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From the Washington Public Ports Association |
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August 2011 |
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Upcoming Events September
22-23, 2011 Bainbridge
Island and Winlock Look to Form Their Own Port Districts Washington
Export Initiative Launches Export Success Stories OFM Predicts Fiscal Impact of Initiative 1183 Federal
Bills Introduced to Protect VEBA Benefits After more than a
year of discussions and assessment, the WPPA Board of Trustees held a rare
special meeting on August 19 and voted to purchase the building that WPPA has
leased space in for many years. “This is an
exciting opportunity, and there was enthusiastic support from an overwhelming
majority of our membership to take this step” said WPPA President Scott
Walker, Commissioner from the Port of Bellingham. “It makes sense financially
and it sends a strong signal about the stability and permanence of
Washington’s Port Community.” At the special
meeting, the Board of Trustees took two steps. The first was to amend the
By-laws of the Association to allow for the purchase of the building. The
second was approval of a resolution approving the purchase of the building
and authorizing the WPPA Executive Director to obtain financing. This decision
follows nine months of “due-diligence” investigations, including thorough
building inspections, an appraisal, and an environmental assessment. The
Association has occupied a large portion of the building since it was built
in 1972. The structure is the closest commercial office space to the
Legislative campus, and has always been prime real estate for government
relations tenants.
By this time
next year Washington might have two new ports joining the existing 75. Bainbridge Island voters will have to
decide whether they want a port during the upcoming election season. Meanwhile, the Port of Winlock is up for
public hearing to decide whether it too will be on the ballot. This is not
the first time the Port of Winlock has been up for vote. In 1985, county economic development
councilmember Dan Godat first began to pursue the idea of forming a
port. At that time, the law only
provided for a countywide port district.
Godat wanted to change that law.
With the help of then Representative Jay Vander Stoep, he did. In 1986 Godat managed to get enough voter
signatures to get the port on the ballot, but the measure failed. Recently the economic stagnation of his
community prompted Godat, who is the Director of the South Lewis County
Chamber of Commerce, to pursue the idea of port formation once again. Godat
describes looking through his son’s senior year high school yearbook to count
the number of Winlock graduates who stayed in their home town; he counted
only five. “There are
no jobs,” said Winlock. “We only have
one manufacturing plant. Kids have no
hope of staying, so we have to do something.” He believes
forming a port is that something.
Currently there is a 65 to 75 percent vacancy rate in Winlock’s
downtown district. Water and sewer
rates have also doubled since the construction of a treatment plant in the
area. According to Godat, the only way
to change these things is to grow, and forming the Port of Winlock means the
community gets to decide how Winlock grows; the decisions are not left up to
speculators and developers. “The port is
a long-term solution for economic drive and development,” said Godat. While Godat
has been pursuing Winlock’s port formation, Bainbridge Island resident Wini
Jones has simultaneously been hard at work promoting and advocating for the
Port of Bainbridge Island. Her work
culminated in the decision of Kitsap County commissioners to put the port
formation on the November ballot. “The subject
[of creating a port] has come up at many community project meetings I have been
involved with over the past five years,” said Jones. Jones
explained that projects like executing the Harbor Management Plan created in
1999, but never funded, opening public beach access, and expanding guest
moorage at the marina have always been put on the bottom of the priority list
by the city. She also
described the process of enforcing a 1995 agreement between Washington State
Ferries (WSF) and the City of Bainbridge Island that allowed the city to use
a portion of WSF property for a public marina and boat yard. In the end, WSF offered the City of Bainbridge
Island the use of the land by a lease or $2 million to be used to purchase
similar land or to be used as the city saw fit. In a four to three vote on December 15,
2010 the City Council took the money and signed away any claim, past, present
or future, to use of the land. “This entire process raised the
community's level of awareness of what a port could do that the city does not
want to do, and did not want to do even when there were funds,” said
Jones. “February 2010 was the public meeting we held to start the
process of port formation.” The
proposed Port of Winlock is up for hearing at 6 p.m. on August 22 at the Winlock
Community Building located at 607 N.W. Kerron Avenue. You can learn more about the proposed Port of Bainbridge Island at www.portofbainbridgeisland.org. The Washington Export Initiative is launching a new outreach effort
targeted to small and medium sized business to encourage companies to develop
new international markets and customer bases. Governor Gregoire launched the
Washington Export Initiative in June 2011 and set ambitious goals to increase
the number of companies exporting as well as to increase the total export
sales out of Washington. This campaign is designed to build momentum to
deliver on the 5-year goals. “We’ve gone straight to the source --- the Washington businesses that
are flourishing as exporters ---and we asked them to share their success
stories,” commented Rogers Weed, the Director for the Washington State
Department of Commerce. “Exporting is central to our economic
recovery and there are many resources available to help businesses start
exporting or to expand to new markets.”
“With about 1/3 of our food and agricultural products destined for
foreign markets, Washington growers have a vested interest in strengthening
our export economy,” said Director Dan Newhouse of the Washington State
Department of Agriculture. “While our high-quality foods, from apples to
wine, are already world famous, we know more of our growers and processors
could benefit from trade. The bottom line is that more exports overseas mean
job growth here at home.” The four “Success Stories” videos will be featured on the Export Washington website.
A range of export services and connections can be found on this site.
You can find the videos posted on the Washington State YouTube channel. The Office of Financial Management released its analysis of the fiscal
impact of the Costco-backed voter initiative that would privatize liquor
sales in Washington State. The agency
found that, unlike last year’s initiative, Initiative 1183 could increase state
and local government revenues by tens of millions of dollars a year. The initiative calls for revenue to be maintained for state and local
governments, as well as for the Municipal Research and Services Center. In fact, OFM estimated that local government
revenues could increase by as much as $38 million a year over the next six
years. The increase in revenue can be attributed to the establishment of new
fees in the initiative - 17 percent of all liquor sales on retailers and 5 to
10 percent of sales on distributors.
The greater access to liquor would also increase sales by about 5
percent, a number based on research done by OFM which found that Alberta,
Canada experienced such growth after it privatized liquor sales. A citizen’s first contact with local government often comes by way of
meetings or information requests. The Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) and the
Public Records Act (PRA) are the legal framework for
citizen access. While most violations of these laws are unintentional, a
single misstep can be costly and erode public confidence. Full compliance with the OPMA and PRA starts at the top with the elected
or appointed public official. The
workshop on these issues will be presented on September 27 in Kennewick at
the Three Rivers Convention Center, and again on October 12 in Tacoma at the
La Quinta Inn. The workshop will focus on: ·
Practical advice for making your
meetings and public records programs run smoothly ·
How to develop effective policies to
guide you when challenges arise ·
How to identify actions that may
raise concerns ·
Hearing from other local public
officials from across the state Workshop highlights include:
Registration and fees: ·
AWC Member Registration – $125 per person · Co-Sponsor Registration - $125
per person (Member rate available to all sponsoring associations) ·
Other Registration – $185 per person A fee of $25 will be charged for cancellations made more than one week
prior to the meeting for which you are registered. Cancellations made less
than seven days prior to the meeting for which you are registered will
require full payment. Presenters: Municipal Research & Services Center (MRSC) ·
Pat Mason, Senior Legal Consultant ·
Paul Sullivan, Legal Consultant Ogden Murphy Wallace, PLLC ·
Angela Belbeck, Attorney ·
Julie Norton, Attorney Association of Washington Cities ·
Victoria Lincoln, Legislative
& Policy Advocate For more
information, or to register for this event, please click here. Federal bills introduced to protect veba benefitsBipartisan
U.S. Senate and House bills were introduced in July to make a no cost, technical
correction to the laws governing health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs)
utilized by many WPPA members. In the
Senate, Senators Cantwell (D-WA), Crapo (R-ID), Murray (D-WA), and Merkley
(D-OR) have co-sponsored S. 1366. In
the House, Representatives Reichert (R-WA), Blumenauer (D-OR), McMorris
Rodgers (R-WA), Inslee (D-WA), and Herrera Beutler (R-WA) have co-sponsored
companion legislation (HR 2698). The
bills will provide northwest employees of political subdivisions with more
flexibility in designating beneficiaries for their HRAs when they pass away.
Many political subdivisions (cities, counties, and various fire, water, port,
school, and utility districts) in the northwest participate in voluntary
employee beneficiary association (VEBA) trusts which provide HRAs. A
2006 IRS ruling imposes rules which cause participants in these plans to lose
earned benefits if they die without a spouse or dependent. This is a problem for VEBA participants who pass away
that are single, outlive their spouse, or have adult children and have a
remaining balance in the VEBA account. In 2008, Congress passed
the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 that addressed this
problem for certain HRA plans but not all.
A technical fix is needed to include plans established by political
subdivisions. Over
130 supporters in the northwest have endorsed this legislative effort,
including WPPA. There are currently 18
ports in Washington that participate in the VEBA program. Efforts are now focused on contacting U.S.
House members for co-sponsorship of HR 2698.
If individual members are interested in sending letters of support to
U.S. House members, please contact Brad Hawkins at Douglas County PUD at
509-881-2225 or bradh@dcpud.org. Ecology and the
Port of Mattawa Work Together To Develop a Wastewater Plant for Winery
Wastewater Wahluke Winery began operations in the
Mattawa area in 2005, discharging wastewater to the city of Mattawa
wastewater treatment plant. For the next two years, the city of Mattawa’s
treatment plant experienced many treatment upsets, especially from the end of
September to mid-November. In the wine industry, this period is known as
“crush,” when tons of grapes arrive at the winery to have the juice squeezed
from them, leaving stems and skins behind. During crush, the Mattawa wineries can
produce 10,000 to 20,000 gallons of wastewater per day. Since the area is
suitable for winery and fruit processing, the Port of Mattawa saw an
opportunity to promote the growth of these industries so it stepped up to
help. From 2006 to 2008, the Port of Mattawa worked with Ecology to develop a
wastewater plant designed for winery wastewater with its high BOD and low pH.
Port of
Mattawa settling pond. The Port of Mattawa wastewater treatment
plant came online in 2008, and Wahluke Winery started hauling its wastewater
there. J & S Crushing, a former potato-processing facility converted to a
winery, also sends most of its wastewater to the new Port of Mattawa
treatment plant while reserving some wastewater for land application for dust
control The Port of Mattawa saw a need where it
could help its local industries and sought funding to build a treatment plant
that could handle the unique qualities of its wastewater. After many meetings
with Ecology, the wineries, and the funding sources and several years of
construction, the Port now has a treatment plant that can attract businesses
to the area and protect surface and groundwater quality. For the
full story written by the Department of Ecology, click here. Port of Walla Walla Creates Work Space for
Creative Minds While the Port is often associated with assisting
the largest employers in the Walla Walla Valley,
what is often overlooked are its efforts to help small businesses succeed.
The best examples of its small business outreach are its investments at the
Walla Walla Regional Airport. The Airport Business
Park is home to some 50 small businesses operating out of buildings and shops
left over from the World War II Army airbase days. The Port, along with its
tenants, has rehabilitated these buildings during the past 20 years into cost
effective production spaces. Biodiesel
Processing and Shipments Increase at Imperial Grays Harbor Grays Harbor’s role in renewable
fuels is growing as Imperium Grays Harbor, the nation’s largest biodiesel
production facility, has increased production and begun exporting their
product throughout the world. Located near Terminals 1 and 2 at
the Port of Grays Harbor, Imperium Grays Harbor employs 37 local workers and
44 statewide. The renewable fuels
company specializes in producing pure, unblended B100 biodiesel refined from
a variety of oils, primarily canola oil at this time.
The tanker Siteam Discoverer is guided to berth with an inbound
shipment of canola oil for processing at Imperiam
Grays Harbor. Photo courtesy of Kevin
Campbell. The Grays Harbor facility has the
capacity to produce one hundred million gallons of fuel per year. The facility is also the nation’s largest
DQ9000 certified product producer, a designation of significance in the
renewable fuels industry. Shipping activity has picked up this
year as a result of regional mandates requiring the use of renewable
fuels. Company officials are
optimistic about the continuing market demand and the resulting growth of the
Grays Harbor facility. To learn more about Imperium Grays
Harbor, check out their website at www.ImperiumRenewables.com. Port of Skagit Purchases Property Adjacent to
Airport for Buffer The Port of Skagit has
purchased a 95-acre parcel abutting port property on the east side of Skagit Regional
Airport and backing up on the Skagit Golf and Country Club. The land, purchased from
Idaho resident Henry Van Pelt for $485,100, will help to secure the airport
from encroachment of residential development under the landing pattern, said
Patsy Martin, executive director of the Port of Skagit. Further benefits from
the purchase include the following: ·
The Van Pelt property is under two safety zones for
the airport’s main runway. The area needs to be kept clear of development
that might create potential hazards to flight, such as bird strikes, smoke or
electronic interference with air navigation. · The property also
needs to be protected from development that is particularly sensitive to
noise, including residential housing, in compliance with the FAA Integrated
Noise Model, a part of the Skagit Regional Airport Master Plan Update,
adopted by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2007. · The property
currently is zoned for industrial use, which fits the port’s mission and
purpose. Under port ownership, it would not be subject to potential rezoning
to allow residential development or other uses incompatible with the
airport’s continued operation. ·
Acquiring the property would give the port the
potential use of about 13 acres for wetland restoration. This could be used
for mitigation to open more suitable property at the airport for development.
Current port plans call for
developing Skagit Regional Airport as a hub for corporate and private
business aviation. The port does not expect to pursue regularly scheduled
airline service at the airport in the foreseeable future. But it is likely
that air traffic – including corporate jets – will increase in the coming
years. With increased operations at
the airport, it is also likely that further build-out of the airport and adjacent Bayview
Business Park properties will occur, producing increased employment
opportunities in Skagit County. Port of Olympia Continues to Set Record Highs in Operating Revenue Port of Olympia Commissioners heard at their Aug. 8th meeting that the
Port is continuing to set financial record highs. “It’s not the first time in history that
Port of Olympia’s operating revenues exceeded $4 million in the first half,”
said Kevin Ferguson, Finance Director, “but $4.2 million does set a new
record.”
Ferguson presented the Port’s first half
financial report to the Commissioners at their regular meeting last night. The Port’s operating surplus after applying
overhead exceeded a half million dollars during the first half for the third
year in a row. And all business units reported a positive operating surplus
after applying operation and maintenance expenses. The Port’s business units
are Olympia Regional Airport, International Shipping Terminal, Real Estate
and Swantown Marina & Boatworks. Both the Port’s gross and net operating margins
are better than budgeted for the first half. “Due to the world economy, we expect shipping to
slow down a bit during the second half,” said Bill McGregor, President.
“Still, we expect to see record revenue for the year overall. In spite of
uncertain economic times, the Port of Olympia is continuing to keep people on
their jobs here in Thurston County and in other communities that receive an
impact from our business.” The Commission periodically convenes at different
locations in Thurston County to make it easier for citizens to attend. Last
night they met in the Lacey City Council Chambers. For more information, see Quarterly Reports
/ 2011 First Half Financial Results at http://www.portolympia.com/index.aspx?nid=234. Ridgefield rail overpass project receives $3.5 million in federal
funding Ray
LaHood, U.S. Transportation Secretary, announced early yesterday that the
State of Washington would receive more than $25.9 million in grants for
highway-related projects. Brent Grening, Executive Director of the Port of
Ridgefield, later stated that the Port of Ridgefield would be receiving $3.5
million of those funds for the Pioneer Street Railroad Overpass. “We’ve already completed the majority of
the planning and design and process bringing the project to 90% design phase.
These funds represent construction dollars, about a third of what it will
take to complete the overpass,” said Grening. The overpass will
extend Pioneer St., the main road leading into the city of Ridgefield, out
over the railroad tracks and landing on the waterfront. The goal, according to Grening, is to provide
safe, unobstructed, and direct access to the redeveloped Ridgefield
waterfront, as well as to the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. “At
present, safety and access to the waterfront by emergency vehicles, cars,
trucks, and pedestrians are considered deficient because of the street-level
rail crossings and short sight distances.” The project
provides major benefits to the community and to the region. It will close up to three at-grade railroad
crossings, including the Mill Street crossing which has been ranked the 5th
most dangerous crossing in Washington State.
It will improve visitor access to the Ridgefield National Wildlife
Refuge. It will also connect downtown
Ridgefield and Overlook Park to the newly cleaned up and revitalized
waterfront. Furthermore, this project
will increase railroad mainline capacity through the Portland metro area -
where 70-80 trains pass through Ridgefield on a daily basis and enabling
the extension of the high speed rail corridor between Eugene, Oregon and
Vancouver, BC and provide safe access to the Port of Ridgefield, a major job
center for the city of Ridgefield. Total cost of the
project is estimated at approximately $12.5 million including: final design,
engineering and administration, right-of-way acquisition, environmental
impact mitigation, construction, contingency and mobilization. Initial construction is expected to begin
in fall of 2012. Port
of Seattle introduces carbon calculator Web-based feature allows users to
calculate carbon footprint for shipping goods from Asia SEATTLE-The Port of Seattle recently
posted a carbon calculator to its web site.
The feature is based on an updated study showing that the Port of
Seattle offers the lowest carbon footprint for containers moving from Asia to
the Midwest. "Our new carbon calculator
feature makes it easier to compare gateways," said Tay Yoshitani, CEO of
the Port of Seattle. "Shippers
and retailers will be able to see why we are the Green Gateway for trade from
Asia to the Heartland of the United States." The Green Gateway Carbon Calculator
allows shippers to compare the CO2e per TEU through various North American
gateways, factoring in different vessel sizes and utilizations, and the
recent trend of slow steaming. Allowing easy determination of a
container's carbon footprint, it is now available on the port's website at: http://www.portseattle.org/seaport/cargo/GreenGateway.shtml The study from which the port's
carbon calculator is based is the 2011 "Carbon Footprint Analysis for
the Asia to North America Intermodal Trade," conducted by the maritime
firm Herbert Engineering Corp, builds upon their 2009 analysis and reconfirms
that the Port of Seattle is the Green Gateway for trade. Herbert Engineering's study,
commissioned by the Port of Seattle, calculated the carbon footprint of trade
routes from the Asian ports of Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Ho Chi Minh,
Busan, and Tokyo to the U.S. distribution hubs of Chicago, Columbus, Memphis,
New York, Norfolk, and Atlanta via the North American gateways of Prince
Rupert, Seattle, Oakland, Los Angeles/Long Beach, Houston, Savannah, Norfolk,
and New York/New Jersey. The study analyzed the ship, truck,
and rail segments of each trade route, including the all water routes via the
soon to be expanded Panama Canal and the Suez Canal. Vessel analysis was conducted for ship
sizes of 4,500, 6,500, 8,500, and 12,500 TEUs traveling at design and slow
steaming speeds, with utilization rates of 60 percent to 90 percent. Herbert Engineering Corp. is a ship
design, engineering and transportation consulting firm based in Alameda,
California. The Port of Seattle's environmental
efforts were developed in collaboration with industry and include the
At-Berth Clean (ABC) Fuels Program; a clean truck program; shore power for
cruise vessels; and programs to reduce emissions from cargo-handling
equipment. Port
Auditor/Administrative Assistant, Port of Columbia GIS Coordinator, Port
of Tacoma PO
Box 1518 * Olympia, WA 98507 |
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