Labor snubbed in PDC search; hotel developer choice delayed

Portland Mayor Tom Potter has appointed businessman Sal Kadri to fill the fifth and final slot on the Portland Development Commission.

Potter had indicated after his election last November that he would appoint someone from organized labor to the commission, which is the development arm for the city. The most often-mentioned name was Wally Mehrens, executive secretary-treasurer of the Columbia-Pacific Building Trades Council.

“We’re extremely disappointed — not with any of the individuals picked — but in the fact that the one thing lacking on this board is a voice for the workers,” said Judy O’Connor, executive secretary-treasurer of the Northwest Oregon Labor Council.

Kadri is Potter’s third appointment to the commission. In February, he named Bertha Ferran to the board. Ferran, a native of Cuba, is a senior mortgage consultant with Windermere Mortgage Services who has spent much of her career working on affordable housing issues.

In April, Potter tapped Mark Rosenbaum, a financial planner and longtime community activist on children’s issues.

Kadri is owner of a Portland-based information technology, geographic information system and computer-assisted drafting company. If approved by the City Council, his term will begin Aug. 1. He will fill the seat being vacated by Commissioner Janice Wilson.

The current PDC board has yet to name a new executive director to replace Don Mazziotti, whose last day was June 30.

At press time, the commission was meeting in executive session to consider three finalists. In a press release, PDC wrote, “Following the executive session the commission will reconvene for the special public commission meeting to select an executive director and appoint an interim executive director.”

The Columbia-Pacific Building Trades Council last week said it couldn’t support any of the three finalists. The council sent a letter to Mayor Potter asking him to reopen the search.

The finalists are David Knowles, vice president, David Evans and Associates, Inc., a transportation, land development and water resources design and management firm; Bruce Warner, director, Oregon Department of Transportation; and Karen Williams, partner, Lane Powell Spears Lubersky law firm. She is a former PDC lawyer.

In other PDC news, the board has extended the schedule to select a developer for the Oregon Convention Center headquarters hotel.

An evaluation committee was supposed to have a recommendation ready on June 22, but because of modifications to the request for proposal related to the minimum room size and financing of the hotel, the committee asked for additional time, not to exceed 90 days.

The committee wants more information on the feasibility of constructing a smaller hotel with a minimum of 400 rooms. The original plan called for a 600-room hotel. The size of the hotel has direct bearing on its cost and any public subsidy required, said PDC.

Four firms are vying to build the hotel. They are:
• Hines/Wright Hotels of Seattle;
• Faulkner USA of Austin, Texas;
•Jones Lang LaSalle/Crestline/ Schlesinger of Los Angeles and Portland.
• Ashforth Pacific/Garfield Traub of Portland and Dallas, Texas.

After receiving responses, the evaluation committee will review them and make a recommendation to the board for a preferred developer. There will be at least three public meetings allowing for public input to the selection before the PDC board votes to approve a development team.

© Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc.