TagConveyor(27)

A 2003 Seattle Times investigation revealed a campaign-finance scandal in Des Moines, WA, where Mayor Don Wasson, businessman Hank Hopkins, and political consultant Tom Hujar allegedly concealed $49,000 in unreported spending to influence the November 2001 City Council elections. The goal was to elect council members who would reduce the city's opposition to a proposed third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. State Public Disclosure Commission investigators charged Wasson and Hopkins with violating campaign-finance disclosure laws, with all three men blaming each other for the scheme.

Meeting minutes from Citizens Against Sea-Tac Expansion discussing various airport-related issues including geese shooting near schools, conveyor belt project opposition, arsenic contamination concerns, and updates from local representatives on legislative matters and environmental issues. Karen Keiser. Dave Upthegrove. Brett Fish.

This circa-2002 community advocacy document from the Regional Commission on Airport Affairs opposes construction of a third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, arguing that the Port of Seattle lacked required environmental permits, had already spent over $300 million, and that the project posed serious risks to local wetlands, fish habitat, and watersheds affecting 150,000 south county residents. The document also highlights a controversial proposal to transport arsenic-laden fill material via a conveyor belt through Des Moines Beach Park and Des Moines Creek to the airport construction site. Residents are urged to contact Port commissioners and local city council members to halt the project.

A community flyer opposing a proposed conveyor belt system through Des Moines, Washington, that would transport arsenic-laden fill material from Maury Island to Sea-Tac Airport in support of the Port's Third Runway construction project. The Des Moines City Council had unanimously rejected the same proposal in 1999, and residents were urged to contact their council members to block the revived plan. Opponents argued the project would industrialize Des Moines Beach Park and put Des Moines Creek at environmental risk.

Memorandum dated July 9, 1999 from Reese P. Hastings and Michael J. Bailey, P.E. (Hart Crowser, Inc.) to Barbara Hinkle, Port Of Seattle, regarding Third Runway Project Borrow Areas 1, 3, and 4 and projected impacts to wetlands. Document J-4978-02 quantifies potential wetland resource impacts from excavation of borrow areas providing 7.9 million bank cubic

A June 1999 fax from Al Furney to Kristen Stewart of the Airport Communities Coalition (ACC) asks whether ACC members are aware of the Port of Seattle's announced plans to haul rock and concrete to the Sea-Tac Airport site. Furney notes that RCAA (Residents Against Airport Noise, or a related community group) is seeking a copy of Merlino's contract with the Port. The fax was copied to the City of Burien, City of Normandy Park, CASE representative Larry Corvari, and Chris Gower.

In April 1999, a proposal to build a temporary two-mile conveyor belt to transport fill material for Sea-Tac Airport's planned third runway met strong resistance from Des Moines residents. The belt was intended to reduce heavy dump truck traffic on South King County roads, but neighbors opposed both the conveyor plan and the runway project itself, packing City Council meetings in protest. The third runway, requiring over 17 million cubic yards of fill, was scheduled for completion by 2005.

These documents relate to the 1999 Sea-Tac Airport airfield improvement project, including a haul permit issued to Gary Merlino Construction for trucking rock and concrete along designated routes near the airport, with restricted operating hours during the school year. Also included is a 1998 letter from the Regional Commission on Airport Affairs describing a proposal by Environmental Materials Transport LLC to build a temporary barge terminal near Des Moines Creek Beach Park, with a conveyor system to move fill material to Sea-Tac Airport as an alternative to truck hauling. The materials reflect community and municipal concerns about construction traffic, noise, and environmental impact associated with airport expansion activities in the greater Sea-Tac area.