A spokesman for contractor Rotschy Inc. threatened to file a formal complaint against Port of Longview commissioner Evan Jones for his referring to the company as "bastards" in a recent news report about the company's safety concerns.
Nick Massie, who works as a representative for the Vancouver-based general contractor, spoke Wednesday morning at the Port of Longview commissioner meeting, and said that commissioner Jones' comments in a recent Cascade PBS story about the port's contract with Rotschy were "over the top, over the edge."
Jones' quote in the July 1 news story were his thoughts on the port paying for a third-party safety monitor to independently inspect Rotschy as it conducts work on its $44.6 million contract expanding the port's industrial rail corridor. Jones had been the sole dissenting vote in January when a split commission voted 2-1 to authorize Rotschy's contract in January.
"To a certain extent we are kinda stuck with them. If I can't get rid of the bastards, I want to make sure they are doing the right thing," Jones was quoted as saying. "I'm not thrilled about it, it's not how I like taxpayer money being spent."
Massie took issue with the epithet in a Wednesday address to commission president Allan Erickson.
"Mr. Erickson, do you feel that I am a derogatory, mean-spirited person? Or is the port commissioner calling me a child of an unwed mother? That's the two versions of that word that are being used," Massie said. "We can't stand by anymore and let this happen — there will be consequences on this."
Specifically, Massie told commissioners that "there will be a formal complaint coming later."
Jones did not respond to Massie's comment at any point during the meeting, and an email to Jones seeking comment was not immediately returned Wednesday.
Massie declined comment when reached by email Wednesday.
The comments came on the same day that port commissioners ratified a contract with an independent safety consultant and heard updates from staff about the construction project after work resumed June 18. Port commissioners authorized the independent safety consultant in May as part of an effort to assuage lingering safety concerns — and were only exacerbated June 3 after a trench worker at a Rotschy job site in Woodland was airlifted to a nearby hospital after the boom of an excavator fell on him.
The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries confirmed last month that it started a new investigation regarding the worker's injury, and the investigation could take months.
Preliminary work on the port's rail project began after the state issued a notice to proceed May 12, according to an earlier news report.
Work stopped between June 5 and 18 as staff worked with Rotschy and port commissioners to update the project's health and safety plan after the Woodland incident.
Union leaders across the region have also highlighted, since at least January, a June 2023 incident in La Center in which a 16-year-old Rotschy worker lost his legs in La Center while operating a trencher. The incident spurred six-figure fines, catalyzed the Washington State Legislature to pass stricter youth labor laws earlier this year.
The minor worker's injury also prompted the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries to refer a recommendation to the Clark County Prosecutor's office recommending they press a felony child labor law violation related to the incident. No charges have been filed.
The safety contract
At the meeting Wednesday, Bill Burton, the port's director of facilities and engineering, said that the port inked a safety contract with Integrity Safety of Vancouver.
"We had looked at a number of different consulting firms that provided these services, but we felt these guys are close by, can be here relatively often, and we were impressed with their credentials," Burton said.
Port commissioners unanimously approved fast-tracking the hiring of the independent safety consultant at the June 18 commissioner meeting as part of an emergency contract.
The public agenda packet did not include a dollar amount for the contract, but Burton explained that the contract would amount to roughly $500 per inspection.
"Essentially what they're doing is, for every visit they come out they're charging us $500 — and that's including the time to write the report after-the-fact and travel charges," Burton said.
Commissioner Jones made the motion to execute the contract, and the board approved it unanimously.
Project status
Adam Fulton, the port's chief operating officer, told commissioners that until the new safety consultant is on board, the port's in-house safety manager is on-site and available.
"Tim has jumped right into it," Fulton said, adding that he familiarized himself with the job site and personnel, and is issuing reports.
He said the rail expansion project is presently "in full force and going well," with more than 20 workers and close to 20 pieces of industrial equipment on the job site.
More than half of the project involves gravel fill, according to Fulton, and "a large part of this work is hauling gravel in, smearing it around, packing it down, all over a top of a fabric layer."
"And thanks to Rotschy's efforts and whatever else inspector-wise, it's a safe site, and we're glad just to report that," Fulton said.
