PORT OF SEATTLE 
MEMORANDUM 
COMMISSION AGENDA               Item No.       6c 
ACTION ITEM 
Date of Meeting      June 25, 2013 

DATE:    June 17, 2013 
TO:      Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
FROM:   Darlene Robertson, Director, Harbor Services, Real Estate Division 
Kenneth R. Lyles, Senior Manager, Fishing and Commercial Vessels 
Fred Chou, Capital Project Manager, Seaport Project Management 
SUBJECT: Fishermen's Terminal Net Shed Buildings Code Compliance Construction
Funding Authorization (enhanced Option 1) 
Amount of This Request:  $2,300,000       Source of Funds:    Real Estate General Fund 
Est. State and Local Taxes:  $209,000        Est. Jobs Created:   25 
Est. Total Project Cost:    $2,950,000 
ACTION REQUESTED: 
Request Commission authorization for the Chief Executive Officer to: (1) proceed with the
construction phase of the Fishermen's Terminal Net Shed Buildings Code Compliance Project
(enhanced Option 1) including use of Port crews to perform the work; and (2) execute contracts
to purchase materials for the project for an estimated cost not to exceed $2,300,000 bringing the
total authorization of the project to $2,950,000. 
SYNOPSIS: 
Net shed or covered storage at Fishermen's Terminal is an essential asset for commercial
fishermen and their operations and helps retain them as our tenants. It is also an important part
of the infrastructure that will be required to double the economic value of the fishing and
maritime sectors, as envisioned by the Century Agenda over the next 25 years. There are nine 
net shed buildings on the site with 246 individual lockers within those buildings, the sizes of
which vary by building. Approximately 80% of the lockers are leased by fishermen on a monthto-month
agreement. The majority of the lockers are divided within the building by chainlink
/wire mesh partitions. 
Since 2009 when the Port was cited for being in violation of various city codes, Port staff have
been working with the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) and the Department of Planning and
Development (DPD) to develop options and a viable plan to bring all of the net sheds into
compliance with the applicable city codes, and working with the fishers to clean out the lockers
to reduce unused materials and the fire risk.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
June 17, 2013 
Page 2 of 10 
On June 5, 2012, staff presented to Commission four code compliance improvement options that
addressed the regulatory deficiencies in Fishermen's Terminal's nine net shed buildings as
identified by the SFD, and requested funds to proceed with design of an option. At that time, the
four options were conceptual in nature. The Commission selected Option 1 of the four
improvement options; at the time, Option 1 was estimated to be the lowest cost option at
approximately $2,000,000. The Commission authorized staff to proceed with the design and
permitting phase of the project to determine whether Option 1 would be workable.
For the past year, staff have been designing and testing Option 1 and working with the
stakeholders, including the City and the Fishermen's Terminal Advisory Committee (FTAC). As
a result, the design of Option 1 has been refined to make the space more workable to meet the
fishers' needs, and the total estimated project cost has risen to $2,950,000. This is $950,000
higher than the $2,000,000 planning level estimate under Option 1 that the Commission selected. 
Tenants support the refined Option 1. The higher cost is primarily a result of adding new
plywood partition walls where tenant spaces are currently separated only by wire mesh and
installing new rack shelving in the lockers. Staff determined during the testing phase that the 
walls are necessary and would maximize the available storage space in the lockers. Without the
partition walls, loss of space due to code required separation space between Class I-IV
commodities and Group A plastics could be as high as 22% in smaller lockers and 13% in larger
lockers.
In addition, staff had planned to use an existing rack shelving inventory inside the net lockers
(racks salvaged from an Aviation warehouse facility a few years ago) and thought that inventory
would be sufficient for all net lockers. Upon further assessment during design, only about 100
units out of the over 700 units needed were found to be fully usable. Also, column footing
connection plates on the salvaged units would need to be modified to meet Seattle code
requirements. It would have been necessary to buy additional units. I n lieu of retrofitting 
existing components of the 100 salvaged units, it was determined purchasing new units would be
cost effective and would eliminate potential structural liability issues. Overall, the wall 
construction and purchase of new racks each contributed to about half of the additional costs.
Staff is also recommending self-performing the work. Key reasons for self-performing work
include schedule flexibility; types, shapes, and variety of materials stored; access needs by
commercial fishermen to their gear/materials during construction; reduced risks and liabilities;
onsite yard space constraints for temporary storage; and significant cost savings  savings of
roughly 15% to 20% of the estimated construction costs could be achieved by self-performing
work compared with implementing the work through a major works contract.
Staff now seeks the Commission's authorization to proceed with the final implementation of the
proposed code compliant improvements.
BACKGROUND: 
Fishermen's Terminal is the homeport of the North Pacific Fishing Fleet, the hub of the maritime
industry on the Lake Washington Ship Canal and a significant economic engine for Puget Sound

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
June 17, 2013 
Page 3 of 10 
and the region. Fishermen's Terminal generates jobs and helps the Port to achieve one of its
Century Agenda goals of doubling the economic value of the fishing and maritime sectors over
the next 25 years. In 2007, John Martin Associates estimated that there were 3,500 jobs tied to
Fishermen's Terminal. Jobs associated with the Terminal generated $356,000,000 in wages and
salaries. Local business received $180,000,000 in revenue from purchases by the Fishermen's
Terminal fishing fleet, not including the landed value of the fish catch. State and local
governments received $44,000,000 of tax revenue generated by the activity at Fishermen's
Terminal. 
Fishermen's Terminal currently has nine net shed structures that vary in age, size, construction,
and interior net locker configuration. Although the majority of these net sheds were originally
constructed with ceiling heights of approximately 35 feet, primarily to accommodate drying of
cotton fishing nets to be hung while being stored, this is no longer typically needed by
commercial fishermen as modern nets are made of synthetic materials. Consequently, over the
past 40 years or so, tenants have constructed non-permitted structural modifications, such as
lofts, shelving and stairways, within many net lockers in order to better utilize their available
storage and height within the locker. The overall quant ity and types of items being stored, the
majority of which is fishing-related gear and materials, in the net sheds have increased
accordingly. Some fishermen participate in multiple fisheries and thus more gear is required.
The storage situation has resulted in an existing "mixed commodity" storage condition that is
defined as "high-piled" per the Seattle Fire Code, and therefore, is subject to greater regulatory
restrictions and structural requirements than are currently in place.
Recognizing the need to correct a potentially hazardous and non-compliant storage condition, the
Port began working with Fishermen's Terminal tenants in 2006 to address the non-permitted
interior structural additions (e.g. lofts/mezzanines, shelving) within net lockers as well as storage
policy violations. After inspecting the net sheds in April 2009 as part of this effort, the SFD
cited the Port for various City of Seattle fire and building code violations. Since receiving the 
citation letter, the Port has been working with SFD and DPD to develop a viable plan to bring all
of the net sheds into compliance with the applicable codes. As part of this effort, Fishermen's
Terminal Operations staff has done the following: implemented various programs to assist
tenants with cleaning out their net lockers and disposing of debris/materials, ensured appropriate
uses within the lockers and encouraged and worked with some tenants to participate in an SFD-
approved pilot storage program in which the Port has removed tenant-constructed lofts and
supplied and installed rack-shelving units in 31 individual lockers. As other lockers have
become vacant, lofts have continued to be removed. 
Additionally, the Port procured the services of a fire protection engineering consultant to assist
staff in determining and evaluating code compliant net shed storage options. After numerous
meetings with the SFD, four separate code compliant net shed storage options were identified.
The report was submitted to the SFD and DPD in February 2011 for their review and requested
concurrence regarding the code compliance of the proposed options. After further coordination,
in June 2011, the SFD and DPD concurred that, the four net shed storage options identified were
compliant with the applicable fire and building codes and could therefore be used as a basis for

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
June 17, 2013 
Page 4 of 10 
developing a net shed improvement project design for eventual permit review by the City prior to
construction. 
The four code-compliant net shed storage options that were acceptable to the SFD were
presented to the Commission in June 2012 with a recommendation from staff and the
Fishermen's Terminal Advisory Committee for Option 3, which more closely matched the
current usage by fishermen (considered mixed commodities and high piled storage). The
Commission elected to proceed with Option 1, the least costly option, and authorized staff to
proceed with the design and permitting phase of the project and to see if Option 1 is workable.
Staff consulted with the SFD on Option #1 and the additional collaboration resulted in
refinement to designs which are as follows: 
Installation of new plywood partition walls abutting the existing wire mesh dividers between
lockers up to a height of 14 feet. The addition of plywood partitions will provide for more
usable space within the net lockers and will allow unlike commodities (Group A plastics and
Class I through IV commodities) in abutting net lockers to be stored directly against the new
partition walls rather than require a minimum of two-foot separation between commodities in
adjoining net lockers. Without the partition walls and maintaining the commodity separation
requirements between adjacent lockers, loss of floor space could be as high as 22% in smaller
lockers and 13% in larger lockers. Staff reached agreement with SFD that Group A plastics,
if stored within lidded wooden boxes or what is called "Gaylord" boxes (corrugated
fiberboard boxes for bulk packaging), they could be stored alongside Class I through IV
commodities without the two-foot minimum separation and could be stored to a height of 12
feet as with Class I through IV commodities rather than the 6-foot maximum without the
boxes. This allows the fishermen the ability to "mix" their commodities to some degree.
The boxes would be provided by the customers. Being able to place Class I-IV commodities
and Group A plastics together (if in Gaylord or wooden boxes) will greatly improve the
customer's utilization of the available storage space. 
Bulk storage racks, such as those already installed by the Port in the pilot net lockers, are
essential to meeting tenant storage requirements because they facilitate organization, and
ease of use and maximize storage potential. P er the building code, bulk storage racks like the
ones we have been using need to be able to resist lateral seismic forces, be properly
anchored, and require a permit. Providing proper anchorage in the asphalt pavement that
exists in most of our net lockers is challenging and staff has come up with a low-cost precast
counter weight solution that would allow racks to be portable and configured in different
width modules independent of floor/ground surface types and be compliant with the codes.
In theory, tenants could provide racks and install the foundation on their own. However, 
getting racks permitted through DPD, rack uniformity, and having the necessary anchorage
system designed and installed by tenants while they are on a month-to-month lease
arrangement is considered highly impractical and unreasonable by our tenants. Therefore,
staff recommends that the Port continue to provide the rack shelving.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
June 17, 2013 
Page 5 of 10 
Staff worked with net locker tenants and presented two retrofitted, test net lockers at a December 
19, 2012, net locker open house. Feedback received was positive. Despite knowing that loft
removal and segregation of commodities would present major challenges to them compared with
the way they have been storing their commodities, general consensus by the attendees was that
the partition walls, wooden or Gaylord box enclosures, and rack shelving would indeed help
maximize space utilization and allow more storage flexibility. Customers support the refined
option. Open house results were shared with FTAC, and they have "endorsed the plan for
Option 1 with refinements." Subsequently, staff has further refined the design and worked with
DPD on permitting. In April 2013, FTAC sent the Commission a letter in support of the refined
Option 1, a copy of which is attached, and asked that the email be read into the record.
Staff also revisited construction costs and construction/procurement contract methodologies.
The construction cost is approximately $950,000 higher than the $2,000,000 preliminary level
cost estimate shared with the Commission last year for Option 1. The higher costs are primarily
a result of a combination of cost refinements, adding new partition walls, and installation of
additional rack shelving that would make Option 1 more workable for our tenants by maximizing
utilization of available space.
Having functional net lockers nearby where fishermen's vessels are moored and businesses are 
located is critical to the tenants and would help retain them here at Fishermen's Terminal, which
helps to support the Port's Century Agenda objective of doubling the economic value of the
fishing and maritime cluster.
Self-performing this work is recommended because of the types of items stored, access needs by 
fishermen, tenant impacts, and lower costs compared to executing work through major works
contracts. S taff estimates that self-performing the work would achieve a savings of roughly 15% 
to 20% of the estimated construction costs.
With the selection of Option 1 for the code compliance project, staff revisited net shed customer
demand and the capacity analysis. S taff have reconfirmed that two net shed buildings can be
demolished and the space utilized for potential future development without significant negative 
impact to the fishing fleets. This is because approximately 20% of the net sheds are leased to
non-active fishers, upland tenants or the general public. This information is included in the draft
25-year plan assumptions and in potential development scenarios that have been identified thus
far. As the Commission has not yet made any decisions on the 25-year plan, staff's
recommendation is to phase the net shed buildings compliance improvements such that
improvements to the four net shed buildings that were identified in two potential development
scenarios, i.e., net sheds 3 and 4, or 7 and 8, and implementation of the improvements to these
buildings would fall at the end of the multi-year compliance construction in 2015. Staff would
begin with the improvements to the five buildings most likely to remain in any development
scenario, which are net shed buildings #5, 6, 9, 10 and 11. Potential cost savings would result if
future redevelopment plans involve removal of net sheds prior to their being improved as part of
this project. For example, not completing the improvements described above to buildings 7 and
8 could result in a cost reduction of approximately $450,000.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
June 17, 2013 
Page 6 of 10 
PROJECT JUSTIFICATION: 
The improvements are a safety and code compliance requirement as cited by the Seattle Fire
Department. The construction of the proposed Fishermen's Terminal Net Sheds Code
Compliance Improvements project will enable the Port to comply with legal requirements,
address potentially unsafe storage conditions, meet its customers' needs to the best extent
possible, and update an asset the fishing community considers essential to continue to operate at
Fishermen's Terminal. The ongoing presence of the fishing fleet helps to anchor the maritime
sector in Seattle and will contribute to the Century Agenda goal of doubling the economic value
of the fishing and maritime sectors. 
Project Objectives: 
Comply with code and regulatory requirements 
Minimize disruptions to net locker tenants 
Complete the project within the approved budget and outlined schedule 
Find ways to provide customers with as much usable space as possible given there will be a
reduction overall. 
PROJECT SCOPE OF WORK AND SCHEDULE: 
Construction Scope of Work: 
The proposed net shed improvements will generally consist of the following: 
Removal, temporary storage, and return of net locker contents; 
Removal of existing lofts and other non-approved structures; 
Fabrication and installation of 14-foot-high wood frame plywood partition walls in the net 
locker; 
Procurement and installation of steel storage racks and associated anchorages/foundations; 
Provide net locker storage guidance (guidance marking, signage, printed guidance materials);
and 
Multiple disposal and recycling events for tenants to dispose of net locker contents/items no
longer needed by the customers.
Schedule: 
With the Commission's approval of construction funding, staff anticipates that some construction
and procurement activities would begin in summer of 2013, with the first phase of major
construction to occur in the fall of 2013 upon return of the fishermen. The overall work will be
performed in phases and is estimated to be completed by mid-2015.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
June 17, 2013 
Page 7 of 10 
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: 
Budget/Authorization Summary:                Expense       Total Project 
Original Budget                           $2,000,000        $2,000,000 
Previous Authorizations                       $650,000          $650,000 
Current request for authorization                 $2,300,000         $2,300,000 
Total Authorizations, including this request          $2,950,000         $2,950,000 
Remaining budget to be authorized                    $0              $0 
Total Estimated Project Cost                   $2,950,000        $2,950,000 
Project Cost Breakdown:                   This Request       Total Project 
Construction                              $2,241,000         $2,241,000 
Construction Management                    $195,000         $195,000 
Design                                ($247,000)*         $153,000 
Project Management                       ($98,000)*        $102,000
Permitting                                     $0           $50,000 
State & Local Taxes (estimated)                  $209,000          $209,000 
Total                                    $2,300,000         $2,950,000 
* The $650,000 design funding approved by the Commission in June 2012 was originally
requested for the design of Option 3. With the level of effort required for the design of Option 1
being much less than Option 3, adjustments here reflect the current cost projections for design 
phase .
Budget Status and Source of Funds: 
The Fishermen's Terminal Net Shed Buildings Code Compliance expense project was included
in the 2013 Operating Budget, with $1,000,000 of spending budgeted in 2013 and an additional
$1,000,000 in spending expected in 2014 for a total of $2,000,000. Amounts required for future
years will be included in the 2014 and 2015 operating budgets, respectively. This project will be
funded by the Real Estate General Fund. 
Financial Analysis and Summary: 
CIP Category             Compliance 
Project Type              Regulatory 
Risk adjusted discount rate     NA 
Key risk factors              Costs increase due to unforeseen needs or higher
than planned costs. 
Life of assets is less than 25 years 
Revenues not met due to changes in competitive
forces or a drop in occupancy 
Project cost for analysis        $2,950,000 
Business Unit (BU)          Harbor Services Group  Fishermen's Terminal

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
June 17, 2013 
Page 8 of 10 
Effect on business performance  The FT Net Shed Code Compliance project will not
generate any incremental revenue. However, the
project is necessary to keep the FT Net Sheds in
service, thus preserving revenues generated over the
remaining useful life of the sheds. The project is an
expense project, so NOI will be lowered by amounts
spent each year. ** 
2012    2013    2014    2015 
NOI    ($115)   ($1,000)  ($1,200)   ($635) 
IRR/NPV             NA 
Note**: The Fishermen's Terminal Net Sheds, including this code compliance project and all
future electrical upgrades, roof replacements and regular painting and routine maintenance of the
nine buildings are expected to generate approximately a 7.0% return over the next 25 years. 
Lifecycle Cost and Savings: 
Staff explored, and with Commission approval, would plan to implement plywood partition walls
and rack shelving systems with portable foundations to be installed in some of the net sheds.
Plywood wall sheathing, though a higher initial cost compared with using gypsum wallboard,
was chosen for long-term durability, and the precast foundations would allow flexibility to
reconfigure and move racks in the future, which reduces lifecycle cost. Staff will continue to
explore opportunities to reduce lifecycle costs and additional savings in the remaining phases of
the project.
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES: 
The project supports the Port's Century Agenda to position the Puget Sound region as a premier
international logistics hub by doubling the economic value of the fishing and maritime cluster. 
BUSINESS PLAN OBJECTIVES: 
This project is aligned with the business plan objectives to maintain safe facilities and assets, 
provide customers with compelling value and to maintain the North Pacific fishing fleet at
Fishermen's Terminal. 
Dry locker, or net shed, storage is an important feature and service that Fishermen's Terminal
provides to our commercial fishing customers. These customers rely on covered, enclosed
storage facilities for storing weather-sensitive mechanical equipment, gear, or other types of
property used in the fishing industry and in the sustainability of their respective fishing vessels.
Having their equipment, gear, and commodities close at hand to the vessel and their business is
important.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
June 17, 2013 
Page 9 of 10 
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS: 
Alternative 1: Do nothing. The improvements to the buildings are primarily code requirements 
and not taking action would result in violation of building and fire codes and potentially deprive
the fishing fleet of the continued use of the critical net-shed resource if the occupancy permit was 
revoked. This is not the recommended alternative. 
Alternative 2: Proceed with code required loft removal and other components of Option 1, and
do not proceed with additional partition walls and rack shelving installation. The installation of
partition walls and racks are essential to our tenants and their operations. It would maximize
available storage in an already reduced storage situation because of removal of lofts, segregation
of materials and height and spacing requirements per code. Without shelving/racks and partition
walls, the net lockers would be less functional to fishermen and could be a deciding factor when
fishing customers consider keeping their operations at Fishermen's Terminal. This is not the
recommended alternative and is not supported by the Fishermen's Terminal Advisory Committee
and stakeholder feedback. 
Alternative 3: Complete the required code improvements by implementing storage Option 1 as
approved by the Commission on June 5, 2012, but with the modifications as described above.
These modifications were developed in coordination with the Seattle Fire Department and
endorsed by the Fishermen's Terminal Advisory Committee and are wanted by net locker
tenants. Having functional net lockers located near tenant vessel moorage and businesses is
critical to the commercial fishing tenants and would help retain them at Fishermen's Terminal
while supporting the Port's Century Agenda objective of doubling the economic value of the
fishing and maritime sectors. This is the recommended alternative. 
OTHER DOCUMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS REQUEST: 
Computer slide presentation. 
Fishermen's Terminal Advisory Committee Letter to the Commission dated April 24, 2013. 
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS: 
March 10, 2009  As part of the Working Waterfront roundtable discussion held at the
Nordic Center in Ballard, a briefing was provided to the Commission regarding the need to
address the existing net shed storage concerns at Fishermen's Terminal. 
April 12, 2011  The Commission authorized increasing the budget of the Fishermen's
Terminal Net Sheds Code Compliance Effort expense project from $300,000 to $500,000. 
December 6, 2011  As part of the Fishermen's Terminal 25-Year Plan and Net Sheds
briefing, a summary of four net shed storage code compliance options identified as a result of
the Fishermen's Terminal  Net Shed Code Compliance effort was provided to the
Commission along with a recommendation that Option 3 be implemented as a capital
improvement project to achieve the required code compliance.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
June 17, 2013 
Page 10 of 10 
June 5, 2012  The Commission authorized funding of $650,000 to proceed with the design
and permitting phase for Option 1 of the Fishermen's Terminal Net Shed Code Compliance
options to see if Option 1 is workable.