of six candidates, all of which had submitted statements of qualifications to continue the $2.2 million study.
Commissioners discounted objections by Hollis "Red" Cox, Doty, who complained they ignored allegations he raised about PIE manager Harry Hosey.
If the county and PIE can negotiate a satisfactory fee and scope of work, the engineering firm will resume work within about a month, Hosey said in an interview.
Other applicants for the work included Northwest Hydraulic, Tukwila; Gray and Osborne Inc., Seattle; West Consultants Inc., Bellevue; RH2 Engineering, Redmond; and Skillings-Connolly Inc., Lacey.
"Three of those companies are extremely good in this area," Hosey said Monday. "We knew that we were up against some very stiff competition so, frankly, we went into it scared."
Although PIE has been the lead consultant for the work so far, additional state funding required a competitive process to continue the study.
A panel of six officials reviewed the sometimes lengthy proposals, which serve as professional résumés with past engineering success examples and biographical information about principal characters in the firms.
Three firms were immediately disqualified because their applications did not include required documentation.
Among the remaining three, PIE led scoring among the six reviewers, tallying 945 points. Northwest Hydraulics followed with a score of 881 and Skillings-Connolly recorded 608, according to a score sheet released by the county.
All of the reviewers scored PIE above the competition, except one who gave Northwest Hydraulics an equal score.
The county did not release any additional information explaining the scoring procedures.
The scorers included Lewis County Engineer Pete Ringen, Thurston County Engineer Dale Rancour, Grays Harbor County Public Services Director Mike Daniels, and Centralia Community Development Manager Terry Calkins.
Cox criticized commissioners for selecting PIE.
"I gave you a book to read on them and how they work, and I'll be damned if you didn't pick him," Cox said of Hosey.
The book - whose innocuous title "Mazama: The Past 100 Years" belies its gossipy flair - describes Hosey's lead role in the failed Early Winters ski resort venture in the Methow Valley.
In the Peanut Butter Publishing work, author Doug Devin details Hosey's work financing Early Winters studies and "spending at record rates."
Devin, who was on the Early Winters board of directors, describes Hosey "going at a frenzied pace" and "obsessed … with control," even describing the disintegration of his marriage.
"Oh, that thing," Hosey said of the book, when asked for a response. "It's a novel. That is pure fiction. He was a disgruntled employee of mine."
Commissioner Russ Wigley, who acknowledged that he read Devin's work, explained the board tried to keep an arm's length from the review process and not inf it.
"This was done blindly and it was done comprehensively," Wigley said of the review. "We had nothing to do with it."
PIE, which maintains close contact with key political figures, rose above the competition for its ability to obtain funding, Wigley said.
Cox remained convinced Devin's work is accurate, and left the commissioners' meeting incensed.
"I can't seem to get through to nobody," he said. "I may be just an old logger, but I can read and I can tell right from wrong."
PIE has developed several flood-control project ideas, which it claims could together reduce flooding in the Twin Cities by about 4 feet.
The estimated $80 million proposal includes erecting a rubber weir atop the Skookumchuck Dam, excavating more than 3 million cubic yards of dirt along the Chehalis River near the Mellen Street Bridge and routing floodwaters under Highway 6 and onto farmers' fields.
To date, the county has paid about $1.1 million to PIE to find and evaluate flood-control alternatives. The Legislature contributed $600,000 of the money through the state Department of Transportation, and recently added another $1.1 million.
As part of the next $1.1 million work, PIE will coordinate project developments and activities; develop and evaluate alternative solutions to reduce flooding; coordinate technical aspects such as surveying, geotechnical and flood hydraulic modeling with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and update flood maps used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
PIE began its Lewis County flooding studies shortly after the devastating 1996 flood, hired by the Flood Action Council, largely made up of Twin Cities business officials.
Lewis County commissioners hired PIE in 1997 after taking over the lead on flood-control issues.
John Henderer covers county government and environmental issues for The Chronicle. He can be reached by e-mail at jhenderer@chronline.com OR send online mail right now to: John Henderer or by calling 807-8239.
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