Port of Seattle Regular Commission Meeting

00:00:32This is Commission President
00:00:33Ryan Calkins convening the
00:00:34regular meeting of February 10,
00:00:372026. The time is
00:00:4012:08pm we’re meeting in person
00:00:43today at the Port of Seattle
00:00:44headquarters building,
00:00:45Commission chambers and
00:00:46virtually on Microsoft Teams.
00:00:48Clerk Hart, please call the role
00:00:50of all commissioners in
00:00:51attendance. Thank you, Mr.
00:00:53Commission President. Beginning
00:00:54with Commissioner Calkins here.
00:00:56Thank you. Commissioner Cho.
00:00:58Present. Thank you. Commissioner
00:01:00Fellerman. Present. Thank you.
00:01:02And Commissioner Hasegawa will
00:01:03be along shortly. You do have a
00:01:04quorum established here today.
00:01:06Thank you. Clerk Hart.
00:01:09A couple of housekeeping items
00:01:11before we begin. For everyone in
00:01:12the meeting room, please turn
00:01:13your cell phones to silent. For
00:01:15anyone participating on teams,
00:01:17please mute your speakers when
00:01:18not actively speaking or
00:01:19presenting. Please keep your
00:01:21cameras off unless you are
00:01:22Commissioner or a member of
00:01:23staff participating virtually
00:01:24and are actively addressing the
00:01:26Commission. Members
00:01:27Members of the public addressing
00:01:29the Commission during public
00:01:30comment may turn on their
00:01:31cameras when their name is
00:01:32called to speak and will turn
00:01:33them back off again at the
00:01:34conclusion of their remarks.
00:01:36For anyone at the dais, please
00:01:38turn off computer speakers and
00:01:39silence your devices. Please
00:01:40also remember to address your
00:01:42request to speak through the
00:01:43chair and wait to speak until
00:01:44you have been recognized. You’ll
00:01:46turn your microphones, phones on
00:01:48and off as needed. All of the
00:01:50items noted here will ensure a
00:01:51smooth meeting for us. Thank you
00:01:53so much. All
00:01:54All votes today will be taken by
00:01:55the roll call method or by
00:01:57general consent, so it is clear
00:01:58for anyone participating
00:01:59virtually how votes are cast.
00:02:01Commissioners will say aye or
00:02:03nay when their name is called.
00:02:07We are meeting on the ancestral
00:02:09lands and waters of the Coast
00:02:10Salish people with whom we share
00:02:12a commitment to steward these
00:02:13natural resources for future
00:02:15generations. This
00:02:17This meeting is being digitally
00:02:18recorded and may be viewed or
00:02:19heard at any time on the port’s
00:02:21website and may be rebroadcast
00:02:23by King County Television.
00:02:25Please stand and join me for the
00:02:27Pledge of Allegiance. To
00:02:34To the flag of the United States
00:02:36of America and to the Republic
00:02:38for which it stands, one nation
00:02:41under God, indivisible, with
00:02:43liberty and justice for all.
00:02:51All right. The first item of
00:02:53business today is approval of
00:02:55the agenda. As a reminder, if a
00:02:57Commissioner wishes to make a
00:02:58general comment for or against
00:03:00an item on the consent agenda,
00:03:01it is not necessary to pull that
00:03:03item for separate discussion.
00:03:06Rather, a Commissioner may offer
00:03:07general supporting or opposing
00:03:09comments later in the meeting.
00:03:10Once we get to that part of the
00:03:11the agenda, however,
00:03:13however, it is appropriate if a
00:03:14commissioner wants to ask
00:03:15questions of staff or wishes to
00:03:17have a dialogue on a consent
00:03:18agenda item, to request the item
00:03:20be pulled for separate
00:03:21discussion at this time. Are
00:03:23there any items to
00:03:25to be pulled from the consent
00:03:27agenda or any motions to
00:03:28rearrange the orders of the day?
00:03:32Okay, Commissioners, the
00:03:34question is now on approval of
00:03:35the agenda. Is there a motion to
00:03:36approve the agenda as presented?
00:03:40So moved. Second.
00:03:41Second. All
00:03:44All right, it’s been moved and
00:03:46seconded. Is there any objection
00:03:47to approval of the agenda as
00:03:49presented? Hearing
00:03:51Hearing none. The agenda is
00:03:53approved. Commissioners,
00:03:56Commissioners, we start our day
00:03:57today with a proclamation. Clerk
00:03:58Hart, can you please read the
00:04:00item into the record and
00:04:01Executive Director Metruck will
00:04:02introduce it? Thank
00:04:05Thank you. This is Agenda Item
00:04:064A, the 2026 Black History Month
00:04:09proclamation. Commissioners,
00:04:12Commissioners, thank you for
00:04:14recognizing Black History Month
00:04:16and affirming the indispensable
00:04:18indispensable role black
00:04:20Americans have played in
00:04:21building this nation. This
00:04:23recognition matters, especially
00:04:24at a time when black history and
00:04:26hard won civil rights are being
00:04:28challenged and diminished in the
00:04:29public sphere. The
00:04:30The Port is clear that black
00:04:32Americans, many subjected to
00:04:34enslavement and systemic
00:04:36exploitation, have shaped the
00:04:38United States in our history.
00:04:39The American experience and
00:04:41and the efforts of history are
00:04:42still felt today. And
00:04:44And the efforts of that history
00:04:46truth. That truth cannot be
00:04:48erased or rewritten. We at the
00:04:51Port are part of that history
00:04:52and we are committed to
00:04:53confronting systemic racism
00:04:56through our through how we hire,
00:04:58invest, contract, engage and
00:05:00operate within our communities.
00:05:02Today’s proclamation invites us
00:05:03to reflect on the work ahead
00:05:05while recognizing the progress
00:05:06already made. This
00:05:08This afternoon we have. Preston
00:05:09Tucker, Commission Office
00:05:10Strategic Aide, will introduce
00:05:12our Proclamation readers.
00:05:14Preston, good
00:05:17good afternoon, Mr. Commission
00:05:19President, Commissioners
00:05:20Executive Director, Metric. For
00:05:21the record, I am Preston Tucker,
00:05:23Commission Strategic Aid in the
00:05:25Commission Office. And
00:05:26And I would like to take a
00:05:27moment of privilege to thank the
00:05:29commissioners for your
00:05:30leadership in using your roles
00:05:32to advance inclusion, to uplift
00:05:35black excellence and to stand
00:05:36firmly against hate. That
00:05:38commitment matters to us now
00:05:40more than ever. It is my honor
00:05:42to introduce our Proclamation
00:05:43readers. Martin Doyle, Senior
00:05:45Investigation Specialist with
00:05:47EEO and Professional Standards,
00:05:50and Darrell Thomas, EDI Training
00:05:52and Engagement Program Manager
00:05:53with the Office of Equity,
00:05:55Diversity and Inclusion. Thank
00:05:58Thank you, Preston.
00:05:59Commissioners Executive
00:06:01Executive Director, Metric. My
00:06:03name is Martin Doyle. As
00:06:04mentioned, I do want to mention
00:06:05I am currently President of
00:06:07Blacks in Government Port of
00:06:09Seattle Chapter. And Darrell is
00:06:10joining me here as the Vice
00:06:12President for Blacks in
00:06:13Government Proclamation
00:06:14Proclamation of the Port of
00:06:16Seattle Commission. Whereas
00:06:17Whereas black history is
00:06:19American history and for over a
00:06:21century, black Americans have
00:06:22led the fight for equity,
00:06:24justice and opportunity,
00:06:26reshaping our culture, laws and
00:06:28democracy in ways that continue
00:06:30to resonate today. And
00:06:32whereas the Port of Seattle is
00:06:34committed to racial equity and
00:06:36confronting anti black racism by
00:06:38embedding inclusion, belonging
00:06:41and fairness across its
00:06:42operations and leadership.
00:06:44Reflecting our diverse
00:06:45communities, creating an
00:06:47equitable culture and ensuring
00:06:49that opportunities expand,
00:06:50economic and social well being
00:06:52for all. And
00:06:54whereas 2026 marks a century of
00:06:57national Black history
00:06:58commemorations honoring the
00:07:00vision and leadership of Dr.
00:07:01Carter G. Woodson and the
00:07:03founders of the association for
00:07:05the Study of Negro Life and
00:07:06History, whose work
00:07:07institutionalized the study
00:07:09center, celebration and
00:07:10preservation of Black history
00:07:12and affirm the countless
00:07:13contributions of Black Americans
00:07:15to cultural, economic, political
00:07:17and social foundations of this
00:07:19nation. And Whereas from that
00:07:23vision and leadership, the roots
00:07:24of Black History Week grew to
00:07:26Black History Month and these
00:07:29observers have
00:07:30have transformed how Black
00:07:32Americans view themselves, how
00:07:34the world recognizes their
00:07:35contributions and emphasizes
00:07:37the enduring power of
00:07:39remembrance, education and
00:07:40celebration. And Whereas,
00:07:42Whereas, the Port of Seattle
00:07:44honors the historic and ongoing
00:07:45contributions of Black leaders,
00:07:47Black employees and all Black
00:07:49Americans to the economic,
00:07:50cultural and social life of King
00:07:52county and beyond, including
00:07:54through leadership at the Port,
00:07:55participation in employee
00:07:57resource groups, engagement with
00:07:58the Change Team, involvement
00:08:00with Blacks in government and
00:08:02the everyday actions of our Port
00:08:03family, advancing justice and
00:08:05equity and Whereas Blacks in
00:08:08Government is part of a national
00:08:10nonprofit organization that
00:08:11celebrated its 50th year
00:08:14anniversary last year.
00:08:16We are an inclusive organization
00:08:18and invite everyone to share our
00:08:20purpose and join in our mission
00:08:22as we work together toward
00:08:23toward achieving our vision. And
00:08:27Whereas Blacks in Government’s
00:08:28purpose is to advance equity
00:08:30empowerment for Black public
00:08:31servants by fostering a
00:08:33community where learning and
00:08:34leadership strengthen both
00:08:36individual potential and
00:08:37collective progress. Our mission
00:08:39is to create avenues for
00:08:40educational opportunities,
00:08:42career advancement, and to
00:08:44provide a mechanism for
00:08:45inclusion, growth and advocacy.
00:08:48Our vision is a mosaic that
00:08:49embodies the belief that all
00:08:51people, regardless of race,
00:08:53color, gender, gender identity,
00:08:55religion or citizenship status,
00:08:57can embrace who they are, define
00:08:59their future and change the
00:09:00world. And Whereas at a time
00:09:03when the current federal
00:09:05administration is actively
00:09:06attempting to erase Black
00:09:07history, restrict truthful
00:09:10education and dismantle hard won
00:09:12civil rights gains, the Port of
00:09:14Seattle unequivocally
00:09:16acknowledges that Black
00:09:17Americans, many of whom were
00:09:19forced to build this nation
00:09:20through enslavement,
00:09:21exploitation and systemic
00:09:23dehumanization, have shaped
00:09:25every aspect of the United
00:09:26States and and we reject any
00:09:29effort to deny, distort or
00:09:30diminish that reality. And
00:09:33Whereas the Port of Seattle
00:09:34Commission continues to elevate
00:09:35and honor the contributions of
00:09:37Black Americans through
00:09:38sustained institutional
00:09:39commitment, inclusive policies,
00:09:41education and recognition,
00:09:43ensuring that Black history is
00:09:44preserved, celebrated and
00:09:46carried forward as an essential
00:09:48and living part of our shared
00:09:49civic and cultural story.
00:09:51Now, therefore, the Port of
00:09:53Seattle Commission proclaims
00:09:54fair February 2026 as Black
00:09:56History Month, honoring the
00:09:58legacy of those who paved the
00:10:00way, those advancing equity
00:10:02Today and all members of the
00:10:03Port family, committed to
00:10:05justice, inclusion, and black
00:10:06excellence, proclaimed
00:10:08proclaimed by the Port of
00:10:09Seattle Commission on this 10th
00:10:11day of February, 2026.
00:10:15Thank you, Martin and Darrell.
00:10:16That was really
00:10:17really powerful to hear it read
00:10:19aloud, too. And thank you,
00:10:20Preston, for introducing it
00:10:24at this time. Commissioners, is
00:10:25there a motion and second. To
00:10:26adopt the proclamation? So
00:10:28moved. Second.
00:10:31Second. Okay.
00:10:32Okay. The motion was made and
00:10:34seconded. Is there any
00:10:35discussion, Commissioner
00:10:38Commissioner Cho? Yeah.
00:10:39Yeah. First and foremost, I want
00:10:41to thank the three of you for
00:10:42coming up here today to read the
00:10:45proclamation out loud. I think
00:10:46it’s always
00:10:48always more powerful, as
00:10:49President Calkin said, to be
00:10:51able to hear the words as
00:10:52opposed to read them on a page
00:10:53and really make sure that we
00:10:55took the time to process those
00:10:56words. You
00:10:58You know, I feel like we do this
00:11:00every year, right? And we should
00:11:02do this every year. And I think
00:11:04there’s a reason we do this
00:11:05every year. And the
00:11:06the old saying goes, if you
00:11:08don’t learn from history, you’re
00:11:10doomed to repeat it. And it
00:11:11almost feels like in today’s
00:11:13times, we’re
00:11:15we’re kind of forgetting history
00:11:17and the contributions that
00:11:20the African American community
00:11:21has made, not just to the Port
00:11:22of Seattle, but to our
00:11:24communities and also the
00:11:27the history of this nation. The
00:11:30The same goes to be said for a
00:11:31lot of communities today that
00:11:33are being forgotten and or we’re
00:11:35seeing erasure in their
00:11:36contributions to our society.
00:11:40And so I just want to, from the
00:11:42bottom of my heart, thank you
00:11:42all for how you all represent
00:11:45this institution in
00:11:47in particular, big, which I
00:11:49would argue is one of the
00:11:50strongest ergs here at the Port
00:11:51of Seattle, but also, I know has
00:11:54a national presence,
00:11:56and that the strength of that
00:11:58network is
00:11:59is part of the reason why we’re
00:12:00able to hold the line when it
00:12:02comes to reminding ourselves of
00:12:03the great contributions that
00:12:05this community has made. So
00:12:07thank you so much on behalf of
00:12:08this commission and my
00:12:09colleagues in leadership at the
00:12:10Port of Seattle. We’ve had our
00:12:12titans here from this community
00:12:14at the Port of Seattle, and we
00:12:16love to see more and more
00:12:17members of your community rise
00:12:19up in the ranks, and we
00:12:20certainly look forward to seeing
00:12:21that. But
00:12:22But I join you in celebrating
00:12:24the history of your community
00:12:26and remembering the past and
00:12:28obviously honoring the future.
00:12:29Thank you, Commissioner
00:12:35Commissioner Fellman. Thank
00:12:37Thank you very much. Once again,
00:12:39I appreciate every year we learn
00:12:42something more. And I also just
00:12:45want to appreciate Preston’s
00:12:47presentation and like to see his
00:12:50inclusion in these efforts as
00:12:52well. I
00:12:53I just have to acknowledge the
00:12:56fact that the Jewish community
00:12:57and the black community have
00:12:58shared a lot over time. And
00:13:02while I was just looking up
00:13:03while the famous
00:13:05incident in 1964 was Michael
00:13:07Schwermer and Andrew Goodman,
00:13:10who were lynched in coming down
00:13:11from New York to address the
00:13:13concerns during the Freedom
00:13:15Summer campaign. But
00:13:18But in fact, going back even as
00:13:20far as 1868, who. I didn’t know
00:13:23that Samuel
00:13:26was also
00:13:28also lynched because of his
00:13:30serving of black Americans, and
00:13:33his employee as well was
00:13:35lynched. And so I just want to
00:13:37let you know that that history
00:13:40resonates with me, and you have
00:13:41my support wholeheartedly, as I
00:13:43know you do with a broader
00:13:45community in this area. And so
00:13:47if there’s anything we can do to
00:13:48help. I don’t speak for the
00:13:50Jewish community at large, but
00:13:51you’ve got me. I’ve got your
00:13:53back. Thank you very much.
00:13:57And I’m going to echo
00:13:59Commissioner Cho’s remarks about
00:14:01erasure, that as you stated, at
00:14:04a time when the current federal
00:14:06administration is actively
00:14:08attempting to erase black
00:14:10history, we’re
00:14:12we’re seeing a systematic
00:14:14attempt to literally remove
00:14:17plaque plaques from monuments
00:14:18and tear down
00:14:21art that conveys the history of
00:14:23the United States, all
00:14:26all of its ugliness, its
00:14:28victories. That
00:14:30That kind of erasure is so
00:14:32dangerous. And so if at a time
00:14:35that the federal government is
00:14:36actively engaged in that, we as
00:14:38local government need to do the
00:14:39exact opposite, which is to
00:14:41ensure that that history is
00:14:43written and. And proclaimed. And
00:14:45so this is one tiny little drop
00:14:48in an ocean of effort that needs
00:14:50to be undertaken to ensure we
00:14:51don’t forget that history. I
00:14:54I also just want to
00:14:56separate in part from this. I
00:14:58just want to thank the two of
00:14:59you for stepping up to take on
00:15:00these volunteer roles for our
00:15:02ergs, and
00:15:04quite honestly, for those of us
00:15:06who don’t have the lived
00:15:07experience that you have, this
00:15:08is a way that all of us at the
00:15:10port really benefit from
00:15:13understanding what our blind
00:15:14spots are. And so
00:15:16whether it’s an opportunity to
00:15:18celebrate black history in
00:15:19February or multiple
00:15:22opportunities in terms of events
00:15:24that we host as an institution
00:15:26that are undergirded by these
00:15:28robust ergs, and they really
00:15:31rely on the type of volunteer
00:15:32leadership that you guys are
00:15:33contributing. So thank you so
00:15:35much for that. All
00:15:37All right, hearing no further
00:15:38discussion, Clerk Hart, can you
00:15:40please call the roll for the
00:15:41vote? Commissioners, as a
00:15:42reminder, please say aye or nay
00:15:44when your name is called,
00:15:45beginning with Commissioner
00:15:46Calkins. Aye. Thank you,
00:15:48Commissioner Toh. Aye.
00:15:51Thank you, Commissioner
00:15:52Fellerman. Aye. Thank you. Three
00:15:54ayes, zero nays for this item.
00:15:55All right. And with that, the
00:15:57motion passes unanimously.
00:16:00Thank you all so much. Next
00:16:09Next on our agenda is the
00:16:10executive director’s report.
00:16:11I’ll turn the floor over to
00:16:12Steve for this one. Thank you,
00:16:14President Calkins. Good
00:16:16afternoon, commissioners. Lots
00:16:18Lots going on. So my report’s
00:16:19just a little bit longer than
00:16:21normal, so. But I’d like to
00:16:23begin by thanking Martin and
00:16:24Darryl for their reading of the
00:16:26Black History Month proclamation
00:16:28and for all that blacks in
00:16:29government continues to do here
00:16:31at the port and in the community
00:16:32as well. Well, and I appreciate
00:16:34all the ways we honor and
00:16:36recognize black history.
00:16:38Speaking of black history, I’d
00:16:39like to note that last fall, we
00:16:40lost a Washington civil rights
00:16:42icon here, Dr. Quinard Taylor,
00:16:45who was an American historian,
00:16:47professor at the University of
00:16:48Washington, and the founder of
00:16:50BlackHistory.org, the Go to
00:16:52source for black history. I
00:16:54I cannot believe it was six
00:16:56years ago, but I very, very
00:16:57clearly remember that, that we
00:16:59had the Honor of having Dr.
00:17:01Taylor speaking here at the Port
00:17:02of Seattle at the Black History
00:17:04Month event organized by blacks
00:17:05in Government. It
00:17:07It was a very impactful event,
00:17:08actually, to talk about some
00:17:10some of those historic figures
00:17:12figures in black history and how
00:17:14they shaped both the American
00:17:16experience and contributed
00:17:18contributed to what we are as a
00:17:19nation. And
00:17:20And it was very impactful for
00:17:22those in the audience. So I was
00:17:23very saddened to hear Dr.
00:17:25Taylor’s passing. The
00:17:26The city
00:17:28city of Seattle rightfully
00:17:29recognized his life and legacy
00:17:30this past Saturday, marking the
00:17:32day as Dr. Cunard
00:17:35Cunard Taylor Day. And I thought
00:17:37this was a fitting remembrance
00:17:39remembrance for Dr. Taylor in
00:17:40his extraordinary work
00:17:41preserving black history. In
00:17:43addition to today’s
00:17:44proclamation, throughout the
00:17:46month, Blacks in Government will
00:17:47offer a series of opportunities
00:17:49to learn, reflect, and celebrate
00:17:51moments in black American
00:17:52history. Employees
00:17:53Employees can also look forward
00:17:54to interactive events and
00:17:56resources designed to deepen
00:17:58understanding, build connection,
00:18:00and honor the enduring legacy,
00:18:01cultural contributions, and
00:18:03achievements of black Americans.
00:18:04So keep an eye on Compass for
00:18:06those announcements.
00:18:08Commissioners, I have good news
00:18:09and bad news about the federal
00:18:10budget. Congress successfully
00:18:12passed five of the remaining
00:18:14federal appropriations bills
00:18:15into law, including legislation
00:18:17that provides funding for the
00:18:18U.S. department of
00:18:19Transportation. We
00:18:21We appreciate the leadership of
00:18:22our congressional delegation, in
00:18:24particular Senate Appropriations
00:18:26Committee Vice Chair Patty
00:18:28Murray, in crafting strong bills
00:18:30that address key port needs and
00:18:31concerns. However, there’s one
00:18:34remaining appropriations bill,
00:18:35the legislation providing
00:18:37funding for the Department of
00:18:38Homeland Security, that expires
00:18:40this coming Friday, pending
00:18:42congressional negotiations on
00:18:43whether and how federal
00:18:44immigration services like
00:18:46Immigration and Customs
00:18:47Enforcement should be held to
00:18:49higher standards of transparency
00:18:50and accountability. We
00:18:52We fully support that intention,
00:18:54but there’s a significant chance
00:18:56that a partisan impasse on the
00:18:58topic could lead to a partial
00:18:59federal government shutdown that
00:19:01would impact key players like
00:19:03TSA and US Coast Guard, both
00:19:05federal agencies that we
00:19:07interact with. We will continue
00:19:09to monitor the situation closely
00:19:11closely and update you as we
00:19:12learn more. In the meantime, the
00:19:13port is fully prepared to once
00:19:15again support the unpaid federal
00:19:16workers should this happen, the
00:19:18shutdown happen. Who staff our
00:19:20airport and seaport if the
00:19:22situation comes to pass after
00:19:23Friday’s deadline. A
00:19:26A few other things I’d like to
00:19:27note, which on a happier note is
00:19:30perhaps most notably the Seattle
00:19:32Seahawks capping off an
00:19:33incredible season to become
00:19:35super bowl champions. Yep. Yep.
00:19:37So there we go. So
00:19:39So there we go.
00:19:42So I was happy I was happy to
00:19:44note that we had a side bet
00:19:47that we had a side bet along
00:19:48with Managing Director of
00:19:50Aviation Wendy Ryder and I with
00:19:51the Massport Chief Executive
00:19:53Officer Richard Davy.
00:19:55And we expect him to be a great
00:19:57sport and having to wear a
00:19:59Seahawks jersey later on as we
00:20:00do that as winning the bet to do
00:20:02that Pixar, it didn’t happen. He
00:20:04needs to send some photographs,
00:20:06some photographic evidence. We
00:20:07can put it on our social media
00:20:08for sure. So yes, and locally,
00:20:11the celebration will continue.
00:20:12The city sadly expects hundreds
00:20:14of thousands of fans to converge
00:20:16downtown for the Seahawks
00:20:17official victory celebration
00:20:18tomorrow. The Seahawks events
00:20:20begin with a trophy celebration
00:20:22at lumen field at 10am followed
00:20:23by a victory parade ending at
00:20:26along Fourth Avenue, ending at
00:20:28Fourth and Cedar Street. Port
00:20:29facilities are scheduled to be
00:20:31open and operating as usual.
00:20:32However, employees are
00:20:34encouraged to plan ahead with
00:20:35their managers and and make
00:20:36adjustments as needed to
00:20:37accommodate the increased
00:20:39traffic. I heard the numbers
00:20:40were 750,000 up to I can’t
00:20:43believe it. Up to a million. I
00:20:44find that hard to believe, but
00:20:46that’s what I heard this
00:20:47morning. So Moving along
00:20:49Commissioners to Events Last
00:20:51Week Last week, as I was
00:20:53trudging along the icy sidewalks
00:20:55in Anchorage, Alaska, I was
00:20:57meeting with representatives of
00:20:58the ports of Alaska, Vancouver
00:21:00and Victoria, as well as other
00:21:02maritime and tourism leaders and
00:21:04engaged in the cruise industry.
00:21:06The Cruise Lines International
00:21:07Association’s third Annual
00:21:08Pacific Northwest Symposium
00:21:10brought together all of our
00:21:12priority conversations around
00:21:13equitable economic development,
00:21:15safety, environmental
00:21:17sustainability and
00:21:18and sustainable tourism.
00:21:21Those conversations up in
00:21:22Anchorage makes those
00:21:23conversations specific
00:21:26specific to our Pacific
00:21:28Northwest Western communities
00:21:30and our values as well as I’d
00:21:33like to let you know that
00:21:34alternative maritime fuels was a
00:21:35major topic of conversation as
00:21:37the Global Trade association
00:21:39leaders reiterated the industry
00:21:41goal to reach net zero
00:21:43greenhouse gas emissions by
00:21:442050. We
00:21:46We know that many maritime
00:21:47industries are already using
00:21:50fuels, including liquefied
00:21:51natural gas and renewable
00:21:53natural gas, as
00:21:55as interim steps as we continue
00:21:57to the march to reducing
00:21:59particulate and sulfur emissions
00:22:01and the reduction of greenhouse
00:22:02gases. Recognizing that LNG and
00:22:05RNG do not adequately address
00:22:07climate change impacts. This has
00:22:10been a topic of interest among
00:22:11many in our community, and
00:22:13maritime leaders have been
00:22:14working closely to ensure that
00:22:15there’s a broad awareness of the
00:22:18regulatory requirements for the
00:22:19safe use of LNG and RNG and
00:22:22other alternative fuels we
00:22:24anticipate to be using in future
00:22:26decades when they’re available.
00:22:28We also know that there’s a lot
00:22:29of interest in our community
00:22:30regarding the port’s policy
00:22:32related to exhaust gas cleaning
00:22:34system discharges for cruise
00:22:35ships. Exhaust gas cleaning
00:22:37systems, also known by
00:22:39scrubbers, are equipment
00:22:40installed in a ship’s
00:22:41smokestack. Scrubbers use water
00:22:43to remove sulfur and
00:22:44particulates before the steam
00:22:46and exhaust come out of the
00:22:48smokestack. The filtered waste
00:22:50is offloaded ashore. The water
00:22:52wash is then treated before
00:22:53discharging. Currently, cruise
00:22:55lines are voluntarily agreeing
00:22:57to pause all treated scrubber
00:22:59wash discharges in Puget Sound,
00:23:01recognizing the Puget Sound is a
00:23:03unique and sensitive body of
00:23:05water and that pause remains in
00:23:06place today so there’s no
00:23:08discharge taking place or will
00:23:10take place in the coming year
00:23:12outside of Washington waters.
00:23:14The discharge of treated
00:23:15scrubber wash water is
00:23:16determined by federal and
00:23:17international regulations.
00:23:19The port supports upholding
00:23:21water quality protections unless
00:23:22the Department of Ecology
00:23:24determines that the treated
00:23:25scrubber discharges do not harm
00:23:27Washington water quality.
00:23:29Furthermore, we retain the
00:23:31prohibition of at berth treated
00:23:32scrubber water discharges
00:23:34discharges for cruise ships as a
00:23:36condition of their use of ADAR
00:23:37terminals, and we greatly
00:23:39appreciate the cruise industry
00:23:40to proactively engage in
00:23:41voluntary agreements to protect
00:23:43air and water quality in
00:23:45Washington. And it says, as a
00:23:47former regulator, it’s my
00:23:48experience sometimes that
00:23:49voluntary agreements are much
00:23:51quicker and move faster than
00:23:53than regulatory efforts. The
00:23:56port continues to enhance shore
00:23:57power utilization for cruise
00:23:59ships at berth in Seattle, which
00:24:01makes scrubbers unnecessary.
00:24:03From 2027 forward,
00:24:05we will require that all cruise
00:24:07ships connect to shore power at
00:24:09our docks. A matter of fact, you
00:24:10have required that by 2027. In
00:24:13addition, we’re actively
00:24:14pursuing the development and
00:24:15deployment of alternative
00:24:17sustainable fuels with our
00:24:18partners in both the cruise and
00:24:20cargo industries, and we’re
00:24:21leading in this effort through
00:24:22our Green Corridor initiatives.
00:24:24This will further reduce the
00:24:26need for cruise lines to use
00:24:27scrubbers in Washington waters
00:24:29while also reducing air
00:24:30pollution and greenhouse gas
00:24:32emissions. Continuing
00:24:34Continuing with maritime
00:24:35operations, I have an update on
00:24:37our customer engagements and and
00:24:38work. Following the difficult
00:24:39decision we made last year to
00:24:41close covered docks at Salmon
00:24:43Bay Marina to ensure life safety
00:24:45of tenants and staff, we
00:24:47we are now five weeks away from
00:24:48the closure of those docks.
00:24:50Since staff made this
00:24:51announcement. We’ve worked hard
00:24:52to find new mortgage for our
00:24:53customers and by and large we’ve
00:24:55been successful in delivering
00:24:57that support of our recreational
00:24:59mortgage customers, 85 have
00:25:01found new mortgage at other
00:25:02facilities. While a number of
00:25:04mortgage customers prefer to
00:25:05find other fresh water and or
00:25:07covered slips, a number of
00:25:09customers moved to Shilsho Bay
00:25:11Marina, including several
00:25:12Liveaboard customers.
00:25:14We specifically held spaces for
00:25:16these customers, ensuring a
00:25:17smooth transition from Salmon
00:25:19Bay. We’ve been offering support
00:25:21by signing a full time mortgage
00:25:23coordinator to help customers
00:25:24look for new space and
00:25:25reimbursing live Aboard
00:25:28Aboard customers for costs
00:25:29associated with their moves.
00:25:32As we knew was likely, it’s been
00:25:34especially difficult to find new
00:25:35spaces for floating on water
00:25:37residences. As we near the
00:25:39closure deadline of March 18, we
00:25:40are redoubling our efforts to
00:25:42assist our customers in finding
00:25:44mortgage to that end. Yesterday
00:25:46Commissioner Calkins and I met
00:25:47with Maurice Schuler from the
00:25:49Lake Union Liveaboard
00:25:50association as well as two of
00:25:52the current Salmon Bay Marina
00:25:53customers to continue to hear
00:25:55their feedback and share ideas.
00:25:57I will keep you updated as this
00:25:58date gets closer. At
00:26:01At the airport, we hit a major
00:26:02milestone since the Commission
00:26:04last met. On January 28, airport
00:26:07leaders in Alaska Airlines
00:26:08officially celebrated the
00:26:09opening of the SEA Gateway and
00:26:12if you’ve not traveled through
00:26:13the north part of the airport,
00:26:15you’re in for a beautiful
00:26:16surprise. The best kind of
00:26:18surprises I guess. We are
00:26:19located primarily in the Alaska
00:26:21Airlines ticketing lobby. SEA
00:26:23Gateway enhances efficiency,
00:26:25accessibility and overall
00:26:27customer experience over
00:26:29over two very busy years. The
00:26:30project redesigned Checkpoint 6,
00:26:32which if you have not had a
00:26:34chance to go through is a great
00:26:36new customer experience. Created
00:26:38new bridge level check in and
00:26:40drop bag drop, improved baggage
00:26:42claim level, upgraded entrances
00:26:44and exits on the drives, updated
00:26:47restrooms, added public art
00:26:49throughout and
00:26:50and added multiple
00:26:51sustainability and
00:26:52infrastructure upgrades in the
00:26:54project. And
00:26:55And as you know, we’re reaching
00:26:56the end of a transformative
00:26:58suite of projects at the
00:26:59airport. SEA Gateway is one of
00:27:01the most impactful and the most
00:27:03noticeable. Congratulations to
00:27:05all those involved in this
00:27:06project and to Alaska Airlines
00:27:08who are great partners in this
00:27:09unique, I
00:27:11I would say innovative delivery
00:27:12method that we use for this
00:27:14project. And
00:27:15And then moving to today’s
00:27:16Commission meeting, I’d like to
00:27:17highlight a few items on today’s
00:27:19consent agenda. We have a
00:27:20request for a Commission
00:27:21authorization to allow me to
00:27:22execute an interagency agreement
00:27:24for the port to be part of a
00:27:26capacity building mentorship
00:27:27program. The agreement will be
00:27:29with wsdot, Sound Transit, the
00:27:31City of Seattle and King county
00:27:33for a duration of two years.
00:27:35This program strengthens the
00:27:36capacity of small businesses in
00:27:38Washington by providing them
00:27:39with mentorship from larger
00:27:41firms engaged in government
00:27:42construction and consulting
00:27:44projects. I’m excited for the
00:27:46Port to join our peers in the
00:27:48major builders here in the
00:27:49region of accomplishing our
00:27:51shared goals of strengthening
00:27:52the capacity of Washington small
00:27:53businesses in this way. This
00:27:56partnership on this program will
00:27:58complement the Port’s existing
00:28:00Business Port Business
00:28:01Accelerator Mentorship Program,
00:28:03advance our century general goal
00:28:05of responsibly investing in
00:28:06regional economic growth and
00:28:08help us carry out the diversity
00:28:10and Contracting Policy directive
00:28:12of increasing the pool of
00:28:13diverse competitive WIMBEE and
00:28:15small business contractors to
00:28:16meet our diversity and
00:28:17contracting goals. And
00:28:20And on our consent agenda also
00:28:22is an action that would enable
00:28:23utilization of a berth 6 and 8
00:28:26project at Terminal 91 up to
00:28:28four months ahead of schedule.
00:28:29This is great. This project is
00:28:31approximately 85% complete and
00:28:33represents nearly two years of
00:28:35construction, replacing the
00:28:36oldest sections of the pier and
00:28:38removing more than 2,200
00:28:40creosote piles in favor of fewer
00:28:43than 250 significantly stronger
00:28:45and more durable concrete piles,
00:28:47creating an asset designed to
00:28:48serve the Port reliably for the
00:28:50decades to come and to remove
00:28:51the creosote from the marine
00:28:53environment. As is often the
00:28:55case with our legacy waterfront
00:28:56infrastructure, conditions
00:28:58beneath the pier presented
00:28:59unforeseen challenges and
00:29:00conditions requiring close
00:29:02coordination with the contractor
00:29:04and sustained effort to resolve
00:29:05issues while maintaining
00:29:07progress resulting in additional
00:29:09time and complexity of the
00:29:10project. The action before you
00:29:12today reflects those realities
00:29:13by increasing project
00:29:14authorization while
00:29:16while also enabling an
00:29:17accelerated completion of the
00:29:18berth portions of the work to
00:29:19support preparation of the
00:29:22Pacific fishing fleet ahead of
00:29:23schedule and
00:29:25and under new business. Today we
00:29:26have a Commission Order related
00:29:27to police transparency and
00:29:29accountability. I appreciate the
00:29:31partnership with the Commission
00:29:32Office to make these
00:29:33improvements. Communities across
00:29:35Washington are navigating
00:29:36heightened anxiety and division
00:29:38stemming from unprecedented
00:29:40federal immigration actions. In
00:29:42related demonstrations, I want
00:29:44to reiterate that the Port of
00:29:45Seattle Police responsibilities
00:29:47remain separate from the Federal
00:29:49immigration enforcement under
00:29:50both the Keep Washington Working
00:29:52act and the Port’s Welcoming
00:29:53Port Policy set by the
00:29:55Commission. The Port of Seattle
00:29:57Police do not engage in civil
00:29:59immigration enforcement and our
00:30:00residents or customers traveling
00:30:02through our gateway should feel
00:30:03safe seeking help from
00:30:05Port of Police Department.
00:30:08This order helps reinforce this
00:30:09message through the Division and
00:30:11naming conventions to clearly
00:30:12distinguish Port police from
00:30:13Federal officers, notifications
00:30:15of emphasis patrols and
00:30:17additional reporting and
00:30:18transparency requirements. We
00:30:20look forward to fulfilling these
00:30:22requirements and reporting back
00:30:23to the Commission. Our officers
00:30:25serve every day, 24 hours a day
00:30:27in complex, high pressure
00:30:28conditions that are intensified
00:30:30by the current tensions
00:30:31involving Federal immigration
00:30:33agencies. These tensions place
00:30:35both the public safety and the
00:30:36safety of our law enforcement
00:30:37professionals at a higher risk.
00:30:40I appreciate the appreciated
00:30:42comments by the Washington
00:30:43association of Sheriffs and
00:30:44Police Chiefs and the Washington
00:30:46Council of Police and Sheriffs
00:30:47who released the statement
00:30:48underscoring, underscoring their
00:30:50commitment to constitutional
00:30:51protections, the Keep Washington
00:30:53Working act, and the
00:30:54professional and transparency in
00:30:56the. In professional
00:30:57transparency accountability.
00:30:59Only through partnership with
00:31:00elected officials, community
00:31:02leaders and law enforcement
00:31:03leaders can we make Washington
00:31:04safe for everyone. I look
00:31:06forward to
00:31:07to the discussion of the item
00:31:09later in today’s meeting and
00:31:10thank the commission staff for
00:31:11the continuing effort to
00:31:12prioritize public safety.
00:31:14Commissioners, this concludes my
00:31:16lengthy report. Thank you. You
00:31:18take a drink of water there,
00:31:19Steve. That was. I
00:31:20I hear all that and it
00:31:23just makes me think this is
00:31:24government that works. We are
00:31:26accomplishing so much and we’ve
00:31:27got ambitious plans for the
00:31:29future. And it really speaks to
00:31:31the incredible efforts of staff
00:31:33to pull all of this off.
00:31:36There are no committee reports
00:31:38today. And so we’re going to
00:31:39move to public comment.
00:31:41The Port Commission welcomes
00:31:42public comment as an important
00:31:44part of the public process.
00:31:46Comments are received and
00:31:47considered by the commission in
00:31:49its deliberations. Before we
00:31:51take public comment, Clerk Hart,
00:31:52can you please display the QR
00:31:54code to our public comment rules
00:31:55of preparation procedure for
00:31:57members of the public providing
00:31:58public testimony. It is
00:31:59essential that these rules are
00:32:00followed. Written copies of the
00:32:02rules are available at the door
00:32:03as well. Okay.
00:32:05Okay. And I think we. We got it
00:32:07up there. Good. Clerk Hart, can
00:32:09you please call our first
00:32:11speaker, maybe do the virtual
00:32:13speakers first and then move to
00:32:15the ones in the room. We
00:32:16certainly can. Thank you, Mr.
00:32:17Commission President. Give me
00:32:18just one moment to get our timer
00:32:19up. There
00:32:30There we go. And
00:32:32starting virtually. Our first
00:32:34speaker is Stacy Oakes. Stacy at
00:32:37Star six to unmute to be heard.
00:32:40And then please go ahead and
00:32:41repeat your name for the record
00:32:42and your agenda item or topic
00:32:44related to the conduct of port
00:32:45business that you’ll be speaking
00:32:47about today. And then I’ll start
00:32:48the timer. Yes,
00:32:51Yes, Good afternoon. My name is
00:32:53Stacy Oakes and I’m a member of
00:32:54Seattle Cruise Control. And
00:32:56today I’ll be speaking about
00:32:57cruise water pollution and
00:32:58scrubbers. I’m
00:33:00I’m not going to repeat all of
00:33:01the facts that others are going
00:33:03to be sharing with you today and
00:33:04came through in many written
00:33:05comments about how scrubbers
00:33:07poison marine and wildlife, harm
00:33:09the seafood industry and impact
00:33:11human health. Instead, I want to
00:33:13talk about why hundreds of
00:33:15people have taken the time to
00:33:16reach out to you as Port
00:33:17Commissioners about this, even
00:33:19though cruise companies haven’t
00:33:21formally said yet that they want
00:33:23to pull out of the voluntary
00:33:24pause on dumping the filth
00:33:26in the Salish Sea.
00:33:28History has shown us that by the
00:33:30time the public is made aware of
00:33:32an issue and given a chance to
00:33:33comment, decisions are usually
00:33:35already made. Industry
00:33:37Industry has already had many
00:33:38conversations provided their own
00:33:41studies, financial reports and
00:33:43talking points carefully crafted
00:33:45and manipulated to show the
00:33:47outcomes they desire. Carnival’s
00:33:50ridiculous study is a glaring
00:33:51example of this. It
00:33:54It was extremely disappointing
00:33:56to learn that the port lobbyists
00:33:57did not advocate for the
00:33:59Washington Clean Shipping Fuels
00:34:01bill this year, which would have
00:34:03protected the entire state
00:34:06from scrubber discharge waste.
00:34:08Listening to some of the
00:34:10comments at the Northwest
00:34:11Seaport alliance meeting where
00:34:13this was discussed, it showed a
00:34:15lack of true commitment to
00:34:16ensuring a clean and thriving
00:34:18marine ecosystem.
00:34:20Supporting an idea
00:34:22while rejecting a decisive
00:34:24action that would turn that idea
00:34:26into reality is not how we
00:34:28achieve results. If
00:34:30If you wouldn’t want to drink or
00:34:31bathe in scrubber wash water,
00:34:33then please do everything you
00:34:35can to not let
00:34:37let our swimming relatives have
00:34:39to have that toxic fate. Be
00:34:41proactive. Be creative. Be firm
00:34:43and resolute. Be a protector of
00:34:45our waters. Thank you.
00:34:49Thank you, Ms. Oakes. Clerk,
00:34:51Clerk, our next speaker. Thank
00:34:53you. Continuing on with our
00:34:54virtual signup, we have one more
00:34:56speaker that is Iris Antman.
00:34:57Iris, please go ahead and repeat
00:34:59your name for the record and
00:35:00your agenda item or a topic
00:35:02related to the conduct of port
00:35:03business, please. Hi
00:35:07Hi there, my name is Iris Antman
00:35:09and my agenda item is
00:35:13Keeping the pause on toxic
00:35:16Scrubber waste discharge. Dear
00:35:18Port Commissioners, my name is
00:35:19Iris Hatman and I’m a member of
00:35:21Seattle Cruise Control. I’m here
00:35:23to comment today on the issue of
00:35:25dumping toxic scrubber waste
00:35:27into the Salish Sea. There has
00:35:30been a voluntary pause in this
00:35:31practice for the past four years
00:35:33and until a study was done.
00:35:35Carnival Cruise Corps has
00:35:36sponsored a study the results of
00:35:38which show that this toxic waste
00:35:41dumping does not negatively
00:35:43impact marine SEA life or the
00:35:44water. On the face of this, it
00:35:47seems hard to believe that this
00:35:49Carnival study is an industry
00:35:51sponsored study to clearly raise
00:35:54concern regarding
00:35:55regarding the reliability of the
00:35:57findings. Kind of like the
00:35:58tobacco companies denying for
00:36:00decades that cigarette smoking
00:36:02is harmful. The Washington
00:36:04Department of Ecology has not
00:36:06agreed with the findings of the
00:36:08study and removed their name as
00:36:09a sponsor. Plus, numerous
00:36:12previous studies have not agreed
00:36:14with Carnival’s findings. We ask
00:36:16that the Port Commission not
00:36:18lift the pause on the stumping.
00:36:20We must protect our waters,
00:36:22marine SEA life and public
00:36:24health. And we know that
00:36:25scrubber waste dumping will only
00:36:27cause more harm. And thank you
00:36:29very much. Thank
00:36:31Thank you, Ms. Antman. All
00:36:33right, we’re going to move to
00:36:36commenters who are here in
00:36:38person, can you clarkart please
00:36:40call our first public commenter
00:36:42in person? Yes. Thank you Mr.
00:36:44Commission President, beginning
00:36:45with Michelle Giamarco.
00:36:47Hi Michelle. Please go ahead and
00:36:49repeat your name for the record
00:36:50and your topic. Yeah, my name is
00:36:52Michelle Girarco and I’m here
00:36:53again to comment on the closure
00:36:54and evictions at Salmon Bay
00:36:56Marina where I remain on my
00:36:57houseboat. I’ve attended regular
00:36:59Commission meetings now for five
00:37:01months and have learned a lot
00:37:02about the Port of Seattle. I’m
00:37:04struck by the scope and scale of
00:37:05amazing projects the Port
00:37:06undertakes for the aviation and
00:37:08maritime futures of our unique
00:37:09and diverse region. In
00:37:11In the nearly eight years I’ve
00:37:12been a customer at Salmon Bay,
00:37:14I’ve also found the port to
00:37:15employ some truly smart,
00:37:16earnest, salt of the earth
00:37:18people. Ray Root, all of our
00:37:20operations, crew and even Delmos
00:37:23are part of a fabric of our
00:37:24dissolving community. It’s
00:37:26partly why the abrupt closure of
00:37:27the marina and bungled customer
00:37:29relations since have been such a
00:37:30surprise. The secrecy and lack
00:37:32of consideration for the people
00:37:34most affected seem out of step
00:37:35for the port and there appears
00:37:36to be little consequence or
00:37:37accountability. I work at UW
00:37:40managing a facility of expensive
00:37:42aging finicky microscopes for
00:37:43scientific researchers. They are
00:37:45public assets and I am their
00:37:47steward. Sometimes I learn one
00:37:48must be retired in the near term
00:37:50and it’s unethical not to
00:37:51immediately alert my users.
00:37:53People spend considerable
00:37:54resources planning years long
00:37:56projects depending on that
00:37:57equipment. It’s tough, but I
00:37:59consult users on a sunsetting
00:38:01strategy that minimally impacts
00:38:02their work and provides
00:38:03meaningful alternatives. Hiding
00:38:05my knowledge of the pro of the
00:38:07problem while continuing to
00:38:08charge and raise user fees would
00:38:10get me fired. Customers at
00:38:12Salmon Bay Marina were kept in
00:38:14the dark about the gravity of
00:38:16the safety concerns and the
00:38:17possibility of closure for
00:38:18years. The
00:38:19The Commission learned last
00:38:20summer and we were finally
00:38:22informed in September.
00:38:23Meanwhile, we invested in
00:38:24outfitting our boats for what we
00:38:26thought was long term mortgage.
00:38:27Here we passed on long gone
00:38:29opportunities to purchase slips
00:38:31believing our mortgage was
00:38:32secure. A liveaboard family
00:38:33started the school year only to
00:38:35be uprooted the following week.
00:38:37Now we’re being evicted in 35
00:38:39days. There are no live aboard
00:38:40houseboat slips available
00:38:41currently and I’m learning that
00:38:43arranging maritime logistics to
00:38:44permanently move a houseboat
00:38:45takes time. Despite
00:38:47Despite several very valuable
00:38:48options, there is still no
00:38:49contingency plan for us and
00:38:51seemingly no long term vision
00:38:52for this asset. We very much
00:38:54appreciate Director Metruck and
00:38:56Commissioner Calkins taking time
00:38:57to talk with us yesterday and
00:38:59look Forward to getting more
00:38:59answers to our questions. These
00:39:01meetings are such a mixed bag of
00:39:03emotions, and I thank you all
00:39:04for listening. Thank
00:39:06Thank you, Ms. Jamarco.
00:39:08Next speaker. Yes. Our next
00:39:10speaker is Natalie Wentworth.
00:39:13Natalie, please repeat your name
00:39:14for the record and your agenda
00:39:15item or topic related to the
00:39:17conduct of port business, and
00:39:18then I’ll start the timer.
00:39:19Thanks. I’m Natalie Wentworth.
00:39:21I’m here to talk about Salmon
00:39:22Bay Marina, where I also live.
00:39:25I don’t have much to add that
00:39:28Michelle hasn’t been sharing
00:39:29tirelessly over the last few
00:39:31months, but just for
00:39:32representation sake. I’m a
00:39:34resident of Salmon Bay Marina in
00:39:35Uncovered Morage. I’ve lived
00:39:37there for six years. I. I’m in
00:39:39good standing and I’m currently
00:39:40facing eviction. And
00:39:42And I would like a solution from
00:39:43the port that
00:39:45that provides appropriate time
00:39:46to find appropriate slips for
00:39:48the remaining Salmon Bay Marina
00:39:50residents. It’s my understanding
00:39:52that the decision to close
00:39:53Salmon Bay Marina was made at
00:39:56least two months before any
00:39:58residents were informed of
00:40:00eviction. I’m asking for at
00:40:02least that amount of valuable
00:40:03time to
00:40:05to find the appropriate housing
00:40:06for the rest of us or a plan to
00:40:08utilize the existing Salmon Bay
00:40:10Marina infrastructure to safely
00:40:13house the remaining residents.
00:40:15Thank you. Thank
00:40:17Thank you, Ms. Wentworth. Next
00:40:19speaker. Our next speaker is
00:40:21John Chaney. John,
00:40:23John, please go ahead and repeat
00:40:24your name for the record. Good
00:40:33Good afternoon. My name is John
00:40:34Chaney. I’m here to speak about
00:40:36the Salmon May Marina closure
00:40:39and eviction of tenants.
00:40:42My partner and I are pensioners
00:40:44living on our houseboat. We are
00:40:46being evicted from the slip our
00:40:48boat has occupied for over 20
00:40:50years at Salmon Bay Marina.
00:40:53I have reviewed the commission
00:40:55records. I
00:40:56I can’t find the authorization
00:40:59by the commission to close
00:41:01Salmon Bay Marina,
00:41:03including the eviction of
00:41:05liveaboards and houseboat
00:41:07families. Can you help me
00:41:09understand when
00:41:10when and how the commission
00:41:13authorized this act?
00:41:17The port staff held a safety
00:41:19meeting with tenants on
00:41:20September 11th. Not an eviction
00:41:22meeting, A safety meeting. An
00:41:24auspicious date for destruction.
00:41:28And told the tenants that they
00:41:31were so very sorry that we were
00:41:33being evicted
00:41:34evicted for our own safety.
00:41:38No live aboards would be allowed
00:41:40under covered mortgage for
00:41:4460 days and uncovered mortgage
00:41:46in five months. We
00:41:48We were told the port was
00:41:49dedicating staff to help every
00:41:51tenant relocate.
00:41:54Some community members were
00:41:55offered mortgage at port
00:41:56facilities. The
00:41:58The houseboat families like mine
00:42:00were told the port would not
00:42:02offer mortgage to us
00:42:04even as a temporary measure.
00:42:07To date, one houseboat, the
00:42:08smallest, has relocated.
00:42:11There is scarcity of slips in
00:42:13Seattle. That scarcity has also
00:42:15driven up rents. Affordability
00:42:18and availability are Hitting
00:42:20live aboards just like all
00:42:23Seattle renters.
00:42:26On January 23rd, just minutes
00:42:28before meeting with COO Delma
00:42:31Switaker, I got an email from
00:42:33Mr. Whitaker. It reminded
00:42:35tenants that our mortgage
00:42:36agreements were terminating
00:42:37March 18 and we must vacate the
00:42:40marina. You
00:42:41You will cut off water,
00:42:43electricity and lock the access
00:42:45gates. I
00:42:47I now have 36 days to find
00:42:50Morridge. Please
00:42:52Please don’t erase the long
00:42:54history of live aboards at
00:42:57Salmon Bay Marina. Thank you.
00:42:59Thank you, Mr. Cheney.
00:43:02Next speaker. Yes, our next
00:43:04speaker is Rain Adderman.
00:43:08Rain, please go ahead and repeat
00:43:09your name for the record and
00:43:10your topic related to the
00:43:11concert. Yeah, thanks. Good
00:43:13afternoon, My name is Rain
00:43:14Attman. I’m with Washington
00:43:16Conservation Action. My topic of
00:43:18interest is scrubber waste wash
00:43:20water discharge. We applaud the
00:43:22port’s commitment and ethos to
00:43:23environmental stewardship of our
00:43:25waters, marine life, public
00:43:26health and ocean economy and
00:43:28believe that the current
00:43:29agreement with the cruise
00:43:30industry to pause the discharge
00:43:32of scrubber wash water into
00:43:33Puget Sound should be kept in
00:43:36place and should not be lifted.
00:43:38Based on a recent report
00:43:39commissioned and financed by
00:43:40Carnival Cruises that claims to
00:43:42show that scrubber discharge has
00:43:44no impact on the marine
00:43:45environment of Puget Sound, it
00:43:47is important to point out that
00:43:49Washington Department of Ecology
00:43:50does not fully agree with the
00:43:51results of the report and there
00:43:53is a huge body of scientific
00:43:55work that shows how toxic and
00:43:57harmful this pollution is to
00:43:59marine environment and human
00:44:01health. For the past two years,
00:44:03the state legislature has
00:44:05considered House Bill 1652 and
00:44:07Senate Bill 5519 that would
00:44:10require the use of low sulfur
00:44:11fuels, a cleaner burning fuel
00:44:13than heavy fuel oil for certain
00:44:15ocean going vessels, thereby
00:44:17negating the use of scrubbers
00:44:19altogether. The bill was widely
00:44:21supported by legislators, the
00:44:22public and generated healthy
00:44:24conversations with stakeholders
00:44:25including including the Port of
00:44:26Seattle. Unfortunately, the bill
00:44:28was unable to advance this year
00:44:30due to associated fiscal
00:44:33note impacts.
00:44:35We are hopeful and committed to
00:44:37working with stakeholders in the
00:44:38coming years as we move forward
00:44:40so that Washington State will
00:44:41Join more than 50 jurisdictions
00:44:43from around the world to ban the
00:44:45discharge of Scarborough Wash.
00:44:47Water. This is a simple,
00:44:49effective solution to safeguard
00:44:50Washington’s waters, wildlife,
00:44:52marine dependent communities and
00:44:54our human health until that time
00:44:55arrives. This voluntary
00:44:57agreement between the Port of
00:44:58Seattle and the cruise industry
00:44:59is important and as other ocean
00:45:01going vessels with scrubbers
00:45:03continue to transit Washington
00:45:05waters within the Northwest
00:45:07Seaport Alliance’s Scrubbers and
00:45:09fields report dated November
00:45:112022, Tables ES1.2.1 and 2.2
00:45:16show the extent of the number of
00:45:18vessels that deploy scrubbers in
00:45:19Puget Sound with Evergreen and
00:45:21Matson Shipping companies having
00:45:23the greatest number of ships
00:45:25using scrubbers. Given this
00:45:26data, I am curious to know if
00:45:29the port has considered
00:45:30expanding the scrubber waste
00:45:32discharge agreement to include
00:45:33these other vessels. Thank you
00:45:35for this opportunity to comment.
00:45:36Thank you, Mr. Adaman.
00:45:38Next speaker. Yes, our next
00:45:40speaker is Elizabeth Burton.
00:45:44Please go ahead and repeat your
00:45:45name for the record. Thank you.
00:45:50Good afternoon. My name is
00:45:51Elizabeth Burton and
00:45:54I’m commenting on scrubber
00:45:55discharge. In
00:45:58In his report today, Director
00:45:59Metruck described closed loop
00:46:01scrubbers which offload treated
00:46:03discharge onshore. However,
00:46:05collectively, Holland America,
00:46:07Princess Canard and Carnival
00:46:10Cruise Lines which are are
00:46:12scheduled to make 145 calls
00:46:14during the upcoming crew season.
00:46:16They all use open loop
00:46:18scrubbers. Open loop scrubbers
00:46:20continuously discharge their
00:46:22wastewater directly into the
00:46:24ocean. These
00:46:26These are all owned by Carnival
00:46:27Corporation. The funder of the
00:46:30previously mentioned report,
00:46:33Director Metruck also mentioned
00:46:34the removal of creosote pilings.
00:46:37That’s because creosote leeches,
00:46:39carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic
00:46:42hydrocarbons or PAHs into the
00:46:45water. And
00:46:46And in fact our state
00:46:47legislature is investing
00:46:49millions of dollars each year to
00:46:50remove old creosote pilings from
00:46:52Washington shorelines. Well,
00:46:54guess what? Among the toxic
00:46:56compounds that scrubber
00:46:57discharge contains are PAHs.
00:47:01It doesn’t make sense to allow
00:47:02cruise ships to discharge this
00:47:04while we’re busy getting rid of
00:47:05the creosote pilings to keep it
00:47:06out of our waters.
00:47:10We mostly focus on the output of
00:47:12scrubbers. But it’s also
00:47:13important to consider the input
00:47:15to scrubbers and I’m talking
00:47:17here mostly about open loop
00:47:18scrubbers. Scrubbers use
00:47:20incredibly powerful pumps to
00:47:22continuously pull up millions of
00:47:24gallons of seawater. This
00:47:26seawater is teeming with marine
00:47:28life. It is unlikely that any of
00:47:31that life survives its journey
00:47:33through the scrubber. Larger
00:47:35fish are crushed against the
00:47:36scrubbers filter while
00:47:38microorganisms like plankton are
00:47:40sprayed into the hot acidic
00:47:42exhaust chamber full of toxic
00:47:44gases. It
00:47:46It wasn’t clear to me from
00:47:48Director Metric’s statement
00:47:49whether it’s already been
00:47:50decided to extend the scrubber
00:47:53discharge pause or not. But I
00:47:55urge you to do everything you
00:47:57can to do so. Better
00:47:59Better yet, to follow the
00:48:00example of many other
00:48:01jurisdictions and make make the
00:48:03pause permanent. Thank you.
00:48:05Thank you, Dr. Burton.
00:48:07Next speaker. Yes, our next
00:48:09speaker is Kristin Cain.
00:48:12Kristen, please go ahead and
00:48:14repeat your name for the record
00:48:15and your topic you’re speaking
00:48:16on today. Good
00:48:18Good afternoon. My name is
00:48:20Kirsten Kane. I’m with friends
00:48:21of the San Juans and I will be
00:48:24talking about scrubber
00:48:25pollution. So
00:48:27So in addition to echoing the
00:48:29comments that you’ve heard today
00:48:30by my colleagues, I’m
00:48:32I’m glad to hear Director
00:48:33Metruck mention that the Port of
00:48:35Seattle has no intention of
00:48:36ending the voluntary scrub
00:48:37discharge ban with cruise ships
00:48:39and I urge the port to keep the
00:48:41ban and to even extend it to
00:48:42other vessels using scrubbers.
00:48:45You have just heard that the
00:48:46bill that would require
00:48:47oceangoing ships to use low
00:48:50sulfur fuels in Washington State
00:48:51waters is not moving forward
00:48:53this session until
00:48:54until this bill or similar
00:48:55legislation is passed.
00:48:57Washington State relies on this
00:48:58temporary voluntary agreement
00:49:00and federal regulations to
00:49:02regulate scrubber discharge in
00:49:03Washington waters. In
00:49:05In addition to my concerns about
00:49:07the air quality impacts of heavy
00:49:09fuel oil that is burned when
00:49:10using scrubbers, I’m here to
00:49:11tell you that relying on federal
00:49:12regulations is not sufficient to
00:49:14protect our state’s waters from
00:49:16the toxic and acidic scrubber
00:49:17discharges. The
00:49:19The Clean Water act established
00:49:20the National Pollutant Discharge
00:49:22Elimination System,
00:49:23System, or NPTES in 1972, which
00:49:26today is applied to regulate
00:49:27scrubber discharges at a
00:49:28national level through self
00:49:30reporting on vessel general
00:49:31permits. The main issue with
00:49:33relying on federal regulations
00:49:35like NPTES are that they weren’t
00:49:37designed to account for highly
00:49:38specific sources like scrubbers
00:49:40and they rely on self reporting.
00:49:42Key gaps in this process include
00:49:45pollution assessment. Scrubber
00:49:47discharge contains pollutants
00:49:48like nitrates and heavy metals
00:49:49that are not addressed in
00:49:50existing limits. The enforcement
00:49:52model, the self reporting is
00:49:54unreliable and maintaining
00:49:55compliance by measuring PH at
00:49:57specific distances from outflows
00:49:59is impractical on board,
00:50:00limiting real world verification
00:50:03and there’s no cumulative
00:50:04assessment. The rules apply
00:50:05vessel by vessel and don’t
00:50:07capture additive long term
00:50:08loading in semi enclosed waters
00:50:10like the Salish SEA or Puget
00:50:11Sound where the port is located.
00:50:13Further, there are proven
00:50:14instances where vessels
00:50:15transiting through Washington
00:50:16waters have reported on their
00:50:17VGPS that their scrubber
00:50:19discharge did not meet the NPT’s
00:50:21requirements. These instances of
00:50:22non compliance are supposed to
00:50:24require use of emission
00:50:25compliant fuel the subsequent
00:50:26year, eliminating the need for
00:50:28scrubbers and preventing
00:50:29discharge. However, in an
00:50:31analysis that we carried out, we
00:50:33found that vessels don’t always
00:50:34adhere to these disciplinary
00:50:35actions, highlighting the weak
00:50:37oversight and enforcement of
00:50:38federal scrubber discharge
00:50:39requirements. Thank you for the
00:50:41opportunity to comment. Thank
00:50:43you Ms. King. Next speaker. Yes,
00:50:46Our final speaker signed up
00:50:47today is Teresa Vianne Crossman.
00:50:55And Teresa Vayan. If you could
00:50:56go ahead and repeat your name
00:50:57and your topic related to the
00:50:59conduct of port business or the
00:51:00agenda item you’re speaking on
00:51:02today, please. Thank you. Thank
00:51:03you. My
00:51:07My name is Teresa Vianne
00:51:08Crossman and I’m speaking on
00:51:14Velux Potter I’m CEO of a
00:51:17LuxPod, so that’s why I’m
00:51:19speaking. Well,
00:51:23Well, we
00:51:27we all know that
00:51:31tire pilots and
00:51:34and exhausted
00:51:36exhausted flight.
00:51:39Exhausted flight crews are a
00:51:41safety risk none
00:51:43none of us can
00:51:46can afford. So
00:51:48So today I’m,
00:51:53I’m asking for a solution.
00:51:56I’m trying to give a solution to
00:51:58separate the travelers,
00:52:01like the
00:52:03the travelers in
00:52:06in section, the concourse D
00:52:09and the employees in concourse
00:52:14like A or C.
00:52:17And if
00:52:20if they have their badges
00:52:22or anything like that, they
00:52:25could probably get a discount.
00:52:26But they all need their rest
00:52:29because you’ll get,
00:52:32you’ll get happier
00:52:35happier worker,
00:52:38you know, that is,
00:52:40you know, rested
00:52:42rested and refreshed,
00:52:46rested and refreshed. And
00:52:48instead of pushing through,
00:52:51you know, so I think all the
00:52:53employees and
00:52:54and everything, they need their
00:52:56rest because there’s a lot of.
00:52:59They have to work double time
00:53:01and stuff like that for
00:53:03for the workers. And
00:53:05And also the last time you guys
00:53:08seen me twice. So the last time
00:53:12you seen me, when I was saying
00:53:16about the treat, I was talking
00:53:19about making
00:53:20making it an experience,
00:53:22not just, you
00:53:24you know, right. Rest and
00:53:27refresh. But.
00:53:28But. Thank
00:53:34Thank you, Ms. Crossman and I.
00:53:35Ms. Crossman, I want to
00:53:36encourage you, if you have not
00:53:38already, to connect with our
00:53:40airport dining and retail
00:53:42concession staff. They are the
00:53:44professional staff who can help
00:53:46you with opportunities at the
00:53:47airport. As a commission, we
00:53:49actually have no decision
00:53:51decision making authority over
00:53:53anything, any of the concessions
00:53:55that are made at the airport.
00:53:56Okay. And I’m hoping there might
00:53:57be somebody here who could help
00:53:59get her in touch with the right
00:54:00folks. Michelle, maybe you can
00:54:02make sure that happens. Or
00:54:03Aaron, thank you so much and we
00:54:05appreciate your public comment.
00:54:06Yeah, thank you too.
00:54:09All right, that concludes our
00:54:10signups today. Is there anyone
00:54:12else present either here in the
00:54:15room or on the team’s call
00:54:17who wishes to address the
00:54:19commission? Okay.
00:54:24Okay. At this time, I’ll ask
00:54:26clerk Hart to please give us a
00:54:28synopsis of any written comments
00:54:30that we received. Thank
00:54:32Thank you, Mr. Commission
00:54:33President, members of the
00:54:34Commission, Executive Director
00:54:35Metric. We have received 372
00:54:38written comments for our meeting
00:54:39today. Two
00:54:41Two of those comments come from
00:54:42Sarah Christensen and Joanne
00:54:44Donahue who wrote asking the
00:54:46port to reduce the number of
00:54:47cruise sailings due to
00:54:49environmental and human impacts.
00:54:51Iris Amman submitted written
00:54:53comments supporting her spoken
00:54:54comments here today regarding
00:54:56regarding the pause of toxic
00:54:58scrubber waste discharge into
00:54:59the Salish Sea. Brandon Bowersox
00:55:02Johnson also submitted written
00:55:04comment asking the port to work
00:55:05towards a shipping industry
00:55:07that does not pollute either the
00:55:09air or waters and urges the port
00:55:11to work for a permanent ban of
00:55:13scrubbers, scrubber discharge
00:55:15and for state level requirements
00:55:17to mandate clean Maritime Fuels,
00:55:20the South Sound Bird Alliance
00:55:21Conservation Committee. Dr.
00:55:23Robert Hodgson and Gabby Alvira
00:55:26also submitted letters asking
00:55:28for a continued pause on
00:55:29scrubber waste discharge.
00:55:32And then finally noting that
00:55:34over 365 written comments were
00:55:37received via form letters on the
00:55:38same topic, the
00:55:40the continued ban of scrubber
00:55:42waste from discharging into the
00:55:44Salish Sea. We are compiling a
00:55:46list of the names of persons
00:55:47submitting these letters, and
00:55:49that list will be included with
00:55:50the letters as part of the
00:55:51public comment record. And that
00:55:53concludes the written comments
00:55:54received today. Thank
00:55:56Thank you, Clerk Hart. And I do
00:55:57want to note that while
00:55:59while public comment period is
00:56:01not a time for commissioners to
00:56:03respond directly, this is a time
00:56:04for us to listen to the public.
00:56:06We do take very seriously any
00:56:08questions that are raised during
00:56:09public comment and seek to
00:56:10respond to those and any
00:56:12correspondence we receive. We
00:56:16attempt to address any questions
00:56:18or concerns in our response to
00:56:20those. As I shared yesterday
00:56:22with the two of you, we take
00:56:23this very seriously. And it
00:56:25really does. Your willingness to
00:56:28come before commission and share
00:56:30really does impact the way we
00:56:31make our decisions. So thank you
00:56:33all so much for your
00:56:33contribution to public comment.
00:56:35I also want to note that
00:56:36Commissioner Hasegawa is now in
00:56:38attendance at the meeting. Our
00:56:40Our next order of business is
00:56:42the Consent Agenda. Items on the
00:56:44Consent Agenda are considered
00:56:46routine and will be adopted by
00:56:47one motion. Items removed from
00:56:49the Consent Agenda will be
00:56:50considered separately
00:56:51immediately after adoption of
00:56:53the remaining Consent Agenda
00:56:54items. At this time, the chair
00:56:56will entertain a motion to
00:56:57approve the Consent Agenda
00:56:59agenda covering items 8A through
00:57:018F. So
00:57:06So moved. Seconded. All right.
00:57:09The motion was made and
00:57:10seconded. Commissioners, please
00:57:12say aye or nay when your name is
00:57:13called, beginning
00:57:14beginning with Commissioner Cho.
00:57:15Aye. Thank
00:57:17Thank you. Commissioner
00:57:18Fellerman. Aye.
00:57:20Aye. Thank you. Commissioner
00:57:22Hoskawa. Aye. Thank you.
00:57:24Commissioner Calkins. Aye. Thank
00:57:26you. Four eyes, zero nays for
00:57:27this item. Okay. And the motion
00:57:29passes. All
00:57:31All right, we are now going to
00:57:33move to the
00:57:35the new
00:57:36new business items today.
00:57:39Clerk Hart, can you please read
00:57:40the first item into the record
00:57:42and Executive Director Metruck
00:57:44will then introduce it. Yes.
00:57:46Thank you. This IS Agenda Item
00:57:5110A. Authorization for the
00:57:53Executive director to advertise
00:57:55and execute a construction
00:57:56contract for the Flight Corridor
00:57:58Management Project 2024 in the
00:58:01requested amount of $6,000,000
00:58:03for an estimated total project
00:58:04cost of $9,700,000.
00:58:08Commissioners, before you today
00:58:09is an authorization related to
00:58:11the Flight Corridor Management
00:58:12Program, a long standing safety
00:58:14program that periodically
00:58:15evaluates and addresses
00:58:17obstruction, obstructions in the
00:58:18vicinity of Seattle Tacoma
00:58:20International Airport. Federal
00:58:22Aviation Administration
00:58:23requirements obligate airports
00:58:24to identify and manage
00:58:25obstructions to navigable
00:58:27airspace. Most commonly Trees to
00:58:29ensure that the safe operation.
00:58:30To ensure the safe operation of
00:58:32aircraft during takeoff and
00:58:33landing. This work is standard
00:58:35and essential practice across
00:58:37airports nationwide and is
00:58:38fundamental to protecting the
00:58:40safety of the flying public and
00:58:41the reliability of airfield
00:58:43operations. Approval today would
00:58:45allow the Port to move forward
00:58:46with advertising and in
00:58:47executing a construction
00:58:49contract to complete this work
00:58:50in a timely and compliant
00:58:51manner. Today’s presentation is
00:58:53abbreviated and will focus on
00:58:54the community engagement efforts
00:58:56around this project. Presenters
00:58:58are Robert Kikilis, Development
00:59:01Manager, Airport Operations, and
00:59:03Marco Melanese, Senior Community
00:59:05Engagement Manager. So I guess
00:59:07I’ll turn it over to you, Marco.
00:59:10Thank you, Executive Director.
00:59:11Again, my name is Rob Kikilis,
00:59:13Manager of Aviation Operations
00:59:14Project Development. And Marco
00:59:16is over here to my left. As
00:59:18As was just mentioned, since we
00:59:20were just here a month ago, our
00:59:21our briefing today would be a
00:59:23little bit shorter, be
00:59:24be a little bit more concise and
00:59:26focusing more on public
00:59:27outreach. But we are today
00:59:29asking the commission for
00:59:30authorization for $6 million to
00:59:33advertise and execute a
00:59:34construction contract which
00:59:35would include the removal of all
00:59:36obstructions and. And the
00:59:38ensuing mitigation work.
00:59:40I didn’t say next slide. Next
00:59:42slide, please. Sorry. Next
00:59:47Next slide, please. My bad.
00:59:49Thank you. Maintaining
00:59:50Maintaining safe and efficient
00:59:52flight paths to and from SEA Tac
00:59:54airports runways is critical to
00:59:55airport operations and the more
00:59:57than 52 million passengers that
00:59:59fly in and out of the airport
01:00:00each year. And to ensure that
01:00:03the Port is required by the FAA
01:00:04to identify and address any
01:00:06obstruction that could impede
01:00:07aircraft takeoffs or landings.
01:00:10The 2024 project, which is a
01:00:12current phase we’re in now, has
01:00:14identified and completed design
01:00:16for the removal of 197 tree
01:00:18obstructions that currently
01:00:19penetrate or will penetrate
01:00:21flight surfaces within five
01:00:22years. 158
01:00:24158 of those are on port
01:00:25property and 39 are in the city
01:00:27of Burien and SEATAC properties.
01:00:29None of them are on private
01:00:31property within
01:00:32within the airport activity
01:00:33area. The Port’s rigorous four
01:00:35credit tree replacement policy
01:00:37supports urban forests and trees
01:00:39by requiring actions to
01:00:41compensate for every tree
01:00:42removed. These actions include
01:00:44tree plantings, invasive species
01:00:45removal, maintenance on nearby
01:00:47Portland forest, or combination
01:00:48of these efforts. The
01:00:50The program to date has resulted
01:00:52in the Port planting more than
01:00:5312,000 trees and woody shrubs.
01:00:57And now I’m going to pass over
01:00:58to Marco. Thanks,
01:01:01Thanks, Rob. I’m Marco Milanese
01:01:03and I’m the Community Engagement
01:01:04Manager at SEA Airport. And I’ll
01:01:07speak briefly today about the
01:01:08outreach and the engagement and
01:01:10the communications that was
01:01:11implemented as part of this
01:01:13program. And thank you
01:01:14commissioners and Executive
01:01:15Metruck for the opportunity.
01:01:17Though as Rob mentioned, most of
01:01:18the obstructions were on airport
01:01:21were on airport property.
01:01:22Several obstructions were
01:01:23identified on city property in
01:01:25Burien and Seatac, so outreach
01:01:27began early with city staff in
01:01:30both those cities to make sure
01:01:31the port was abiding by all city
01:01:34removal and replanting
01:01:35requirements. The first meeting
01:01:37with Burien staff was last year
01:01:39on March 26 and SEA-TAC last
01:01:42year on April 3. Several
01:01:44meetings occurred throughout
01:01:452025 and port staff continue to
01:01:47be in close coordination with
01:01:49their counterparts in Burien and
01:01:51SEATAC regarding these
01:01:52obstructions. Public
01:01:54notification began in early
01:01:55August for the program and the
01:01:57accompanying SEPA process with
01:01:59an 8-2-7 email that went to all
01:02:02airport community, city managers
01:02:03and council members. The
01:02:05The next day, a brand new
01:02:07dedicated program website was
01:02:09launched with information on the
01:02:10SEPA process and the public
01:02:12comment period along with
01:02:14detailed maps identifying the
01:02:15location of each obstruction and
01:02:18then leading up to the launch of
01:02:20the 15 day SEPA public comment
01:02:23period. A variety of established
01:02:25port marketing and communication
01:02:27tools were used to publicize the
01:02:29program on how to provide public
01:02:31comment, including a Port
01:02:32Environmental Programs e
01:02:34newsletter on August 20, a SEPA
01:02:37notification e newsletter on
01:02:39August 27, and the Ports
01:02:42Connections e newsletter on
01:02:43September 5. Further
01:02:45Further information on the
01:02:47program was also included in the
01:02:49Airport Neighbors e newsletter
01:02:50on September 19th and the Ports
01:02:52Evergreen e newsletter on
01:02:54October 29th. And though it
01:02:56isn’t mentioned on the slide
01:02:57right there, let me add.
01:03:00Actually, let’s Sorry, we have
01:03:01to go advance one slide, My
01:03:02apologies, one more. There we
01:03:04go. And though it isn’t
01:03:05mentioned on the slide right
01:03:06there, let me add that the
01:03:07communications team also
01:03:08produced an informational video
01:03:10on the Flight Corridor
01:03:11Management Program that has
01:03:13garnered 263 views since it went
01:03:15live back on September 22.
01:03:18Two final items because
01:03:20because of the interest the six
01:03:21obstructions in Burien’s
01:03:23Matheson park attracted, the
01:03:25port presented on the program
01:03:26before the Burien City council
01:03:28back on September 22nd and based
01:03:30upon an invitation from Eric
01:03:33Matheson, whose family had
01:03:34originally owned the property,
01:03:36Commission President Calkins and
01:03:38Commissioner Hasegawa visited
01:03:40the park back in December and
01:03:42discussed additional ways the
01:03:43port could alleviate the effects
01:03:45of the planned work in the park.
01:03:47And thank you to both
01:03:47commissioners for taking part in
01:03:49in that torn visit. The
01:03:51The ideas brought up included
01:03:53funding for additional tree
01:03:54planting and better
01:03:56informational signage and
01:03:58markings to identify the trees
01:04:00the port will remove and why.
01:04:02Both ideas have already been
01:04:03discussed with the city’s Parks
01:04:05Director and the city’s Deputy
01:04:07Park Director, and the
01:04:08conversations are ongoing and we
01:04:10expect the details to be
01:04:11finalized in the coming weeks.
01:04:13In the interim, the port and
01:04:15city have posted temporary
01:04:17signage the park to identify the
01:04:20trees scheduled for removal by
01:04:22the port. And once permanent
01:04:23signage and new, more
01:04:25identifiable tree tags are
01:04:26ready, the port will again
01:04:28coordinate with the city on
01:04:29their installation in the park.
01:04:31So this concludes our
01:04:32presentation. We are now
01:04:34prepared to take any questions
01:04:35you might have for us. Thank
01:04:36you. All
01:04:38All right, Commissioner, so
01:04:39we’re going to take time for
01:04:39questions now, then I’ll ask for
01:04:41a motion, a second, and then we
01:04:43can debate
01:04:44debate and discuss the item. So
01:04:45beginning with any questions for
01:04:47staff on this item, Commissioner
01:04:49Hasegawa, did we get. Thank you
01:04:51for the presentation. Did we get
01:04:53any clarity as to whether all
01:04:55the other trees that are also
01:04:56tagged are going to be removed?
01:04:58Yes, thanks for asking about
01:05:00that. We did go back and talk to
01:05:02our previous consultants and
01:05:04port staff trying to figure out
01:05:05whether those tags were ours. We
01:05:08validated that they weren’t
01:05:09ours, and we went back to the
01:05:10city and told them. And they’ve
01:05:12also said they are not theirs.
01:05:13And so we just got approval, I
01:05:15believe, yesterday by the cities
01:05:17when we go out and put our new
01:05:18tags. They’ve approved us to
01:05:20remove all those other tags that
01:05:22haven’t been claimed by any
01:05:23agency or organization or group.
01:05:26Great. And so those
01:05:28what will then become untagged
01:05:30trees will remain? That is
01:05:32correct. Okay. Can you talk to
01:05:34me about timeline and when? I’ve
01:05:37seen the timeline in the past,
01:05:39looked like we had some more
01:05:40leeway. Like this wasn’t
01:05:42something that necessarily had
01:05:43to be passed right now, but
01:05:45something that maybe could take
01:05:46place later.
01:05:48Maybe there could have been. I
01:05:51I remember you talking about the
01:05:53issues with the phased approach
01:05:54to removing, you know, trees at
01:05:57a time and why they have to come
01:05:58out at the same time. But why
01:06:00does it have to happen sooner?
01:06:02Why can’t it happen later?
01:06:04Robert, you want to address
01:06:05that? Again,
01:06:07Again, we predict
01:06:09which based on growth rates for
01:06:11the area. We try to predict
01:06:12which trees are going to be
01:06:13growing up into the flight
01:06:15surfaces within the next five
01:06:16years. And
01:06:18And by the way, this
01:06:22this is 2026 now, and the
01:06:24analysis work was done back in
01:06:262024, so
01:06:29so they’ve already grown for a
01:06:30couple of years. So
01:06:32So as any safety expert would
01:06:35tell you, it’s better to be
01:06:36proactive than reactive. We
01:06:38don’t want to wait until there
01:06:39are penetrations because then
01:06:40there’s a problem. So
01:06:42So we try to do this proactive,
01:06:44as is recommended by any FAA or
01:06:47other agency, to make sure that
01:06:48these trees are removed before
01:06:50they start penetrating FAA
01:06:51surfaces. So is it that the
01:06:54tallest tree will penetrate
01:06:55within five years, all of them
01:06:58are predicted to penetrate
01:06:59within five years of the trees
01:07:01that we’ve identified. And
01:07:04And why. Maybe
01:07:06Maybe Chipper needs to come
01:07:07forward to talk me about some of
01:07:09the preservation work.
01:07:12But why is it that
01:07:15in terms of not being reactive,
01:07:17why can’t we preemptively
01:07:20plant the trees that
01:07:21that are in the tree bank or
01:07:23that where we’ve identified a
01:07:24more appropriate place for these
01:07:26trees just
01:07:28just to catch up for the public
01:07:29who’s listening and plugging in
01:07:31just right now, we’re
01:07:32we’re going to be. The port has
01:07:35a tree replacement standard of 3
01:07:36to 1 or 4 to 1. The city of
01:07:38Burien has a 3 to 1 standard. It
01:07:40originally we’re going to
01:07:41replace them at a three to one
01:07:42standard. Then I asked, can’t we
01:07:44just keep it to our own port
01:07:45standard and donate the
01:07:46additional. I
01:07:48I think it was what, six, four,
01:07:50five, six trees to bring it to
01:07:52the four to one standard to give
01:07:54to the tree baking program. They
01:07:55said, yes, you’ve done that. I’m
01:07:56really grateful to that. So my
01:07:58question, Chipper, is why don’t
01:08:00we then plant
01:08:02plant those trees and let them
01:08:04take root and, and then, and
01:08:07then remove the trees so that
01:08:09we’re never out of position? And
01:08:10for the city and those impacted
01:08:12community members where they’re
01:08:13at a net loss as opposed to
01:08:15status quo or net gain.
01:08:18That’s a really good question. I
01:08:20I think that part of the answer
01:08:22is due to contracting and our
01:08:25ability to implement the work
01:08:27over a phase of. In a phased
01:08:30approach, rather than just
01:08:31having the one contract to
01:08:33to implement the work all at
01:08:34once. That’s the minimum legal
01:08:36requirement, is to do the
01:08:37replacement concurrently.
01:08:39The plants are. The trees that
01:08:42we’re replacing are also going
01:08:43in the same location as some of
01:08:45the trees that are being
01:08:46removed. So
01:08:47So they literally can’t be
01:08:48planted until those trees are
01:08:50removed. And even if they’re
01:08:52going kind of adjacent to them,
01:08:54there’s a potential that they
01:08:56would be impacted during the
01:08:58tree removal construction. So it
01:09:01does make sense to conduct a
01:09:04replacement later or
01:09:06or at least concurrent at the
01:09:08same time that the trees are
01:09:09being removed. So I think you
01:09:11had another question. If
01:09:13If I could just add on to the
01:09:14phasing part of it really quick.
01:09:16I mean, all the work, the
01:09:17removal, the replanting is all
01:09:19scheduled at this point as long
01:09:20as we, you know, keep moving
01:09:21with our current schedule to be
01:09:23done by the end of the year. So
01:09:24it’s not like we’re going to
01:09:25remove the trees and wait, I
01:09:27don’t know, some length of time.
01:09:28It’s all going to be done by the
01:09:29end of the year. So if this
01:09:32passes, then you will remove all
01:09:34six. Six trees, right? Yeah, all
01:09:38six trees by the end of this
01:09:40year. And
01:09:41And then in the winter begin the
01:09:43process of replacing them so
01:09:45they could take root. What’s the
01:09:47timing of the removal of those
01:09:48trees which are also providing
01:09:51relief for the play structure
01:09:52that’s there over the
01:09:53summertime? Like, is there a way
01:09:56where. Why does it have to
01:09:57happen now ahead of the hot
01:09:58season? Why can’t we wait and
01:10:00time this out for as the weather
01:10:01starts to turn cool again and
01:10:03then give it the longest
01:10:04timeline possible so,
01:10:06so, so that the kids in that
01:10:07neighborhood could still have
01:10:08some of that shade for this
01:10:10summer? And year by year we
01:10:12break records for sweltering
01:10:14heat. And this isn’t a heat
01:10:17island area. I’m wondering about
01:10:19timing. Why does this have to
01:10:20happen now? I
01:10:22I think it goes back to the same
01:10:23question you had earlier. It’s
01:10:25really about being proactive and
01:10:29doing this before they start
01:10:30penetrating surfaces. We wait
01:10:31another year. We’re into three.
01:10:33Three years, I think. So I mean.
01:10:36And you know, at
01:10:38at some point you just, you have
01:10:39to do it. There’s
01:10:41There’s no, there’s no prop.
01:10:42There’s no doubt. There’s no way
01:10:44to argue it really. It has to be
01:10:45done and,
01:10:46and, and
01:10:49we’re doing it in the best way
01:10:50that we can. And I respect that
01:10:52and I agree that safety is non
01:10:53negotiable. I’m trying to figure
01:10:55out the optimal timeline to do
01:10:57our part in terms of decision
01:11:00makers to mitigate unintended
01:11:01impacts on community members who
01:11:03are really worried.
01:11:07I think that’s something we can
01:11:08consider and come back to you
01:11:09with with a better answer. The
01:11:12construction’s intended to be
01:11:14implemented in the middle of the
01:11:16summer, June or July or August.
01:11:18Can you say that part again? I’m
01:11:19so sorry. The construction is
01:11:20supposed to be. Take place in
01:11:22the summer. I just heard from
01:11:24our construction team that
01:11:25actually the construction.
01:11:26Construction will take part
01:11:27after the summer. Okay.
01:11:29Construction meaning the. The
01:11:31removal of the trees and the
01:11:32replanting. So
01:11:33So it seems like we can meet
01:11:34your requirement to wait until
01:11:36the end of the summer, after the
01:11:37hot season, before we remove the
01:11:39trees this year. No,
01:11:41No, it’s better than that. It
01:11:42seems like the current plan is
01:11:45to wait until after the
01:11:46sweltering heat of the summer to
01:11:47remove the trees. And
01:11:49And then what’s the timeline
01:11:50after that to plan, plant the.
01:11:52To. To. To replace that. It’ll
01:11:55all be finished by the end of
01:11:56the year. So long as we get
01:11:57commission authorization,
01:11:58replacement, including. Yeah,
01:12:00yeah. And that also we wait till
01:12:02the end of the growing season to
01:12:04conduct planting because the
01:12:05plants have a better survival.
01:12:06So they’ll be installed sometime
01:12:08between October 15th and the end
01:12:10of the year. That
01:12:11That also includes two years of
01:12:13maintenance after those trees
01:12:14are planted as well, too. By the
01:12:16port. Right. What’s the
01:12:17communications plan with the
01:12:19public around the
01:12:21the death of the trees? That’s
01:12:23planned for sometime in
01:12:25September. August. September.
01:12:28So we have temporary signage
01:12:29right now, and once we get the
01:12:31new tags, we’re going to go out
01:12:33with new, more permanent signage
01:12:35that talk about the program in
01:12:36which trees have been
01:12:37identified. And that should be
01:12:38happening in the next couple of
01:12:39weeks. And those signs will be
01:12:41up as long as the program is
01:12:42ongoing. I want to thank you
01:12:44guys for being as proactively
01:12:47communicative with the city as
01:12:49possible. And
01:12:50And so much of what we’ve heard
01:12:51is not just specific to this
01:12:53program, as with Des Moines
01:12:55Creek and other things, that
01:12:57when we have things planned,
01:12:59folks feel like their own cities
01:13:00weren’t communicating well
01:13:01enough. And I think that’s true
01:13:03again here. And I did ask.
01:13:06That’s out of our power, but it
01:13:08is within our influence. And in
01:13:09your communications, what
01:13:11insight do you have into what
01:13:12the city of Burien is planning
01:13:14in terms of communicating with
01:13:16the members of the public,
01:13:18especially those who live within
01:13:19that precinct and that
01:13:20neighborhood? Well,
01:13:22Well, we are in close
01:13:24communication with the parks
01:13:25director and the deputy parks
01:13:26director and the arborist. So
01:13:27we’ll work with them to make
01:13:28sure that the city of Bureau
01:13:31does have adequate
01:13:34information in terms of talking
01:13:35to those neighbors about what
01:13:37kind of. What’s going to be
01:13:38occurring there this fall. So we
01:13:39do have the permanent science
01:13:40going in, but maybe we can
01:13:41consider some other help with
01:13:43the city in terms of
01:13:44communicating to the
01:13:44neighborhood neighbors about
01:13:45what’s going on in terms of the
01:13:46program. And there’s five of
01:13:48those trees that have to come
01:13:49out because they’re going to
01:13:50penetrate the threshold within
01:13:52the next five years. And because
01:13:54they are communal, you know,
01:13:57creatures, the rooting,
01:14:00rooting, the removal of five of
01:14:02them would impact one other that
01:14:03would then need to come down as
01:14:04well. And that’s why the sixth
01:14:05one is coming down. Correct.
01:14:07Together they stand, and
01:14:08together they fall. It’s. Yeah,
01:14:10it’s a very sad thing, but I
01:14:12also understand why. So thank
01:14:15you for walking us through this
01:14:16process. And my. My heaviest
01:14:20heart is with the Matheson
01:14:22family, who has guarded and
01:14:24protected these trees and been
01:14:26such a wonderful steward for
01:14:27them. And it’s like, I
01:14:29understand there’s such precious
01:14:31old growth trees that have such
01:14:33important benefit for the
01:14:34community there. And so to the
01:14:36point that we can be a
01:14:37facilitator for the best
01:14:39procedures possible. I’m
01:14:41I’m grateful to you guys for
01:14:42that. So thank you. Other
01:14:46Other commissioner, comments,
01:14:48questions. Commissioner
01:14:50Commissioner Fellowman, thanks
01:14:54thanks again. And I’ve had the
01:14:56pleasure of getting involved
01:14:58with this program at some level
01:14:59of detail, although not with
01:15:00this particular project. So I
01:15:02speak with a high level of
01:15:04ignorance and just my comfy
01:15:07spot. The
01:15:10The fact is that as
01:15:12as I said before, until you
01:15:14actually go to a site, it’s
01:15:16really hard to understand the
01:15:17significance of
01:15:19of it to the community. Like
01:15:21Like North SEA Tech park was my
01:15:23example. Not
01:15:25Not the old growth forest, but
01:15:27still, still obviously a
01:15:28significant green space in the
01:15:31context, you wouldn’t understand
01:15:32it unless you went there.
01:15:34Again, I wasn’t invited to show
01:15:36up, so I don’t really have the
01:15:37ability to know.
01:15:39know. But if these,
01:15:41the fact that it’s this handful
01:15:43of trees, just
01:15:45just to step back, I know that
01:15:47based on the concerns like with
01:15:48the cemetery and the surrounding
01:15:50area, you guys took some heroic
01:15:52efforts to do something that was
01:15:54more protracted, more expensive,
01:15:57shall we say, less efficient
01:15:59than you would have done. If
01:16:01it’s really just an on time, on
01:16:03budget effort, which was really
01:16:04very reflective of the port’s
01:16:06willingness to accommodate the
01:16:08community’s concerns. And I
01:16:09greatly appreciate that. And you
01:16:12may regret having done it. I
01:16:14know you’ve said that there may
01:16:15have been other ways that it
01:16:17could have been accomplished,
01:16:17but it really reflected a
01:16:19willingness to be flexible. And
01:16:22to the degree this
01:16:25this conversation with the
01:16:26community has gone on, I reached
01:16:28out to the government folks.
01:16:29They said they thought it was
01:16:31all clear. Now I’m hearing from
01:16:33the community members that maybe
01:16:35it’s not as kumbaya as I thought
01:16:38it was to be. But honestly, as I
01:16:40mentioned last time this was
01:16:42brought up, I thought if there
01:16:44was ever a spot,
01:16:46assuming that these are really
01:16:47big trees and assuming these are
01:16:49in a strategic location for the
01:16:51community with
01:16:52with some heritage behind them,
01:16:55if there was a time to try to do
01:16:57these alternative approaches
01:16:59that we always dismiss as being
01:17:01not preferable, the
01:17:04the fact that it’s in a park
01:17:06where there’s government
01:17:08government stewards
01:17:09stewards of the resource folks
01:17:11that are able to monitor whether
01:17:14these trees are getting ill or
01:17:17becoming nesting sites, those
01:17:20sort of things that are not on
01:17:21public property or private
01:17:22property, that this is sort of
01:17:24one of those places where
01:17:27a topping could be
01:17:29tried, and
01:17:31and I know there are liabilities
01:17:33with it, and I know it’s more
01:17:34expensive and I know there’s
01:17:36challenges associated with it,
01:17:37but it just strikes me That
01:17:40a relatively accessible group of
01:17:42trees, a small number of age in
01:17:45a public space, if
01:17:47if there were a place to do it,
01:17:49it would be here. Tell
01:17:51Tell me why, even though you
01:17:53don’t like these alternative
01:17:54ideas, if you were to consider
01:17:56it, would this not be a good
01:17:58place to at least try?
01:18:02If we were to consider it, then
01:18:04I agree with you. Yes. That
01:18:06the cultural significance and
01:18:08heritage of the tree should be
01:18:09taken into account and that
01:18:10these trees have a really
01:18:12significant cultural
01:18:13cultural significance. As
01:18:16As an operations member and as
01:18:18someone who flies out of SeaTac,
01:18:19I could not. Could consciousness
01:18:21consciousness support that at
01:18:23all, period. Due
01:18:28Due to the fact that the trees
01:18:30would. Could become raptor
01:18:32habitat is
01:18:34is one of the main things. Yeah.
01:18:36Yeah. There’s all the ongoing
01:18:38maintenance over time, whatever.
01:18:41But if you ever saw the impact
01:18:44of a large bird on an airplane,
01:18:47I’d prefer not to have that.
01:18:49No, I completely respect that.
01:18:51And I have the pleasure of
01:18:53having a large eagle nest in
01:18:55front of my place in the San
01:18:56Juans. And it wasn’t built
01:18:58overnight. And when we start
01:19:00seeing things like that,
01:19:03even just as a roost, it would
01:19:06be pretty evident to a park
01:19:08ranger that this is something
01:19:11that’s intolerable. I would
01:19:12agree with you. I’m pretty sure.
01:19:14Help me out here. That once the
01:19:16eagle puts a stick down the
01:19:17tree, you can’t touch it.
01:19:19Federal law. So I’m pretty sure
01:19:21once the eagle sets up house,
01:19:24it’s there. The
01:19:26The migratory bird triad. Yeah,
01:19:27the migratory bird.
01:19:30It’s an interesting
01:19:31consideration. All
01:19:34All right. Well, you
01:19:37you can also put those little
01:19:38things like you put on gutters
01:19:40with the pointy ends to it,
01:19:41which would be certainly
01:19:43discouraging of those sort of
01:19:44things. I mean, you guys are
01:19:46really smart and you could. You
01:19:48could come up with a clever
01:19:50idea. I’m
01:19:51I’m just saying again,
01:19:52again, if I really saw the park,
01:19:54it would be different. But
01:19:57again, I know you don’t like
01:19:59setting the precedent that we
01:20:00would do this in multiple other
01:20:01places. It just seems to me that
01:20:02this is a unique place that
01:20:05could be explored for this kind
01:20:08of approach. Anyway,
01:20:11Anyway, I’ll leave that to the
01:20:12folks that have seen the spot.
01:20:13This would be my opinion, like I
01:20:15said, speaking out of complete
01:20:16ignorance. Thank you for your
01:20:18consideration. Thank
01:20:20Thank you for the presentation.
01:20:21Thanks for hosting the site
01:20:23visit with Commissioner Hasegawa
01:20:25and members of the community. I
01:20:27am strongly in support of this
01:20:28after spending a lot of time
01:20:30thinking about it, after hearing
01:20:32concerns from community members.
01:20:35I think largely in part
01:20:38because of the
01:20:41inputs from the Berean Parks
01:20:43Department, our own expert in
01:20:45house, people
01:20:46people who I can honestly say
01:20:48care more about trees than
01:20:50anyone sitting up here or than
01:20:51the vast majority of the folks
01:20:53who have weighed in on this have
01:20:56made it literally their life’s
01:20:57work. And
01:20:58And part of what
01:21:02convinced me is while in the
01:21:04short term there will be some
01:21:06real impacts, in the long term,
01:21:08it’s actually a better outcome
01:21:09for. For the park, for all of
01:21:11its uses, both from an
01:21:12environmental standpoint, from a
01:21:14community benefits standpoint.
01:21:15So what you have done in your
01:21:17work with Burien is to start
01:21:19with an unfavorable mandate and
01:21:23then turn it into something that
01:21:24in the end results in a much
01:21:26better outcome for all involved
01:21:27in terms of safety, ecology, and
01:21:30community benefits. And so I’m
01:21:32supporter of this, and I
01:21:33recognize that’s not a universal
01:21:35opinion, but I do think it is
01:21:37actually a model for dealing
01:21:38with really
01:21:39really hard public policy
01:21:40questions, where at
01:21:42at the outset it is, we’re, you
01:21:45know, dealing with a very
01:21:46difficult decision. And
01:21:48I also recognize that we’re not
01:21:50going to be able to please all
01:21:51the people all the time. But I
01:21:52do think you guys have put
01:21:53together a
01:21:55a really comprehensive
01:21:56comprehensive and thoughtful
01:21:59maximum benefit approach to
01:22:01this. And I am going to turn it
01:22:04back over to Commissioner
01:22:04Hosiga. Thank you. I have a
01:22:06couple additional questions
01:22:07about what we’re voting on
01:22:08today. So
01:22:09So when you’re asking for us to
01:22:12execute a construction contract,
01:22:14that would be with whom?
01:22:22It’s a low bid contract, so we
01:22:24haven’t selected the contractor.
01:22:27The authorization is to actually
01:22:28go out to bid for the contract.
01:22:30So as part of that bid process,
01:22:32we would. The contractor would
01:22:33be selected at that time. Okay.
01:22:41Do we have to authorize this
01:22:43today in order to be able to
01:22:45keep this to the timeline?
01:22:46Commissioner Fellerman, I heard
01:22:47him ask for you to explore one
01:22:51more alternative option, and I’m
01:22:53wondering if there might be
01:22:56time allowable for us to. To
01:22:58just look into that. Well, to be
01:23:01clear, we have explored a number
01:23:03of different alternatives, and
01:23:04topping is not something we’re
01:23:05comfortable moving forward with.
01:23:08I have to admit, I grew up with
01:23:09a nursery. I planted more trees.
01:23:11Probably everyone here combined.
01:23:13I love the forest. I go out
01:23:14hiking, you know, but this is
01:23:16just one of those things. It’s
01:23:19It’s trees near an airport at a
01:23:20higher elevation than the
01:23:21airport that
01:23:23that are growing tall. It’s.
01:23:25It’s math and it’s just. It is
01:23:28what it
01:23:29it is. All
01:23:32All right, hearing no further
01:23:34questions for this item, is
01:23:35there a motion and a second to
01:23:37adopt item 10A? So moved.
01:23:41Second commissioners,
01:23:43commissioners, is there any
01:23:44additional discussion or debate
01:23:45on this item? All
01:23:51All right, hearing none. Clerk
01:23:52Hart, please call the roll for
01:23:54the Vote. Commissioners, as a
01:23:55reminder, please say aye or nay
01:23:57when your name is called. Thank
01:23:58you. Beginning with Commissioner
01:23:59Cho. Aye. Thank you,
01:24:01Commissioner Fellamon.
01:24:04Aye. Thank you, Commissioner
01:24:06Calkins. Aye. Thank you,
01:24:08Commissioner Hasegawa. Aye.
01:24:10Thank you. Four ayes, zero nays
01:24:12for this item. Thank
01:24:14Thank you. And the motion
01:24:15passes. Thank you all for your
01:24:16work on this. Clerk
01:24:18Clerk Hart, please read the next
01:24:19item into the record, and we’ll
01:24:21have Commission Chief of Staff
01:24:22Aaron Pritchard introduce it.
01:24:24Thank you. This is agenda item
01:24:2610B, order number 2026 02. An
01:24:30order of the Port Commission to
01:24:31increase transparency and
01:24:33reporting standards and
01:24:34requirements for the Port of
01:24:35Seattle Police Department. Good
01:24:40Good afternoon, Commissioners
01:24:41and Executive Director. My name
01:24:42is Aaron Pritchard. I’m Chief of
01:24:43Staff for. For the Commission
01:24:44office. Today
01:24:46Today we bring forward this
01:24:47order for the Port of Seattle
01:24:48Commission to increase
01:24:49transparency reporting standards
01:24:51for the Port of Seattle Police
01:24:53Department. Primarily,
01:24:54Primarily, I just want to thank
01:24:56the Chief
01:24:57Chief Villa and Wendy Ryder for
01:25:00the partnership and working with
01:25:02Commissioner Hasegawa to come to
01:25:04a place where we can all proceed
01:25:07with this order.
01:25:09Any of these matters are always
01:25:10inherently sensitive, and the.
01:25:12The deep work and time that
01:25:13folks took not only to work on
01:25:15this order, but to establish the
01:25:17relationships at the airport,
01:25:19across agencies and to work with
01:25:22Commissioners has made this a
01:25:24process I think we can all be
01:25:26very proud of. So thank you, and
01:25:28I’ll pass it over to Francis.
01:25:30Francis. Thank you very much,
01:25:32Aaron. Good afternoon.
01:25:34Commission President Calkins,
01:25:35Commissioners and Executive
01:25:36Director, Metrics. My name is
01:25:38Francis Cho, Commission
01:25:39Strategic Advisor. Today,
01:25:41Commissioner Hasegawa will
01:25:42present Order 2026 02, which
01:25:46advances transparency and
01:25:48accountability standards for the
01:25:50Port of Seattle Police
01:25:51Department. This
01:25:52This order comes at a critical
01:25:54moment for our region and our
01:25:55country. The current political
01:25:57climate has created
01:25:58unprecedented levels of fear and
01:26:00confusion in our communities.
01:26:02The Federal Administration’s
01:26:03immigration enforcement actions
01:26:05have left many travelers,
01:26:07workers, and visitors uncertain
01:26:09about who they can trust and
01:26:11what to expect when they come
01:26:12through our facilities. This
01:26:14This uncertainty is not
01:26:16abstract. It affects real people
01:26:19moving through SEA Airport and
01:26:21our maritime facilities every
01:26:22single day. The Port has a
01:26:24responsibility to provide
01:26:26clarity. When someone sees a law
01:26:28enforcement officer at any of
01:26:30our facilities, they should
01:26:31immediately know whether that
01:26:32officer is a port officer or is
01:26:35or is of another jurisdiction.
01:26:37This distinction matters deeply
01:26:39to public trust and to the sense
01:26:41of safety and welcome we want
01:26:43every single person to feel at
01:26:45our port facilities. This
01:26:46This order addresses three core
01:26:49areas. First,
01:26:50First, it eliminates potentially
01:26:52confusing naming conventions,
01:26:54specifically the Homeland
01:26:55Security Division distinction,
01:26:57and enhances port branding on
01:26:59uniforms to ensure clear
01:27:01clear visual identification.
01:27:03Second, it establishes
01:27:05notification protocols for pre
01:27:07planned training operation in
01:27:09public areas. Third,
01:27:11Third, it strengthens annual
01:27:13reporting requirements on use of
01:27:14force and complaint handling,
01:27:16providing this commission and
01:27:18the public with the
01:27:19comprehensive data needed for
01:27:20meaningful accountability.
01:27:23This order builds on existing
01:27:25best practices within the POSPD,
01:27:28which maintains CALEA
01:27:30accreditation and operates with
01:27:32high professional standards.
01:27:34What we’re doing today is
01:27:35ensuring those standards are
01:27:37visible, that POSPD operations
01:27:39are transparent and that our
01:27:41policy are and that our policing
01:27:44reflects the Port’s values of
01:27:46equity, inclusion and public
01:27:47service. With that, I’ll turn it
01:27:49over to Commissioner Hasegawa to
01:27:51present the order in detail.
01:27:57Thank you very much to
01:27:59to Strategic Advisor Cho, who
01:28:02has been working with us hand in
01:28:03hand on this and drafting this
01:28:06order. So a little bit of
01:28:07important context was that a few
01:28:09weeks ago there was community
01:28:10confusion when there was
01:28:12allegations of an ICE sighting
01:28:14at a very public place on the
01:28:16skybridge. Pre Security and
01:28:18whereas ICE does have a
01:28:20footprint at the airport, it is
01:28:22uncommon to see ICE operating
01:28:24pre security. This
01:28:25This is the second time where we
01:28:27have been caught in a reactive
01:28:28state in trying to clarify who
01:28:30it was that member
01:28:32member of the concerned public
01:28:34identified and that it was in
01:28:36fact not an ICE agent.
01:28:39And so what we did is we
01:28:41committed to bringing in POSPD
01:28:43to be our thought partners
01:28:44alongside legal and labor to see
01:28:48what we could do in order to
01:28:50bring clarity to the members of
01:28:52the public about who our local
01:28:54law enforcement officers are and
01:28:57who is not our local law
01:28:59enforcement. And so I would like
01:29:02to thank them for their support
01:29:04in drafting the order that is
01:29:06before you today for
01:29:07consideration. First and
01:29:08foremost, part
01:29:10part of what it does is it
01:29:12immediately retires the name of
01:29:14the Homeland Security Division
01:29:16as a name for the Port Police
01:29:18Division. Part of the confusion
01:29:19that we saw saw three weeks ago
01:29:21was that it is the Homeland
01:29:24Security Division could be
01:29:26easily mistaken as Homelands
01:29:30Department of Homeland Security,
01:29:31which is the division under
01:29:33which ICE operates. Second, this
01:29:36order will ask law enforcement
01:29:39in conjunction with the
01:29:40Executive Director to consider
01:29:41changes to the Port of Seattle
01:29:43Police Department uniforms to
01:29:45make them as easy, easily
01:29:46identifiable by the public as
01:29:49part of the Port of Seattle’s
01:29:50branding. This there’s an
01:29:52exception to this which is in
01:29:53the cases where plain clothes
01:29:56and other security measures
01:29:58require nonstandard uniforms.
01:30:00And third, it will improve
01:30:02internal communication processes
01:30:03that we can shift away from a
01:30:05reactive role towards a
01:30:07proactive approach to alerting
01:30:09people and knowing internally
01:30:11about pre planned patrol and
01:30:13training on operations. In this
01:30:15way, the appropriate people
01:30:16internally, without compromising
01:30:18safety or operations will know
01:30:20and be able to adequately
01:30:21respond if there’s ever this
01:30:23such mistake. Again, that will
01:30:25streamline our own articulation
01:30:27with the general public at large
01:30:29and avoid any future confusions
01:30:32that may happen as a result of a
01:30:34site of a mistaken sighting.
01:30:40Next, and
01:30:42and this is I believe that this
01:30:43is important because our beloved
01:30:45Chief Via has recently announced
01:30:47that he will be retiring. We
01:30:48will undergo a nationwide search
01:30:50for a new Chief of Police and
01:30:52all the applicants should know
01:30:53exactly what it is that we as
01:30:54commissioners expect in
01:30:56in terms of communication and
01:30:58collaboration with the Port of
01:30:59Seattle Police Department. And
01:31:02And what this will do
01:31:05is it will give a definite
01:31:07timeline for a comprehensive
01:31:10annual report. Right
01:31:12Right now we receive the annual
01:31:13report on an annual basis, but
01:31:15it’s unclear as to exactly when
01:31:16that will come to commission.
01:31:18This will make definitive that
01:31:19the annual report will come to
01:31:20us by Q3. In addition,
01:31:24the annual report must include a
01:31:26comprehensive use of force
01:31:28report and
01:31:29and that use of force report
01:31:31will also demonstrate
01:31:32demographic information,
01:31:34including including
01:31:36including race
01:31:37race of subjects against whom
01:31:40force was used. And that could
01:31:43highlight any sort of trends
01:31:45that we may be observing.
01:31:48Next, it requires that a summary
01:31:50of both the commendations that
01:31:52our police department receives
01:31:54as well as the complaints that
01:31:55take place. And I’ll give
01:31:57insight as to how those
01:31:58complaints are
01:32:00are being received, including
01:32:01how they’re categorized,
01:32:04whether they were sustained and
01:32:06what disciplinary
01:32:07disciplinary actions were taken
01:32:08when applicable. And again, at
01:32:11this point, the
01:32:12the commission generally
01:32:14generally receives information
01:32:17haphazardly and
01:32:19and this will bring clarity
01:32:20exactly to
01:32:22to the to trends that we are
01:32:25seeing and we can see on a year
01:32:26by year basis, differences in
01:32:28those trends. I
01:32:31I would like to thank Deputy
01:32:33Executive Director Goon as well
01:32:35as Chief Villa, our
01:32:37our Director of Diversity Equity
01:32:40Inclusion leaders
01:32:41leaders from the Commission
01:32:42office, our Director of Labor
01:32:44Relations, Mike
01:32:46Mike Hell, and everybody else
01:32:49who has put in the hours and the
01:32:50effort to bring this order to
01:32:52where it is. There
01:32:54There is one thing that I wanted
01:32:55to bring up for Executive
01:32:57Director Metruck and
01:33:00and that is the language in this
01:33:04says that the
01:33:07the in
01:33:09in point three on line 46 that
01:33:11the port of Seattle police and
01:33:12all divisions therein shall
01:33:14consider additions or changes to
01:33:16the standard POSPD uniform that
01:33:18highlight for the public the
01:33:19connection with Port of Seattle
01:33:21and can easily be identified as
01:33:22the part of Port of Seattle’s
01:33:23greatest except
01:33:24except in cases where
01:33:25plainclothes or other security
01:33:26measures required non standard
01:33:27uniforms. It’s the use of the
01:33:29word shall consider additions.
01:33:30And I want to clarify
01:33:33with you and with Chief Via, who
01:33:34is with us here today, that
01:33:36shall consider means that
01:33:38they’re going to be coming
01:33:41coming with concrete proposals
01:33:43of how uniforms can be altered
01:33:46so that they are abundantly
01:33:47clearly aligned with Port of
01:33:49Seattle Branding and that a
01:33:50change will indeed be made.
01:33:55Commissioner Hasegawa, thank
01:33:56you. And, and thanks for all
01:33:58your efforts on this as well.
01:34:00I think that’s exactly what our
01:34:01intent is to do that. But I
01:34:03would like, if it’s okay, to
01:34:04invite Chief Villa up so we can
01:34:07make sure we have that looking
01:34:09around. I thought he was here.
01:34:10Welcome, Chief. He’s watching
01:34:12out for my six behind me, I
01:34:13think, in that. But
01:34:16But I think we can address that
01:34:17specific question,
01:34:18question, Commissioner Hasegawa,
01:34:20because I believe that’s, that’s
01:34:22our discussion. And let me just
01:34:23say this is that, you know,
01:34:24within the
01:34:26the uniforms of police officers
01:34:27are very, very important
01:34:30important to them. And so we
01:34:32thought that delegating to them
01:34:33to come up with that on that
01:34:35differentiation is the way to
01:34:36treat this. And that’s our
01:34:38discussion with Chief V. Myself
01:34:40and Deputy Executive Director
01:34:42Goon about this item. And so
01:34:44that’s, that’s, we thought the
01:34:46best way to approach that and
01:34:47let nobody knows better than
01:34:48themselves about how to come up
01:34:50with that and how to have that
01:34:51differentiation. So, Chief, if
01:34:53you want to talk about that and
01:34:54if that’s. If that’s okay.
01:34:56President Absolutely.
01:34:58Absolutely. Thank you. And good
01:35:00afternoon, Chief Mike Villa with
01:35:02the Port of Seattle Police
01:35:03Department, currently
01:35:04currently wearing our current
01:35:06uniform that we have. But if I
01:35:09had to say a couple comments if,
01:35:10if be okay before addressing
01:35:12that question. The first thing
01:35:14is just that I really appreciate
01:35:15the opportunity that I have had.
01:35:18The Police Department has had to
01:35:20provide input to the order to
01:35:22collaborate with Commissioner
01:35:24Hasegawa and with the
01:35:26commissioners. We
01:35:28We really do have a good
01:35:29partnership that we’ve had for
01:35:30many years. And so, again, this
01:35:32was an issue that I understand
01:35:34we’re trying to deal with some
01:35:35very sensitive things. And so I
01:35:37think it is important for us to
01:35:38be at the table and appreciate
01:35:39that opportunity that we’ve had.
01:35:41Secondly, it’s just I also want
01:35:43to make sure that the
01:35:44the community, as well as my
01:35:46staff, just hears again and
01:35:49knows. I know it’s already been
01:35:50stated that, you know, the Port
01:35:51of Seattle Police is an
01:35:53exemplary, very professional law
01:35:56enforcement agency. And this
01:35:58order does not reflect at all in
01:36:01a negative way towards the
01:36:02police department. I mean, we
01:36:04are an agency that
01:36:06has very high transparency as
01:36:09far as our activities go. We’re
01:36:11an agency where we hold our
01:36:12employees accountable. It starts
01:36:15with the chief of police and
01:36:16holding myself accountable as
01:36:18well as the rest of the
01:36:19department. And
01:36:21And just the men and women who
01:36:22work in the police department
01:36:24do a phenomenal job of
01:36:26protecting our facilities. And
01:36:29again, you know, the order
01:36:30doesn’t reflect negative upon
01:36:32that at all. And I know you said
01:36:34the same thing, and there’s
01:36:35wording in the order that speaks
01:36:37to that as well. The
01:36:38The fourth thing, or the third
01:36:40thing I actually just want to
01:36:41touch on real quick, and this
01:36:42comes more directly to answering
01:36:44the question, is that, you know,
01:36:45for the police department
01:36:47several years ago, we
01:36:48established our strategic
01:36:50anchors, the things that we
01:36:52needed to make sure to continue
01:36:55to do to be successful in
01:36:57completing the purpose, the
01:36:59mission that we have. And, you
01:37:02know, the first one of those was
01:37:03just staff wellness.
01:37:05Our employees are. They’re
01:37:07healthy, they’re well, they’re
01:37:09ready to come. They’re ready to
01:37:10work when they come to work. The
01:37:12second thing was that we have
01:37:14very effective partnerships with
01:37:16all of our stakeholders,
01:37:17federal, state, partnerships
01:37:19with the commission and everyone
01:37:21that we’re working with, with
01:37:22aviation, security, maritime.
01:37:24maritime. And so that was very
01:37:26key to our success. The third
01:37:29was counterterrorism expertise
01:37:31and capabilities. And we needed
01:37:34to make sure, just given the
01:37:35threats that we have to aviation
01:37:37and maritime, that we are a
01:37:39police department that is ready
01:37:41if something bad happens or
01:37:44there’s a bad threat that comes
01:37:46on our properties. But the
01:37:48fourth strategic anchor was
01:37:49customer service. And that
01:37:52really dealt with it, was it’s
01:37:53key for us to be successful,
01:37:55that when people come through
01:37:57our facilities, they feel
01:37:59welcome, they’re
01:38:00they’re not afraid. We’re
01:38:02We’re providing exemplary
01:38:03customer service. And that is
01:38:05one of the things that really
01:38:06distinguishes us from a lot of
01:38:08other police agencies. We have a
01:38:10lot of lateral police officers
01:38:11that come and work for us and
01:38:12they would testify, as myself,
01:38:14being a lateral, that that
01:38:16differentiates and really sets
01:38:18our agency apart from a lot of
01:38:19other agencies is that level of
01:38:21customer service that
01:38:22that we provide. The traveler
01:38:25experience that folks have when
01:38:27they encounter and interact with
01:38:28our officers. And so in saying
01:38:30all that and coming back to this
01:38:32order is that, you know, our
01:38:33intent is, as executive director
01:38:36metruck mentioned regarding the
01:38:37uniforms. And we want to do
01:38:39everything that we can to
01:38:41to eliminate
01:38:42eliminate or limit stress
01:38:47that folks have as they come
01:38:49through. And so we don’t want
01:38:50there to be any confusion
01:38:51between us and federal
01:38:53immigration enforcement
01:38:55authorities. So we are 100%
01:38:58committed if the order passes
01:39:00today. We’re 100% committed to
01:39:02it, actually, if or if it
01:39:03doesn’t pass today, we’re 100%
01:39:05committed to doing the things in
01:39:06the order and are actually in
01:39:08process of doing most of the
01:39:09things that are in the order
01:39:10already. Regarding
01:39:11Regarding the uniforms, we
01:39:12already have a committee set up
01:39:13that’s reviewing uniforms,
01:39:14looking at that, and people
01:39:16assigned to do that. We do want
01:39:17to get Input from our staff. As
01:39:19Executive director, Metruck
01:39:20said, uniforms are very
01:39:22important. We want to make sure
01:39:24that we’re dressed in a way
01:39:25where we have a very
01:39:26professional appearance, where
01:39:29we can easily be identified as
01:39:32law enforcement, but also Port
01:39:33of Seattle law enforcement. So
01:39:35we’re committed to doing what’s
01:39:36in the order. Thank
01:39:37Thank you. Any
01:39:40Any further questions from
01:39:42Commissioners? Commissioner
01:39:43Chill? Yeah, first and foremost,
01:39:45I want to thank Commissioner
01:39:46Hazikawa for being quick to
01:39:48respond to some of the concerns
01:39:50that we saw in the community. I
01:39:52also saw some of the
01:39:54alarms bells that went off on
01:39:56social media. I also want to
01:39:58thank you, Chief. I. You and I
01:40:00had a conversation three weeks
01:40:01or so over the phone about this
01:40:04issue, and I think our values
01:40:06are in line. And I know that, as
01:40:08you said, that the department is
01:40:10doing everything it
01:40:11it can to ease the public’s
01:40:13concerns around conflating, you
01:40:15know, Immigration Customs
01:40:16Enforcement with
01:40:17with rpd. And I sincerely, and I
01:40:21want to echo the sentiments that
01:40:22both you and Commissioner
01:40:23Hasegawa expressed, that this is
01:40:25in no way an admonishment of the
01:40:26department. We know the terrific
01:40:28work that you all do. We all
01:40:30know how highly regarded this
01:40:32department is, and to the extent
01:40:34that you go to keep the airport
01:40:36safe, but also travelers feeling
01:40:38safe. But
01:40:39But the truth of the matter is
01:40:40that the
01:40:42the confusion that we’re seeing
01:40:44in the public is not really our
01:40:45fault. The truth of the matter
01:40:47is while
01:40:48while I think that this order
01:40:50and these moves will help, it’s
01:40:52not going to fix the problem.
01:40:54Because the reality is that it
01:40:56is the federal government that
01:40:58is acting and behaving in a way
01:41:01that is deeply sowing concern
01:41:03and fear in the public.
01:41:06And there
01:41:07there has been absolutely zero
01:41:09accountability to
01:41:10to the federal agencies that
01:41:12continue to wreak havoc in our
01:41:13communities. I mean, I
01:41:15understand how the public may
01:41:16have confused our units with
01:41:19ice, but if I can speak
01:41:21candidly, I’ve seen videos and
01:41:23footage of supposed ICE agents
01:41:25wearing plain clothes. I’ve seen
01:41:27ICE agents wear
01:41:29vests that say the word police
01:41:31on them. Right? And so at what
01:41:34point do we draw a line and say,
01:41:35okay, are police officers not
01:41:37going to wear uniforms that say
01:41:38police on them? Because people
01:41:39might conflate them with ice?
01:41:41Right? And so, again, I support
01:41:43what we’re doing here because
01:41:45because it’s what we can do.
01:41:47Right? But the reality is the
01:41:48accountability needs to be had
01:41:49with the federal government and
01:41:50Department of Homeland Security.
01:41:52Right? If they’re going to
01:41:53conduct operations in our
01:41:55communities, they need to be
01:41:57uniformed, up, distinguishable,
01:41:59take off their damn masks and
01:42:02own up to what they’re doing,
01:42:03not hide behind different
01:42:05monikers and different labels.
01:42:10That’s making our jobs harder.
01:42:12That’s making your jobs harder.
01:42:14All that to say that I will be
01:42:16voting in support of this. I do
01:42:17appreciate the work that the
01:42:18police department does, and this
01:42:20is not in any way reflected
01:42:23negatively on you all or your
01:42:25officers. I think this is just
01:42:27us trying to mitigate the fear
01:42:30and the impact that this
01:42:32administration has on our
01:42:34community. So thanks so much for
01:42:35that, Commissioner
01:42:38Commissioner Felman. Chief
01:42:41Chief V. I always appreciate
01:42:42your candor and directness and
01:42:45the way which you lead this
01:42:46organization. And we really feel
01:42:48comfortable with that, knowing
01:42:50we have one of the more customer
01:42:52service oriented, talented
01:42:54officers on the beat. And it’s
01:42:58quite an unusual audience
01:42:59audience when you have 50 some
01:43:01million people passing through
01:43:02your jurisdiction. So no
01:43:04shortage on that. At the same
01:43:06time, I recognize this a time of
01:43:08heightened concern, but, you
01:43:10know, words matter. And I felt
01:43:12what you were saying up front
01:43:14that this is not some sort of
01:43:16admonition, easy
01:43:18easy for you to say of your
01:43:20department. And
01:43:23And there’s a lot of words on
01:43:24the page that, you
01:43:25you know, you’ve had a chance to
01:43:27look over and I’m sure at a
01:43:29certain point in time you can
01:43:30live with. But I’m just
01:43:32wondering whether the title of
01:43:33the order might
01:43:34might better reflect
01:43:37this and, you know, not changing
01:43:39content or anything, but, you
01:43:40know, this is to increase
01:43:42transparency and reporting
01:43:44standards. I’m just wondering,
01:43:46as just a suggestion, whether it
01:43:49matters to you or not. I was
01:43:50thinking about advancing the
01:43:52Port of Seattle’s Depart of
01:43:55Seattle Police Department’s
01:43:56commitment to transparency and
01:43:58reporting standards. So
01:44:00advancing your commitment rather
01:44:02than increasing transparency and
01:44:04reporting standards. So it’s
01:44:06like it acknowledges your
01:44:07commitment and this is further
01:44:09advancing that. It’s,
01:44:12It’s, I mean, if you see this as
01:44:14having a difference, I’d be
01:44:15happy to put forward that as a
01:44:17friendly amendment. But
01:44:19I mean, I see nothing wrong with
01:44:21the intent of the, of the
01:44:24action, especially if you had a
01:44:25chance to give it a scrub.
01:44:28Yeah. And I think in the, I
01:44:30don’t know if it’s the first or
01:44:31second paragraph. We did change
01:44:33the wording a little bit there
01:44:34to where it does say advancing.
01:44:35And I certainly would be in
01:44:37favor personally of that. You
01:44:39know, there is a, there is one
01:44:42piece of where it talks about
01:44:44our internal complaint process
01:44:46where we have not been posting
01:44:48that in the annual report. That
01:44:50certainly was our intent to do
01:44:52that. And so
01:44:54that would be one of the areas
01:44:56that we, we could say we’re
01:44:57increasing. But I, I like the
01:44:59word advancing personally, but
01:45:01where the commission wants to do
01:45:02there. Commissioner
01:45:05Commissioner Feldman, do you
01:45:06Want to offer that as an
01:45:07amendment to the. Do you have
01:45:09any thoughts on the matter that
01:45:10you’d like to share? I’m
01:45:12I’m supportive. I. I think I
01:45:15agree with that. I mean, I feel
01:45:16like in many ways we’re an
01:45:17exemplary institution already.
01:45:19And so. So I like the idea of
01:45:21advancing what feels to be a
01:45:23motivation initially.
01:45:26I think. Clerk Hart, do we need
01:45:28to get a motion and a second
01:45:30first? We can discuss
01:45:31amendments. All right. So with
01:45:33that, I’m going to ask for a
01:45:34motion and a second to adopt
01:45:36order 2020
01:45:372020 602. So moved.
01:45:42One second. All right. It’s been
01:45:44moved and seconded. Is there any
01:45:46time, discussion or debate on
01:45:47this item, including any
01:45:48amendments to it? President
01:45:51President Calkins, I’d like to
01:45:52suggest a friendly amendment to
01:45:54the title of this order. All
01:45:56right. And can you read again
01:45:57the. The exact language that
01:45:59you’d like to make in the motion
01:46:02in the amendment? All right.
01:46:03Advancing the Port of Seattle
01:46:05Police Department’s commitment
01:46:07to transparency and reporting
01:46:08standards. Is there a second to
01:46:11that amendment that. I’ll
01:46:13I’ll second it. At
01:46:18At this point, we’re going to
01:46:19entertain discussion and debate
01:46:21on the amendment itself. Any
01:46:24discussion. I
01:46:28I just want to say that I
01:46:30acknowledge that part of the
01:46:32reason why there was a delay in
01:46:34receiving a use of force report
01:46:36this year is because we were
01:46:37under a cyber attack. And
01:46:40And this is just one way, one
01:46:44extra tool for us to make sure
01:46:45that new
01:46:47new leadership coming in and
01:46:50future commissions
01:46:52commissions and staff will all
01:46:55be under the same expectation of
01:46:56what sort of information we’re
01:46:58receiving and when. Any
01:47:00Any additional comments on the
01:47:02proposed amendment? Okay.
01:47:08Okay. With that, we have an.
01:47:11An amendment on the floor to the
01:47:14title. Fred, I’m going to ask
01:47:15you to read it one more time and
01:47:17then we will take a vote on the
01:47:18amendment. Okay.
01:47:20Okay. Amending order title of
01:47:23Order 202602 in order of the
01:47:27Port of Seattle Commission. A
01:47:28A title to read would be
01:47:30advancing the Port of Seattle
01:47:32Police Department’s commitment
01:47:33to transparency and reporting
01:47:36standards. All
01:47:38All right. And Clerk Hart, can
01:47:39you please call the roll in the
01:47:40vote on the amendment? Mr.
01:47:42Commission President, point of
01:47:44clarification for me on that
01:47:45amendment. Are we ending that
01:47:46after standards and striking and
01:47:49requirements for the Port of
01:47:50Seattle Police Department, or
01:47:51are we including that as well?
01:47:55It’s advancing the Port of
01:47:56Seattle Police Department’s
01:47:57commitment to transparency and
01:47:59reporting standards. So all the
01:48:01words are there. It’s just the.
01:48:05So. Yes, thank
01:48:06thank you. I have. Advancing the
01:48:08Port of Seattle Police
01:48:09Department’s commitment to
01:48:10transparency and reporting
01:48:12standards. Period. Yes.
01:48:14Yes. Okay, thank you. Striking
01:48:16and requirements. Oh,
01:48:22Oh, so
01:48:24so I struck the requirements.
01:48:34Okay. I
01:48:37I am agnostic reporting standard
01:48:39requirements. If that’s more
01:48:41inclusive of that, then please.
01:48:43Thank you for catching that.
01:48:44Sure. Adding the word
01:48:45requirements. Thank you for that
01:48:47clarity. There is a motion to
01:48:50amend before you. All right. And
01:48:53let’s take the roll on that
01:48:55vote. Thank you. On the primary
01:48:57amendment, beginning with
01:48:58Commissioner Cho. Aye. Thank
01:49:00you. Commissioner Fellerman.
01:49:01Aye. Thank you, Commissioner
01:49:03Hasegawa. Aye. Thank you,
01:49:05Commissioner Calkins. Aye. Thank
01:49:08you. Four eyes, zero nays on the
01:49:09primary amendment. So the
01:49:11amendment passes. So now
01:49:15one final pass on any discussion
01:49:17on the primary motion.
01:49:24I have not had a chance to share
01:49:26my thoughts on this are.
01:49:29I guess I kind of go to
01:49:33an almost a sort of ethics or
01:49:35philosophy of policing that
01:49:38I’ve had the opportunity to
01:49:39participate in this Discussion
01:49:40now since 2020,
01:49:422020, when we stood up the.
01:49:46I forget what we called it, the
01:49:47work group, the consortium that
01:49:49was examining the state of
01:49:51policing, and particularly at
01:49:52our department, and resulted in
01:49:54a very significant report with
01:49:57many recommendations for
01:49:59improvements. And
01:50:01my kind of large,
01:50:04high level takeaway from that
01:50:06was there
01:50:07there are a variety of
01:50:09philosophies of policing that
01:50:10are used in the United States,
01:50:14and it
01:50:15it is our intent to employ the
01:50:18philosophy of policing that
01:50:20achieves the mission
01:50:22mission of the police department
01:50:24and does so in a way that
01:50:29it undertakes
01:50:30undertakes the philosophy from a
01:50:32guardian standpoint.
01:50:34And I know that’s cliched in
01:50:35policing circles, but I
01:50:37genuinely believe this is what
01:50:38we’re talking about again here,
01:50:40which is your
01:50:42your comments about the
01:50:43professionalism of the
01:50:44department, the
01:50:45the high level of training
01:50:47required for this role, in
01:50:48particular, the
01:50:50the idea that customer
01:50:52customer service needs to be
01:50:53embedded in this department
01:50:54because we have 53 million
01:50:57people pass through that
01:50:58facility every year, that is
01:51:00truly unique to our department.
01:51:01And so we do hold ourselves to a
01:51:03much higher standard than
01:51:05I think a typical police
01:51:07department would. And
01:51:08And so,
01:51:10so, while,
01:51:12as Commissioner Felleman says,
01:51:13this is not intended to be an
01:51:15admonition, it is a reminder
01:51:17that we
01:51:18we hold you all to very high
01:51:21expectations and will continue
01:51:23to work with you on improvement
01:51:25of the department, of our
01:51:26interaction with the public and
01:51:28ensure that other law
01:51:30enforcement agencies around us
01:51:32see us as a model for policing.
01:51:34And I think that’s really
01:51:35critical here. Not just a
01:51:38neighboring city’s police
01:51:39department, but the federal law
01:51:40enforcement agencies that we
01:51:41work with. We want those
01:51:42officers to look at our officers
01:51:44and say, that’s who I want to be
01:51:46as a police officer. And so I
01:51:48think we have an opportunity
01:51:49here, year, at Commissioner
01:51:50Hasegawa’s urging, to take that
01:51:52next step in really achieving
01:51:54excellence as a police
01:51:55department. And
01:51:58And it really does come in a
01:51:59context in which we have a lot
01:52:01of folks who are frightened and
01:52:03who just don’t know who to turn
01:52:05to. And so that clarity on
01:52:07uniforms and identification is
01:52:09really vital to
01:52:11to know that people can come to
01:52:12you oftentimes
01:52:14oftentimes in the worst moment
01:52:15of their life and know that
01:52:17there is. That
01:52:19That there will be a welcome
01:52:20hand there. So with
01:52:22with that and hearing no further
01:52:24questions for this item,
01:52:27I would like to move us to a
01:52:29vote. Clerk Hart, can you take
01:52:30the roll? Yes.
01:52:32Yes. Thank you. For the main
01:52:33motion as amended, beginning
01:52:35with our sponsor, Commissioner
01:52:36Hasagawa. I thank you.
01:52:39Commissioner Cho. I
01:52:41thank you. Thank you.
01:52:42Commissioner Fellman. Aye.
01:52:44Thank you. And Commissioner
01:52:45Calkins. Aye. Thank you. Four
01:52:47ayes zero nays for this item.
01:52:50With that, the motion passes.
01:52:52Thank you. Chief via. All
01:52:55All right, Clerk Hart, please
01:52:56read the next item into the
01:52:57record and we’ll have commission
01:52:58Chief of staff Aaron Pritchard
01:52:59introduce it. Thank
01:53:03Thank you. This IS Agenda Item
01:53:0510C. Introduction of Resolution
01:53:07Number 3844, Resolution of the
01:53:09Port of Seattle Commission,
01:53:10setting the ad hoc Airport
01:53:12Workforce Conditions committee
01:53:13and amending the charter of the
01:53:15equity and Workforce Development
01:53:17Committee previously adopted by
01:53:18resolution number 3770,
01:53:21to update the name of the
01:53:22committee to the Equity
01:53:23Workforce Development and
01:53:24Conditions Committee and to
01:53:26further update the scope of the
01:53:27committee. Thank
01:53:29Thank you, commissioners and
01:53:30executive director. I’m actually
01:53:31going to just pass this right
01:53:32over to Preston. Please go
01:53:33ahead. Good
01:53:34Good afternoon again. I’m
01:53:35Preston Tucker, Commission
01:53:37strategic aid. This
01:53:39This resolution updates the name
01:53:41and the scope of the equity
01:53:42Workforce Development Committee
01:53:44and formally merges the Airport
01:53:46Working Conditions Ad Hoc into
01:53:48the standing committee. The
01:53:50The Airport working conditions
01:53:52ad hoc was intentionally
01:53:54initially. Excuse me, created as
01:53:56a temporary committee to advance
01:53:58our four priority actions, which
01:53:59were health care access, child
01:54:01care providers, third party code
01:54:03of conduct and free hygiene
01:54:05products. That
01:54:06That work has progressed and
01:54:07this amendment now reflects
01:54:09evolution, now bringing our
01:54:11efforts into policy
01:54:12policy development around child
01:54:14care into the permanent
01:54:16committee structure for
01:54:17sustained oversight and
01:54:18accountability. The
01:54:19The updated scope strengthens
01:54:21the committee’s role in
01:54:22reviewing and recommending
01:54:23policies related to workplace
01:54:25conditions and access to
01:54:27services that support
01:54:28recruitment, retention and
01:54:31worker stability, while also
01:54:33improving safety operations,
01:54:35customer service and overall
01:54:36business outcomes. The
01:54:38The amendment also expands the
01:54:40committee’s focus on civil
01:54:41rights and community safety,
01:54:43including oversight related to
01:54:45public safety operations, civil
01:54:47liberties, Community Trust,
01:54:49Title 6, Language, Access and
01:54:51anti human trafficking, ensuring
01:54:53equitable treatment for workers,
01:54:55our traveling public and our
01:54:56community members, regardless of
01:54:58their national origin or
01:55:00immigration status. And
01:55:03And if I may make one comment on
01:55:05that. As
01:55:07As we move the elements from the
01:55:09temporary committee over into
01:55:10the permanent committee we have
01:55:11completed the third party code
01:55:13of conduct. We have completed at
01:55:16least half of the child care by
01:55:18starting a navigator program and
01:55:20the CERT look certified search
01:55:21for a brick
01:55:23brick and mortar type facilities
01:55:25underway with a consultant and
01:55:27the feminine
01:55:28feminine products or the period
01:55:31products. The period products
01:55:33are now incorporated across the
01:55:35port, which has just been a
01:55:36great piece of work. The one
01:55:38outstanding item is around
01:55:39healthcare, which we have now
01:55:41moved into the permanent
01:55:43standing committee for the
01:55:45development of a policy. Thank
01:55:47Thank you. Are
01:55:53Are there any questions for
01:55:55staff at this time from
01:55:55commissioners? I’ll
01:55:58I’ll go ahead and make the
01:55:59motion in support. Great.
01:56:00Great. So
01:56:03if there are no further
01:56:04questions for this item, is
01:56:05there a motion second to
01:56:06introduce resolution number
01:56:083844? I
01:56:11I guess I’ll second. All
01:56:12All right. It’s been moved and
01:56:13seconded. Any further discussion
01:56:15or debate on this item? Sure. So
01:56:21you’re getting out of practice
01:56:23now. I know. I’m sorry.
01:56:24Commissioner Hasegawa. I’m just
01:56:26so excited because we have to
01:56:27celebrate wins where we have
01:56:28them. Okay? That’s gonna be just
01:56:30mission critical to our, like,
01:56:31collective survival. So I just
01:56:33want to acknowledge that we set
01:56:35up that workforce conditions ad
01:56:36hoc committee because we had
01:56:38some amazing priorities that we
01:56:40wanted to streamline that work.
01:56:41And over the last four years, or
01:56:44I guess three, three years we
01:56:46did that. And so I just want to
01:56:49say thank you. Thank you. Thank
01:56:51you. Thank you to all the staff
01:56:53and my colleagues involved for
01:56:55passing that third party code of
01:56:56conduct. This was the mechanism
01:56:58to make sure that anyone doing
01:57:00contracts or leases with the
01:57:01Port of Seattle could
01:57:02demonstrate at least five years
01:57:03compliance with the
01:57:04international labor
01:57:05labor standards and human
01:57:07trafficking laws. Thank
01:57:09Thank you to the staff that made
01:57:12it a priority to implement free
01:57:14hygiene products across all port
01:57:17facilities. That’s on maritime
01:57:19and at
01:57:20at the airport. That means all
01:57:22workers and members of the
01:57:23traveling public going through
01:57:25the airport can press a button
01:57:27and a hygiene product will spit
01:57:29out. There is no longer a coin
01:57:32coming between you and the
01:57:34product that you need. And this
01:57:36is important in
01:57:37in terms of public health.
01:57:40It’s important in terms of
01:57:42ending the unnecessary tax
01:57:45for people who have
01:57:47have periods to be able to get
01:57:49the products that they need. And
01:57:50the staff acted with such
01:57:53haste with that and it did not
01:57:55break our bottom line. I also
01:57:57wanted to just mention and
01:57:59celebrate that the progress that
01:58:00we’ve made on child care is
01:58:02incredible. Yes, we have
01:58:04delivered on an assessment. Yes,
01:58:06we are waiting on the results of
01:58:07the feasibility for a brick and
01:58:10mortar childcare operation at or
01:58:12near the airport. This is going
01:58:14to be huge. Not just for the
01:58:15people who are working at the
01:58:17airport, including those
01:58:18involved in some of our capital
01:58:19projects, but also for the
01:58:21adjacent community, community
01:58:22members in south King county who
01:58:24are experiencing a child care
01:58:25desert. We have delivered on the
01:58:27child care navigator program.
01:58:30We are. And
01:58:31And we are actually actively
01:58:34looking at additional options
01:58:36for child care that could
01:58:37potentially service folks in the
01:58:39maritime community as well
01:58:41through some of our potential
01:58:43potential property acquisitions.
01:58:45All to say we’ve made progress
01:58:47and that’s beginning on child
01:58:49care. We’re going to continue to
01:58:50do the work to be part of the
01:58:52solution to meet the needs and
01:58:53the growing crushing demand of
01:58:55the public for accessible,
01:58:57available and affordable child
01:58:59care options. And
01:59:01And we have additional work to
01:59:04do on health care
01:59:06that is ongoing. I’m so pleased
01:59:08that in its final vote, the
01:59:11workforce conditions ad hoc
01:59:12committee was able to vote
01:59:14vote in favor of creating a
01:59:16policy that would support access
01:59:19to quality health care for every
01:59:22single airport worker. We look
01:59:24forward to the terms of that
01:59:25policy and I am so grateful to
01:59:27see it streamlined through the
01:59:28work of the permanent body of
01:59:29the of the new committee.
01:59:32I am so grateful to the staff
01:59:33who worked hard to make that
01:59:35ORCA passes for all pilot
01:59:36program a
01:59:37a reality. We are so seeing that
01:59:40as a major factor
01:59:42factor for operational
01:59:43efficiency and for our business
01:59:45model to not just be able to
01:59:46compete as an employer, but to
01:59:48be able to retain people the
01:59:50talent that we need to support
01:59:51this large and growing
01:59:53operation. Title 6 Anti Human
01:59:56Trafficking work so important
01:59:58now and as not only our
02:00:00operation grows, but ahead of
02:00:02FIFA World cup and making sure
02:00:03that we are plugging in
02:00:04intentionally to being part of
02:00:05part of the solution of the
02:00:07growing and underground
02:00:08economies that we have such an
02:00:10important role of interrupting.
02:00:14I am so grateful.
02:00:17Good job. To the people in this
02:00:19room have helped be part of this
02:00:22work. And we understand at the
02:00:24Port of Seattle that when you
02:00:25take care of your workers,
02:00:27you’re going to take care of
02:00:28your lines of business. You’re
02:00:29going to be able to exceed as an
02:00:32institution in
02:00:33in service of the people.
02:00:35So I am very grateful to be at a
02:00:39point where we can sunset this
02:00:40ad hoc committee and I’m very
02:00:42grateful to see these bodies of
02:00:44work, if they’ve not come to
02:00:46completion, then they have
02:00:47graduated into their next step
02:00:49for execution and seen them
02:00:51incorporated formally into this
02:00:52permanent newly named committee.
02:00:55So thank you very much.
02:00:58Any additional comments from
02:00:59commissioners. I
02:01:01I would like to also shout out
02:01:02Commissioner Muhammad, who has
02:01:03been the other member of this ad
02:01:05hoc committee and an intimate
02:01:06partner on this body at work who
02:01:08is currently not here because
02:01:09she is on leave. But it would
02:01:12not have come to this juncture
02:01:13without her efforts. All
02:01:15All right. Clerk Hart, please
02:01:17call the roll for the vote.
02:01:18Commissioners, please say aye or
02:01:19nay when your name is called.
02:01:21Thank you. This is for
02:01:22introduction of Resolution 3844,
02:01:25beginning with Commissioner Cho.
02:01:26Aye. Thank
02:01:28Thank you. Commissioner
02:01:28Fellerman. Aye.
02:01:30Aye. Thank you. Commissioner
02:01:31Hasegawa. Aye. Thank you,
02:01:34Commissioner Calkins. Aye. Thank
02:01:36you. Four ayes, zero nays for
02:01:37this item. All right. And with
02:01:39that, the motion passes.
02:01:40Resolution 3844 will be back
02:01:42before the commission for
02:01:43consideration of adoption at the
02:01:45February 24th meeting.
02:01:47Okay. this
02:01:49this point, we’re now at
02:01:50presentations and staff reports.
02:01:52Clerk Hart, can you please read
02:01:53the next item into the record?
02:01:54And we’ll have Executive
02:01:55Director Metruck introduce the
02:01:56item. Thank you. This is agenda
02:01:58item 11, a commission
02:02:00committee’s briefing, 2025
02:02:02accomplishments and 2026 work
02:02:04plans. Commissioners
02:02:07Commission committees allow deep
02:02:08for deeper dives into areas of
02:02:10interest of the commissioners.
02:02:11This briefing will report out on
02:02:132025 activities and highlight
02:02:152026 work plans. And the
02:02:17presenters this afternoon are V.
02:02:19D, the
02:02:20the Commission Strategic
02:02:21Advisor, and Leanne Shirato,
02:02:23Commission Deputy Chief of
02:02:24Staff. V. All
02:02:26All right, Good afternoon,
02:02:27Commissioners V. Nguyen,
02:02:28Commission Office Strategic
02:02:29Advisor. Let’s go ahead and go
02:02:32to the next slide. So today I’m
02:02:33here to present on the
02:02:34Commission’s committee work a
02:02:35review of 2025 and. And looking
02:02:37ahead to 2026, just a reminder
02:02:40that it was Resolution 3770 that
02:02:42stood up many of of the
02:02:43committees you see reflected on
02:02:45this chart today. Next slide.
02:02:46Slide, please. As
02:02:47As of today, our standing
02:02:48committees include the Port Wide
02:02:50Arts and Culture Board, Audit
02:02:51Governance, Equity and Workforce
02:02:53Development, Sustainability,
02:02:55Environment and Climate, and
02:02:56Waterfront Industrial Lands.
02:02:59In addition to these committees
02:03:00in 2025, we also just had the
02:03:02Airport Workforce Conditions Ad
02:03:03hoc committee. You just heard
02:03:04from Preston Tucker earlier
02:03:06today requesting approval of an
02:03:07amendment to update the charter
02:03:08for the topics covered by this
02:03:10committee to be folded into the
02:03:11Equity and Workers Development
02:03:12Development Committee. So
02:03:13So next slide, please. By
02:03:15By committee we’ll do a review
02:03:17and a look ahead. So starting
02:03:18with audit committee in 2025, we
02:03:20had commissioners Calkins and
02:03:22Muhammad. They met four times
02:03:24last year. And the content
02:03:25covered oversight of the
02:03:26internal audit plan as
02:03:28as well as receipt of
02:03:29information related to external
02:03:30audit reports for 2026. Next
02:03:33slide, please. Commissioner
02:03:35Felleman comes on as chair with
02:03:36Commissioner Calkins and the
02:03:37Audit committee will continue
02:03:38its oversight role. Next slide,
02:03:40please. Aviation
02:03:42Aviation Committee in 2025 was
02:03:44co chaired by Commissioners Cho
02:03:45and Felleman for seven meetings.
02:03:47Content covered included FIFA
02:03:49and Champions cup preparation
02:03:50updates, ongoing briefings of on
02:03:53SEA Major Projects and capital
02:03:54programs, Federal affairs and
02:03:56state government updates and
02:03:57programs like the Good Traveler
02:03:59Choose Carbon Credits and the
02:04:01Ground Transportation Access
02:04:02Program. Next slide please.
02:04:05For 2026, Commissioner Cho is
02:04:07joined by Commissioner Mohammed
02:04:08on committee. There is an
02:04:10anticipated eight meetings for
02:04:11the year to cover similar topics
02:04:12as 2025 including or in addition
02:04:16to the SEA Future Energy Supply
02:04:17and Demand Strategy and then the
02:04:20Business Intelligence Passenger
02:04:21Survey added to the docket. Next
02:04:23slide please. The
02:04:25The Equity and Workforce
02:04:26Development Committee is co
02:04:27chaired by Commissioners
02:04:28Hasegawa and Mohamed for both
02:04:292025 and 2026.
02:04:32Topics covered in 2025 included
02:04:34the diversity and Contracting
02:04:36Directive Update as well as
02:04:38briefing items on the Port’s
02:04:39Economic Development Partnership
02:04:40Programs, the
02:04:42the Youth Maritime Career
02:04:44Launch, Anti Human Trafficking
02:04:46efforts by the Port, and the
02:04:47WIMBEY annual report for
02:04:49for 2026. Additional. Next slide
02:04:51please. Sorry. For 2026,
02:04:53additional topics identified for
02:04:55committee include public safety
02:04:56operations, workplace
02:04:57conditions, immigration matters
02:04:59in Title 6. This is of course
02:05:01dependent on a requested
02:05:03Community Charter Amendment
02:05:04approval. Next
02:05:06Next slide please. So
02:05:08So Governance Committee
02:05:10historically is chaired by the
02:05:11previous Commission president
02:05:12and the current so for 2025 the
02:05:14CO chairs were Commissioner
02:05:15Muhammad and Hasagawa. For again
02:05:17for 2025 and then for 2026 it’s
02:05:20Commissioner Hasegawa and
02:05:23Commissioner Calkins. Governance
02:05:24Committee meets on an as needed
02:05:26basis. Next slide please.
02:05:30So next we have the
02:05:31Sustainability, Environment and
02:05:32climate committee for 2025, SAAC
02:05:35was chaired by commissioners
02:05:36Calkins and Cho. They met nine
02:05:38times covering a long list of
02:05:41port initiatives and work from
02:05:42the Seattle Waterfront Clean
02:05:44Energy Strategy, Pre Season
02:05:46Cruise Environmental Dashboard,
02:05:47the Maritime Climate and Air
02:05:49Action Plan Implementation
02:05:50Update, the the Sustainable
02:05:52Maritime Fuels Collective, the
02:05:53Green Corridor Feasibility Study
02:05:55and of course annual reports on
02:05:57Scope one and Scope two
02:05:58emissions as well as the the
02:06:00Port Sustainability Evaluation
02:06:01framework. So for 2026,
02:06:04Commissioner Felleman joins
02:06:05Commissioner Calkins for the
02:06:06year. In addition to the topics
02:06:08I just listed, additional
02:06:10additional briefing items
02:06:12include the Clean Ports Planning
02:06:13Grant, the Environmental Justice
02:06:15Framework, the Building Energy
02:06:16and Program Update, and updates
02:06:18on our Sustainable fuels work in
02:06:20maritime and Aviation. Okay, so
02:06:22we’re almost hitting the home
02:06:23stretch here. Next
02:06:24Next slide please. All
02:06:27All right, so next up we have
02:06:28the Waterfront and Industrial
02:06:29Lands Committee last year was co
02:06:31chaired by Commissioners
02:06:32Felleman and Calkins. This
02:06:34committee did not meet very
02:06:35often last year in large part
02:06:36due to our Commissioners working
02:06:38alongside staff to protect
02:06:39industrial land in SODO from
02:06:41legislation pursued and adopted
02:06:42by Seattle City Council. I think
02:06:44you all know how that has turned
02:06:46out, so I won’t go into details.
02:06:49The meetings that we did have
02:06:50last year in 2025, there were
02:06:52updates on for mobility, the
02:06:54Jack Block park and plans for
02:06:56redevelopment and investment in
02:06:57the Soda Binmig areas. Next
02:06:59Next slide, please. So
02:07:01So for 2026 we have Commissioner
02:07:04Felleman and Commissioner Cho.
02:07:05Topics identified for discussion
02:07:07include. Big surprise. I’m glad
02:07:08you’re all sitting down.
02:07:09Industrial lands plans,
02:07:12real estate portfolio updates,
02:07:14WASA and Federal center south,
02:07:15and the Seattle Green Economy,
02:07:16visioning and opportunities.
02:07:19All right, next slide, please.
02:07:22Port White Arts and culture
02:07:23board. In 2025, we have
02:07:25commissioners Felleman Ckin as
02:07:26board members, along with
02:07:28members of the public who are
02:07:29appointed to this board. They
02:07:31met four times. Topics for
02:07:33discussion were art projects and
02:07:34acquisitions, conservation and
02:07:36maintenance, new
02:07:37new installations and Miro and a
02:07:38Lumiere group update. Next
02:07:40slide, please. So
02:07:42So I do have a typo on the 2026
02:07:44slide. So membership for 2026 is
02:07:46Commissioner Felleman along with
02:07:48Commissioner Mohammed. And
02:07:49topics include a lot of what we
02:07:51did last year, but also in
02:07:53addition is partnerships for
02:07:55public performances and
02:07:56wayfinding, which is really
02:07:57important for a FIFA year. Oh,
02:07:59the FIFA year rather. And
02:08:01temporary art opportunities.
02:08:03And next slide, please.
02:08:06And finally, we have a review of
02:08:08the 2025 airport workforce ad
02:08:09hoc committee. Commissioner
02:08:11Hasegawa did a wonderful job
02:08:12encapsulating the work of this
02:08:14ad hoc committee. Again,
02:08:15Again, this. This committee was
02:08:17chaired by commissioners Mohamed
02:08:18and Hasagawa. There was. They
02:08:19met five times last year and
02:08:21covered critical issues
02:08:22impacting the airport workforce.
02:08:24Commissioners received updates
02:08:25and briefings on the SEA
02:08:27healthcare workers initiative,
02:08:28childcare access for SEA
02:08:30workers, airport badging for
02:08:32labor, and the transit pass
02:08:33pilots. So this. This concludes
02:08:35my report out and I’m very glad
02:08:37that there are no questions.
02:08:38Thank you. All
02:08:41All right, moving on to the next
02:08:42slide. I know. Commissioners,
02:08:45Commissioners, any questions or
02:08:46comments on the committee
02:08:47report? That’s a good way to
02:08:48segue. Commissioner
02:08:52Commissioner Hosal, do we have a
02:08:54summary of hours of committee
02:08:55work? Would
02:08:57Would that be meeting time or
02:09:00everything? The
02:09:01The meeting time, I
02:09:03I can have that to you by the
02:09:05end of the day. Okay. A
02:09:09A lot is the short answer, I
02:09:11think. Any other questions or
02:09:13comments? Commissioner Feldman?
02:09:16I guess all we really are
02:09:18required to do is show up at two
02:09:19meetings a month and one Seaport
02:09:21alliance meeting a month. We us
02:09:22take these opportunities to
02:09:25contribute to the greater good
02:09:27on our own volition. But I just
02:09:29wanted to thank you for the
02:09:31organization of the summary. It
02:09:33was really a great condensation
02:09:34of a lot of work and I think you
02:09:36can multiply by 30 minutes or
02:09:38half an hour to get your total
02:09:40hours. But honestly, it was a
02:09:42great summation and one of the
02:09:44things I just think maybe
02:09:46maybe in the future that
02:09:48for these projects that are
02:09:49continuations, I’m like
02:09:51particularly interested in like
02:09:52the Good Traveler program and
02:09:54choose, you know, that we
02:09:55initiate something in one
02:09:57committee, we go on to the next
02:09:58committee. To be able to have
02:09:59some continuity seeing how those
02:10:02initiatives progressed, that’s a
02:10:05little bit of a challenge as we
02:10:06change committees. But that
02:10:08that was just in general, I
02:10:09think this visibility between
02:10:12committees, this
02:10:14this is a great moment to get
02:10:15that visibility. But it’s after
02:10:17all done and there’s probably
02:10:19crossover in the course of the
02:10:21year that might help
02:10:23fertilize further conversations.
02:10:26But thanks again. I really
02:10:27appreciate the summary and
02:10:30and I will just add it’s nice to
02:10:32have the kind of roll up format
02:10:34of the summary because it
02:10:38really reminds me of the
02:10:39evolution of the
02:10:41the structure of the commission
02:10:42office since
02:10:44really I think when Fred first
02:10:46joined and it’s
02:10:48it’s part of his legacy as a
02:10:49commissioner is to kind of
02:10:51recognize that it used to be
02:10:52everything was done as a
02:10:53committee of the whole, which is
02:10:55burdensome and onerous and
02:10:58doesn’t really recognize that
02:11:00there are passions and expertise
02:11:02that can come to play that serve
02:11:04the body better
02:11:06better than having all of us try
02:11:07to weigh in on all things. And
02:11:09so in this sense we have I think
02:11:12created a work strategy for the
02:11:14commission that is much more
02:11:16productive in a lot of ways.
02:11:18I also think it rests upon
02:11:20a fundamental confidence amongst
02:11:23us, a trust amongst us that I
02:11:25can say, you know, if Sam and
02:11:27Fred are going to take this
02:11:28committee, I know that the work
02:11:30is going to get done in a, in,
02:11:32in an effective way and that the
02:11:34important output of that will be
02:11:36will come to a commission vote
02:11:38as necessary, but that I can
02:11:40trust that the, the committee
02:11:42will do the legwork on really
02:11:44drilling in on on topics that
02:11:46require us to kind of get into
02:11:47the weeds on stuff. So and
02:11:49and you know, I think the other
02:11:51thing to Fred’s point is as we
02:11:53continue to evolve this and when
02:11:55we first stood it up, we weren’t
02:11:56very good at the, that is the
02:11:57reporting out, making sure the
02:11:59rest of the commissioners know
02:12:00what has happened in those
02:12:02committee meetings and sharing
02:12:03that also with the public too.
02:12:05So thank you V for the
02:12:07presentation. Mr.
02:12:08Mr. President, if I may just one
02:12:09comment. You took a lot of what
02:12:11I was going to say, particularly
02:12:12about the trust between
02:12:13commissioners. That’s really
02:12:14been one of the big evolutions
02:12:15is commissioners didn’t want to
02:12:17give up all that work and now
02:12:18they, and you’ve really come to
02:12:19the place where you trust each
02:12:20other to take care of it. So I
02:12:21appreciate that. I also just
02:12:23want to note that the executive
02:12:24also takes this very seriously.
02:12:26You know, this is a sort of
02:12:27built, I don’t want to say a
02:12:28house of cards, but we’ve put it
02:12:29together. And the executive also
02:12:30uses it now as an avenue to
02:12:32deliver those important policy
02:12:34questions before they’re fully
02:12:36formulated, which is also a
02:12:37stretch. Sometimes they want to
02:12:39bring you the complete product,
02:12:40but sharing that a little
02:12:41earlier has been real
02:12:42productive. And finally also to,
02:12:44you know, of course our
02:12:46strategic advisors do a great
02:12:47job working with the executive,
02:12:48develop these. But our
02:12:49commission clerk team has
02:12:51really, if you don’t notice,
02:12:52they put real shine on this to
02:12:53make this a very professional
02:12:55operation. They’re there taking
02:12:57notes, they’re posting the
02:12:58agendas, things are up on the
02:12:59website before you’re out the
02:13:00door. And those sorts of things
02:13:01have really changed this to make
02:13:03it look very professional and
02:13:04actually it functions
02:13:05professionally as well. So I
02:13:06just want to share those things
02:13:08as well. Thank you. And
02:13:10And in terms of ensuring
02:13:12transparency that these are not
02:13:14behind closed doors meetings,
02:13:15these are meetings that, where
02:13:17the public has access to the
02:13:18information that was shared.
02:13:19Commissioner Felton, Well,
02:13:23Well, I appreciate the shout out
02:13:24for the initiation of the first
02:13:26committee was the Environment
02:13:28and Sustainability Committee. I
02:13:30came in on the heels of how much
02:13:32oil should the Port of Seattle
02:13:33handle on the heels of Shell.
02:13:35And I said that’s the wrong
02:13:36question. What are we going to
02:13:37do to reduce our own footprint?
02:13:39But it was really the leadership
02:13:40of our chief of Staff, Aaron
02:13:42Pritchard, who created this
02:13:44overall structure that allowed
02:13:47us to evolve to the state we
02:13:48are. So I very much appreciate
02:13:49that work and I’m glad that it’s
02:13:52being felt throughout the
02:13:53organization as a constructive
02:13:55contribution. Excellent.
02:13:57Excellent. All right, we are
02:13:58going to move on to the next
02:13:59briefing item which is our
02:14:01external relations work plan
02:14:03briefing. And I will ask Clerk
02:14:06Hart to read it into the record
02:14:07and executive director metruck
02:14:08to introduce it. And I’ll note
02:14:10that this external relations
02:14:11team, they’re all known as very
02:14:13shy and they’re, they’re a bunch
02:14:15of shrinking violets. So this is
02:14:17going to take only like 15
02:14:18minutes. So I imagine. Not
02:14:20kidding. Looking
02:14:21Looking forward to it. Pierce,
02:14:23Clark, Hart. Thank you. This IS
02:14:25Agenda Item 11B, the 2026
02:14:27External Relations Work plan
02:14:29briefing. And I just want to
02:14:30note that we have several
02:14:32presenters here today, so
02:14:33so if they need to be switching
02:14:35out back and forth, you might
02:14:36see some of that. Okay.
02:14:40Commissioners, our external
02:14:41relations team is responsible
02:14:42for a broad portfolio that
02:14:44includes federal, state and
02:14:45local government relations,
02:14:47capital project delivery, which
02:14:49includes regional
02:14:49transportation, technical and
02:14:51policy expertise, strategic
02:14:53communications and external
02:14:54Outreach and Engagement. This
02:14:56briefing, which actually touches
02:14:58almost everything we do at the
02:15:00port, or everything we do at the
02:15:01Port, is normally provided
02:15:03during the first Commission
02:15:04retreat of the year. However,
02:15:06given that the retreat is not
02:15:07until March, we wanted to offer
02:15:09it during today’s meeting
02:15:10instead to preview the breadth
02:15:12of work this team is preparing
02:15:14for in the coming year
02:15:15throughout 2026. The presenters
02:15:17are beginning with Pierce
02:15:19Edwards, Senior Director of
02:15:20External Relations, Nate
02:15:22Camino’s Director, Office of
02:15:23Government Relations, Katherine
02:15:25Katherine Fountain, Acting
02:15:26Director, Communications and
02:15:28Marketing Claire Gallagher,
02:15:29Director of External Relations
02:15:30at Capital Project Deliveries,
02:15:32Sally Del
02:15:34Del Fierro, Director of
02:15:35Community Engagement and Karen
02:15:37Karen Zog Black, Internal
02:15:39Relations and Protocol. I don’t
02:15:41know if all those folks are
02:15:42here, but I imagine that they
02:15:43are, so I’ll turn it over. To
02:15:45turn it over. Senior Director
02:15:47Edwards, thanks.
02:15:51thanks. Got it. Thank you.
02:15:52Executive Director, Metruck
02:15:54Commissioners Pierce Edwards,
02:15:56Senior Director of External
02:15:57Relations it’s great to be with
02:15:59you this afternoon. We’re
02:16:00usually before you, as Steve
02:16:02noted, at the retreat, but it’s
02:16:03good to be here with you in this
02:16:05setting today, as
02:16:06as Steve noted. I’m joined by my
02:16:09director colleagues in Karen Zog
02:16:10Black for
02:16:12for today’s presentation to
02:16:13answer any questions you may
02:16:15have. I
02:16:17I look forward to sharing some
02:16:18of our highlights for 2025 and a
02:16:20snapshot for our look at it 26
02:16:22before our
02:16:23our directors take a deeper dive
02:16:25into many
02:16:26many of the items, but not all
02:16:27the items that we’ll be working
02:16:29on in the coming year. I do want
02:16:31to point out, though I see some
02:16:33of you have already pointed out
02:16:34to me today, we do have in your
02:16:35packet the annual, what we call
02:16:38the placemat of our
02:16:40Communications, Community
02:16:41Engagement, Government Relations
02:16:43and Key Dates Calendar. We
02:16:45update this pretty frequently
02:16:46throughout the year and if you
02:16:47have suggestions for additions,
02:16:49please send them our way. I know
02:16:50it’s meant to be all inclusive,
02:16:52but there are things that we
02:16:53leave out and there are things
02:16:54that come up during the course
02:16:55of the year that we want to add
02:16:57on to that calendar.
02:17:01Next slide, please. As
02:17:04As many of you know, our
02:17:06External Relations team is made
02:17:08up of External Relations
02:17:09Department is made up of four
02:17:10teams, Communications,
02:17:12Government Relations, Community
02:17:13Community Engagement and
02:17:15Strategic Initiatives. And as
02:17:17Steve noted in his opening, one
02:17:19of the great things is that we
02:17:21work with so many people across
02:17:23the port, and our success is
02:17:24rooted not only in
02:17:27the strong collaboration
02:17:28engagement we have with the
02:17:29Executive and Commission Office,
02:17:31but also with pretty much every
02:17:34department and team, division,
02:17:36what have you across the entire
02:17:38organization throughout the
02:17:39year. And
02:17:40And similarly, our work
02:17:43in the community touches a vast
02:17:46array of communities and it is a
02:17:49relationship that is certainly
02:17:50not a one way conversation, but
02:17:52a two way conversation. One that
02:17:54is a welcoming conversation
02:17:56conversation that we’re actively
02:17:58listening and not talking to the
02:18:00public. It helps us build an
02:18:02environment for
02:18:03for greater connectivity but
02:18:05also for long lasting
02:18:07relationships with the public
02:18:09where everyone thinks and
02:18:11believes and knows that they
02:18:12have a seat at the table.
02:18:15And that work that we do, that
02:18:17engagement helps drive and what
02:18:19we hear from the community helps
02:18:21drive our work across our team
02:18:22in government relations,
02:18:24communications and marketing and
02:18:26strategic initiatives and really
02:18:29core to our work. And I think,
02:18:31you know, it’s been, it’s been
02:18:32great. The Duwamish Valley was
02:18:34really one of those first
02:18:34programs where it wasn’t us
02:18:36going to tell people what we’re
02:18:37doing. It was one that we
02:18:38listened to the public about
02:18:40what they wanted to us to do.
02:18:42And that has become more rooted
02:18:43in our work each
02:18:45each and every year since the
02:18:47foundation of that project.
02:18:49You know, we face stiff
02:18:51federal headwinds as we’re all
02:18:53aware, many
02:18:54many of which are not aligned
02:18:56with the with port values. But
02:18:59we will continue working
02:19:00working side by side with
02:19:02everyone across the port to
02:19:04to work on those projects that
02:19:06do reflect our values and
02:19:09support those port initiatives
02:19:10and business lines. And we
02:19:12think, you know, this really
02:19:13helps ensure the
02:19:14the port remains a trusted
02:19:16partner and an economic catalyst
02:19:18for the region, strengthened by
02:19:19our community engagement,
02:19:21engagement, government relations
02:19:22and, and communications and
02:19:24aligned communications. Next
02:19:26slide Before
02:19:28Before I dive, before the
02:19:30directors get into the 2026
02:19:34outlook, I want to just spend a
02:19:35moment on 2025
02:19:372025 and some of the successes
02:19:39we had this year. I’m not going
02:19:40to go through these slide by or
02:19:41word by word on here, but I
02:19:43think we all know that the
02:19:44communications department just
02:19:46does a heck of a job on
02:19:48their output of materials,
02:19:51whether that’s earned media,
02:19:52shared media, earned media
02:19:55video development. As you can
02:19:56see Here, we did 502 videos this
02:19:58year. Almost 13,000 photographs.
02:20:00It’s amazing. Our
02:20:02Our social
02:20:05social media networks, many of
02:20:07the channels grew at double
02:20:08digit rates
02:20:10rates of growth this year
02:20:12including Facebook and Instagram
02:20:15and LinkedIn jumped up into the
02:20:17TikTok tens of thousands.
02:20:17They’re already in tens of
02:20:18thousands, but tens of thousands
02:20:19higher. Overall we have over
02:20:21300,000 followers
02:20:22followers on our combined
02:20:25channels. The
02:20:28The Commission blogs still
02:20:30receive some of our highest
02:20:32viewership and readership, just
02:20:34FYI. And
02:20:36And those
02:20:38those communications really do
02:20:39reach a large segment of our
02:20:41community. What’s not on the
02:20:42slide is the awards that
02:20:45that our communications
02:20:47department was recognized with
02:20:48this year. Three from the
02:20:50Airports Council International
02:20:51winners of the year for
02:20:52responsive Communications to the
02:20:54Cyber Attack winner
02:20:56winner for partnering with
02:20:57concessionaires or service
02:20:59providers and the customer
02:21:01service experience programs for
02:21:03a large airport for Jet the
02:21:05Otter. Jet
02:21:06Jet the Otter also won a PRSA
02:21:08award, the Public Relations
02:21:09Society of America for Special
02:21:11Events and Observances
02:21:13Observances Certificate of
02:21:14Excellence and as well, excuse
02:21:16excuse me, that was for the
02:21:17Philippine Airlines light
02:21:19launch. But the Marketing
02:21:20Communications Summit award was
02:21:21for Jet the Otter. He’s also one
02:21:23of our highest performing social
02:21:27items as well. Next slide.
02:21:30Sally and her team doing
02:21:32doing amazing work around
02:21:34around the county. What’s not on
02:21:36the slide are some of the events
02:21:39at the Hub which we’re nearly
02:21:41300 events at the Hub this year.
02:21:43A center that just continues to
02:21:45grow as a centerpiece for the
02:21:48Duwamish community in so many
02:21:50ways. Our South King County
02:21:53South King Important Communities
02:21:55partner meetings were three
02:21:56dozen waterfront activations
02:21:58with our collaboration with
02:22:00Friends of the Waterfront 10
02:22:03Port of Seattle tours 46 so just
02:22:07on and on. Great work in the
02:22:09community. Next slide.
02:22:11Government relations I think we
02:22:13have all talked about the
02:22:15industrial lands issue
02:22:17issue from last year. I was
02:22:19driven across the port but GR
02:22:21really played the central role
02:22:22in getting to us where we are
02:22:23today with the Washington with
02:22:24where we are with the Growth
02:22:25Management Hearings Board.
02:22:27There’s also the great work that
02:22:29John Flanagan and others did
02:22:30around the fuel shortage at SEA
02:22:34last fall and really working
02:22:35with the Governor’s office and
02:22:37state authorities and federal
02:22:38authorities. He and Eric
02:22:40Schinfeld. The
02:22:41The federal funding for repair
02:22:43replacement of sound
02:22:43installation was another big
02:22:45win. And
02:22:46And then of course you’re going
02:22:47to hear from Karen Zog Black
02:22:48today on the number of
02:22:50airport engagements. But there
02:22:52was 52 outbound trips that were
02:22:54supported, 54 inbound
02:22:56international delegation,
02:22:58delegation groups coordinated
02:23:00and then high profile movements.
02:23:02Queen of Netherlands, Royal
02:23:03Highness, Prince of Sweden, the
02:23:04Australian Prime Minister,
02:23:06Luxembourg Prime Minister and
02:23:08two former United Kingdom Prime
02:23:10Ministers. Although that’s
02:23:11pretty easy these days, they
02:23:12seem to go pretty quickly. Last
02:23:14Last but not least,
02:23:16next slide. Not
02:23:19Not going to go through all
02:23:19these. You’re going to hear
02:23:20about a lot of these from the
02:23:21team but do want to hit on some
02:23:23of the larger ones for the year.
02:23:25One that’s not on here that was
02:23:27an oversight on our part is
02:23:28really immigration is going to
02:23:30continue to be front and center
02:23:31as well as enforcement
02:23:32enforcement and ICE issues will
02:23:35be a big GR issue that will
02:23:39go across our group. The
02:23:40The SAMHSIPA outreach and
02:23:42engagements which will start
02:23:43pretty soon here in the next
02:23:44quarter and going into the year
02:23:48is going to be a serious body of
02:23:50work for for. For
02:23:52For our organization or for our
02:23:54team organization and our team
02:23:56sustainability and alternative
02:23:58fuels you know, the past has
02:23:59been about getting legislation
02:24:01passed to make them possible.
02:24:02Now it’s getting them produced,
02:24:05which is very exciting. We’re
02:24:07working on the next gen, the
02:24:08next gen Port City MoU for
02:24:10industrial lands. In fact, we
02:24:12have a meeting with the mayor
02:24:13and city council members on
02:24:14Friday where this will be a
02:24:15central topic to move that
02:24:17forward. That is currently
02:24:18sitting, that draft is sitting
02:24:19in the, in
02:24:20in the mayor’s office and that
02:24:22was done in conjunction with a
02:24:23and her team in economic
02:24:24development. FIFA. You’re going
02:24:26to hear a lot about that. Julie
02:24:28Rosey now will be before
02:24:29commission and the ELT later
02:24:31this spring to share more
02:24:32details on FIFA, which is just a
02:24:34few short months away.
02:24:35Shipbuilding advocacy
02:24:39now with the Trump
02:24:40administration putting maritime
02:24:41manufacturing at the top of the
02:24:45their policy list or one of the
02:24:46items at the top of their policy
02:24:47list. And now we have the MOU
02:24:49with WPPA for the foundation of
02:24:51the Maritime Industrial Base
02:24:53Base Coalition looks promising.
02:24:56Work as we develop phases one
02:24:57and two of that project relating
02:24:59to the analysis, landscape
02:25:01analysis and gap analysis in the
02:25:03next several months before we
02:25:04initiate work later this year.
02:25:06The activation
02:25:07activation of the tribal moas
02:25:09and then website accessibility,
02:25:11which will all wrap up in about
02:25:12a year. And
02:25:13And with that I will turn it
02:25:15over to Kathryn
02:25:16Kathryn for communications.
02:25:18Thank you commissioners. Thank
02:25:21Thank you, Pierce. Next slide
02:25:22please. Again,
02:25:23Again, I’m Katherine Fountain,
02:25:24acting director of
02:25:25communications and marketing.
02:25:26Here’s a snap of our 13 awesome
02:25:29members of the team really
02:25:31really quickly. We are kind of a
02:25:32three prong team with three kind
02:25:34of bodies of work and that first
02:25:36one really quickly is kind of
02:25:37content in the written word.
02:25:39This is headed by Kathy Swift
02:25:40who leads our writing team. This
02:25:42is all of our external facing
02:25:43web presence and guidance across
02:25:45the organization. This team
02:25:47maintains our newsroom, sends
02:25:48out press releases and
02:25:49statements and was hustling on
02:25:51that today. We
02:25:52We manage 12 newsletters and the
02:25:54commission blogs and this also
02:25:56includes our growing social
02:25:58presence across both our port
02:25:59brand and our SEA Airport brand.
02:26:02Managing our marketing and
02:26:03advertising work that’s coming
02:26:05through communications. We’re
02:26:06not the only organization doing
02:26:07ads but that goes through that.
02:26:09That team and then some special
02:26:11projects. You heard Pierce
02:26:12mention accessibility and I’ll
02:26:13touch on that briefly. Another
02:26:15prong of a communications team
02:26:17is headed by Devlin Donnelly.
02:26:18This is our visual creative
02:26:20services team. This is all the
02:26:22photography, videography, visual
02:26:24artistry, graphic design and
02:26:25development. You see us running
02:26:27around capturing lots of
02:26:28moments, creating moments,
02:26:30amplifying moments that’s coming
02:26:31out of this fantastic team. They
02:26:33They are responsible for those
02:26:34kind of powerful and beautiful
02:26:36ways we tell stories beyond the
02:26:37written word and in
02:26:38collaboration with the written
02:26:39word. Additional
02:26:41Additional work is commission
02:26:42decks, handouts or
02:26:43presentations, all kinds of
02:26:45items for community engagement,
02:26:47capture photography, ongoing.
02:26:49And then the fourth or sorry,
02:26:50the third prong is our media
02:26:53public relations team, headed by
02:26:55our fearless leader, Chris
02:26:56Quislow, Perry Cooper Cassidy
02:26:58Knight, she and myself. And our
02:27:01job is all about media inbounds
02:27:03and outbounds, working on draft
02:27:05op eds and delivering them and
02:27:07getting them published,
02:27:08proactive storytelling,
02:27:09connecting with traditional
02:27:10media, ethnic media, broadcast
02:27:13and other new forms of media,
02:27:15supporting the commission with a
02:27:17kind of suite of work on
02:27:18presentations, talking points,
02:27:19speeches and so forth, press
02:27:21events and moments, final
02:27:23final approval on all external
02:27:25communications coming out of the
02:27:26port and
02:27:27and also communicating through
02:27:28challenging topics and times and
02:27:31emergency communications should
02:27:32they arise. And every once in a
02:27:34while we also get to do
02:27:34something fun like helping
02:27:36support a bet between Massport
02:27:38CEO and our own executive
02:27:39director on who will wear the
02:27:41jersey, which will be online
02:27:42Commissioner Calkins. And then
02:27:44also welcoming the team home
02:27:46yesterday on the plane and
02:27:47making a moment where there
02:27:49hadn’t been one before. So we
02:27:51have some fun too. Next slide
02:27:53please. So
02:27:55So our compass, I won’t go
02:27:56through all these, but the most
02:27:57important one and the reason
02:27:58it’s at the top, is to build
02:27:59public trust and understanding.
02:28:02We know we have a lot of
02:28:03audiences to speak to, we have
02:28:05to think about our voices and so
02:28:06our work is helping to define
02:28:08who we are, to whom we’re
02:28:09speaking and what should we be
02:28:11saying and how. So
02:28:12So again, this is number one,
02:28:14public trust, helping the public
02:28:16and key stakeholders understand
02:28:17our organization, our
02:28:19our lines of business, our
02:28:20policies, our positions and
02:28:21efforts and you know, kind of
02:28:23the purpose underneath. Another
02:28:25Another one worth mentioning is
02:28:26the third bullet, public
02:28:28awareness for the Port of
02:28:29Seattle and the SEA brand, which
02:28:31is a burgeoning moniker change
02:28:33that we’re working on especially
02:28:34here as we begin to welcome the
02:28:37world for FIFA World cup later
02:28:38this summer. So you’re going to
02:28:39hear more on SEA as we go
02:28:41laying the foundation for
02:28:43policy. You heard Pierce note
02:28:45that kind of hand in glove
02:28:46communications with a lot of our
02:28:47big policy moments coming down
02:28:49the pike this year. This might
02:28:51be sparking conversation through
02:28:53media engagement. This might be
02:28:54supporting talking points or
02:28:56adding additional information
02:28:57that changes the topics and
02:28:59conversations, or celebrating
02:29:01the wins with all the partners
02:29:03as we go along. And
02:29:04And then finally again to
02:29:06running around capturing
02:29:07moments. You see us gathering
02:29:09photos, video,
02:29:11video, so on and so forth and so
02:29:12a big part of the team and
02:29:14and on method. So how are we
02:29:16going to do it? A partnership
02:29:17model, right? We are working, we
02:29:19work very closely Every single
02:29:20day, all day, with the rest of
02:29:22the ER team, with the executive
02:29:23team, with commission and
02:29:25commission staff and with the
02:29:26remainder of the port as well as
02:29:27with external partners to make
02:29:29it go. So want
02:29:31want to make sure we understand
02:29:32what we’re doing and deliver
02:29:33great work. We have an enormous
02:29:35amount of expertise across our
02:29:3613 members of the team. We
02:29:38strive to use a plan plain
02:29:39language approach. There are
02:29:41many, many opportunities to
02:29:42again educate the public, build
02:29:44trust. We want to do that in a
02:29:46really concise and succinct way
02:29:48and always we are striving for
02:29:50excellence. Next
02:29:51Next slide please. It’s
02:29:54It’s a busy year. There are many
02:29:56priorities. You have a placemat
02:29:59in front of you with many, many
02:30:00of them on there and it is with
02:30:03almost certain that the
02:30:04communications team will touch
02:30:05each, each and every one of
02:30:06these. Just about each and every
02:30:07one of these and not just the
02:30:08ones on the communications bar.
02:30:10But let me hit a couple here on
02:30:12this slide. First
02:30:13First one is around our airport
02:30:15master plan. So as Pierce
02:30:17mentioned, the SEPA EIS process
02:30:20will be getting underway soon.
02:30:22We are in the process developing
02:30:23a comprehensive communications
02:30:25and media plan to support that
02:30:26work, to support our partners in
02:30:28community engagement, to support
02:30:29our partners and environment and
02:30:31so on and so forth. So that’s
02:30:32all kind of coming together.
02:30:34We’re helping to figure out, you
02:30:35know, what are those important
02:30:36and vital pieces of information
02:30:38that need to be shared and how
02:30:40do we meet and then exceed those
02:30:42needs and to again use that
02:30:44plain language, easy to
02:30:45understand, easy to access
02:30:47information. This
02:30:48This also looks like messaging,
02:30:50media engagement, support for
02:30:52events, visuals, presentations,
02:30:54talking points and etc. Et
02:30:56cetera. Also
02:30:57Also hit on FIFA World Cup. So I
02:31:00mean what, what aren’t we doing
02:31:01here in communications, right?
02:31:02So this could be something like
02:31:03down at sea. These are dressings
02:31:06for sort of visuals at the
02:31:07airport, storytelling, other
02:31:09advertising, supporting
02:31:11supporting the anti human
02:31:12trafficking effort and sharing
02:31:14those words, talking about
02:31:16expanding information across
02:31:18sound transit and Metro and our
02:31:19transportation partners. How do
02:31:20people get to and from and
02:31:21around the games during FIFA?
02:31:23Some art collaboration with the
02:31:24Sounders and rain big
02:31:26big rallies including SEA
02:31:28airport employees
02:31:30employees and others
02:31:32lifting up some environmental
02:31:34programs. We have a really neat
02:31:35collaboration with svu. How can
02:31:36we show the world how we recycle
02:31:39and compost and dispose of our
02:31:42waste in that kind of regional
02:31:43Seattle way because we do it
02:31:44differently than others pieces
02:31:46like that. So there’s on and on
02:31:47emergency operations for day of.
02:31:50The list is big. The last one
02:31:51here I’ll touch is the Maritime
02:31:52Innovation center scheduled for
02:31:54a fall opening. But we are very
02:31:56close to handing keys over to
02:31:58our partners at Maritime Blue as
02:32:00they begin their tenant build
02:32:01out. So celebrating all those
02:32:03pieces, we’ve been capturing
02:32:04content, showing people, getting
02:32:05folks delighted and as we begin
02:32:07to transition over to their
02:32:11feet in the ground in the
02:32:12building, how do we celebrate
02:32:14the port’s asset stewardship, a
02:32:16really interesting adaptive
02:32:17reuse, storytelling and our
02:32:19commitment to the future of
02:32:21fishing fleets and innovation in
02:32:22maritime. Let’s go to the next
02:32:24slide and
02:32:26and just a quick couple of notes
02:32:29on what our team is doing kind
02:32:30of internally or driven from the
02:32:32communications team to help make
02:32:33us a better partner to all of
02:32:34you. You heard Pierce mention
02:32:36our accessibility and language
02:32:37access work. We’re about halfway
02:32:39through about a three year long
02:32:41program. I believe the
02:32:43Commission has been been briefed
02:32:44on this, but again this is
02:32:46there’s a variety of things in
02:32:47play, but this has included
02:32:48accessibility training at our
02:32:50tech hub and through external
02:32:51relations team meetings. We
02:32:53launched an accessibility
02:32:54library and have developed a
02:32:55number of training materials on
02:32:57Brand Central. We’re now testing
02:32:59and remediating pages and there
02:33:01are more than 10,000 of them
02:33:02across the port website. So it’s
02:33:04a massive undertaking. And thank
02:33:05you to Kathy Swift for driving
02:33:07on that. We’re
02:33:08We’re installing an
02:33:09accessibility testing platform
02:33:11and also developing some
02:33:12templates that will help all of
02:33:13us ensure
02:33:15ensure that we’re compliant as
02:33:16we go forward. As we also look
02:33:18back and sort of repair and fix
02:33:21existing content. The
02:33:23The second bullet there are
02:33:24updates to commission meeting
02:33:25graphics and templates. So the
02:33:28QR code that we now use as we
02:33:30start our public comment is an
02:33:32example of the communications
02:33:33team helping you all do the work
02:33:35you do. Increase
02:33:36Increase transparency, make the
02:33:38meetings more expedient in ways
02:33:40that are useful but also provide
02:33:41access and information to the
02:33:43public. We’re working on some of
02:33:45the graphics that for the
02:33:46viewing public who are watching
02:33:49on the streaming on streaming,
02:33:50the kind of the intro graphics,
02:33:52some of the lower third that’s
02:33:54probably below me right now if
02:33:55you’re watching and pieces like
02:33:56that to make sure we’re brand
02:33:58compliant but
02:34:00but also fresh. And then we’re
02:34:02also beginning a partnership
02:34:04working closely with the clerk’s
02:34:05office. And thank you for
02:34:07streaming these commission
02:34:08meetings on YouTube in addition
02:34:10to our current streaming and
02:34:12capture. So not only will the
02:34:14public be able to go to our
02:34:15typical commission website and
02:34:16get information, but they’ll
02:34:17also be able to watch it on
02:34:18YouTube and it will be captured
02:34:19there. So we’ll easily tip over
02:34:21that 1000 YouTube videos here.
02:34:24This year we
02:34:25we are migrating from Salesforce
02:34:27to HubSpot. We should finish
02:34:28that by April of this year and
02:34:31that involves changing over our
02:34:3212 newsletters and gosh, several
02:34:34dozen lists and the nuts and
02:34:38bolts of that Salesforce is a
02:34:39little bit too technical and
02:34:40complicated for our needs and so
02:34:41we’re moving to a more right
02:34:42sized program and then finally
02:34:44our internal intake process. So
02:34:47in the interest of being a great
02:34:48partner to the Commission, to
02:34:50the executive staff, to the Port
02:34:51and to others outside of this
02:34:53organization, we get a lot of
02:34:55requests for all kinds of things
02:34:58and helping we’re working on
02:34:59helping ourselves through
02:35:00through the CPI team to be
02:35:03better at asking lots of
02:35:04questions up front so we
02:35:05understand what the request is
02:35:06and how we can be supportive
02:35:08managing our processes and our
02:35:10deliverables, being more
02:35:11communicative to the partners,
02:35:13and again just being a better
02:35:14and more robust and excellent
02:35:17partner as we go forward. That’s
02:35:19my final slide. Thanks.
02:35:23Thanks. Thanks.
02:35:25Thanks. I. I don’t think this
02:35:27is. Well, maybe it is. It is on.
02:35:29Great. Excellent. Thank you
02:35:32Commissioners and Executive
02:35:33Director Metric. Thank you for
02:35:35the opportunity to share our
02:35:36community engagement plans for
02:35:37the year. We’re grateful for
02:35:39your leadership and involvement
02:35:40in the work we do. I’m Sally Del
02:35:42Fiero, the Director of Community
02:35:43Engagement, presenting on behalf
02:35:45of a dedicated team of community
02:35:47engagement professionals with
02:35:48120 years of experience at the
02:35:50Port. I’ll
02:35:52I’ll provide a high level
02:35:53overview with opportunities for
02:35:55your consideration and the
02:35:56year’s young so there’s lots
02:35:58more to come. Next
02:36:00Next slide please. Our
02:36:02Our work is guided by proactive
02:36:04and equitable engagement
02:36:05practices with an emphasis on
02:36:07building sustainable
02:36:08relationships, co creating
02:36:10engagement strategies and
02:36:11returning benefits to our near
02:36:13port communities. Next
02:36:14Next slide please. We
02:36:17We have a number of programs
02:36:19focused on a countywide
02:36:20audience. Our State of the Port
02:36:21Breakfast is coming up on March
02:36:2312, bringing guests to the
02:36:25waterfront. Having been on the
02:36:26east side for the last two
02:36:27years, we look forward to
02:36:29hearing from each of you as you
02:36:30share your priorities.
02:36:32Attendance is expected to exceed
02:36:34around 400. You’ll remember our
02:36:35snow day last year and we still
02:36:37exceeded 300, so
02:36:39so we know it’s a key touch
02:36:40point for us. We’re preparing
02:36:43for two grand opening
02:36:44celebrations, Sea’s C Concourse
02:36:46in May and the Maritime
02:36:47Innovation center in the fall.
02:36:49And throughout the year we’ll
02:36:51continue to offer working
02:36:52waterfront and airport tours as
02:36:54really some of the best ways we
02:36:55tell our story. A key event for
02:36:58your participation this year is
02:36:59going to be the Elected
02:37:00Officials boat tour on August
02:37:036th in partnership with the
02:37:04Northwest Seaport Alliance. Our
02:37:06Port 101 series in the fall
02:37:08continues to be a runaway
02:37:09success. After 19 years, we
02:37:12topped 900 registrants last year
02:37:14and we’ve added a fifth program,
02:37:16Environmental 101, in
02:37:17partnership with the Seattle
02:37:18Aquarium to show off the Ocean
02:37:20Pavilion and the Ports exhibit.
02:37:23We’re looking to switch up our
02:37:24annual West Seattle Chamber
02:37:25State of the Port this fall and
02:37:28provide a Commissioner
02:37:29presentation at Terminal 5
02:37:31followed by a cargo tour
02:37:33and then Fisherman’s Fall
02:37:34Festival is scheduled for
02:37:35October 3rd. We will host three
02:37:38ship canal tours and family fun,
02:37:40raising over $40,000 for the
02:37:42Fisherman’s Memorial
02:37:43Association. Next slide please
02:37:47the SEA Stakeholders Advisory
02:37:50Roundtable or start, is a
02:37:52dedicated forum to discuss and
02:37:53tackle airport and aviation
02:37:55industry concerns raised by our
02:37:57airport cities and their
02:37:58community representatives. START
02:38:00will have their in person
02:38:01planning retreat this Spring
02:38:03spring and you’ll hear more
02:38:04about start’s work during their
02:38:05annual report to the Commission
02:38:07later this year. Start’s
02:38:09Aviation Noise Working Group has
02:38:11an added role of serving as the
02:38:13Part 150 Noise Studies Technical
02:38:15Review Committee. Part 150 is
02:38:18the FAA’s vehicle for how an
02:38:20airport defines its noise impact
02:38:22on the surrounding communities
02:38:23and we’re nearing the halfway
02:38:25point in The SEA Studies
02:38:26Progress 4 Plans public
02:38:28workshops were held last year to
02:38:30gather community input. The next
02:38:32set of public workshops will
02:38:33occur this fall once the FAA has
02:38:35confirmed Sea’s noise contours.
02:38:38An ongoing engagement throughout
02:38:40our airport communities happens
02:38:41through several long standing
02:38:43relationships and partnerships.
02:38:45We have annual programs with the
02:38:46Seattle Southside Chamber of
02:38:47Commerce, including A State of
02:38:49the Airport which will be in
02:38:51September as a Commissioner
02:38:53keynote opportunity and
02:38:54and then tabling at many
02:38:55community events and farmers
02:38:56markets continues to be an
02:38:58effective way for us to share
02:38:59program information. We
02:39:01We also have a variety of
02:39:03dedicated career awareness
02:39:04programs given our close
02:39:06partnerships with Highline
02:39:07Schools, Racebeck Aviation High
02:39:09School and the Museum of Flight.
02:39:11In addition, new programs this
02:39:12year will focus on cybersecurity
02:39:14with the students at the Puget
02:39:16Sound Skills center and a
02:39:17partnership with the Washington
02:39:19alliance for Better Schools and
02:39:20Rainier Beach High School which
02:39:22is focused on careers at the
02:39:23port and job readiness. Next
02:39:26Next slide please. Engagement
02:39:29Engagement to support the
02:39:30Sustainable Airport Master Plan
02:39:31Environmental Review will be a
02:39:33major focus this first half of
02:39:34the year. You’ll be receiving an
02:39:36in depth briefing at your March
02:39:38retreat, but I wanted to note
02:39:39that we’ll build upon the
02:39:41engagement we did during NEPA
02:39:43with Near Airport Communities
02:39:44and a wide range of interested
02:39:46parties in advance of of the
02:39:47SEPA public meetings and be
02:39:49partnering with several
02:39:50community based organizations to
02:39:52help prepare communities for the
02:39:53SEPA process. Our
02:39:55Our South King and Port
02:39:57Communities Fund, having
02:39:58expanded our geographic reach
02:40:00last year, will award more than
02:40:02$500,000 to community based
02:40:04organizations for the next round
02:40:05of environmental improvements
02:40:07projects. We received 28
02:40:09applications last fall. The
02:40:11previous high was 13.
02:40:13So it’s really pointing to the
02:40:14need and of course effective
02:40:16outreach done within the
02:40:17expansion areas. The
02:40:19The selection process includes
02:40:21community reviewers and we’ll be
02:40:23seeking your approval for the
02:40:24slate of selected projects in
02:40:26late March. Cycle
02:40:27Cycle 6 will then launch in
02:40:29September in partnership with
02:40:30our community liaisons who will
02:40:31assist with promotion and info
02:40:33sessions. In
02:40:34In December we’ll host our
02:40:36second annual Community Day with
02:40:38all of our program partners.
02:40:40Last year’s featured a gallery
02:40:41walk of projects, a celebration
02:40:43of the year’s accomplishments
02:40:44and an airfield tour. We had
02:40:46about 100 participants and a lot
02:40:47of really enthusiastic sharing
02:40:49and networking. We
02:40:51We have two community land
02:40:52stewardship events planned, one
02:40:54coming up on February 28th. We
02:40:56would love to have Commissioner
02:40:57involvement in that family
02:40:59friendly day. And
02:41:00And then one more key effort is
02:41:02the South Seattle Roundtable
02:41:03formed several years ago to
02:41:05build two way understanding and
02:41:07collaboration with areas beyond
02:41:08airport communities such as
Beacon Hill and the Duamish
02:41:11Valley in partnership with King
02:41:13county and the City of Seattle.
02:41:15Based on community feedback,
02:41:16we’ve established a community
02:41:18cohort made up of community
02:41:20based organizations and they’re
02:41:21helping to co design and promote
02:41:23the next Community Roundtable
02:41:24anticipated in mid April.
02:41:26Commissioner Hosagawa, thank you
02:41:28for your leadership of this
02:41:29effort. We’re going to be
02:41:30briefing you on that work so
02:41:31soon. Next
02:41:32Next slide please. Bringing
02:41:35Bringing community and our
02:41:36cruise partners together has
02:41:38been a growing focus over the
02:41:39years. Cruise lines continue to
02:41:41graciously support a variety of
02:41:43business and community tours
02:41:45including youth from Maritime
02:41:47High School and Maritime Blue.
02:41:49The port’s annual Cruise job
02:41:51fair on March 21st will fill 200
02:41:54summer jobs with a diverse
02:41:55workforce from teens to six
02:41:57seniors. Our
02:41:58Our friends of the Waterfront
02:41:59Partnership resulted in some
02:42:01really well attended activation
02:42:03events at Pier 66 including the
02:42:05Waterfront Grand Opening, Salsa
02:42:07under the Stars, a Roller Boogie
02:42:09and Hispanic Water Winter
02:42:11Winter Market. These
02:42:13These free public events brought
02:42:145,000 attendees to Pier 66 and
02:42:1758 local food
02:42:20food and market vendors. We’re
02:42:22working on three new activation
02:42:23events this year in addition to
02:42:24supporting supporting a wide
02:42:25range of other big events on the
02:42:27waterfront. A
02:42:29A Nod to the Terminal 9 to 1
02:42:30neighbors advisory committee
02:42:31that continues to serve as a
02:42:32valuable conduit for
02:42:33collaboration with leaders from
02:42:34Magnolia and Queen Anne since
02:42:361983. Proactive dialogue has
02:42:39really resulted in a
02:42:40relationship of mutual respect
02:42:42and trust connected to the
02:42:43operations there. Next slide
02:42:45please. We
02:42:47We are building off our
02:42:48industrial lands victory in
02:42:50shoring up the maritime
02:42:51industrial base of over 70
02:42:53partners statewide and working
02:42:55to expand the coalition to
02:42:57address future opportunities,
02:42:58particularly as we work
02:43:00to position Puget Sound as a
02:43:02strategic regional hub for
02:43:03shipbuilding. Upcoming
02:43:05engagements include the National
02:43:06Harbor Safety Conference at bell
02:43:08harbor on March 24th and 25th
02:43:10with a keynote from Commission
02:43:12President Calkins. The annual
02:43:14Maritime Industry Breakfast and
02:43:16Awards Ceremony is made eighth,
02:43:18offering another prominent role
02:43:20for Commissioner involvement.
02:43:22And one Ocean Week was such a
02:43:24success last fall that Maritime
02:43:25Blue, the Port and several other
02:43:27partners will be hosting a
02:43:29smaller second annual focused on
02:43:31global and regional ocean
02:43:32challenges. We’ll certainly keep
02:43:34you posted on those speaking
02:43:35opportunities as the agenda
02:43:36takes place. Next
02:43:38Next slide please. A
02:43:41A programming highlight for us
02:43:43has been the annual Duwamish
02:43:44River Multilingual Boat Tour,
02:43:46bringing over 200 BIPOC families
02:43:49from South Seattle aboard to
02:43:51learn about our international
02:43:52gateway, the maritime industrial
02:43:54operations along the river and
02:43:55the cleanup underway. Narration,
02:43:57in addition to the port is
02:43:58provided by community and
02:44:00industry partners and we would
02:44:01love to have a Commissioner join
02:44:02us for that in June. New
02:44:04New for this year is a series of
02:44:06environmentally focused tours
02:44:07that we’ll be offering this
02:44:08spring focused on parks and
02:44:10public access, our stormwater
02:44:12management and emissions
02:44:13reduction for cargo operations.
02:44:15The Duwamish Alive Habitat
02:44:17Restoration Party at Haupus park
02:44:19will be on April 18th in
02:44:20partnership with DRCC and
02:44:22and we are deeply involved in
02:44:24supporting maritime,
02:44:25environmental and NWSA and
02:44:27public involvement for the EPA
02:44:29Clean Ports Grant to research
02:44:31and deploy alternative maritime
02:44:32fuels, advancing clean air and
02:44:34climate climate goals. We’ve got
02:44:36two community engagement
02:44:37projects that are funded by the
02:44:38grant, including a Community
02:44:40Liaison Program to educate and
02:44:42engage communities in the
02:44:44solutions and a digital
02:44:45engagement tool that’s going to
02:44:47increase accessibility
02:44:48information and encourage
02:44:50community input. Next
02:44:51Next slide please. Last
02:44:54Last year we celebrated five
02:44:56years following Commission
02:44:57adoption of Resolution 3767 and
02:45:00the establishment of the
02:45:01Duwamish Valley Community
02:45:02Benefits Commitment in
02:45:04partnership with the Port
02:45:05Community action team or pcat.
02:45:07The evolution of the 11 member
02:45:09pcat has been pretty remarkable.
02:45:11They have taken enormous
02:45:13responsibility for their roles
02:45:14as stewards of the work and they
02:45:16recognize and are striving to
02:45:18meet the opportunities of the
02:45:19future. I want to flag that the
02:45:22PCAT at Commissioner Hasegawa’s
02:45:23request is looking forward to co
02:45:25presenting to the Commission
02:45:26Commission this spring so you’ll
02:45:28hear directly from them a couple
02:45:30of noteworthy achievements. They
02:45:32formed a hiring committee and
02:45:33helped me every step of the way
02:45:35in selecting Sharmi Azmira as
02:45:37our new Senior Program Manager
02:45:39and I think Sharmi is here
02:45:40today. Thank you Sharmi. They’ve
02:45:43been alongside staff on the
02:45:45selection of several consultant
02:45:46contracts and this has become an
02:45:48ingrained best practice for us.
02:45:50PCAT’s been hosting a series of
02:45:52communities Community Dinners to
02:45:53support the development of a new
02:45:55three year strategic plan for
02:45:57the program and I’ll flag the
02:45:59annual dinner with commissioners
02:46:01that they look forward to will
02:46:02take place in September. In
02:46:04In other areas of Duwamish work,
02:46:06we’ve increased our focus on
02:46:08youth workforce education and
02:46:10we’ll be supporting the Duwamish
02:46:11Valley youth to apply for our
02:46:12high school internship program.
02:46:14We have a minimum of two spots
02:46:16reserved for youth from 98108
02:46:19and we’re also launching a pilot
02:46:20program to coordinate field
02:46:22trips with Chief Sealth High
02:46:23School and Denny Middle School
02:46:24for exposure to port related
02:46:26careers, in addition to a series
02:46:28of riverboat tours for youth in
02:46:30partnership with Seattle Public
02:46:31Utilities and Islandwood. Next
02:46:34slide please Our
02:46:36Our community hub in south park,
02:46:38as Pierce mentioned, continues
02:46:39to be quite the high bringing
02:46:41community and public agencies
02:46:42together around environmental,
02:46:44health, economic and workforce
02:46:46development and community
02:46:47capacity building. We hosted 290
02:46:50bookings last year, 89% with
02:46:52external users and 11% in port
02:46:55sponsored events. We have a
02:46:57variety of super users there on
02:46:59a weekly basis, including Track
02:47:01Associates who serves as our
02:47:02Duwamish Valley Career Navigator
02:47:05program led
02:47:06led by Port Workforce
02:47:07Development and
02:47:08and we’re extending our lease
02:47:10for another couple of years and
02:47:11excited to be working with PCAT
02:47:13and the Real Estate team on a
02:47:15design charette to to make some
02:47:17improvements to the space and
02:47:18maximize efficiency and and
02:47:20functionality. Next slide
02:47:22please. Lastly,
02:47:24Lastly, our East King County
02:47:25Engagement Light Rail connecting
02:47:28the east side to SEA starts up
02:47:30on March 28th. To help
02:47:32celebrate, we expect to host a
02:47:33station party at SEA and have a
02:47:35presence at the Mercer Island
02:47:37Station. We’ve
02:47:38We’ve enhanced our partnership
02:47:39with Leadership east side, an
02:47:41organization we helped create
02:47:42and who’s focused on both
02:47:44leadership development and
02:47:45equity training. They have an
02:47:47adaptive management challenge
02:47:49and one of the projects this
02:47:51year is focused on regional air
02:47:53travel capacity. The cohort
02:47:55spent nearly a year meeting with
02:47:57airport staff and regional
02:47:59bodies studying the topic
02:48:00through an adaptive community
02:48:02lens and they’ll be presenting
02:48:03their findings on March 19th.
02:48:05There’s also a long list of
02:48:07sponsorships and events with our
02:48:09partners on the east side that
02:48:10will be packaged for
02:48:10Commissioner consideration
02:48:12throughout the year. One of our
02:48:14signature events, Port Unplugged
02:48:16on the east side, will be taking
02:48:18a hiatus this year given the
02:48:19regional focus on FIFA, but
02:48:22we’ll be encouraging the east
02:48:23side cohorts
02:48:25cohorts to attend our Elected
02:48:27Officials Boat Tour in August,
02:48:29providing transportation from
02:48:30the east side to Pier 66 to
02:48:32streamline that experience. So
02:48:34So thank you for allowing me to
02:48:36spotlight just some of what we
02:48:37know for the year ahead. We
02:48:39sincerely appreciate your
02:48:40involvement, as do our
02:48:41communities and partners.
02:48:43Looking forward to gaining any
02:48:44questions or feedback you have
02:48:46for us today. And now I’ll hand
02:48:48it over to my colleague in
02:48:49Government Relations. Thank you,
02:48:51Sally Good afternoon
02:48:52Commissioners and Executive
02:48:53Director Metric. My name is Nate
02:48:54Kaminos, Director of Government
02:48:56Relations here at the Port of
02:48:57Seattle, AKA the Port’s Holiday
02:48:59Mascot, AKA JSN Jump Shot. Nate,
02:49:03as I keep hitting these threes
02:49:04like Jason Myers for your
02:49:06enjoyment, I Hope I have 11 more
02:49:09football references to celebrate
02:49:10the Seahawks victory. I promise
02:49:13keep them coming. Nearly as
02:49:15embarrassing for you and me, but
02:49:17maybe for Pierce as we move on
02:49:19to the next slide and my last
02:49:21slide, I will be brief as
02:49:23spending most of my time
02:49:24storytelling about the heart of
02:49:26what we do within the government
02:49:27relations world as most of my
02:49:29members of my team have already
02:49:30presented the state, federal and
02:49:32international legislative
02:49:33agendas in recent weeks. Nor do
02:49:35I want to steal the Blue Thunder
02:49:37away from our local and regional
02:49:39GR team coming to present to you
02:49:41next month. And of course we’re
02:49:42already halfway through this
02:49:43short legislative session, so
02:49:45John and our state lobbying team
02:49:47will be back to provide their
02:49:48annual post session recap.
02:49:50Our department’s focus is to
02:49:52make everyone else’s job at the
02:49:54port easier, to ensure that
02:49:56we’re doing all that we can to
02:49:57keep operations at the airport
02:49:59and seaport churning, that all
02:50:01our various capital projects
02:50:03meet current and future demand,
02:50:04are on time and on budget, if
02:50:06not saving a buck or two with
02:50:07the support of state federal
02:50:08grants. This is a region that
02:50:11we’ve been fortunate to live in
02:50:12that prides itself in being
02:50:13innovative and the first in the
02:50:15nation to fill in the blank. And
02:50:18the Port is no exception. As an
02:50:19example, in 2002 then former
02:50:22state Representative Elmo
02:50:23Valoria, champion of the House
02:50:25and Jeanne Colwell’s in the
02:50:26Senate, worked to make
02:50:27Washington the first state to
02:50:28outlaw human trafficking. We at
02:50:31the Port of Seattle also became
02:50:33the first US Port Authority to
02:50:34develop and mandate anti human
02:50:36trafficking training for all of
02:50:38our 2000 plus employees, amongst
02:50:40many other notable measures
02:50:42since in
02:50:43in 2004 we were the first US
02:50:45port in the nation to install
02:50:47shore power for cruise ships and
02:50:49then at then Terminal 30. And in
02:50:512024 we became one of the first
02:50:53ports in the world to have all
02:50:55three of our cruise berths
02:50:56equipped with shore power. Last
02:50:58year some of us went to CLIA SEA
02:51:00Trade in Florida and ports and
02:51:02industry representatives from
02:51:03all about 128 countries were
02:51:05there. The last working share
02:51:07session was on Shore Power.
02:51:09Pierce, Chris Gislow and I were
02:51:10there. We attended that and it
02:51:12was all about how you even work
02:51:14to move from idea and intention
02:51:16to blueprinting
02:51:18blueprinting and permitting a
02:51:19shore power project. We’ve
02:51:21already done all that and more,
02:51:23right? We started 24 years ago
02:51:25when I was still rocking my T
02:51:26Mobile Sidekick as a student at
02:51:27UW and as Executive Director
02:51:29Metruck mentioned earlier today,
02:51:31we became the first US Port to
02:51:33require all cruise ships to use
02:51:35shore power when they dock at
02:51:36our terminals next year. We
02:51:38continue to hit these major
02:51:39milestones under the guidance of
02:51:41the Century Agenda and with our
02:51:43goal of being the greenest
02:51:45airport and seaport in North
02:51:46America. The 12 of us are here
02:51:49to be your idea incubator and
02:51:51turn those ideas into action. We
02:51:53can’t have sound policy without
02:51:55a robust diverse group of
02:51:56community stakeholders and a
02:51:59strong message that resonates
02:52:00with with all parties involved.
02:52:02It all goes to the Captain
02:52:04Planet motto of me saying
02:52:05earlier, let us all our powers
02:52:07combine, right as you’ve heard
02:52:08me preach before. As
02:52:10As our team has grown, we’ve
02:52:12also been able to do more at
02:52:13every level of government. When
02:52:14I joined the Port first seven
02:52:16years ago, this body had made it
02:52:18a priority to work towards
02:52:19establishing Memorandums of
02:52:21Agreements with our Suquamish
02:52:22and Indian Tribal Government
02:52:24partners. In the last two years,
02:52:26we’ve been successful in being
02:52:27able to sign those into
02:52:28existence. Today,
02:52:29Today, with Roxanne Murphy’s
02:52:30help, we now evolve our
02:52:32priorities from building upon
02:52:33those signed MOAs into
02:52:35establishing work plans. We now
02:52:37work to provide a larger
02:52:38government to government
02:52:38structure to take the ideas such
02:52:41as the introduction of our
02:52:42Native fishing and cultural arts
02:52:44to our cruise line partners into
02:52:45reality as we were able to do at
02:52:47CLIA’s Northwest Symposium last
02:52:49year in Seattle and thanks to
02:52:51Aaron and the cruise team just
02:52:52this past week in Alaska in
02:52:54Olympia. Sustainable Aviation
02:52:56Fuels was our top legislative
02:52:57priority for several years until
02:52:59we got it across the finish line
02:53:00in 2022. We’ve since been able
02:53:02to focus our attention and
02:53:03bringing that momentum to the
02:53:04other Washington out East along
02:53:06with our inaugural start DC fly
02:53:09in in 2023 where we were able to
02:53:12secure four out of the seven
02:53:14legislative requests with our
02:53:15leadership of our Congressional
02:53:17delegation in the 2024 FAA
02:53:19reauthorization bill. And we
02:53:21just checked off number five in
02:53:23December with the NDAA win on
02:53:25federal investments into
02:53:26secondary noise insulation.
02:53:28Thanks to Patty Murray and Adam
02:53:29Smith. Last year we merged
02:53:31START’s legislative agenda to be
02:53:32state and federal with the
02:53:34shared coordination between Eric
02:53:36Shinfeld and John Flanagan and
02:53:37in turn brought the success of
02:53:39our DC trip into a shared
02:53:41approach into Olympia last
02:53:42session. We are now working on a
02:53:44second DC flying with our near
02:53:45airport, city and state
02:53:47government partners this spring
02:53:49in addition to start the work we
02:53:50do with the cdc, TAC through JAC
02:53:52and through the High Line Forum
02:53:53led by Dave Kaplan are just two
02:53:55other formal ways the port has
02:53:57continued to bring ourselves
02:53:58together with our near airport
02:54:00cities and local government
02:54:01partners as an opportunity to
02:54:02learn, discuss and collaborate
02:54:04together. In
02:54:05In Seattle, we further build
02:54:07upon the no net loss of
02:54:08industrial lands by playing
02:54:09defense for decades to working
02:54:11with our statewide industrial
02:54:12freight base, Business, Trade,
02:54:14labor and Seattle partners to
02:54:16unveil the two new deal as the
02:54:18last year’s State of the Port
02:54:19Breakfast. With Sabrina Boyeu’s
02:54:21efforts, we are working towards
02:54:22a port city of Seattle
02:54:24opportunities on future
02:54:25development and how we best
02:54:27pass, protect and enhance our
02:54:29region’s employment leads in the
02:54:31regional transportation world,
02:54:32Jerry Poor embodies the King
02:54:33County Metro slogan We’ll get
02:54:35you there right From SEA to SEA
02:54:38and everywhere in between. She’s
02:54:39been a rock star for us and
02:54:41and we were amazed two years ago
02:54:43and we’re concerned of two years
02:54:44ago when SDOT did not initially
02:54:46include the economic value of
02:54:47freight as one of the dedicated
02:54:49core priorities of the Seattle
02:54:50Transportation Plan. When asked,
02:54:52we were told, you’re welcome to
02:54:54try, but I think you’ll fail.
02:54:55Under the spirit of the James
02:54:57Carville slogan It’s the
02:54:58economy. Jerry
02:54:59Jerry didn’t take NUWOSU as an
02:55:01answer and helped activate her
02:55:02business, industrial and freight
02:55:04partners to advocate to include
02:55:06economy as a core principle and
02:55:08we were successful. That helped
02:55:10set the tone for the development
02:55:11of the transportation levy
02:55:13proposal and the development of
02:55:14the proposal from the Merida
02:55:16Council in conjunction with our
02:55:18external partners ever since.
02:55:20On the east side, we’re in year
02:55:21six of having a dedicated East
02:55:23King County Community and
02:55:24Government Relations manager in
02:55:25Samantha St. John. While we’re
02:55:27involved in a number of ways
02:55:28across Lake Washington, most of
02:55:30it is economic development
02:55:31focused and working with the
02:55:33more than 19 cities and towns in
02:55:35the fastest growing region of
02:55:36our state and exploring ways we
02:55:38could further plant the flag by
02:55:40continuing to grow our agency’s
02:55:42presence. Samantha was also
02:55:44clutch for us as she helped
02:55:45rally many of our government and
02:55:46business partners from across
02:55:47the east side to tour SEA and
02:55:50learn more about our current and
02:55:51future capital projects to come
02:55:53in the aviation world. As
02:55:55As was mentioned in the last
02:55:56Commission meeting, this is only
02:55:57our third year with an
02:55:59International Legislative Agenda
02:56:01it was initially prompted when
02:56:02we chose to step up and take a
02:56:03leadership role in championing
02:56:05the Green Corridor with our
02:56:06major cruise lines, home ports
02:56:08and several ports of call to
02:56:09work together to explore low and
02:56:11zero greenhouse gas emission
02:56:13cruising between Washington,
02:56:14Alaska and British Columbia.
02:56:17Melissa Parks recognized that if
02:56:18we really wanted to put our foot
02:56:20in it, like Michael Dixon, we
02:56:21needed to be empowered to lobby
02:56:23the International Maritime
02:56:24Organization, a specialized
02:56:26agency of the United Nations.
02:56:28That portfolio of work has also
02:56:30lent itself to be a crucial tool
02:56:32and platform for us as we have
02:56:34most notably spent the past year
02:56:36traveling the world meeting with
02:56:37international sister ports and
02:56:39maritime allies to reaffirm our
02:56:41values and commitments for
02:56:42policies and projects that may
02:56:44differ from our current
02:56:45presidential administration that
02:56:47that we not let the governance
02:56:48structure of this current term
02:56:50deter us from the inevitable,
02:56:52but which is a cleaner and more
02:56:53efficient maritime workforce
02:56:54environment on land and out at
02:56:56sea. Our international
02:56:58legislative agenda has also
02:56:59served as an opportunity to
02:57:01formally speak to and respond to
02:57:03the several hundreds of
02:57:04international dignitaries that
02:57:06are greeted by Stephen Wesley
02:57:07soon after they land at SEA.
02:57:10Looking Ahead While securing
02:57:11state and federal funding and
02:57:12port supported policies continue
02:57:14to be a challenge, we’re still
02:57:15notching accomplishments, as
02:57:17you’ve heard Eric and John share
02:57:18recently. Importantly, it’s also
02:57:20important for us to control what
02:57:21we can control and to also hold
02:57:23our state and federal government
02:57:24agency partners accountable to
02:57:26fully support legislation that
02:57:28has already passed. In closing,
02:57:31it’s been an A.J. barnard burner
02:57:33of a year. This time last year
02:57:34we were anticipating the first
02:57:36year of the Presidential
02:57:37administration would bring. Now
02:57:38we’ve had a chance to live it.
02:57:40Many of our initiatives were an
02:57:41afterthought going into the
02:57:42legislative season and some
02:57:44asked how does it feel to be
02:57:45counted out? And I said we did
02:57:47not care. We inevitably had to
02:57:50play a much tougher defense to
02:57:51protect existing policies and
02:57:53funding programs than offense to
02:57:55realistically establish new
02:57:56ones. But this wasn’t unfamiliar
02:57:58territory to our legion. We
02:58:00thrive on the dark side. Sure,
02:58:02that meant scoring more field
02:58:03goals and touchdowns recently,
02:58:04but throughout the journey while
02:58:06we lost some battles and in the
02:58:07end we won most wars and a Super
02:58:10Bowl, I’m
02:58:11I’m proud of what the Government
02:58:12Relations and larger External
02:58:14relations team have done to
02:58:15deliver for our business, labor,
02:58:17industry and workforce partners
02:58:19to best serve our customers and
02:58:21the King county constituency.
02:58:23And we would not be here without
02:58:24the support of you
02:58:25Commissioners, Executive
02:58:26Director Metric, our Executive
02:58:28Leadership team and our
02:58:30interdepartmental colleagues
02:58:31lining up along our side when we
02:58:33engage at all levels of
02:58:34government where they are so so
02:58:36thank you before we close out
02:58:38our presentation and open up for
02:58:39Q and A, I wanted to hand it
02:58:41over to Karen Azog Black to join
02:58:43us to provide a brief preview of
02:58:45international engagement
02:58:46priorities for the year. Karen
02:58:48Great. Thank you Nate. I’m glad
02:58:50I wore my Seahawks earrings. And
02:58:52you know, luckily the port
02:58:54branding and the Seahawks and
02:58:55our sports branding colors are
02:58:57the same. So Commissioners
02:58:59Commissioners Executive Director
02:59:01Metruck I’m Karin Zogblack,
02:59:03Manager of International
02:59:04Relations and Protocol here at
02:59:06the Port. Thank
02:59:07Thank you Commissioners for our
02:59:09discussion at the last
02:59:10Commission meeting along with
02:59:12Melissa Parks talking about our
02:59:15international engagement
02:59:16strategy for 2026 and a quick
02:59:19look back at our international
02:59:20engagement highlights of 2025.
02:59:23So similar slides here today. So
02:59:25I’ll just recap a few points.
02:59:28So you know, in 2025 we we had a
02:59:31lot of international engagement
02:59:33both abroad at global forums and
02:59:36with international
02:59:37international partners at events
02:59:39here in Seattle as well. And
02:59:42always throughout all of our
02:59:43engagements we really focus on
02:59:45how are we advancing commission
02:59:48and port priorities in the ways
02:59:50that we engage. So this slide
02:59:53just shows again a few
02:59:54highlights from last year. One
02:59:56Ocean Week in October in Seattle
02:59:59where we hosted in our sister
03:00:01port of Kobe, Japan and Port of
03:00:03Bergen, Norway were
03:00:04participating with us. We have a
03:00:07photo of Commissioner Cho at the
03:00:09UN Climate Conference in Brazil
03:00:11representing us there.
03:00:13We were a
03:00:15a partner and participant in the
03:00:18Seattle Metro Chamber Greater
03:00:19Seattle Partners International
03:00:21Leadership Mission to Germany
03:00:23last year. And you can see
03:00:24Commissioners Calkins, Cho and
03:00:26Felloman with Jens Meyer, the
03:00:28Port of Hamburg CEO. And then a
03:00:31lot of our engagement in Asia
03:00:34highlighted by the three
03:00:35pictures on the right. Sister
03:00:37Sister Port Rotterdam and Kobe,
03:00:40Japan Dinner at the IAPH
03:00:42International World Port
03:00:44Conference in Kobe with
03:00:46Commissioners Hasegawa and Cho.
03:00:48And then also a
03:00:50a visit to our Native American
03:00:53Carved story Pole gift in Kobe.
03:00:56And then of course one of the
03:00:57biggest moments of last year,
03:00:59our Port of Seattle, Port of
03:01:01Tacoma and Northwest Seaport
03:01:02alliance leaders with our sister
03:01:04Port of Busan, South Korea and
03:01:06the Port of Ulsan and the
03:01:09historic signing of our five
03:01:10Port MOU to
03:01:12to continue our Green Corridor
03:01:14work to decarbonize our shipping
03:01:16routes between our gateways.
03:01:18Pierce already referenced some
03:01:20of the sort of statistics from
03:01:22from last year we coordinated
03:01:25over 54 international delegation
03:01:28groups that represented over 570
03:01:31visitors. So that’s inbound
03:01:34delegations outbound supporting
03:01:36over 52 engagements of outbound
03:01:38travel of port leadership and
03:01:40staff. And then at the airport
03:01:43and this is where we again shout
03:01:44out my colleague Stephen Wesley.
03:01:46We managed 72 total escort
03:01:50details at the airport
03:01:52representing 637 travelers and
03:01:55facilitating with 89 local
03:01:57diplomatic greeters.
03:01:59So lots going on.
03:02:01Next slide. Want to look ahead
03:02:04here to 2026, and similar to
03:02:07what we talked about last week,
03:02:09this is going to be another very
03:02:11active year for international
03:02:13engagement. And
03:02:14And as has been referenced
03:02:16already by Pierce and Nate,
03:02:18direct international engagement
03:02:20and diplomacy is just more
03:02:22critical than ever in this
03:02:25climate of protectionist
03:02:26rhetoric coming from our US
03:02:28Federal government. And it’s
03:02:30really important that our port
03:02:31leaders continue to participate
03:02:34in global forums and conferences
03:02:36in order to promote
03:02:38our best practices and
03:02:40innovative ideas, really help
03:02:43shape that global conversation
03:02:45and also bring back solutions to
03:02:47face some of our local
03:02:48challenges here at home.
03:02:50So I’m a firm believer that this
03:02:52focus on subnational diplomacy
03:02:55will continue to be critical
03:02:57this year. And as I think we saw
03:03:00with Commissioner Cho’s
03:03:01engagement in Brazil this last
03:03:04year, our direct engagement
03:03:06actually offers us a unique
03:03:07opportunity to fill a leadership
03:03:10gap with the lack of US Federal
03:03:12delegation process participation
03:03:13at some of these global events.
03:03:16So as this slide notes, we’re
03:03:17continuing to look for
03:03:19engagement opportunities that
03:03:21help advance our port goals and
03:03:22our work plan items this year,
03:03:25especially around clean energy
03:03:28technology and innovation and
03:03:30industrial lands utilization.
03:03:33We will continue to engage with
03:03:35our sister ports of Busan, South
03:03:38Korea, Kobe, Japan, Rotterdam,
03:03:40Netherlands and Singapore. And
03:03:43we’ve been really developing
03:03:44some other key relationships
03:03:46with other ports that have
03:03:48similarities to us, like
03:03:50Barcelona, Spain, Bergen,
03:03:51Norway, Hamburg, Germany. So
03:03:53continuing to to deepen work and
03:03:56conversations with them this
03:03:57year as well. Next
03:03:59Next slide. I’ve highlighted
03:04:01just some of the major
03:04:02conferences and events where we
03:04:03anticipate having port
03:04:05representatives attend.
03:04:08And as we know everything’s in
03:04:10pencil, we stay nimble and flex
03:04:13to take advantage of various
03:04:14opportunities and making sure
03:04:16we’re engaging in meaningful
03:04:19opportunities. I really look
03:04:21forward to another robust and
03:04:22strategic year of international
03:04:24engagement. Thank you,
03:04:26commissioners, for all of your
03:04:27leadership and willingness to
03:04:29participate in this important
03:04:31realm of our work. And I think
03:04:33with that, we go back to the
03:04:34last slide and back to Pierce to
03:04:37take questions for the whole
03:04:38external relations team. Thank
03:04:40you. Thank you, Karen. And thank
03:04:42you also to the other directors
03:04:44and commissioners. We’re happy
03:04:45to answer any of your questions.
03:04:47All right, I’m going to open it
03:04:48up for Commissioner comments and
03:04:49questions. Commissioner
03:04:50Hasegawa. Okay, I’m cognizant of
03:04:53the thing coming between us and
03:04:55adjournment, so I’m going to
03:04:56keep it quick. First
03:04:58First on
03:05:00on this engagement calendar,
03:05:03Catherine. I think I’ll start
03:05:04with Ms. Catherine. Director
03:05:06Catherine. So
03:05:09So I see here in April on our
03:05:11engagement calendar, it says
03:05:12flight Corridor Management
03:05:14Program dash tree cutting. I
03:05:17just want to acknowledge that
03:05:19that means engagement around the
03:05:20tree cutting, not the actual
03:05:22cutting of the trees that we
03:05:23just discussed. Discuss was
03:05:24going to happen during the fall.
03:05:26That’s correct, Commissioner.
03:05:27Okay, great.
03:05:30When you’re talking about FIFA
03:05:32and our anti human trafficking
03:05:34efforts, is anti gun and anti
03:05:36drug trafficking efforts
03:05:38happening around that as well?
03:05:41And I wonder because I’ve been
03:05:42talking with folks from
03:05:44Washington alliance for Gun
03:05:45Responsibility and a lot of
03:05:49the seizure of illegal firearms.
03:05:51A lot of folks acquire firearms
03:05:54by stealing them out of cars
03:05:57because there’s not safe or
03:05:59locked containers. And there’s
03:06:00like a PR campaign
03:06:02campaign around
03:06:04around raising
03:06:05raising awareness of how to
03:06:07securely store your firearm in
03:06:09your. In your vehicle.
03:06:13There’s a lot happening
03:06:17already in our gateway to
03:06:18intercept drugs and arms. And so
03:06:20I’m just wondering if that’s
03:06:22part of our collective effort
03:06:23there as well. I can answer that
03:06:25question. Sure. So
03:06:28we are taking
03:06:29taking the lead on anti human
03:06:31trafficking for
03:06:34the region just because we’ve
03:06:36been such a leader on it at the
03:06:38port. So that’s the reason we’ve
03:06:40highlighted it. I. We
03:06:43of course our Port of Seattle
03:06:45Police Department does
03:06:46does do the drug interdiction
03:06:48and gun seizures, weapon
03:06:50seizures at
03:06:51at the airport. That has not
03:06:52been a strong focus of our work,
03:06:56but we can incorporate it with.
03:06:58With working together with the
03:07:00Port of Seattle Police
03:07:00Department and their
03:07:01collaboration with local law
03:07:03enforcement agencies. So I asked
03:07:05because I the amount of
03:07:07visibility knowledge I have on
03:07:08how. How different jurisdictions
03:07:09are coordinating together to,
03:07:12you know, prepare for FIFA
03:07:14happens to through you. So
03:07:17human trafficking is one thing.
03:07:19Drug and gun trafficking, we
03:07:20could also play a role. Well,
03:07:22there are regional
03:07:23regional transportation and
03:07:26law enforcement meetings that
03:07:27I’m not a part of. This could be
03:07:29part of that work that I’m not
03:07:30aware of. That’s why I’ll follow
03:07:31up with Chief via Let’s follow
03:07:33up with Chief be on that. I
03:07:34would love to. To know
03:07:36some of how we’re working on
03:07:38that as well. Regarding
03:07:40Regarding FIFA.
03:07:42Oh, no. So switching gears, we
03:07:45just talked. We just passed an
03:07:46order that would improve
03:07:47communications around our own
03:07:49policing practices to
03:07:51to debunk myths and generally
03:07:54raise awareness and
03:07:55understanding about who our
03:07:57officers are. Is
03:08:00Is that part of the comms plan?
03:08:03Have we had time to integrate
03:08:04that to the official
03:08:05communications plan? We have not
03:08:07as prepared a little bit before,
03:08:09but we are already in those
03:08:10conversations with POSPD on a
03:08:12variety of ways we could do that
03:08:13if it would be helpful, you
03:08:14know, with guidance from Pierce.
03:08:15Otherwise we can again in
03:08:17advance of a massive influx of
03:08:19people traveling through the
03:08:20airport associated with FIFA.
03:08:22What’s the potential timeline on
03:08:23that? Pretty
03:08:25Pretty immediate. We. We’d
03:08:26already had a couple of
03:08:27conversations on a couple of
03:08:28items, but we’re working,
03:08:29waiting for commission
03:08:30direction, and I think we’re off
03:08:31to the races, so. And then I
03:08:33really appreciate your
03:08:34presentation on FIFA
03:08:35preparedness externally
03:08:36externally and with partners.
03:08:38There’s also an internal
03:08:40component for FIFA preparedness
03:08:42and, you know, among
03:08:45among all of our different
03:08:48helpers and our workers and
03:08:50volunteers is
03:08:52we have work groups at the
03:08:54airport and downtown focused on
03:08:56a number of work group, I mean,
03:08:59everything from operations,
03:09:00safety and security, regional
03:09:02transportation. I believe those
03:09:03conversations, especially at the
03:09:05airport, are incorporated into
03:09:06that work group. But I can get
03:09:07Julie Collins follow up with you
03:09:09on that. Is there anything
03:09:10around know your rights training
03:09:12for ADR tenants when it comes to
03:09:14ice? I’m
03:09:15I’m not aware of that work
03:09:17group, whether or not that work
03:09:18is going on. Thank you for the
03:09:20update on the newest iteration
03:09:21of the Beginning Hill
03:09:22Roundtable. Sally, that was
03:09:24really pleasing to hear and I’m
03:09:26excited to get that report. And
03:09:28please let me know if there’s an
03:09:29opportunity to participate in
03:09:32April. Can
03:09:33Can we go back to. I think it
03:09:35was slide 27 regarding the
03:09:37maritime industrial engagement
03:09:39strategy. So
03:09:46So part of what I wanted to ask
03:09:47around that is for
03:09:52for the keynote that
03:09:53Commissioner Calkins is going to
03:09:54give and all the different folks
03:09:55who are going to be invited to
03:09:56that. Have
03:09:57Have there been invitations to
03:09:58our tribal partners to attend,
03:10:01including statewide and locally?
03:10:05Yes, for the summit. Okay.
03:10:07Okay. Because there’s a lot of
03:10:09interest in how we can diversify
03:10:11our cleanfield future among the
03:10:14tribes statewide.
03:10:16And we don’t have a position on
03:10:17it around, you
03:10:20you know, the lower seven Snake
03:10:21river dams. But we recognize
03:10:23that right now we are very
03:10:25dependent on electricity in this
03:10:28region and statewide. And so
03:10:31when we’re talking about
03:10:32diversifying our clean fuel
03:10:33future, the role that the Port
03:10:35of Seattle plays in that, the
03:10:36way different jurisdictions and
03:10:39members of the international
03:10:40community are moving around
03:10:41that, I think they’re going to
03:10:42have a lot of excitement and
03:10:45interest in participating,
03:10:47sharing and learning.
03:10:51And Pierce,
03:10:53Pierce, regarding the MOU with
03:10:55the city. So we pass that up
03:10:58through the transition team. And
03:10:59I’m pleased to learn that you
03:11:00are going to have a meeting with
03:11:02the mayor and city council
03:11:03members this Monday. Friday.
03:11:05This Friday. Is
03:11:06Is there. Do you anticipate that
03:11:09there will be able to get that
03:11:11over the finish line? Yeah, we
03:11:13know it’s in the mayor’s office.
03:11:14We know that they have set up
03:11:15and established their pipeline
03:11:17procedure and they’re reviewing
03:11:20documents put in that pipeline.
03:11:21Commissioner Calkins and
03:11:22Executive Director Metruck have
03:11:24it in their talking points to
03:11:25bring this up directly with the
03:11:26mayor on Friday to advance that
03:11:28work. So we are working that.
03:11:30We’ll also update the flight, I
03:11:33believe, five council members
03:11:34we’re meeting with on Friday as
03:11:36well. Okay. And then can Nick
03:11:39Minas. Can you come back up for
03:11:40me, please? I’m
03:11:42I’m going to have you write my
03:11:43talking points from now on.
03:11:46Just one question for you. What
03:11:47is the word in
03:11:49in Spanish for yes? S. Hawks.
03:11:52Okay, thank you. No
03:11:54No further questions.
03:11:58All right. Commissioner Choir.
03:12:04Yeah. I don’t know if I want to
03:12:05go next. No,
03:12:08No, I was just gonna say you
03:12:10guys keep yourselves busy,
03:12:13obviously, from this. What do
03:12:16you call it? The placemat. The
03:12:17format. The placemat. Appreciate
03:12:19you guys laying this out for us.
03:12:20Obviously, we’re a big part of
03:12:22why you guys keep busy. But I
03:12:24also just wanted to point out
03:12:25that I think of all the
03:12:26government agencies that I’ve
03:12:28known or work part of, we are by
03:12:29far the most proactive when it
03:12:32comes to community engagement
03:12:33and government relations than
03:12:35any other agencies that I’ve
03:12:36seen. I feel like all the other
03:12:37community engagement and GR
03:12:39folks that I see in other
03:12:41agencies are super reactive. And
03:12:43so I really do appreciate that,
03:12:44because I feel like we’re
03:12:44getting ahead of the curve. I
03:12:46think it’s a testament to
03:12:47Pierce, your leadership, but
03:12:49also Nay
03:12:50Nay and obviously Karen and
03:12:53others, including Catherine, who
03:12:56do all the work to keep us head
03:12:58to skate to where the puck is
03:12:59going, so to speak. Right. So I
03:13:01really appreciate the work that
03:13:02you’re doing. I also want to
03:13:04ask, do you really only have
03:13:05exactly 12 people on your team?
03:13:07Yeah. Yeah. Wow.
03:13:09You’re going to have to commit
03:13:10to that headcount for now.
03:13:13I also just want to know that I
03:13:15feel like I’m in way too many of
03:13:16those international photos, so
03:13:18I think we need to do something
03:13:19about that starting next year.
03:13:21Karn. But I sincerely appreciate
03:13:23it, and
03:13:24and I think I’m gonna have to
03:13:25learn how to come up with these
03:13:27puns with Nate, so I’ll schedule
03:13:29a meeting with you later, Nate.
03:13:32Thanks. Commissioner Cho, we
03:13:33have you down for Fargo,
03:13:35Dubuque, and Topeka this year,
03:13:38so we’re gonna hem you in a
03:13:39little bit. Commissioner Fell,
03:13:44I’ve always been amazed that you
03:13:45guys can look this far into the
03:13:46future, and makes it a lot
03:13:48easier for us to sort of
03:13:50schedule our thinking around
03:13:51that, given
03:13:52given that I’m a one week at a
03:13:54time kind of guy often. So
03:13:57I just would like to see that we
03:13:59could take something like this
03:14:00to our colleagues at the
03:14:02aquarium and other partners
03:14:04where we have mous and say, hey,
03:14:06look, we’re planning on doing
03:14:07this stuff. Is there places
03:14:09where we can do together? And
03:14:12as I told Pierce, the one thing
03:14:13I very much want to do together
03:14:15is the salmon homecoming, which
03:14:17is always in the fall. But
03:14:20there’s just a chance to. Since
03:14:22you have this forethought, it
03:14:25makes it easier for folks to
03:14:26partner with us. So just throw
03:14:28that out there. And thanks for
03:14:30all that work. And Nate, you
03:14:32should run for office or
03:14:33something. Well,
03:14:35Well, we don’t want to lose him.
03:14:36Come on. Yeah,
03:14:38Yeah, I wrote down. You make us
03:14:40all look great. You really do.
03:14:42And I absolutely resonate with
03:14:44Commissioner Cho’s comment about
03:14:46being a proactive community
03:14:48engagement operation.
03:14:52A couple of notes. First is
03:14:57I’m really excited to see where
03:14:58the hub has. Is
03:15:00Is going. That number, Sally,
03:15:02that you referenced, what? 300?
03:15:04Over 300. 290. 290
03:15:08uses of that facility.
03:15:11It just. It leads me to believe
03:15:13we. We’re obviously filling a
03:15:14vacuum there. And so I want us
03:15:16to think about ways that we
03:15:17could leverage future
03:15:19future projects in that area.
03:15:21Particularly I’m thinking about
03:15:22the Ludwig
03:15:23Ludwig and the East Waterway.
03:15:26These are enormous amounts of
03:15:27money being spent in
03:15:29in that community. Can we make
03:15:31sure that it’s, you know,
03:15:33on things in the community. Can
03:15:34we make sure that it’s spent in
03:15:36the community as much as
03:15:37possible? And
03:15:38And that was part of what we did
03:15:39with T117, which is, you know,
03:15:41significantly smaller in scale.
03:15:42But what if as
03:15:44as we really, as we, the city,
03:15:47the county, and other private
03:15:49partners lean into that work?
03:15:51It’s seems like an opportunity
03:15:52to take that hub and
03:15:55make it even more impactful for
03:15:57the community. The
03:15:58The second thing to Melissa’s
03:16:01work in the international
03:16:02engagement. I
03:16:07I went to an event recently for
03:16:08pinwar that was organized by the
03:16:10lieutenant governor in which the
03:16:11governor spoke small roundtable,
03:16:15and port
03:16:16port was asked to. To be there,
03:16:19along with a number of state
03:16:20legislators, provincial
03:16:22provincial legislators from B.C.
03:16:25and Alberta and Saskatchewan, I
03:16:27believe, and a handful of other
03:16:29folks, including
03:16:31including the consuls general
03:16:33from Canada and Mexico and
03:16:35virtually the U.S. consul
03:16:38General in B.C.
03:16:40and it was a discussion of the
03:16:42USMCA, the trade agreements that
03:16:44is under review this year.
03:16:46And the thing that really struck
03:16:47me is everybody went around the
03:16:49table and had a chance to speak,
03:16:52and not
03:16:54not everyone did and I didn’t.
03:16:56And at the end, the governor
03:16:58turned to me and asked me
03:17:00because I represented the port,
03:17:03which is seen in the ayes of our
03:17:05state government as effectively
03:17:08our state department, the
03:17:10the sort of foreign affairs
03:17:12government entity for the state
03:17:14of Washington, and
03:17:16and quite
03:17:18quite Honestly, we gave the best
03:17:19intervention in the room because
03:17:21we are so close to this. I was
03:17:22able to speak from the
03:17:24the experience of
03:17:26an organization, from the Port
03:17:28of Seattle’s experience on
03:17:31on the international stage that
03:17:32most of those folks in the room
03:17:33don’t actually get to
03:17:34participate in. So we have a
03:17:36depth of knowledge and
03:17:39to Karen’s point about our need
03:17:41to do this, sub national
03:17:43diplomacy at a time when our
03:17:45federal government has stepped
03:17:47stepped away from, has moved
03:17:49into, on the one hand,
03:17:51isolationism and on the other
03:17:52hand, an aggressive foreign
03:17:55policy footprint that denies
03:17:57alliances with
03:17:58with key allies and
03:18:03pulls us out of this rules based
03:18:05order that has been so vital to
03:18:08American prosperity. We need to
03:18:10do what we can to keep the
03:18:11embers burning. I
03:18:13I got a follow up note from the
03:18:15Consul General of Canada talking
03:18:16about how much he appreciated
03:18:18that kind of olive branch
03:18:20approach and the need for us.
03:18:22You know, these are our siblings
03:18:24just 100 miles away. We really
03:18:26need, we need to lean into those
03:18:28relationships and do what we can
03:18:30to mitigate against the harms
03:18:32that the federal administration
03:18:33has done to our key allies. So
03:18:37with all that said, that is the
03:18:38work that you all are doing and
03:18:40I really appreciate it.
03:18:43And so
03:18:45so yeah, with all that,
03:18:47I feel like I HEAR the number 12
03:18:50people doing all of this work.
03:18:51It’s really incredible. I want
03:18:53to take one more just moment of
03:18:54privilege to say there’s
03:18:55somebody who’s not here who
03:18:56normally would be and who we’re
03:18:58all thinking about right now.
03:18:59And that’s Chris Gislow and he
03:19:01has been an
03:19:03an extraordinary member of this
03:19:04team and a beloved staff member.
03:19:07And of course he’s dealing with
03:19:09a family emergency right now. We
03:19:10wish him all the best. We want
03:19:12him home soon and
03:19:15we’re all praying for him too.
03:19:16So thank
03:19:17thank you all so much for the
03:19:18presentation. I want to ask if
03:19:21Executive Director Metruck has
03:19:22any quick comments before we
03:19:23move to the end of the meeting.
03:19:26Thanks commissioners. Just a
03:19:27couple things. Can you make sure
03:19:29your mic’s on too, Steve, or at
03:19:30least pointed toward you?
03:19:31Thanks, thanks, thanks President
03:19:34Conkins. Yeah.
03:19:36Yeah. Just a couple things for
03:19:38to mention, I guess these are
03:19:39the final remarks, right? Not
03:19:40just on this presentation. Yes,
03:19:42Yes, you can go straight to your
03:19:44final remarks. Okay. That I
03:19:46appreciate that. Shout out to
03:19:47the team and I appreciate you
03:19:48recognizing that our Chris and
03:19:50his wife Kelsey and our thoughts
03:19:52and prayers on that. But I just
03:19:54want to say it’s like it’s an
03:19:55amazing team that across the
03:19:57board it touches everything that
03:19:58we do. And it’s a recap,
03:20:01short summary of all the
03:20:03different ways that we’re doing
03:20:04across the whole port and
03:20:05appreciate all the effort of the
03:20:07team to do that. And one thing
03:20:08I’ll say is that the content is
03:20:09always out there being produced
03:20:11across so many different venues.
03:20:12And I’m surprised all the time
03:20:13whether I see it or hear it or
03:20:16witness it or somebody talks
03:20:17about it. It’s an incredible
03:20:18amount of work that we all
03:20:20should be proud of because it
03:20:21makes all of our work telling
03:20:23our story about our narrative,
03:20:24it makes it all possible to
03:20:26carry out your vision in our
03:20:27direction of the work that we
03:20:28do. I do want to mention two
03:20:30other things. Thank
03:20:32Thank you again for on the
03:20:34Flight Corridor management
03:20:35program. Value all the
03:20:36commissioners input of that how
03:20:38to improve our program and then
03:20:39working with our staff on
03:20:40recognizing staff and their
03:20:42agility and engagement on that
03:20:43effort on a board effort to do
03:20:45that. And then also I do want to
03:20:47say is that taking back on the
03:20:49public, reflecting on the public
03:20:51comment about scrubbers and that
03:20:53in the I
03:20:55I think we will be well, I know
03:20:57we’re going to be building as I
03:20:58was doing this, an FAQ to
03:21:00correct there’s some inaccurate
03:21:02inaccuracies that were presented
03:21:03there. So we’ll be creating
03:21:06frequently asked questions FAQs
03:21:08to kind of establish that and
03:21:09kind of set the record straight
03:21:11on some of those things,
03:21:11particularly about different
03:21:13authorities and the actions that
03:21:15we’ve taken and summarizing all
03:21:16those. And I think that’s
03:21:17important to tell that story
03:21:18within that too. And so with
03:21:20that, I appreciate your input
03:21:22input and your feedback on the
03:21:23items today and taking the
03:21:24actions you did today. Thank
03:21:26you. All
03:21:27All right. With that, our
03:21:28business meeting agenda for the
03:21:29day is concluded. Are there any
03:21:31closing comments at this time or
03:21:32motions relating to committee
03:21:34referrals from commissioners?
03:21:36Commissioner Hosto, I wanted to
03:21:38mention that we are in addition
03:21:40to a healthcare
03:21:43policy, we are also in the
03:21:45process of drafting
03:21:47drafting potential
03:21:49potential order regarding the
03:21:51allowable use of properties for
03:21:53of court properties, fees for
03:21:55contractors and subcontractors.
03:21:57This is given the
03:21:59growing concern that ICE might
03:22:02expand its operation within
03:22:04Seattle. And
03:22:07we are also working on a
03:22:10potential order regarding a
03:22:12route to explore
03:22:15access to
03:22:16to employees via a port program
03:22:19for business managers. All
03:22:23All right, with
03:22:24with that we’ve
03:22:26we’ve got one more comment from
03:22:28Commissioner Felleman and then
03:22:29we will adjourn. I
03:22:32I did hear we only had 12 people
03:22:34on the right. So are these the
03:22:36twelves? Yes. All right. So I
03:22:38just wanted to make sure we
03:22:40close that out. Right. We just
03:22:41close that out here. But you
03:22:43know, one of the things though
03:22:44it is really kind of of a, I
03:22:46think noteworthy is that
03:22:49this week with The Olympics and
03:22:51with the super bowl, like, you
03:22:52know, how sports brings
03:22:54brings us together, like, you
03:22:56know, cross all the party lines
03:22:59and the international upheaval.
03:23:01And I was just thinking about
03:23:03maybe having to change the
03:23:04anthem of one nation under
03:23:05sports. It’s like, you know, God
03:23:07is pretty divisive, but sports
03:23:09seems to be the thing that
03:23:10brings us together. So anyway, I
03:23:12throw that out as a pagan.
03:23:14pagan. Anyway,
03:23:15Anyway, as
03:23:16as far as the Clear seas study
03:23:19goes. Oh, as far as the scrubber
03:23:21goes. I wanted to make sure
03:23:22people were aware that Clear
03:23:23Seas, which is a think tank in
03:23:25Canada, did a study on scrubbers
03:23:27in 2022 that I think could be
03:23:29very informative to folks and
03:23:30that I
03:23:32I felt a little bad that
03:23:34this is probably the greenest
03:23:35commission that there’s ever
03:23:36been in that we didn’t really
03:23:38need to be petitioned into
03:23:40providing a response. Although I
03:23:41believe a response will be
03:23:43coming out that we worked very
03:23:44hard on. I was hoping to have it
03:23:46done today, but,
03:23:49you know, but we have this
03:23:50tariff. We have a condition on
03:23:52operations. We have a condition
03:23:53on shore power. You know, we are
03:23:56doing our part to make our
03:23:58economic and environmental work
03:24:01consistent. And so
03:24:03now I’m just saying, like, you
03:24:04know, call us before you plum
03:24:06pummel us. Give us a chance to
03:24:08mess up. So anyway, but finally,
03:24:10that another big thing that just
03:24:13is a part of the. This year we
03:24:16just. Well, SEATAC just
03:24:18submitted the grant to the King
03:24:20County Futures Fund for the
03:24:21acquisition of SEATAC Park.
03:24:24It’ll be part of a much bigger
03:24:25negotiation, but that
03:24:27application just went in and.
03:24:28And starts the conversation for
03:24:31the potential acquisition of the
03:24:3344 acres of the park from the
03:24:36port. Commissioner
03:24:37Commissioner Cho. Yeah, just two
03:24:39quick things. I just got back
03:24:40from India on our trade mission
03:24:43two days ago, on Saturday,
03:24:45three days ago. And
03:24:48And let me just say, it was a
03:24:50terrific trip. With about 40
03:24:52members of the region’s
03:24:54leadership, I
03:24:55I was had the opportunity to
03:24:57meet with two ports, JNPT and
03:25:00Port Mumbai, the two largest
03:25:02ports in India. And I think
03:25:05coming back, my takeaway is that
03:25:07there’s a lot for us to work
03:25:08with those two ports on. And
03:25:11Steve, I look forward to
03:25:12following up with you on how we
03:25:13can do that. Port
03:25:15Port Mumbai in particular has a
03:25:16lot in common with us. They just
03:25:18opened their first Cruise
03:25:20terminal in 2023,
03:25:23and they’re expanding into some
03:25:24things that we already have. And
03:25:26so I think this falls in line
03:25:27with some of our international
03:25:28priorities and finding ways to
03:25:30partner with other ports. And
03:25:32lastly, I just wanted to say
03:25:33happy Lunar New Year to
03:25:34everybody. The month of
03:25:36February, it is the month. I
03:25:38mean, not the month, the year,
03:25:39the horse. I
03:25:41I am the year the horse. So
03:25:42really, what I’m trying to say,
03:25:43it’s my year. Thank you. All
03:25:46All right, Hearing no further
03:25:48comments and having no further
03:25:49business, if there is no
03:25:51objection, we are adjourned at
03:25:533:34. Thank you all so much.

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