Port of Seattle Commission Meeting June 23, 2026

# Port of Seattle Commission — Special Meeting, June 23, 2026
## Part 1 of 5: Call to Order through Pride Month Proclamation

**[0:30] PRESIDENT CALKINS:** This is Commission President Ryan Calkins, convening the special meeting of June 23rd, 2026. The time is 12:07 p.m. We’re meeting in person today at the Port of Seattle headquarters building, Commission chambers, and virtually on Microsoft Teams. Clerk Hart, please call the roll.

**[0:47] CLERK HART — Roll call:**
– Commissioner Calkins — here
– Commissioner Cho — present
– Commissioner Felleman — present
– Commissioner Hasegawa — present
– Commissioner Mohamed — present

Clerk Hart: Thank you. We do have a quorum established.

**[1:03] PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Great. All votes today will be taken by the roll call method or by general consent, so it is clear for anyone participating virtually how votes are cast — Commissioners will say “I” or “nay” when their name is called.

We are meeting on the ancestral lands and waters of the Coast Salish people, with whom we share a commitment to steward these natural resources for future generations. This meeting is being digitally recorded and may be viewed or heard at any time on the Port’s website, and may be rebroadcast by King County Television. Please stand and join me for the pledge of allegiance.

*[Pledge of Allegiance recited by those present]*

The first item of business today is approval of the agenda. As a reminder, if a commissioner wishes to make a general comment for or against an item on the consent agenda, it is not necessary to pull the item from consent — a commissioner may offer general supporting or opposing comments later in the meeting. However, it is appropriate at this time if a commissioner wants to ask questions of staff or wishes to have a dialogue on a consent agenda item to request the item be pulled for separate discussion. Are there any items to be pulled from the consent agenda, or any motions to rearrange the orders of the day?

Commissioners, the question is now on the approval of the agenda. Is there a motion to approve the agenda as presented?

**(unidentified commissioner):** So moved.
**(unidentified commissioner):** Second.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** The motion has been made and seconded. Is there any objection to approve the agenda as presented? Hearing none, the agenda is approved as presented.

Next on our agenda is a special order of the day. Clerk Hart, can you please read the item into the record, and Executive Director Metruck will introduce it.

**[3:04] CLERK HART:** Yes, thank you. This is agenda item 4A, proclamation recognizing June 2026 as Pride Month.

**EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR METRUCK:** Commissioners, before we move into the remainder of today’s agenda, I’d like to take a moment to recognize that June is Pride Month — a time to celebrate the contributions, resilience, and diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community while reflecting on the ongoing pursuit of equity and inclusion.

Pride traces its roots to the Stonewall uprising of June 1969, a pivotal moment in the movement for LGBTQIA+ rights, led in part by courageous transgender women of color and Black lesbian activists. Stonewall sparked a global movement that continues to inspire advocacy, visibility, and progress today. As we celebrate Pride, we are also reminded that the work of advancing equity and belonging remains important, particularly at a time when the LGBTQIA+ community continues to face challenges in many parts of the country.

At the Port of Seattle, we are committed to fostering an environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and able to thrive. Through the work of our Port-wide Pride employee resource group, our participation in community events such as the Seattle Pride Parade, and our broader commitment to equity and inclusion, we are proud to stand alongside our LGBTQIA+ employees, partners, and communities.

With that, it is my honor to invite representatives from the Port-wide Pride employee resource group to read this year’s Pride Month proclamation for your consideration. So with that, I’m going to turn it over to Director Gesar of our Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion for the reading.

**[4:50] DIRECTOR GESAR** *(Senior Director, Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion — name per audio, spelling unverified):* Thank you. Good afternoon, Executive Director Metruck and commissioners. My name is Gesar. I’m the senior director for the Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion. Happy to be here with you and members of Port Pride and the Transgender Inclusivity group, who bring to you this proclamation to acknowledge Pride and to ask you to please consider adopting it.

The proclamation today will be read by Penny Som, manager of the process improvement program in the Office of Strategic Initiatives; Mary Van Beber, manager of strategic business planning and investments; and Jim Wanick, senior administrative assistant in the Maritime Division. Before I turn it over to this group, I just wanted to very briefly share a bit of my own story.

As you probably know, the Iran and Egypt soccer match on Friday is being called the “pride match,” which has presented the media and our communities with some very complex issues. I’ve been contacted by many press outlets from around the country — and around the world, and here in Seattle — to ask me how it’s possible to identify both as gay and Iranian, and what I think about a pride match being the game between Iran and Egypt.

Although I think for many people the intersection of these identities is a new one, it’s one I’ve struggled with in my own life for over 40 years, since I first came out as a lesbian in this country. And of course, I benefited from the beautiful freedom this country offers us to identify as we want to — but also, all my life, I have struggled to continue to identify as Iranian, be a member of the Iranian community, and raise kids with Iranian identities, but also as a queer family. And this struggle is not just mine alone — it’s a struggle that many immigrants and people of color who identify as queer have faced in their lives. And I think we embrace all of these identities, and we celebrate, and also acknowledge all of the struggles that have gotten us to this point and the struggles we continue to face.

Pride traces back to June of 1969, the Stonewall uprising. And as the Executive Director mentioned, one of the things I think very specifically about this intersection that we forget is that the Pride movement was started by transgender women of color — that we still continue to be confused about the voices of people of color in this movement. It was Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera and other transgender, working-class women of color who led this movement that led to the first Pride march and the ones we’ve celebrated ever since.

And although this is a month of joy and Pride — and I myself will be in the parade and all of the activities this weekend — I want to acknowledge that today, the ACLU is tracking 500 pieces of legislation currently attacking LGBTQ rights. And furthermore, the Trans Legislation Tracker is tracking 800 additional bills attacking the rights of transgender communities. Some of the things we took as a given — the right to marry, the right to identify, the right to participate in sports — are all under attack, and we know we cannot take any of this for granted. So I myself feel that Pride is a reminder that celebration and advocacy must go hand in hand.

I appreciate all of your support. I think the Port of Seattle has done such a beautiful job of creating a place of belonging for our employees who have multiple identities — that we are now a place people look forward to getting jobs at and joining, and being involved in our ERGs. So thank you for your support, and I’m going to hand it over to Penny Som to start the reading of the proclamation.

**[9:31] PENNY SOM / MARY VAN BEBER / JIM WANICK** *(reading the proclamation in turn — the source audio doesn’t mark clean breaks between the three readers, so this whole passage is attributed to the group):*

Hello, Commission. Penny Som — she/her pronouns — manager of the process improvement program in the Strategic Initiatives team.

Whereas the Port of Seattle remains committed to bolstering our public agency’s assets and strengths of equity, diversity, and inclusion, true to our Century Agenda goals and our values of respect, anti-racism, and equity, integrity, stewardship, and excellence; and

Whereas New York’s June 1969 Stonewall Inn riots made history as an early uprising against the police violence that openly targeted communities and individuals across America identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, two-spirit, or more (LGBTQIA2S+, or trans and queer for short). Those Stonewall protests were led by the Inn’s poor, trans, Black, and Latin patrons, joined by homeless youth who lived in an adjacent park. Their fierce fight for the right to live and gather safely, openly, and authentically became a seismic moment in U.S. history; and

Whereas the 1970s commemoration of Stonewall included the first Pride march, observed by community members in Seattle and several big cities, and has since become the worldwide recognition, celebration, and political event for trans and queer people it is today; and

Whereas these communities’ fight for dignity, respect, equality, inclusion, and belonging continues in our streets, courts, and legislative chambers, to keep pushing back against deadly attacks, discrimination, police violence, and bigoted laws; and

Whereas despite significant progress for their human rights since Stonewall, this year again brought a growing number of laws and legislation rooted in bigotry and homophobia, aimed at denying American freedoms of expression and speech protected by the Constitution, crucial gender-affirming medical care, and other life-saving forms of education and legal protections. This year, the ACLU is tracking 530 such bills across the country, six of them here in Washington; and

Whereas well-loved UW student Juniper Blessing was one of the 10 trans people known to have been slain in May of 2026 alone in the U.S. Across our country, anti-Blackness, racism, ableism, misogynoir, colorism, and anti-immigrant hatred interconnect with transphobia and queerphobia to spur increasing physical attacks and erode protections for fundamental rights and dignity in spaces like hospitals, schools, places of employment, housing, and public accommodations; and

Whereas how trans and queer people form and shape their families continues to be an arena in this fight; and whereas people of color make up 40% of trans and queer adults, and of the 1.3 million immigrant adults identifying as trans and queer, 23% lack adequate documentation. This intersectionality of multiple identities compounds the lived experiences of trans and queer migrants, particularly those of color; and

Whereas such experiences spur migration here by those forced to leave home countries, or homes in other U.S. states and cities, to avoid persecution, state-sponsored attack, and other forms of violence, including sexual assault — and, infuriatingly, our own country’s machinery of incarceration and deportation tears them from their new homes here to send them back into the danger, deprivation, and death they had risked everything to flee; and

Whereas the Port of Seattle celebrates and values its trans and queer employees, business partners, and community members year-round and during Pride Month, in part through support of its Port Pride and Transgender Inclusivity employee groups. The Port learns from and lifts up their leadership, as well as working to keep this an employer that can attract and retain its expert workforce through health care equity, gender-affirming care, family formation, and benefits responsive to the needs of all employees; and

Whereas Pride Month is a time to learn about, reflect on, and honor the trials and contributions of these community members in their fight for human rights, it is an opportunity for the Port of Seattle to commit to solidarity and allyship to eradicate discrimination and injustice, for collective liberation; and

Whereas the Port of Seattle stands strong against discrimination, threats, and deadly violence against trans and queer people, communities, families, and allies, in accordance with the Port’s values and its belief in equality, liberty, and justice for all;

Now, therefore, the Port of Seattle Commission hereby proclaims June 2026 Pride Month.

Thank you.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Thank you to all the readers of our proclamation today, and to the Port-wide Pride employee resource group for their leadership. Commissioners, is there a motion and second to adopt the proclamation?

**(unidentified commissioner):** So moved, Mr. President.
**(unidentified commissioner):** Second.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** The motion was made and seconded. Is there any discussion? *[recognizes Commissioner Hasegawa]*

**[15:50] COMMISSIONER HASEGAWA:** Thank you for the work of putting this proclamation together. Your words are so powerful, and I just want to underscore how you’ve captured not just the global and national context but the local context as well — and, as it whereas’s, it’s we’re all too familiar about nationwide, there’s a surge in homophobia in an effort to undo the civil rights we’ve achieved. There’s also a coordinated federal, statewide, and local attack on our trans community members. And this should be personal for anyone whose family, whose community, has ever been targeted for otherization and bigotry.

We all know the federal administration is singling out the queer community, but I want us all to understand how that manifests at home and how that connects to the Port — because queer youth specifically are more likely to experience homelessness, poverty. They are the first to be laid off when businesses make cuts. They are the last to be hired. They’re most likely to be unemployed, and they face disparate bias and excessive use of force when encountering law enforcement. This is what the data tells us. So it begs the question of all of us: what does safety mean when the queer community is both more vulnerable and less protected?

Director Gesar mentioned how celebration must be paired with advocacy, but advocacy without action is empty. And we, right here at the Port of Seattle, through this proclamation, are committed to continued action. I am so proud of the work we have done to make sure we are building inclusive facilities, including gender-neutral bathrooms, because people of all gender identities should have the freedom to move through public spaces without fear, confusion, or exclusion — to make sure we have period products available to all people, because need is not defined by gender identity and neither should access. No matter where you go at the Port of Seattle, if it’s a public facility, you’ll find the resources you need.

We’ve passed our values. We make sure we’re understanding equity gaps, and our LGBTQIA2S+ ERG holds us accountable. And I would like to thank you for leaning in and making sure that I personally can evolve in my own journey, and ensuring that we are building inclusive language within our inclusive policies. Thank you.

So this month, with that spirit of pride, let’s all commit to leaning on and loving on each other a little bit harder — as a Port community and as a nation, united. All eyes are on us worldwide right now, and indeed this match can be the testament to what getting it right can look like. Thank you so very much for your leadership.

**[19:39] COMMISSIONER MOHAMED:** I second everything Commissioner Hasegawa said, and I guess I will be bold enough to follow you. *(laughter)* That was a very heartfelt, passionate, real statement you provided, and I just appreciate your voice on this commission as well, and your ability to always show solidarity when needed.

I want to start off by thanking you all for bringing this proclamation forward. It’s such a beautiful month. I want to thank Director Gesar — you are a friend. Your story is so powerful, and hearing it — I’ve heard it so many times — it brings tears to my eyes every time. I think especially right now, knowing this match is going to happen — I’ll share a little bit, I bought my nephews four tickets to that game. Hopefully they’ll do something really nice for me when I grow up and I’m really old, because it took a lot of me to do that *(laughter)* — but they’re extremely excited about it, and for them to be able to watch the game but also experience Seattle in this moment, where this beautiful city is going to also be celebrating Pride — I want them to be able to see that as well.

I learn a lot from your story, and it brings so much value, and your voice is so powerful in this organization. I just really appreciated that perspective you shared as an Iranian-American, as a queer-identifying person, and it was great hearing your reflection also on FIFA and the challenges that also come with that.

I want to sincerely thank all of the staff who are part of the Pride group and the ERG, and all the work you do to be able to hold this organization accountable. These proclamations come before us every year, almost, and it always is something I look forward to — it shows our commitment to advocacy as an organization, your commitment to advocacy, your commitment to uplifting the diverse voices of those who are part of this organization. And I think now, more than ever, we do need a greater sense of belonging across this state, our region, and the entire country and beyond. So I just appreciate your ability to bring this forward and to help create a safe space for people to feel valued, to feel included. I’m looking forward to supporting this proclamation today. Thank you so much, Chair, for the time.

**[22:23] COMMISSIONER FELLEMAN:** Thanks so much for taking the effort and reminding us of the importance of this. And so the old saying — freedom is not free, right? And even the greatest, hard-fought, high-profile accomplishments are being — we’re redistricting Black representation out of Congress. I mean, who would have ever thought in our lifetime we would see such erosion — nonless abortion rights. There’s nothing we can take for granted anymore. So pride really is the advocacy. We have to double down — if we’re going to evolve as a society, we have to at least maintain the civil rights we’ve already accomplished. So thank you for making that explicit. It’s vigilance that is necessary if we’re going to move forward. Thank you very much.

**[23:15] PRESIDENT CALKINS:** I knew I was going to struggle with this today, but I’m so grateful for the eloquence of Hasegawa and my colleagues and the readers. This is a really important topic for me, and it has been a tough year for people close to me — and so it’s so meaningful for us as an institution to be a safe harbor. If there’s anything I’ve learned, there is no Rubicon we cross where we’re never going to have to fight again once we get something accomplished. And as Commissioner Felleman stated, we have to keep fighting on all of these fronts.

In my role as an ally, I think about what is a healthy masculinity in an issue like this — and with whatever power and podium I’ve been given, and the ability to compel an institution like this to do the right thing, I’m going to use that power to that end. As we proclaim this today, I want everyone inside and outside to know that we will do everything we can to make sure the Port of Seattle is a place where the LGBTQ community is safe, and we’ll keep fighting on that front even if all around us things are going backwards.

I want our kids to know — especially, as Commissioner Hasegawa stated, for queer youth in particular — the danger is so real, and we saw that with Juniper. We see it in the thousand invisible ways they’re impacted — they have to guard themselves in ways that straight youth don’t have to. So let’s be a model where you can be who you are, you can love who you want to love. *(laughs)* And I can’t wait to walk with all of you on Sunday and make it clear to everyone who we are as an institution. Thank you. Made it without crying — thank goodness.

All right. Hearing no further discussion, Clerk Hart, please call the roll for the vote.

**[25:38] CLERK HART — Roll call vote on the Pride Month proclamation:**
– Commissioner Calkins — Aye
– Commissioner Cho — Aye
– Commissioner Felleman — Aye
– Commissioner Hasegawa — Aye
– Commissioner Mohamed — Aye

**Result: 5 ayes, 0 nays. Motion passes.**

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** And with that, the motion passes. Thank you again.

## Part 2 of 5: Executive Director’s Report through Consent Agenda

**[26:16] PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Next on our agenda is the Executive Director’s report. Executive Director Metruck, you have the floor.

**EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR METRUCK:** Thank you, President Calkins. Good afternoon, commissioners, and happy Pride Month. Thank you for passing the Pride Month proclamation, and to Port-wide Pride for reading today’s proclamation. I also want to thank Deputy Executive Director Karen Goon *(name per audio, unverified)* for filling in for me at our last commission meeting.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend between the various Juneteenth celebrations, the U.S. men’s national soccer team’s victory over Australia, three cruise ships in port, and a series of Mariners games. The energy in the region was electric, and I’m pleased to report our operations went smoothly throughout the Port — in fact, they excelled. We had one day register as our third-busiest day in SEA’s history: just over 78,000 passengers through our checkpoints, with several other days that will be on our top-10 list as well. I can remember when 60,000 was a lot per day, and now the numbers are in the 70,000s.

Despite the historic volume, our screening checkpoints are moving smoothly, and I want to recognize the vision of our staff, implemented over the past several years, to expand lanes and improve throughput — especially our federal partners at TSA for their valued partnership during this very busy time. Employees and partners at all our facilities are working around the clock to ensure the continued safety and security of our facilities, both maritime and aviation, and to successfully welcome visitors from around the world.

I also want to recognize our volunteers. In addition to our regular airport volunteer program, we created an ambassador program to expand our customer service reach at the airport. Hundreds of community members and Port employees have taken trainings to prepare for shifts, helping visitors get the most out of their experience here. In their first week, ambassadors — on top of our typical 150-person regular volunteer cohort — spent 1,250 hours helping customers in the terminal. We’re off to a tremendous start with two FIFA World Cup games under our belt and four to go, the next one tomorrow. I’ll keep you informed as we manage these games this week and the one on Friday.

Amid all the excitement, we’re pleased to expand our international connections as we welcome Aeroméxico’s new seasonal service to Guadalajara on Thursday — their second service from Seattle, joining their year-round service to Mexico City. Guadalajara is also served nonstop from SEA by Volaris, which coincidentally celebrates its 10th anniversary at SEA this month. Aeroméxico’s Guadalajara service is the seventh new international service at SEA for 2026.

Continuing on aviation: this week the Port began hosting official public meetings — sometimes referred to as hearings — on the SEPA review of the Sustainable Airport Master Plan. We’re hosting four meetings this week in an open-house format, which from experience offers the public the greatest opportunity to engage on the issues most pertinent to them and meets the requirements for a public hearing under the Washington Administrative Code. These meetings are being held in SeaTac, Des Moines, Federal Way, and Burien. The public can comment in various languages, and a court reporter is available to attendees who wish to record testimony. We’re also hosting two online webinars, and have already presented at eight city council meetings and many additional regional forums.

Turning to personnel: I’d like to acknowledge the excellent work of Deputy Chief Tom Bailey of the Port of Seattle Police Department, a critical leader in our FIFA planning and response. Deputy Chief Bailey is retiring from the Port this Friday, transitioning to his next role as Chief of Police for the Tucson Airport Authority Police Department in Arizona — a little hotter down there, I think. Tom has 32 years of law enforcement experience, half of them here at the Port, as an officer, commander, and deputy chief. He and his wife Tara and their seven kids are moving to Arizona, returning to where his law enforcement career began. Congratulations on his retirement, and thank you for his service.

Turning to today’s meeting: item 9A *(item number unclear in source audio)* completes design and permitting to advance telecommunications infrastructure at Terminal 91. On our action agenda, we’ll introduce a new bond resolution for financing or refinancing capital improvements. And you’ll hear the workforce development annual report and the environment and sustainability annual report. With that, that concludes my remarks. Thank you.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Thank you for the report, Executive Director. We are now at committee reports. Erica Chung, commission strategic adviser, will provide the report.

**[32:10] ERICA CHUNG:** Good afternoon, President Calkins, commissioners, and ED Metruck. On June 16, Commissioners Calkins and Felleman convened the Sustainability, Environment, and Climate Committee with one item for discussion: their environmental and sustainability annual report, a preview of the annual report briefing taking place later today.

Commissioner Felleman and Commissioner Cho convened the Waterfront Industrial Lands Committee on June 16th. The economic development team, joined by an external consultant, provided an introductory briefing on their analysis of the shipbuilding industrial base and capabilities in the greater Seattle area.

The Port-wide Arts and Culture Board met on June 16, also joined by Commissioner Felleman. The board discussed ongoing projects, including the Pier 69 mural and the upcoming temporary exhibit at Rail Spur, and other projects in progress. The board also discussed two key documents: the recently completed five-year strategic plan, and the draft public art guidelines. The board committed to holding additional ad hoc working group meetings on the guidelines, with a goal of formal approval at their next quarterly meeting. This concludes my report. Thank you.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Thank you, Erica. Are there any follow-up questions regarding the reports, commissioners? Okay — we’ll now continue to the public comment portion of the meeting. The Port Commission welcomes public comment as an important part of the public process; comments are received and considered by the commission in its deliberations. Before we take public comment, Clerk Hart, can you display the QR code to our public comment rules — there are also copies at the door.

For our first speaker today, we’re going to ask Senator Orwall to come up, and then proceed to call folks in person or virtually for the remainder of public comment. Thank you so much for joining us, Senator Orwall — please proceed, and make sure your microphone is on.

**[34:22] SEN. TINA ORWALL (public comment):** Thank you, President Calkins, commissioners, friends, colleagues — thank you for adding me to the agenda today. I’m really glad I looked at my calendar, because I almost went to the airport just out of habit. I’m really happy to be here, and I just want to say how proud I am of FIFA and the welcome we’ve given people from all over the world — it’s exciting coming downtown as well as the airport. I remember taking the vote to take down the viaduct and build the tunnel, and look what an incredible job that’s been. So I know we’re all proud of the work you’ve done at the airport — it is our welcome to people internationally. I fly a lot — I get really excited on Alaska Airlines to get my chocolate bar, that’s the highlight of my day.

But I do want to talk a little about impacts. I can’t imagine anyone thinks this airport has no impact on the health and well-being of the community. Having lived there for many years, raised my kids there, talked to community — we carry a burden, but the burden is cumulative over time. It’s that plane overhead that wakes up the kid that’s sleeping. It’s the family that can’t open their windows on a hot summer night like tonight. It’s parents worried about kids with asthma. It’s people with failed home sound-insulation packages that have never been replaced. It’s a teacher who has to pause their lesson because of the planes. And these aren’t one-time incidents — they happen thousands of times a year. We know we have higher rates of asthma — if you look at a map King County Department of Health did, kids going to emergency departments and our landing path marry each other. We have higher rates of heart disease, preterm labor.

One thing I really want to share, though: I think you can have a thriving airport and a healthy community. It’s not one or the other — it can be both. This doesn’t have to be David and Goliath, it could be a partnership. So the dialogue I bring today is how we partner on ways to help the community — because you want to be a good employer, a good neighbor. I’ve welcomed the chance to bring folks together — your leadership, community leaders, our cities — to almost have a 10-point action plan. Examples: how do we move forward on fixing these insulation packages — we may have to use some local dollars. Are we going after the dollars Congressman Adam Smith secured for pilot projects to help start fixing failed packages that maybe get some grace around the 65 DNL? What are we doing on the aviation fuel tax, and can we agree to put a healthy percentage of that toward the community as those dollars return to airports?

How do we start looking at air quality in our schools, daycares, senior centers? We have an asthma intervention study with King County Department of Health and UW that’s been amazingly successful — kids getting medical intervention, air purifiers, HEPA vacuums, using inhalers less, fewer ER visits, better attendance. There was a young girl a few months ago who was a week away from being in that program, and died. This is happening on our watch, and it doesn’t have to. We can partner on these things to make this community healthier and better.

So again, I’m here to say I’d love to partner with you. Our community is in crisis. I know you focus a lot on clean fuels — that’s great, but it’s a long-term plan, because it depends on where a plane is fueled, since that’s where the bulk of the ultrafine particles are upon landing. I really hope we can look at short-term strategies we can all get excited about. Thank you for the time today.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Thank you for joining us, Senator Orwall — really appreciate it. Clerk Hart, can you call our next speaker?

**CLERK HART:** Yes — turning to our virtual attendee, calling for Ken Short. Ken, please repeat your name for the record and the topic you’ll be speaking on, then I’ll start the timer.

**[39:16] KEN SHORT (public comment):** Hi everyone, my name is Ken Short. I’ll be speaking about the Sustainable Airport Master Plan. *[brief pause]* Good afternoon, commissioners. I’m Ken Short, government affairs director for transportation, land use, and housing at the Association of Washington Business. AWB is a statewide chamber of commerce representing over 6,000 businesses. I appreciate the opportunity to testify in support of SAMP.

Washington’s economy doesn’t succeed in isolation — it succeeds because we can move people and goods quickly, reliably, and at scale. SEA is the infrastructure that makes that possible, and right now it’s running out of room. 53 million passengers moved through that airport this year. Our region has to plan for the reality that air travel is only expected to increase, and current infrastructure won’t be enough. The choice in front of us isn’t whether travelers show up — it’s whether we’re ready for them.

Regions that invest in infrastructure attract business, talent, and opportunity. The Puget Sound region earned its reputation as a global hub for innovation and commerce because leaders here made the right investments at the right time. This plan is one of those moments. We urge the Port to move SAMP forward. Thank you.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Thank you, Mr. Short. Clerk, next speaker.

**CLERK HART:** Our next speaker is Michael Woody. Michael, please repeat your name and topic, then I’ll start the timer.

**[41:03] MICHAEL WOODY (public comment, Visit Seattle):** My name is Michael Woody, chief engagement officer at Visit Seattle, here to speak in favor of the second airport terminal improvements. Good afternoon, commissioners — thrilled to be here. Visit Seattle’s mission is to grow the visitor economy by attracting meetings, conventions, leisure travelers, and major events that bring people to our region. That work depends on an essential piece of infrastructure: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. SEA is more than a gateway — it’s the front door to Seattle and King County, the first impression for visitors arriving for a conference, a cruise, an event like this one, a family vacation, or an international trip to experience the Pacific Northwest.

If we want to expand domestic and international visitation, we need an airport that can welcome that growth efficiently and reliably, with the hospitality our destination is known for. In 2025, Seattle and King County welcomed over 39.7 million visitors, spending $8.8 billion and supporting over 68,000 jobs. It also generated over $840 million in state and local taxes, helping offset the tax burden on local residents and support services they rely on every day.

But these numbers also show why investment is urgent — the tourism economy is resilient but highly competitive, and other destinations are investing aggressively to win visitors, conventions, and major events. Seattle can’t afford to stand still. With SEA welcoming over 53 million passengers annually and demand projected to grow, congestion at the airport isn’t just an inconvenience for visitors — it shapes where they decide to go next. The Port has done great work maximizing existing facilities, and we appreciate the improvements completed ahead of events like FIFA, but the long-term opportunity is about positioning Seattle and King County to compete for decades of visitor growth. Thank you.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Thank you, Mr. Woody. Clerk, can you call our next speaker?

**CLERK HART:** Our next speaker is Barton DeLacy. Barton, please repeat your name and topic, then I’ll start the timer.

**[43:42] BARTON DELACY (public comment — Des Moines StART representative; Des Moines Airport Advisory Committee; chair, Des Moines Planning Commission):** Barton DeLacy. I’m a longtime resident of Des Moines. I’m also the StART representative for the City of Des Moines, I serve on our airport advisory committee, and I’m now chair of the Des Moines Planning Commission. I’m here to express concern voiced by members of my community — neighbors and more involved citizen volunteers — that the Port’s Sustainable Airport Master Plan environmental assessments are not responsive to actual airport noise, collateral traffic, and the health effects of planned airport expansion, and further that the South King County communities of Des Moines and Burien — if not SeaTac and Normandy Park — are disproportionately impacted compared with more affluent communities in North and East King County. In fact, there may be environmental justice issues given the emerging demographics of migrant communities east of Pacific Highway and in south-central Des Moines.

Having attended StART meetings for the past year, I’ve found them informative, but there’s little opportunity for feedback or discussion — I can speak for a number of us who feel like we’re little more than an amen corps to Port staff. We understand airport expansion is inevitable, so our focus has been on mitigation and remedies for disproportionately impacted communities like ours. We recognize the acknowledged effects from the expansion cannot really be mitigated. Hence, we think the Seattle Port Commission must start to think about just compensation for individuals and communities that will be disproportionately and adversely impacted as the facility grows and otherwise benefits the whole region. Thank you.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Thank you, Mr. DeLacy. That concludes our signups for today. Is there anyone else present on the Teams call or in the room who didn’t sign up but wishes to address the commission? Okay — at this time I’ll ask the clerk to give a synopsis of any written comments we’ve received.

**CLERK HART:** Good afternoon, Mr. Commission President, members of the commission, Executive Director Metruck. For the record, we’ve received four written comments for today’s meeting. These have been distributed to commissioners in advance and will become part of today’s record.

The following submitted correspondence in support of SAMP as part of the public review of the SEPA draft environmental impact statement: Maria Hackerman, Lufthansa Group; Dennis Sills, Downtown Seattle Association.

The following submitted correspondence with a list of signatories asking the Port to extend the public comment period for the SAMP draft SEPA EIS from 60 days to 90 days: Linda Wong.

That concludes the written comments received today.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Thank you, Clerk Hart. Hearing no further testimony, we’ll move on. Our next order of business is the consent agenda. Items on the consent agenda are considered routine and will be adopted by one motion; items removed from consent will be considered separately, immediately after adoption. Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda covering items 8A through 8E?

**(unidentified commissioner):** So moved.
**(unidentified commissioner):** Second.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** The motion was made and seconded. Commissioners, please say “I” or “nay” when your name is called.

**[47:40] CLERK HART — Roll call vote on consent agenda (items 8A–8E):**
– Commissioner Cho — Aye
– Commissioner Felleman — Aye
– Commissioner Hasegawa — Aye
– Commissioner Mohamed — Aye
– Commissioner Calkins — Aye

**Result: 5 ayes, 0 nays. Motion passes.**

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Today we have one new business item. Clerk Hart, can you please read the item into the record, and Executive Director Metruck can introduce it.

**CLERK HART:** I can. I’ll just note I missed a written comment from Robert Thomas, who submitted correspondence in support of agenda item 11B, environment and sustainability projects — including the Miller Creek restoration project, the East Waterway Cleanup, and shore power at cruise berths. He also supported using the engineering and maritime professional community in King County to help deliver on environment and sustainability goals.

Our new business item, agenda item 10A: introduction of Resolution Number 3851, a resolution authorizing the issuance and sale of subordinate-lien revenue bonds, Series 2026A and B, in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $400 million, for the purposes of financing or refinancing capital improvements to aviation facilities; setting forth certain bond terms and covenants; and delegating authority to approve final terms and conditions and the sale of the bonds.

## Part 3 of 5: New Business — Resolution 3851 (Subordinate-Lien Revenue Bonds)

**EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR METRUCK:** Commissioners, this item provides funding to help deliver major airport improvement projects and keep important investments moving forward. The financing will also replace an interim commercial-paper borrowing source with a longer-term funding solution. The 2026 subordinate-lien bonds will also be issued as variable-rate debt, which provides certain benefits to the Port as it looks to manage costs, maintain financial strength, and continue investing in the infrastructure needed to serve our region. The presenters this afternoon are Chris Wimsatt, chief financial officer, joining remotely; Scott Bertram, manager of corporate finance; and Angie Rose, principal financial analyst. I’ll turn it over to Chris Wimsatt.

**[49:59] CHRIS WIMSATT (CFO):** Thank you, Executive Director Metruck. Good afternoon, happy Pride Month, members of the commission. I’m joining from Salt Lake City today; you’re joined in the room by Scott Bertram and Angie Rose. For consideration today: introduction of Resolution 3851, for the sale and issuance of subordinate-lien revenue bonds, Series 2026A and B.

As you’ll recall, the commission recently approved a refresh of the Port’s subordinate lien in April, to facilitate the expected addition of new variable-rate debt. This item is that anticipated addition, and the debt will take two forms. The first is variable-rate demand bonds in an amount of approximately $225 million, issued on a tax-exempt AMT basis — AMT being the alternative minimum tax — with interest rates that reset daily. The second tranche is a direct bank loan for $120 million, with interest rates resetting weekly.

As you’re aware, the primary funding source for capital projects at the Port is revenue bonds. 95% of our current debt portfolio is fixed-rate, which made sense coming out of a low-rate environment — it was important to lock in those low rates. But as we enter a rising and more volatile rate environment, staff have been looking for opportunities to increase our exposure to variable-rate debt — for some risk hedging, but also for our ability to lower our overall cost of capital.

**COMMISSIONER CHO** *(attribution inferred — see note¹):* I’m sorry — point of, I guess, personal privilege. You’re speaking in what’s like a different language, it’s all financial speak. I’m going to ask that you speak a little slower. Thank you.

**WIMSATT:** Okay, sure. So variable-rate debt is a tool that’s used — unlike fixed-rate debt, which has the same interest rate over the life of the loan — variable-rate debt resets at a given interval, weekly or daily or other intervals. It has some risks and some advantages, and I want to talk about both.

Overall cost of capital is an approximation of the interest we pay across our whole debt portfolio combined, and variable rates reset frequently, mirroring the shorter end of the municipal yield curve — shorter-term debt carries lower time-related risk and typically a lower interest rate. The rate we’d pay is related to an index called SIFMA — the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association index of municipal short-term rates. [On the chart shown,] the blue line is the SIFMA 10-year rolling average — the variable rate that the bonds will track. The red line, a bit more volatile, is MMD, the Municipal Market Data index of long-term rates. When long-term fixed rates were at historic lows, as they’ve been for several years coming out of the financial crisis and again after COVID, it made sense to increase our exposure to lock in those low long-term rates. But as rates rise, the savings available on the spread between long-term and short-term rates make variable-rate debt more attractive — an opportunity to pay an overall lower interest rate.

There are other benefits to variable-rate debt. First, it lets us match our asset and liability risks a bit better. Right now we carry interest-rate risk primarily in our investment portfolio — the risk that rates will move in a way we can’t predict, primarily that rates will go down and we’ll earn less on our investments. By increasing exposure to variable-rate debt on our debt portfolio, the risk of falling interest rates gets offset by the reward of lower overall interest payments. The same happens on the other side — if rates spike unexpectedly, we’ll also have investment income at those higher rates. So exposure to variable-rate debt, in a calculated way, is a pretty good hedge against interest-rate risk.

Variable-rate debt is also flexible — some products provide flexible principal payments, which we were able to take advantage of recently during COVID, and Scott will cover the specifics of that. Overall, rates in the Port’s investment portfolio move similarly to the rates on the variable-rate debt, and that’s the source of the hedge.

Rate volatility is a risk, though — this is a 25-year look at SIFMA rates. There is volatility, particularly during points of extreme economic distress like the Great Recession or the COVID crisis, when SIFMA rates did spike. So we do retain interest-rate risk, but giving ourselves exposure to variable-rate debt helps offset some of that, though not entirely. There’s also remarketing risk, which the team has effectively mitigated through the negotiated structure of the debt — I’ll let Scott get into that.

I’ll turn it over to Scott Bertram.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Scott, before you jump in — I think we’ve got a couple of questions from commissioners. Go ahead, Commissioner.

**[57:54] COMMISSIONER CHO:** So, can you explain to me how exposure to a variable rate actually mitigates risk, when we know our crises are coming faster and closer together? They’re not coming at ten-year intervals anymore — it’s a trade war, or a cyberattack, or a “liberation day,” or a global pandemic. So how is it that exposure to a variable rate mitigates risk?

**WIMSATT:** Sure, that’s an excellent question. Right now we carry all of our interest-rate risk on the investment side of our balance sheet — our assets. So when rates spike or drop, we don’t have any offsetting factor to mitigate that exposure. For example, right now, if rates were to drop pretty significantly — our investment portfolio averages about $2.3 billion, and our treasury team generated over $80 million of investment income from that portfolio last year. If rates dropped suddenly, we’d see a pretty significant decline in that investment income. By having exposure to variable-rate debt, when we experience that drop in investment income, we’d also see interest payments drop on our outstanding bonds, since a portion of our capital funding — which we’d be financing through bonds either way — is exposed to that same interest-rate risk, but on the other side. And it works the same way if rates go up: borrowing costs and interest payments increase, but investment income from the portfolio increases at the same time.

**COMMISSIONER CHO:** Okay, that makes sense.

**WIMSATT:** Right — and it would be the same thing on the other side.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Thank you. Sure, please proceed.

**[1:00:30] SCOTT BERTRAM (manager, corporate finance):** Thank you, Chris, and good afternoon, commissioners. As Chris noted, these 2026 subordinate-lien bonds are expected to be issued in two forms: variable-rate demand bonds (VRDBs), and a direct bank loan.

Looking at the VRDBs first: Series 2026A, $225 million, used to fund eligible airport capital projects. In the fall, finance staff briefed the commission on the Port’s five-year CIP and associated funding plan — revenue bonds are the largest funding source for the airport CIP, estimated at $3.8 billion over the next five years, and these 2026A VRDBs will fund a portion of that. The appendix lists several ongoing airport projects that may be at least partially funded with these bond proceeds. As a reminder, the Port has flexibility to redirect bond proceeds to other eligible airport capital projects, but actual spending remains subject to commission authorization.

Some background on VRDBs: these are long-term municipal bonds that pay interest at a short-term rate that resets periodically — a common variable-rate product in municipal finance. The Port has used VRDBs on multiple occasions and still has one series outstanding from 2008. The Port’s VRDBs are supported by a credit enhancement in the form of a bank standby letter of credit — investors are effectively purchasing the bank’s credit, with the bank guaranteeing payment of principal and interest. The Port competitively solicited letter-of-credit proposals this spring and selected a direct-pay letter of credit from Bank of America, with whom the Port has had a credit-support relationship going back 25 years.

On interest-rate mechanics: unlike fixed-rate bonds with rates fixed at sale, VRDBs are remarketed periodically — shorter-term, reset based on market supply and demand, essentially the minimum rate necessary to remarket the bonds publicly. The Port intends to market the 2026A VRDBs initially in a daily interest mode, aligned with current investor preference and strong investor demand. The VRDBs will be multimodal, meaning the Port can change the interest-rate reset mechanism monthly if needed, or convert to fixed rate should circumstances warrant.

Chris covered the primary benefits — asset/liability management, the hedge, historically lower rates, flexible repayment terms — all of which apply to the VRDBs specifically. On risks: one primary risk is remarketing risk. Problems in the capital markets broadly, or within the letter-of-credit bank specifically, can reduce investor demand, which would increase interest rates to the Port. Failed remarketing requires the letter-of-credit bank to pay investors, and the Port must then repay the bank per a reimbursement agreement — at a cost to the Port in the form of higher interest rates. We have a good example: during the 2008 global financial crisis, we saw volatility on VRDB rates, and as the crisis grew in duration, the Port had broader concerns about the bank letter-of-credit market generally. So in 2010, we refunded some variable-rate demand bonds into fixed-rate bonds to manage that risk.

Another risk: Port credit downgrades, specifically on the subordinate lien where these bonds will be issued, can increase letter-of-credit fees owed to the bank. We negotiate bank agreements to ensure fee increases stay manageable, and it’s worth noting that even during the pandemic, the Port avoided a credit downgrade. We mitigate by negotiating agreements very carefully — a big team with a lot of eyes on it — ensuring adequate time to cure problems and long lead times before higher bank rates or principal payments kick in. Another mitigation tool is diversifying bank and variable-rate-product exposure, which is a good segue to the bank loan.

The second variable-rate product is a direct bank loan, Series 2026B, $122 million. This refinances outstanding commercial paper issued in early 2025 to fund the $125 million acquisition of the International Place office complex, freeing up the entire $250 million active CP facility for airport CIP funding over the next year. We anticipate a quite large bond issuance next summer — this year is more modest, since we’ve had big issuances the last couple of years — and may use CP in the short term to bridge us into that larger fixed-rate deal. The bank loan was also competitively solicited this spring, with a Wells Fargo proposal selected. Interest resets daily, based on SOFR (the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, the industry-standard variable index for taxable debt) plus a fixed spread. The loan has an initial five-year term; at the end of the term it can be renewed or extended with Wells Fargo, replaced with a new variable-rate product, or refinanced with fixed-rate bonds. The Port can prepay or refinance after two years without penalty.

Same benefits as the VRDBs apply to the bank loan, plus a few extra: it’s executed in the private market, giving faster execution and lower issuance cost than public-market bond issuances; fewer regulatory and compliance requirements; and it’s a flexible tool. Perhaps most importantly, it diversifies our debt portfolio — unlike VRDBs, the bank loan isn’t subject to market risk, remarketing risk, or bank credit risk, so a broad capital-market disruption or another banking crisis wouldn’t hit it the same way.

On refinancing risk: at the end of the five-year term, the Port will need to extend or refinance. We mitigate by carefully staggering our loan and letter-of-credit expiries — five in total, one expiry per year rather than piling them up. There’s also Port-downgrade/default risk — loan costs would increase if our subordinate-lien credit is downgraded — mitigated by managing our finances prudently and maintaining a strong credit position. I’ll turn it over to Angie for the remaining slides.

**[1:09:34] ANGIE ROSE (principal financial analyst):** Thank you, Scott. Good afternoon, commissioners. Resolution 3851 is issued pursuant to the new subordinate-lien master resolution adopted in April, and delegates authority to the executive director to approve the sale of the bonds. The delegation limit is $400 million maximum, covering both the VRDBs and the bank loan. The bond sale must occur by July 14th, 2027. VRDBs will be sold on the public market by Goldman Sachs; the loan will be directly placed with Wells Fargo.

On next steps: we anticipate final adoption of this resolution at the next meeting on July 14th. We’re targeting the bank loan to close the week of August 10th, and the VRDBs to close the third or fourth week of August. This concludes our briefing.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Thank you so much. Commissioners, any questions for staff?

**[1:10:35] COMMISSIONER CHO:** Have a couple. Real quick — this VRDB will account for what percentage of our total debt as an organization?

**STAFF (Bertram/Rose):** It’s not a refinancing — this will be new proceeds, new debt. $225 million against a total debt portfolio of four or five billion — so about 5%.

**COMMISSIONER CHO:** Pretty modest. And with regard to the SOFR index the loan is based on — how does that compare to SIFMA or other broader indexes?

**STAFF:** Good question — I looked yesterday at a comparative all-in cost. On the VRDB, tax-exempt, indicative pricing is around 3.12%. On the bank loan, which is taxable — the big driver of the difference — indicative pricing is around 4.4–4.5%, SOFR plus the spread.

**COMMISSIONER CHO:** And the spread was — 2%? Is there a fixed spread?

**STAFF:** It’s a fixed spread on the Wells loan — about 84 basis points on the five-year loan.

**COMMISSIONER CHO:** Okay. One other question — on this graph of the Port investment portfolio versus the variable-rate index: do you have a graph of the investment portfolio rate versus our fixed-rate index? Has our portfolio ever outperformed the fixed rates on our debt?

**STAFF:** We can pull that together going back — we have the data. Rates go up and down; we issue bonds in low- and high-rate environments and don’t have a lot of control over that, which is part of why we’re looking at variable-rate exposure, to manage the hedge. Diane Campbell does a great job managing the investment portfolio, and we can put together information to track that more closely.

**COMMISSIONER CHO:** Two more questions. One — why are we limited to fixed-rate investments as an organization? Is that a state law?

**STAFF (Wimsatt):** Diane was going to come down, but we can gather that — yes, we have a policy dictating what we’re allowed to invest in, with safety at the forefront over yield, prioritizing asset preservation. That’s probably a question for Diane, but we can get you that.

**COMMISSIONER CHO:** I’d love to learn exactly what our investment policy is. I think relatively speaking our portfolio has done well, but from a broader market perspective, a 2–3% return isn’t that high — if we could broaden what we’re allowed to allocate to, we could see higher returns on some assets. I don’t know if Chris has opinions, but I think for us to outperform some of our debt obligations, we should think about allocating some assets to higher-yielding products. Last question — one of my concerns with variable-rate debt is a yield-curve inversion. I don’t know too much about SIFMA, but what’s the correlation between SIFMA rates and a yield-curve inversion?

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Chris, you have your hand up — did you want to tackle this one?

**WIMSATT:** I was actually going to speak to the previous item, on investment performance. We’ve got state laws fairly prescribed on limits to public-entity investment, plus a separate Port investment policy — there have been some efforts to expand the available tools to include some very highly-rated corporates. One thing to keep in mind: because the primary purpose of our investment portfolio is liquidity, most investments are steered toward the shorter end of the curve, so returns mirror the indexes on that end. As for yield-curve inversion — the overall effect is that shorter-term rates run higher than intermediate and longer-term rates, so to the extent these indexes track the short end, it could cause spikes in the variable rate disproportionate to what we’d see on the fixed-rate side. But the idea is we’re also benefiting from an inverted curve on our investment-portfolio side at the same time.

**COMMISSIONER CHO:** Yeah, that was my main concern with this transition to short-term yields — the potential for an inverted yield curve, partly because I think we’re overdue for a recession, with the tariffs and the economy being questionable and employment numbers being what they are. I missed part of the presentation — how long is the term, is it five years?

**STAFF (Bertram):** The VRDB specifically will be, I think, a 25- or 30-year bond, but the letter of credit supporting it is three years; it’ll be remarketed initially daily, and we can refinance into the future if we choose. I’ll say — I think your question is really more about timing, is now the time? And that’s fair — I don’t have a crystal ball on rates, nobody does; the Fed itself is split on direction. We take a holistic view of our debt portfolio — our debt policy allows up to 25% of our total portfolio in variable rate; we’re at less than 5% and have been trending this direction for over a decade. As Chris noted, it made sense to lock in historically low fixed rates when we had them — but as rates tick up, variable starts to look more attractive. At some level we’re agnostic — we want to manage the exposure, knowing we’ll get the benefit on one side or the other.

**COMMISSIONER CHO:** I totally understand prioritizing liquidity and mitigating risk. Given where we generally are fiscally, this is a way for it to be a wash — yes, we’re adding variable rate, but it’ll be offset by the same variable rates we’ll see from our investment portfolio. Going forward, though, I’d love to see how we can leverage the investment portfolio to generate a surplus that can be reinvested into the Port — rather than “preserve liquidity, mitigate risk, break even,” what are creative ways to mitigate risk but also push returns to five or six percent, so that delta can be reinvested? I think this is one of many strategies we can look at for new revenue. It’d be great if you could get back to us on how flexible we are as an institution in the types of products we invest in.

**STAFF:** Understood.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Any other questions, commissioners?

**(unidentified commissioner):** My question is on transaction costs — when we issue these bonds and have a bank essentially do it for us, how do we know we’re getting a good deal on the actual fees we pay to generate these bonds?

**STAFF (Bertram):** We have a pretty robust finance team and a financial advisor who can see comparable bond issuances in the market. Both products are widely used — some Port-specific uniqueness, but generally we can find comparable products from other issuers and compare rates to make sure we’re in line. We have a team that checks that, and we are — especially on the fixed-rate side, where we have good visibility into transaction costs.

**(unidentified commissioner):** Okay, great.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Hearing no further questions for this item, is there a motion and a second to introduce Resolution Number 3851?

**(unidentified commissioner):** So second. *(laughter — “double jinx”)*

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Moved and seconded. Commissioners, any further discussion or debate on this item? All right — Clerk Hart, can you please call the roll for the vote.

**[1:21:44] CLERK HART — Roll call vote on Resolution 3851:**
– Commissioner Cho — Aye
– Commissioner Felleman — Aye
– Commissioner Hasegawa — Aye
– Commissioner Mohamed — Aye
– Commissioner Calkins — Aye

**Result: 5 ayes, 0 nays. Motion passes.**

*(The source audio has a brief unclear fragment immediately after the vote — “…and Commissioner. No. Okay.” — not legible enough to attribute or transcribe with confidence.)*

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** All right. We are now at presentations and staff reports. Clerk Hart, please read the next item into the record, and I’ll turn it over to Executive Director Metruck to introduce it.

**CLERK HART:** This is agenda item 11A, the 2025 Workforce Development Annual Report.

**EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR METRUCK:** Commissioners, today’s briefing highlights how the Port is connecting more people to quality jobs while helping ensure employers have the workforce needed to support a growing airport, seaport, and regional economy. It’s timely given our discussion earlier today. Our investments in workforce development have helped more community members access career opportunities, strengthened partnerships with employers and educators, and expanded services in near-port communities. As industries continue to evolve, this work positions the Port to help build the talent pipeline needed for future growth in aviation, maritime, construction, and emerging sectors. Looking ahead, the focus remains on creating clear pathways to family-wage careers, aligning workforce efforts with industry needs, and ensuring the benefits of the Port’s economic activity reach communities throughout the region.

We have a number of presenters: Anna Pavlik *(name per audio — also rendered “Pavick”; spelling unverified)*, director of workforce development — is Carl here, or is he sick? Okay, Carl Hassel *(name per audio, unverified)* isn’t here today, but he’s part of the workforce team. Leslie Horton, workforce development manager, and Robert Brown, workforce development manager. I’ll begin with Anna.

**[1:23:38] ANNA PAVLIK (director, workforce development):** Thank you, Executive Director Metruck and commission. Given that last presentation, and that I think about career pathways all day every day, it’s amazing to me that I’m not called to a finance career — but I’m so glad we have dedicated staff here at the Port, and you all as commissioners and leaders, called to your pathways, demonstrating through your actions your commitment to our workforce, both here and with all our partners. Anna Pavlik, she/her pronouns, workforce development director. I’ll pass it to Leslie.

**LESLIE HORTON (workforce development program manager and data analyst, aviation):** Hi, Leslie Horton, she/her pronouns. I’m a workforce development program manager and data analyst, and I focus on the aviation sector. I’ll pass it to Robert.

**ROBERT BROWN (workforce development program manager and data analyst, maritime and green jobs):** Hello, Port Commission — Robert Brown, workforce development program manager and data analyst for maritime and green jobs. I’ll attempt to fill Carl’s shoes today. We also have in the audience [name unclear in source audio], our new contract and budget specialist — you can raise your hand. We’re so pleased to have her.

**PAVLIK:** Next slide, please. We’re here today to present our 2025 annual report — we’ll walk you through who we are (we’ve had a bit of a shift this year), our services offered, our 2025 impact, and where we’re planning ahead.

Next slide. In January, we transitioned from the Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion to Economic Development, and slightly shifted our mission statement to reflect that change — positioning the Port of Seattle as an economic engine through strategic partnerships to develop a skilled, diverse workforce to access and advance Port-related careers.

Next slide. That transition is about balancing the scale between our investments on the supply side — the workforce side — and the demand side, our employer partners. We’ve built incredible partnerships in the community through OEDI’s leadership preparing near-port communities for career opportunities, and now, under our leadership, we’re also focused on balancing toward employer demand — preparing people for jobs that exist today and planning for the future.

Next slide. This continuum-of-service slide shows the different kinds of services we provide. The picture on the lower right is from a tour we took school counselors — high school career counselors, our partners at the Muckleshoot and Squamish Nations — to Fishermen’s Terminal, thanks to the help of the harbormaster *(name unclear in source audio)*. They got to meet fisher-folk and learn about career pathways into fishing.

Next slide. Across “shared vision, shared success” in this organization, I’m incredibly proud of our internal partnerships — everywhere from those Port tours, to career-connected learning in high schools with Maritime High School, to commitments you’ve made through the South King and Port Communities Fund, our work with HR on internships, engineering’s adult training, pre-apprenticeship and priority-hire retention and advancement, and at SEA, all the upskilling work around aviation maintenance, ground support, and security — you’ll hear more about that in a minute. Last but not least, our ongoing partnership with External Relations, which Robert will speak to, on the Career Navigator program.

Next slide. In 2025, on the left, items in black were programs already in existence when the year started; light blue is what we added over the year. In 2026–27, in dark blue, we’re making additional investments, primarily in maritime, under your leadership last September authorizing funds to lean into ship-building, repair, and maintenance efforts — hopefully in the near term federally, but also locally. The red box around career-connected learning reflects that we’ve done less there as a team, since OEDI’s leadership already has strong partnerships with the South King and Port Communities Fund — $2 million a year into exploration, preparation, and launch for young people and adults. And lastly, we’ve made all these program improvements and additions without additional staff or budget.

Next slide. We’re expanding not just our portfolio of programming but our role — advocacy at the national, state, and local levels, convening stakeholders. One growth area: commitments from individual employers to provide job-site tours for young people and get into classrooms so curriculum meets employer needs.

Next slide. We’ve leaned on our partners in new ways — Port Jobs at the top of this tree (thank you to External Relations for this slide). Organizations like Port Jobs have had partners like Boeing, Alaska Airlines, DSHS, and NEC for many years, committing upward of $400,000 a year in external funds to support this programming. We see many other regional partners with whom we’ve made shared commitments to leverage services with other dollars. One of the biggest developments: the Workforce Development Council — you approved a competitive exemption earlier this year for us to partner with the WDC, so they could bring state and federal dollars to the table for our new maritime investments, which Robert will speak to.

Next slide. 2025 accomplishments: we saw an increase almost across the board versus 2024 — over 1,700 people got jobs, internships, and apprenticeship placements, a 14% increase. We had a big increase serving people in King County’s low-equity areas (via our equity index), held steady at 89% supporting Black, Indigenous, and people of color with these services, saw a slight decrease in training (which Leslie will speak to), and a big increase in the number of employers hiring program participants.

Next slide. We’ve seen great outcomes — but we also see threats. Labor-market volatility — Commissioner Cho, you raised this earlier — will have a huge impact on our communities and partners as they navigate AI and fluctuating job openings, not to mention many of our nonprofit partners dealing with funding instability. As we grow, we want to work with more employer partners to help fill gaps in public and philanthropic funding — that will take dedication, time, and resources from all of you as you help us advocate with employers, and concerted effort across the board.

Next slide. On the construction market: in 2022 you authorized funding for pre-apprenticeship and apprentice supports in construction, and the labor market was chugging along. In ’23 we saw a slowdown that’s continued through this year, due to office-construction weakening, inflation, and tariffs. Yet public construction remains a refuge for those seeking construction employment. Here at the Port in 2025, we saw record hours worked on Port projects, with over 795 apprentices working across crafts. With big capital investments coming up, we plan to keep investing in pre-apprenticeship and apprentice supports, since these are critical to ensuring our communities gain access to and stay in these careers. All our contracts are performance-based investments in construction, so as the downturn continues, we evaluate frequently.

Next slide. In 2025, over 159 people enrolled in training; 83% (132 people) graduated; 56 were placed last year. The vast majority were BIPOC, and numbers for women are increasing. We partnered with Engineering and, looking ahead, are working more closely with the contractors building our facilities to ensure they’re hiring program graduates, looking at our regional workforce demand analysis, and revamping our leadership development program.

**PAVLIK:** And with that, I’ll turn it over to Leslie — and as we move into that segment, we’ve got one question.

**[1:35:57] COMMISSIONER CHO:** Great, thank you for that — seeing explicit KPIs for construction is really invaluable. I’m wondering, is this due to our requirements — goal-setting for the unions that we have to achieve at least a certain amount — meaning it’s not so much our program as our requirement? Help me understand — we’re not just funding the apprentices ourselves, right?

**PAVLIK:** Right — let me explain. Prior slide, please — thank you. We had apprentices making up nearly 17% of all work on projects covered by our project labor agreement last year, and that’s the hard work of our Engineering office, state policy around apprenticeship, and our implementation of apprenticeship requirements on our construction projects — which I think has a big impact on construction companies’ willingness to hire new entrants into the industry. Does that answer your question?

**CHO:** I’m wondering, from a financial perspective — isn’t this more the result of a strong policy position than us directly paying for apprentices?

**PAVLIK:** Yes — we’re making investments in pre-apprenticeship training. Because of the training programs’ connections to unions and other hiring employers, those folks get 12 weeks of on-the-job training that prepares them for careers other folks don’t get — a leg up to get started.

**CHO:** All right — so we’re making them employable.

**PAVLIK:** Exactly. And in addition to that PLA requirement, we then fund this — that money comes straight out of the tax levy.

**CHO:** Correct. Can you help me understand how much that was, overall, for construction?

**PAVLIK:** Let’s see — 2025… our overall investment portfolio is three and a half million. I’ll have to get back to you on the exact construction figure for 2025.

**CHO:** It’s an extraordinary output — I’m not saying we should pay only so much per head, the net result is fantastic — but in terms of the KPIs we’re tracking and the investment decisions we’re making, understanding what came in and what came out, and the career-connected portion, is important to track.

**PAVLIK:** Agreed — we’re working on a return-on-investment analysis. We can look at wages earned and say the training really doesn’t cost that much, about $5,000–6,000 per individual — a great return, especially since they can get on public projects like the Port of Seattle in this labor market.

**CHO:** So regardless of the total, it’s costing about five to six thousand per person.

**PAVLIK:** Seems like a pretty good investment.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Thank you, Commissioner Mohamed.

**[1:39:43] COMMISSIONER MOHAMED:** Thank you, and thank you for the presentation and your work. The first slide — maybe the second one — on shared vision and success across the organization was really helpful, seeing all the investments we’re making as a Port. My question: are there specific steps being taken to coordinate among those programs, or are we simply tracking and reporting what’s happening across the organization? I feel like some silos exist, but I don’t know if you’re breaking those down, or if someone’s already working on that. Could you share more about how that shared vision and success is actually playing out?

**PAVLIK:** Happy to — it’s slide six. We convene internally on a regular basis across a number of programs — I won’t bore you with the count, but it’s a lot of meetings. We meet with Talent Connections in HR, who convene folks across the organization to support internship programs and the career-outreach requests we get from community partners asking for Port staff to offer tours, site visits, etc. — they track all the outreach events we attend, coordinating across our team. On career-connected learning, we work closely with the South King and Port Communities Fund. On internships specifically, we work with Maritime High School and Raisbeck High School students while they’re here, then connect them to program resources after graduation for continuity. And on our brand-new aviation security training, Leslie made sure to bring in the aviation security team to advise on the solicitation, the evaluation, and now the implementation with our college partner. With External Relations, Robert will also speak to our joint funding of the Duwamish Valley Career Navigator.

**MOHAMED:** That’s helpful. I also saw — might’ve been the next slide — a number of navigator positions added in 2025: the taxi driver career navigator, the SEA childcare navigator. Some of that was a commission priority, and I’ve gotten some information from you on how it’s playing out — I don’t want to get ahead if that’s coming up.

**PAVLIK:** It will.

**MOHAMED:** Okay, I’ll hold my question — I just wanted to know how that’s working, and how many participants we have now.

**PAVLIK:** Great — I’ll pass it to Leslie.

**[1:43:05] LESLIE HORTON:** Wonderful, thank you, commission. Our aviation slide — there it is. For our 2025 demographics, you can see extremely diverse numbers and very exciting job placement — over 1,600 jobs at the airport, a testament to the deep, meaningful work of our partners at Port Jobs.

Looking ahead to 2026: we anticipate the Airport Employment Center, operated by Port Jobs, moving to the Stock Building, now owned by the Port. Our aviation security bridge course is launching — I’ve been with it from the very beginning — with an inaugural course launch date of August 11th. Highline College was the contract recipient of the competitive process and has been creating a stellar course in partnership with Port Jobs and the Port. Big shout-out, as Anna mentioned, to the aviation security team at SEA, especially Jonathan Guy — instrumental in helping design this course to meet industry standards and student needs.

The childcare navigation program continues to grow under Port Jobs. We plan to request renewal of childcare navigator funding in the 2027 budget. Since you just asked — numbers from July 2025 to May 2026: 125 airport workers in need of childcare have followed up and met with the childcare navigator; 50 of those submitted applications to the Washington Connection website (the portal for childcare and food-benefit subsidies); and 35 have received subsidies so far. It’s a very slow process, so 35 in that short window is actually impressive.

And — sorry, I forgot a bullet — the taxi employment navigation program continues: the International Rescue Committee (IRC) provides these services to interested taxi drivers. It’s optional, helping them add tools to their toolkit and/or explore employment in the four Port sectors.

My favorite part of this slide shows the trajectory from training to finish: this group of five were all SEA workers in some capacity who engaged in the aviation maintenance technician bridge course, then elected to go on to the long-term, eight-quarter program at South Seattle College — what they’re holding are their graduation certificates after the eighth quarter, positioned to start a new career. You may recognize the woman in red, Sally Munoz, who spoke to you last year at our annual presentation as a student in training — now she’s a graduate, on her way to becoming an airplane mechanic. The two gentlemen on either side were rideshare drivers when they entered the bridge course, and have now embarked on a new career journey.

Next slide. This graph shows job-placement numbers and training completions for the Airport Employment Center, 2021–2025. You’ll notice a dip in 2024 hiring, attributed to the cybersecurity attack the Port experienced and a natural softening in the SEA job market — and this Port Jobs data matches data from the SEA badging office, so the trends mirror each other. The blue training-completions line shows what looks like an uptick and then a dip — really, in 2021–2023 our region saw an influx of new arrivals, first Afghan humanitarian parolees, then Ukrainian war refugees, seeking jobs and visiting the Port Jobs site and badge class in great numbers, creating that flare. Once those groups stabilized in job placements, completions returned to roughly baseline. Finally, the QR codes here link to our aviation maintenance technician and ground support equipment videos, covering those career pathways, the Port Jobs bridge course, and the South Seattle College training courses. Thank you — I’ll pass it to Robert.

**[1:49:19] ROBERT BROWN:** Thank you, Leslie, and hello again, Port Commission. Moving into maritime — we’re building stronger connections between community, training programs, and employer demand. In 2025, the Youth Maritime Career Launch supported 23 internship placements; 90% of those participants identified as BIPOC, 29% as female, and 74% came from economically distressed zip codes. Maritime High School continues to be a key investment, serving 121 students (49% BIPOC), and its first graduating class is now moving into college, further maritime training, and the maritime workforce. We’re also seeing growth in Core Plus Maritime with added STCW safety certifications, and new educator engagement through the Puget Sound Educational Service District. The key takeaway: maritime pathways take time, but we’re finding the right exposure points, training programs, and employer connections to move adults closer to these careers.

Next slide. In 2026, our focus shifts toward stronger adult maritime workforce programs, specifically shoreside careers. The new iteration of the Maritime Career Launch brings together the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County, South Seattle College, and a new workforce liaison partner, creating a more coordinated pathway from outreach and training to placement and retention. The WDC handles outreach, recruitment, case management, and incentivized stipends so participants can sustain themselves through rigorous courses; South Seattle College runs its six-month welding program, giving the technical skills needed for in-demand maritime employer jobs at regional and local shipyards; the new liaison brings in more employers and coordinates job openings so graduates have a more coordinated path to placement. Our goal is investments tied directly to industry demand, with the support services participants need to complete these rigorous courses and stay employed afterward.

Next slide — here’s a short video of our first maritime welding cohort at South Seattle College, in the students’ own words. *[Video — paraphrased: several student participants describe entering the program hoping for an entry-level job and a path into welding; one says they weren’t strong in traditional schooling but found welding fun and well-paying; another cites the high skill ceiling and range of opportunities; another credits the stipend with letting them focus on welding rather than juggling another job, and with covering gas and equipment given a long commute; one hopes to be hired in maritime welding at a shipbuilding employer after the program.]*

Even in that short clip, you can see what our investments look like in real time — helping young adults gain the confidence and skills to move closer to these in-demand maritime careers.

Moving to green jobs: the big 2025 highlight was launching our Duwamish Valley Career Navigation service, connecting Duwamish Valley residents to career-support services in Port-related industries. These services started in Q3 2025, and we connected 13 participants last year. In 2026 we’re doubling down on outreach and recruitment in the Duwamish Valley. A great example is last spring’s Port Pathways hiring event, where we brought in Snow & Company, the Fremont shipyard leading hybrid-electric vessel construction, to share entry-level opportunities directly with the Duwamish Valley community — the kind of connection we want to multiply, bringing aviation, construction, and maritime employers with green-job components to present entry-level jobs directly to community members early on.

Next slide. This again brings us to shared vision, shared success — moving from standalone programs toward a cohesive workforce system aligning outreach, training, placement, and retention, rather than operating in silos. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel — our South King Port Communities Fund partners, and our state- and federally-funded workforce partners, already do a lot of this engagement. We also need our training investments to keep hitting industry standards, leveraging employer partnerships — maritime, construction, aviation — as well as Port contractors and tenants, to create more tangible community opportunities: site visits, workplace learning, and more hiring events like last fall’s. Stronger data and reporting will be essential to understanding where we go from here, what we double down on, and where we pivot, to make sure our investments create career advancement and equitable access to these industries.

Next slide. These photos show why we do this work — workforce development is one of the clearest ways the Port can use economic activity to create real opportunity for local communities. It’s worth repeating: workforce development is one of the clearest ways the Port can use economic activity to create real opportunity for local communities. Thank you, Port Commission, for your unwavering support, especially during these times of uncertainty — if the Port continues investing in major industries, workforce development is one pivotal way local communities can take advantage of those investments. This concludes our presentation — happy to answer questions.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Thank you — opening it up for comments and questions from commissioners.

**[1:58:35] COMMISSIONER MOHAMED:** I have a couple — jump in. Again, thank you for the presentation, that was really helpful. Robert, I couldn’t agree more, this is inspiring work — workforce development is a great way to make real impact in our communities. I wanted to go to slide 14, the aviation graph — are these numbers Port Jobs’ own numbers, or all organizations doing aviation placement collectively? Can you break that down?

**LESLIE HORTON:** Sure — these are Port Jobs numbers. They partner with — let’s see — over several hundred organizations over the course of the year.

**MOHAMED:** And anyone co-enrolled who went through Port Jobs is captured in these numbers — so are we paying those partner organizations from the funds we provide? I’m trying to understand how our dollars are creating this impact and what they’re using our dollars for to get these numbers, because if I remember correctly these numbers were a lot lower several years ago — great to see the growth, but I’m trying to understand how it changed.

**PAVLIK:** There are organizations funded by the South King and Port Communities Fund that support people getting employment at SEA. They work in partnership with Port Jobs, and there are times they’re co-enrolled — Port Jobs may offer services another organization doesn’t, or at minimum is introducing people to all the airport employers and opportunities. The numbers have gone up partly because hiring increased at the airport in 2025, and there are organizations providing services outside our funding that we may not even be aware of. But Port Jobs sent the list of job openings to 851 community-based organizations and colleges last year alone — getting the word out broadly. We only track those placed into employment under our specific contract with Port Jobs.

**MOHAMED:** Okay — yeah, because it’s that contract piece, when they’re co-enrolled. The numbers I’m most interested in are the ones we’re funding — making sure an individual co-enrolled in another program isn’t counted twice, or that we’re not just reporting numbers generated by a caseworker at another site. A breakdown would help. When I look at the Maritime Youth Career Launch numbers Robert showed — 23 placements — it feels accurate to say there’s more work to do on placing people, and the story is clearer there. But when co-enrollment numbers get reported, it can get confusing about the actual number of people served through our specific contract. I’d be interested in that breakdown.

**PAVLIK:** Yes — that’s why Robert mentioned our data systems need improvement. Ultimately I’d like us all tracking via the state Employment Security Department database, so there’s no duplication. Right now it relies on someone walking into the Port Jobs office mentioning they’re served by another organization — not everyone thinks to mention that. There’s more we can do, and we’ve been implementing data-sharing agreements to be clearer with partners about expectations on sharing data with each other and with us.

**MOHAMED:** It’d be interesting to compare data shared with us a few years ago against the most recent data, to see what those comparables look like. And I’d add — Port Jobs holds an incredible commitment to these demographics, to serving BIPOC individuals; they talk to me monthly about increasing the number of women served and getting into these career pathways, and have worked strategically over many years to broaden who and how they serve. And there is a difference between maritime/construction and SEA airport hiring — many airport jobs are entry-level, with career-pathway training available once workers are already there, whereas maritime and construction trainings happen upfront, taking longer and costing more to train.

**MOHAMED:** All I’m saying is the numbers and data presented to us should be broken down so it’s clear what investments we’re making and how many people they’re actually serving. The mission, vision, and impact — I totally understand; my mom was an airport worker, maybe she went through Port Jobs, I don’t know that part — but we still need that data broken down. And when we say there are partner organizations — are we just emailing those organizations, or are we actually funding them from our dollars for that navigation work? Because what we hear a lot in our communities is that smaller organizations are being asked to do navigation work without being paid for it. So a breakdown is helpful for those conversations.

**PAVLIK:** That makes sense — it would be easy for me to put something together after this meeting comparing past years’ data. We can commit to that.

**MOHAMED:** Appreciate that, and appreciate the presentation and all the hard work, and our partners doing the work on the ground.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Thanks, commissioners. Any further questions? Commissioner Felleman.

**[2:06:22] COMMISSIONER FELLEMAN:** Well, thanks again for all the work — as I was saying, one of the great things is you’re pulling together all the threads of folks involved with this, so hats off to you. From the day I got here, everybody says “workforce” and everybody’s got their own idea how to do it — it seems to me we now have a hub bringing together all those disparate but well-intentioned efforts. I really want to express that — and to Commissioner Mohamed’s point, though, it also makes it harder to tease out what piece is ours. But it’s important to know it’s a lot of investment, and how we — as with other government agencies — can consolidate; we all know the problem, so we can work on that.

The one other thing — I’ve always thought, at least in maritime, we’ve sort of sold maritime jobs as “you can make a lot of money but you don’t need a lot of education.” Maybe for a summer job, but if I want a career, it should be interesting, it should be something that holds you. I love this concept of “smart hands” — it’s not that you’re uneducated, you just don’t try to cut corners — especially on a boat, where they don’t have corners anyway. So one thing is celebrating smart hands, but the other is, say, metalworking — I have a couple of friends who are metal sculptors, and the King County gate downtown that moves, with the birds and flowers — my friends did that. It’s not just phenomenal, it’s functional. I keep thinking about having folks like that show what metal can be — the kelp sculpture out there, metal that can flow like water, it’s unbelievable — and you can build a hull, but it’s not just the hull, it’s the ship that’s ultimately being built. Nobody wants to just stand on a line turning a nut — you want to see what you’re building.

So I think we can celebrate the innovation in this industry and the technologies people get to work with and advance. It’s not just “low education, good pay” — that’s not the sales pitch, to me, even though we’re all fans of this industry and get it. The other thing — when I came back from Alaska, folks at the shipyard up there said as many welders as you can produce, you can employ, that goes without saying — but there’s a dozen other trades tied to shipbuilding. It’s a bit like telling your kid to get into vertical construction — elevators and escalators, guaranteed job for life — I think welding is in a similar place right now. I’ve seen CAD drawings of a cruise ship’s electrical system, and the idea that anyone could produce that is remarkable — there’s a level of awe in these technologies. Welding is a good first step in, but it’s really the end product I think we can celebrate. Thank you.

**[2:10:19] PRESIDENT CALKINS:** I just wanted to highlight — you mentioned Snow & Co. — we had an opportunity to visit, Executive Director Metruck and I, along with a number of folks from around Port leadership. While we weren’t explicitly there about workforce development, it was the topic that generated the most interest — from the standpoint of a growing shipyard in the central sound, workforce is one of the real choke points. It highlighted that this is an area where the market fails, and that’s often the best role for government to play — the Port can step into the breach, with the goal of creating the kind of economic activity for our region that results in really great jobs.

We saw a lot of those jobs — engineers in front of computers running sophisticated software, machinists working with laser cutters. My favorite phrase from last year is “new collar jobs” — what we saw at Snow, where people trained to weld are also setting up machines to handle the dirty, dangerous, dreary work, freeing up craftspeople for the intricate, skilled work. A great experience seeing what it actually looks like when these programs succeed. I’m excited about potential expansion of welding programs like the one at Vigor *(name per audio, unverified)*, and our partners in Whatcom County and the Northwest Maritime Center, and Core Plus. It doesn’t feel like the issue right now is scarcity of resources, just getting these things supported — particularly federally — and aligned toward a common goal. Thank you so much for the presentation.

All right — Clerk Hart, can you please read the next item into the record, and we’ll have Executive Director Metruck introduce that one as well.

## Part 5 of 5: 2025 Environment and Sustainability Annual Report; Closing Comments; Adjournment

**CLERK HART:** This is agenda item 11B, the 2025 Environment and Sustainability Annual Report.

**EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR METRUCK:** Commissioners, environmental stewardship and sustainability remain central to the Port’s triple bottom line, and our commitment to being the greenest and most energy-efficient port in North America. In 2025, we continued to make meaningful progress across our environmental goals through investments in decarbonization, habitat restoration, sustainable infrastructure, water quality, waste reduction, and community partnerships. Today’s report highlights both the accomplishments achieved this past year and measurable progress toward our long-term environmental and sustainability goals.

The presenters are Senior Director of Environment and Sustainability Sandy Kilroy; Director of Aviation Environment and Sustainability Sarah Cox; and Director of Maritime Environment and Sustainability Sarah Oey *(name per audio, unverified)*. I’ll turn it over to Sandy first.

**[2:14:02] SANDY KILROY (Senior Director, Environment & Sustainability):** Thank you. Good afternoon, commissioners and Executive Director Metruck. Today is our moment to share the Port’s annual environment and sustainability report — hot off the press, I’ll distribute copies after the meeting. This is more than numbers and initiatives — it’s a reflection of our values, our progress, and our commitment to building a better future for our communities, stakeholders, and planet. This year we made meaningful strides reducing our carbon footprint, improving resource efficiency, and strengthening partnerships for social impact, and none of it would have been possible without the dedication of our employees, the trust of our partners, and feedback from our customers.

Next slide. Our strategy is rooted in a bold vision to influence environmental action locally, nationally, and internationally — collaborating with stakeholders, using solid data to drive our actions, keeping an eye on equity, working closely with our neighbors, valuing stewardship, and seeking and leveraging opportunities.

Next slide. Our vision is straightforward, and it doesn’t change from one year to the next — we’re building a port that’s not only an economic engine but a model of environmental stewardship well into the future. As Executive Director Metruck mentioned, our triple bottom line of people, profit, planet is strong, championed by leadership and embraced by our employees. I was struck at a recent service-awards lunch by how many employees referenced the Port’s environmental values as part of their satisfaction working here — it made me proud, and shows we’ve set a solid course.

Next slide. 2025 was a challenging year — we saw a significant pivot away from environmental work at the federal level. The Port’s values held strong, and we had a lot of accomplishments toward our goals: new records in shore power utilization and preconditioned air; advanced critical habitat restoration; continued funding for our work; progress on our waterfront clean energy strategy, EV charging, and sound insulation; and completed critical multi-year permitting actions at the airport and seaport, including the maritime maintenance programmatic permit. You’ll hear details from Sarah and Sarah.

Next slide. Every year we report under consistent categories and metrics — these are this year’s categories. Reporting our successes and challenges provides transparency for ourselves and the public, and gives us the feedback to make better decisions going forward. With that — next slide, and I’ll hand it to Sarah Oey.

**[2:18:43] SARAH OEY (Director, Maritime Environment & Sustainability):** Thank you. Good afternoon, commissioners and executive director. I’ll walk through some of the categories Sandy introduced.

First, healthy lands and habitats. One exciting project is Miller Creek — daylighting that creek opened 450 feet of salmon habitat and removed a long-standing fish-passage barrier, alongside several partners. On wildlife protection: underwater noise and its impact on Southern Resident killer whales remains a concern, and we’re proactively addressing it — we installed two hydrophones in the Elliott Bay area in ’25, collecting data for two years to establish a baseline of ambient noise. We continue partnering with Quiet Sound, with great progress in ’25 on vessel engagement — as much as a 35% reduction in ambient noise during that period. We also planted 6,800 trees and shrubs, and continue ongoing habitat investment and research — you’ve heard about our kelp programs, with more detail in the written report.

Next slide — cleaning up contaminated lands. We operate on industrial lands with a long legacy of working activity and, in some cases, contamination — this work is measured in years. We have eight sites in investigation, two in design, one in active cleanup, and seven in monitoring, across the aviation and maritime portfolio. On East Waterway, we were able to begin the design process in ’25, securing a designer. And on PFAS — SEA is really leading the way: we’ve eliminated as much as 15,000 gallons of PFAS-containing firefighting foam, 11,800 of that in 2025 alone, and had our first tenant remediation transitioning to a water-based system instead of PFAS.

**SARAH COX (Director, Aviation Environment & Sustainability) — interjecting:** That was the Delta hangar — the first commercial hangar in the United States to transition away from PFAS-containing firefighting foam in its suppression system. We really appreciate their leadership and advocacy in taking that on.

**OEY:** Right — and that’s just one example of how important partnerships are throughout this work. Moving to water quality: we met all requirements of the maritime stormwater permit, and the airport had 99% compliance — strong evidence of the priority this agency places on water quality. We’re ahead of our 2035 goal of 75% stormwater-system rehabilitation. We also had 31 derelict-vessel removals, with more than 20 additional in process, using new technology to better map debris and understand impacts on navigation and partner operations.

That’s water quality — moving to waste, and Sarah Cox can speak.

**[2:24:03] SARAH COX:** Great, thank you. Good afternoon — excited to share our waste-reduction numbers. We continue measurable progress on diversion goals across our maritime and aviation facilities — we generate as much waste as a small city, and policy has driven a lot of that reduction. The airport’s 2024 mandate for 100% compostable or reusable serviceware resulted in a 14% increase in compost collection in 2025.

We’re also closing the loop: 177 tons of used cooking oil (about 46,000 gallons) were collected from SEA kitchens and recycled into renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel — the same fuel powering our airline partners’ sustainability goals, made from waste generated by their own passenger meals. At our food banks, an expanded donation program produced 25,000 meals and 3,000 pounds of personal care products donated. Construction diversion reached an overall 47% in 2025, with maritime facilities at almost 60% — construction waste is a particular strength, with a 99% diversion rate for concrete, steel, and lumber, recycled at rates that seemed impossible a decade ago, thanks partly to regional investment in recycling infrastructure and policy.

Next slide. On resilient infrastructure: our Sustainable Evaluation Framework embeds sustainability and equity into early design, rather than treating them as afterthoughts. The newly opened concourse expansion was the first project to go through the entire process — all-electric, fossil-fuel-free systems, rooftop solar, water-saving fixtures, and biophilic design, projected to avoid 90% of its expected carbon emissions. We’re continuing that approach on the South Concourse evolution project. On the maritime side, the Maritime Innovation Center is being built to the Living Building standard — net-positive energy, salvaged materials, building reuse, natural ventilation, and more, a cross-Port collaboration.

We also pursue third-party certifications: six major projects, almost 750,000 square feet of development, are pursuing them. The C Concourse is targeting LEED Platinum — it’s achieved Gold and is three potential points from Platinum. We also have a Living Building Challenge project and Silver/Envision certifications on infrastructure projects.

Next slide — Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions. These are 2024 reporting numbers (always a year behind, given data-collection timelines). We’ve achieved a 44% reduction from our 2005 baseline, just below our 2030 goal of 50%. Airport operations, 94% of our controlled emissions, achieved a 41% reduction; maritime is excelling at 72%. Some of how we’re getting there: at the airport, our central mechanical plant decarbonization evaluation in 2025 will keep looking at geothermal feasibility over the next year or two, alongside strategic use of renewable natural gas (RNG) — purchasing 1.9 million therms effectively decarbonizes our building heating and fleet use. We also installed 28 new Level 2 EV chargers at the airport, with maritime in procurement for 16 dual-port Level 2 chargers.

Next slide — airport Scope 3 emissions, our largest share, coming from tenants and partners rather than our own operations. We had record use of preconditioned air, 60% of aircraft connecting (up 10% for Alaska Airlines, 6% for Delta). Fast chargers at our TNC lots brought EV activity there to 22%. We’ve had policy wins on state sustainable aviation fuel R&D funding — a $20 million investment with Alaska Airlines and Paine Field — and federally, continued support including the extension of the 45Z clean fuel production tax credit through 2031. I’ll pass it to Sarah to walk through maritime Scope 3.

**[2:32:25] OEY:** Thank you. Maritime Scope 3 includes cruise ships, harbor vessels, recreational vessels at Port-owned marinas, rail locomotives, terminal equipment not owned by the Port, cruise shuttle buses, and provisioning trucks and vehicles accessing Port terminals. Here we’re above our baseline and above our reduction target — but that’s largely a success story, since growth in our cruise business has brought additional emissions along with it. It’s increased 31% from baseline. There are vessel-level efficiencies, but at this larger scale they’re less visible against the growth.

We’re still working on long-term reduction: a significant body of work for an EPA-funded planning grant on new and clean fuels for vessels and equipment; a sustainable fuels collaborative with partners including Maritime Blue; the finalized Seattle waterfront clean energy strategy, imagining how to electrify equipment; and continued work on the green corridor, including a completed methanol study evaluating four cruise vessels running the Alaska cruise corridor on methanol all season — still being finalized with the Maersk McKinney Møller Center *(name per audio, best-guess reconstruction)*.

And closer to port: shore power at berth makes a real difference — a 54% reduction in average at-berth GHG per ship when using shore power, versus not (maneuvering and initial time at berth aren’t covered). This was our first year with all three berths shore-power equipped. We had a record 68% of cruise ships plugged in (a 44% increase from ’24), and 70% of homeport vessels connecting — 203 connections avoiding 6,400 metric tons of CO2 and 1.74 metric tons of diesel particulate matter — a local air-quality benefit as well as a GHG one. I’ll hand back to Sarah Cox.

**[2:36:27] SARAH COX:** 2025 was a busy year for planning and permitting. We received FAA’s final determination on the NEPA environmental assessment — a finding of no significant impact, with 18 conditions to meet, from surface transportation improvements to stormwater best-management practices. As you’re aware, we’re now under the State Environmental Policy Act review process.

On the maritime side, we secured a landmark 10-year permit after almost two years of engagement with federal, state, and local agencies and the Muckleshoot and Squamish tribes — a comprehensive, programmatic repair-and-maintenance permit that streamlines in-water infrastructure work instead of requiring individual permits each time. We also completed the Adapt Sea waterfront resilience partnership recommendations report, which will help develop a regional sea-level-rise strategy with the City of Seattle, King County, and Washington State Ferries.

Next slide. On aircraft noise: our sound insulation repair-and-replacement pilot program outreached almost 500 homes, acoustically tested 117, and found five eligible for new sound-insulation packages (installed prior to 1993, no longer meeting acoustic thresholds) — those are now in design and construction. Under our 2014 Part 150 program, we completed first-time sound insulation on 200 apartment units, with two places of worship currently underway. For the next, 2024 Part 150, we completed the technical noise exposure maps and held public review meetings. We’d also like to highlight airline leadership on fleet changes — sustainability awards went to Air Canada, Frontier, and Icelandair.

Next slide — I’ll pass back to Sarah for community efforts.

**OEY:** Rounding out the report: on WMBE contracting, Port-wide we delivered 15% WMBE spend ($151 million to 354 WMBEs); for [division name unclear in source audio — rendered “COE”], 35% WMBE spend ($5.1 million). The Duwamish Valley Career Navigation Program — you heard great news on that earlier today — started in Q3 2025. On environmental justice, we continue using the Port equity index so environmental justice is integral to project design, not an afterthought.

On community engagement: our team hosted, organized, or participated in over 90 community events, including 13 boat tours, and the Port provided $500,000 in South King and Port Communities Fund grants for environmental improvement projects. We strengthened tribal relationships, building on an agreement you endorsed a couple of years ago — including hazard removal from fishing grounds (like creosote pilings) and providing a crane for fishers loading ice onto vessels. We continue ongoing work with PCAT *(acronym as heard, unexpanded — verify)*, StART, and other community groups. That concludes our summary — back to Sandy.

**KILROY:** Thank you, Sarah and Sarah. A lot of accomplishments in 2025, and of course more work to do. We’re trying to transform an industry — moving aviation and maritime into a cleaner, greener future — and that takes time and the commitment of the whole Port and our partners. Thank you, commissioners and Port leadership, employees, and partners, for the work to date and what’s planned ahead. We’ll answer questions.

**[2:42:58] COMMISSIONER CHO:** Thank you. It’s remarkable, the breadth of work your team does, Sandy, toward our sustainability goals — really impressive, and I take great pride being an evangelist for it at international conferences. Thank you for the work and the tremendous progress.

A few questions: what’s the three-point margin we’re trying to close on the C Concourse, from Gold to Platinum? I’ve always been curious what the different criteria are — what are the last points we’re chasing?

**STAFF (Sarah Cox):** They’re more tied to longer-term monitoring — we’re working on those actions now with the [Green] Building Council on the exact requirements. We’re investing in those three elements, but it’s tied to the monitoring side.

**CHO:** Okay, so not structural — great, sounds doable. On slide 11, the emissions-reduction numbers at the airport — we’re nearly at 50% — does that include the natural gas transition?

**STAFF:** Yes.

**CHO:** It would be a really cool graphic — different y-axis, I know — to show this alongside how much the airport has grown from a passenger perspective. We’re at 53 million passengers a year, with Scope 1 and 2 emissions down 44% — that would more dramatically illustrate the work, since we haven’t stagnated in volume, we’ve grown exponentially.

**STAFF:** Right — you’d have two curves that are inversely correlated, in terms of growth direction versus emissions direction.

**CHO:** That would also help make a strong case for what we’re doing with SAMP.

**STAFF:** Great suggestion, we can look at putting that together. This chart shows both aviation and maritime, but aviation makes up the predominant amount, as Sarah Cox mentioned.

**CHO:** Given cruise has increased and maritime’s gone up, taking maritime out would make the aviation curve even steeper.

**STAFF:** Right — we’re essentially purchasing renewable natural gas at a slightly higher price than fossil gas for that transition. Commissioner Felleman, you’ve talked about this — for Scope 3, this is one thing we can do near-term, procuring RNG through a credit process, along with some other changes. But we like your idea and can look at putting the growth chart together.

**CHO:** Powerful graphic for us all to have handy. Last question, out of curiosity — on shore power and cruise, I understand some vessels aren’t shore-power capable, so I get why not every ship plugs in. But why don’t all planes plug into preconditioned air? Why isn’t it 100%?

**STAFF (Sarah Cox):** Sometimes it’s the equipment, or a gate might be out — something we’re working on with the airlines and our maintenance, facilities, and infrastructure teams.

**CHO:** Because it’s win-win for both parties, and I’d guess it’s a top area of interest for our airline partners — 100% connection.

**STAFF:** Yes — we’re making adjustments so there aren’t kinks in the hose, depending on aircraft type and where they park. We’re striving toward 100%.

**CHO:** Is there an actual technical reason, or are there technical fixes needed at different gates — kinked hoses, refrigerant-unit upgrades?

**EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR METRUCK:** Yeah, if I can add — literally, I just signed a purchase order for additional hoses that won’t kink. We’re making changes as we go so the equipment works for the airlines too, for that win-win.

**CHO:** Great — once again, thank you for all the great work, very exciting stuff. Commissioner Mohamed?

**[2:48:49] COMMISSIONER MOHAMED:** Thank you, and similar to Commissioner Cho — thank you for the work your team does, addressing environmental issues locally, regionally, and internationally, and the way you’ve broken out Scope 1, 2, and 3 paints that picture clearly for the public — that takes a lot of strategy. Thank you for that.

I’ll piggyback on Commissioner Cho’s preconditioned-air question — it’s also my understanding that pilots have discretion whether to plug in, and don’t always?

**STAFF (Sarah Cox):** Correct — pilot discretion, though airlines as a whole want to connect, especially given fuel prices — it’s pretty rare a pilot chooses not to.

**MOHAMED:** Is there data breaking down whether it’s the pilot’s decision?

**STAFF:** I’d have to circle back on that specifically.

**MOHAMED:** That would help. I know a few years ago the commission also made preconditioned air a budget priority — I toured with Alaska Airlines, and all the airlines do great work on these goals but face different challenges. I wonder whether airlines intend to introduce their own policies, so that in situations with pilot discretion, they avoid skipping it just for convenience — so it’d help to get additional information there.

On the Scope 3 emissions you described — are you getting data, especially on equipment, from the [Northwest Seaport] Alliance as well, or is this just Port of Seattle? Is there a breakdown — how do you coordinate, and does the picture we’re seeing represent both, or just one?

**STAFF (Sarah Oey):** Good question — that’s maritime activity, but Alliance vessel and equipment emissions aren’t shown here; they do their own separate inventory and report it. Our staff coordinate closely, and we also do a Northwest Ports emissions inventory, seeing data from the Alliance and regional ports like Tacoma. We share information and work together, but the emissions are accounted for and addressed through separate programs — we’ve heard about the Alliance’s truck program, for example, though I can’t speak to that in detail. The Managing Members forum and Alliance staff would be a great place for more information, and we can share what we have from the last combined inventory.

**MOHAMED:** That’s helpful. I think the coordination between the Alliance and the Port on this matters — Sandy, you probably know, on international trips the world doesn’t separate the two, and neither does the public. For us it is separate, but for the listening public tracking this, it’s helpful to see what the comparison looks like.

**KILROY:** Thank you.

**MOHAMED:** Two more questions. First — I really appreciate the community engagement work your team does, tree planting, boat tours, whatever it may be — I know it benefits so many people. We also get significant interest from local cities on environmental-justice topics, and one example is the sound insulation work you reported — some cities have their own goals around mimicking or expanding installations for homes outside our requirements. Have you had chances to communicate with them, with their environmental teams?

**STAFF (Sarah Cox):** Yes, we often work with their planning and permitting departments. As part of the Part 150 process underway now, there’s a technical review committee on planning and land use, including building-code evaluation — what opportunities exist to include sound-reduction elements in local building codes. We engage on that regularly as part of this process.

**MOHAMED:** That’s really helpful — it’s an information-sharing piece they’ve asked of me, and probably you too. Just wanted to follow up.

Lastly, for the public’s interest, and for us as commissioners — on the SAMP review process, we’ve gotten significant requests to extend the public comment period. How have you been deciding what that looks like, factoring in what we’ve heard?

**STAFF (Sarah Cox):** We’ve known for a long time this is of interest. Even before the SEPA environmental review began, we provided information sessions, particularly via StART (our six local jurisdictions and community members), on both the NEPA process and SEPA’s elements. Thirty days before the draft EIS release, we sent a notification for awareness, and we’re holding six in-person and virtual community meetings, plus a lot of information on our website — videos, FAQ materials. We’re currently at a 60-day comment period; the state requirement is 30 days, so we’re doubling it.

**MOHAMED:** So you’re assessing inquiries as they come in, deciding how best to engage, including additional requests from city councils?

**STAFF:** Correct.

**MOHAMED:** Great — thank you for that information. That concludes my questions.

**[2:57:33] PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Thank you, Commissioner Felleman. *(laughter)*

**COMMISSIONER FELLEMAN:** Great — they’re adjourned. *(laughter)*

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Clerk Hart did not appreciate that — I didn’t bang the gavel. *(laughter)*

**FELLEMAN:** So anyway — I’m delighted to hear that; you guys should be proud of that as well. But I also think we can do a better job letting the rest of the world know all the good stuff we, and our tenants, do. I’ll mention this idea again — our awards program is really for ourselves, and I think it does a bit of a disservice to our tenants. The idea is that it’s in our own elevated self-interest for our tenants to get elevated, for multiple reasons — it’s an incentive, and we want people interested in Port-related activities. Celebrating innovation and clean tech that we’re proud of — well, that’s not your dad’s Chevrolet, this is something we should pride ourselves in, and it’s a way to cajole more activity. I know it’s a pain to throw an event, but I don’t know that it’s much more of a pain than doing the awards at the airport. I’ve talked to folks at Climate Pledge [Arena] — wouldn’t that be a cool venue, one of their spaces — if the people being honored got a plaque that only five other people know about versus actual press coverage and celebration, it’s a much bigger deal. I say this every year, but I still believe that, the same way Port staff take pride in this work, we’re hiding the ball.

**KILROY:** No, I appreciate your comments, and your continuing to think about how we can better market the work — thank you.

**FELLEMAN:** All right, thanks. So that was one point. For example — did Delta get an award for being the first airline to go PFAS-free?

**STAFF (Sarah Cox):** They did — a Sustainable Century Award. Executive Director Metruck and our aviation director, Wendy Ryder *(name per audio, unverified)*, also sent a letter to their executive leadership highlighting the effort, as well as their individual here at SEA who drove the transition.

**FELLEMAN:** First in the nation.

**STAFF:** First in the nation, in part because of our work helping find alternatives.

**FELLEMAN:** You think that’s a big deal?

**STAFF:** I do.

**FELLEMAN:** You think the rest of the public would know?

**STAFF:** I barely remembered it myself.

**FELLEMAN:** So, case in point — that’s a big deal, and they should get credit for it.

Commissioner Cho raised a couple things I want to pick up on. This idea of per-capita emissions — the early emissions inventories did this, per-TEU and so on, and I still think that’s important as an intensity measure — but the climate doesn’t care per TEU; what matters for the associated communities’ exposure to GHGs and particulates is the absolute number. I think both are interesting, because we’re obviously going to get blamed for our own success — but the goal is, can we do both. So thinking about the right metrics: for Scope 1 and 2 at the airport, passenger count is interesting, but I think it’s really more about square footage, cubic footage of building — that’s the HVAC load generating this — and as we keep growing buildings, that’s correlated with passenger growth but not identical. I’m particularly proud of the C Concourse — the first SEA project I worked on when I got here, and 11 years later it’s an overnight sensation — that’s something you can take direct credit for when you look at volumetric increases.

Scope 3 is a different question — for cruise, we have to double down on alternative fuel and operational efficiencies; design efficiencies are happening, but operational efficiency we can start tomorrow — slowing down gets you both noise and greenhouse-gas reduction, it just takes pulling back the throttle.

On preconditioned air — I was going to suggest putting something in the budget to keep attention on it, and Steve, you beat me to it, glad to hear it. There was apparently a cart that had to be pushed around with the hose — when I hear stuff like that, and the pilot turns the system off if the cabin isn’t getting heated or cooled while sitting on the tarmac — it’s an important customer issue, and if the systems work better, great, thank you for continuing to invest in it. This is one of the only ways we have to address Scope 3 for aviation, by far our biggest piece — 60% is okay, but it could be a lot better.

**STAFF:** Yep, thank you, appreciate your support — we’re working on it.

**FELLEMAN:** Okay — on the 70% cruise-ship plug-in rate: of the ships not plugging in, how many can’t versus just aren’t? What percentage of our fleet is currently shore-power capable?

**STAFF (Sarah Oey):** I don’t actually have that number — we’ll get it to you.

**FELLEMAN:** I think it’s particularly important as we approach our deadline — how big a leap is next year, five ships, twenty ships?

**STAFF:** We’ll get you that — but what we’ve heard from the cruise lines is they can bring shore-power-capable ships for the homeport vessels, and it’s a relatively small number that haven’t been able to connect. It’s two-part — we also have responsibility for making connections more mobile or adjustable so all vessels can comply; we’re looking at some dredging at T-91 to make that site more effective.

**FELLEMAN:** So we didn’t get that mobile connection in yet this past year, at T-91 — being able to plug in midship and aft?

**STAFF:** Right — that was partially on us, getting the hose and power to the site. The cruise lines and we are working together to optimize how many ships can connect.

**FELLEMAN:** How steep is the climb to 100% — is next year ten ships, or are we chipping away at it?

**STAFF:** All ships coming in 2027 will be shore-power capable, but we won’t reach all of them — we’ll be at about 85%.

**FELLEMAN:** All of them will be capable?

**STAFF:** They will be capable.

**FELLEMAN:** That’s great to hear. On the harbor-specific emissions inventory, regardless of whose emissions they are — I called for this last year — there was a North Harbor/South Harbor breakdown in one of the [Northwest Seaport] Alliance’s presentations. That’s really important, because we’re both Alliance managing members and commissioners, and our constituents are exposed to the combined emissions, and we have budget control over both entities — so if we need to lean harder on one side or the other, we need that broader perspective. On our harbor, we’re making shore-power progress — T-18, for instance, we weren’t initially going to invest in, and now we are — investments like that can be guided by that kind of data.

Slide four — that classic word-cloud picture of Port priorities — could you bring that up? Who generated that, how?

**STAFF:** You mean the size of the words? This is usually audience participation [normally] — but we just handed it in the slide; these are highlights we pulled out.

**FELLEMAN:** So it’s your in-house scale.

**STAFF:** Just to highlight before getting into the details — you shouldn’t read too much into the letter sizes.

**FELLEMAN:** That’s what it’s called — a word cloud, right? So, my words here — next year I’ll run it through AI and generate it properly, so it’s not just our own framing.

**STAFF:** That’s a great point.

**FELLEMAN:** Otherwise — the big one in the middle is something I have some involvement with, though not as a Port commissioner since I’m not allowed to be — I’m actively looking at compliance data for Quiet Sound and the ECHO program, and I’m concerned that compliance is declining in both. There are various reasons, but ultimately it’s the pilots making the call — these are all piloted waters, except for the Swiftsure Bank area under ECHO, which has higher compliance. From annual reports: ’22–’23 was 53% compliance at Quiet Sound (a 48% noise reduction); ’23–’24 was 3 dB (50%); ’24–’25 was 0.5 dB (12% reduction) — we started around 53% and this year we’re suddenly around 56%, though the number of vessels and days involved also changed. ECHO starts around 80-something, and their numbers aren’t growing either.

In talking to pilots, people are more inclined to do the right thing if they feel it matters — knowing whales are actually present, rather than slowing down regardless. That means having an authoritative source, like the Coast Guard or Marine Exchange, and a way to present that information that’s legal at the helm (an app on the helm is, in some places, not actually legal). I’ve been talking with the Marine Exchange, who have a unique relationship with the Coast Guard’s whale desk, which is incredibly underutilized. The Marine Exchange and Coast Guard can put sightings on a vessel’s ECDIS chart like invisible buoys — so a mariner just looking at their normal navigation display could see “whale sighting within the last hour in this zone,” with protocols built around that. To me, it’s about the quality of the input on where the whales are — Quiet Sound has inconsistently funded the Orcasound Network *(name per audio, best-guess)* — and then it’s about getting that information to the mariner. The current-removal data analysis Quiet Sound does is genuinely hard, valuable work, and the infrared/sighting-network technology is great — but we have to look at the net result. I didn’t get my recommendation into the governor’s task force for 60%. So I’d like us to look at what the Marine Exchange can do, as I’m doing now, and I’d like the Seaport Alliance to also consider joint funding on this. That’s it.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Great, thank you.

All right — thank you so much for the presentation. I appreciated my briefing ahead of time too, where we covered a lot of this and I was able to ask questions, and as part of the Sustainability, Environment, and Climate committee, I like getting regular updates on the work. Thank you all so much — I regularly brag about this team, because I think it’s extraordinary for a public agency, and I hope we continue to lead on sustainability as a public agency. With that, thank you.

We’ve concluded our business meeting agenda for the day. Are there any closing comments at this time, or motions relating to committee referrals from commissioners?

**[3:14:24] COMMISSIONER FELLEMAN:** I’d like to speak to the public comment thing.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** All right.

**FELLEMAN:** We heard extensive public comment, written and live, about opportunities to comment on SAMP. I’ve been on the receiving end of public processes most of my career — I was a consultant to environmental groups for over 30 years, and participation in public processes and analysis of EISs is what I do, so I’m particularly sympathetic to these concerns.

On the first round, through the FAA process, we extended the comment period twice — these documents are voluminous, take years to produce, and we typically get 30, 60, or 90 days if we’re lucky, so it’s always going to feel disproportionate. But it was an active effort on the Port’s part to extend beyond normal process, and I’m grateful staff took that initiative.

Phase two is the EIS process through the state — basically all the data from the EA carried into the EIS, plus the two things most people cared about: environmental justice and cumulative impacts, which were the two pieces the federal government had removed. So in a real sense, the parts the public is most interested in are the only genuinely new material in the whole EIS — I’m not saying don’t read the whole thing… well, actually, I am saying don’t read the whole thing — but the part that really matters is a small part. So doubling our time, from 30 to 60 days, given what really needs focus, is still reasonable.

However, one thing I know matters to community members isn’t just submitting a view to the regulator — it’s talking amongst your own community and understanding what each other think. That’s what the classic public hearing format provides — speaking to a microphone, in front of a court reporter — not a give-and-take with the agency, but a way to know you’ve been heard, because everyone else in the room hears you too, and can agree or disagree. It needs “a cop in the room” to keep it civil, but it’s the classic public process — nobody reads the responses-to-comments in appendix seven of an EIS, but this is how the public feels heard.

This is something I believe we might be able to pull off — not necessarily at an individual city council or commission meeting, but I believe that rather than (or alongside) extending the comment deadline, finding a way to give the public a chance to hear from each other, as well as from us, would go a long way toward addressing the concerns we’ve heard. That’s it.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** Any other comments from commissioners? Executive Director Metruck, any closing comments?

**EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR METRUCK:** Just two things. Responding to Commissioner Felleman’s note — that’s something we’re taking under consideration; we just received that request late last week, so we’re looking at how to address it in compliance with Washington Administrative Code requirements.

Second — we have two more FIFA games this week, and our team is continuing to work around the clock at our command centers, ramping up on game days (Wednesday and Friday here), with hopefully more rounds to come for the U.S. team. I wanted to call that team out and thank them for keeping us safe, secure, and efficient. Thanks also for the discussions earlier today — I thought those were very informative on budget inputs and priorities for the commission. Thank you, commissioner.

**[3:19:33] COMMISSIONER MOHAMED** *(attribution inferred from content/style — not explicitly tagged in source audio):* Thank you — I’ll just quickly add, thank you to the public and the elected officials who’ve reached out to us individually, by email and letter, wanting to engage on the SAMP process. We take those comments very seriously and consider them as they come in. And I want to remind the public that SAMP projects will come to commissioners one by one, project by project — so there will be many more opportunities to hear from the public on these individual projects, and their opinions and expertise will be welcomed then as well. Thank you for the time.

**PRESIDENT CALKINS:** All right — and just an exhortation to get out and enjoy the FIFA World Cup in Seattle and around the region. Huge debt of gratitude to the local organizing committee for making it accessible and fun, and to everyone around here — the vibes are amazing. You don’t even have to like soccer, you’ll have fun at one of the watch parties in Everett, Renton, Redmond, Kirkland, or downtown. Get out there and enjoy it — this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience you’ll never forget.

All right — hearing no further comments and having no further business, if there is no objection, we are adjourned at 3:27 p.m.

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