Exhibit C
Minutes Exhibit C Port Commission Special Meeting of August 15. 2017 Dressler, Am From: White, Paul Sent: Monday, August 28, 2017 7:49 AM To: Dressler, Amy Subject: Fwd: closure of Pier 86 public fishing pier For the 8/15 meeting record. Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: From: Heather McAuliffeDate: August 16, 2017 at 6:09:21 AM PDT To: Paul White Subject: Fwd: closure of Pier 86 public shing pier Heather Begin forwarded message: From: Heather McAuliffe Date: August 16, 2017 at 5:45:57 AM PDT To: tomalbro@portseattleorg, "Bowman, Stephanie" , "Felleman, Fred" , "Gregoire, Courtney" , "Creighton, John" Cc: "McGraw, Peter" , "Mills, Pete" , kate.joncas@seattle.gov, sallybagshaw@seattle.gov, "Mike O'Brien" Subject: re: closure of Pier 86 public fishing pier Dear Port of Seattle Commission members, Thank you for the opportunity to make public comment during New Business at your August 15 Special Meeting. I know that your schedule was particularly tight, and that it required going overtime to accept public comment on new items. I took four hours off from work to attend the meeting, so it would have been a disappointment if I had missed the opportunity. I especially appreciate that you are considering moving your meetings to noon, to better accommodate the public, and that you plan to start attending some community meetings that are related to your area of purview. As I said at yesterday's meeting and in an earlier email to each of you, I am concerned about the sudden closure of the public fishing pier, Pier 86, without public notice or input, and the impact of the closure. 1 lam concerned about the lack of access for people who have mobility issues and need the boost of being out over the water to fish successfully, and for people who depend on fishing there to supplement their diets, subsistence fishing. I know that Commissioner Gregoire said that there is ADA access for fishing at Pier 68, but I think it is a longshot for someone to get there, given the difficult traffic and parking issues downtown. Regarding subsistence fishing, given the high cost of groceries in Seattle, I think it is important to offer any and all opportunities for residents to fish locally in order to reduce their grocery bills. I am also concerned about the marginalization of Fish On, the fishing tackle and bait shop that is located at the east end of the pier. Although the business sells food in addition to fishing supplies, a closed fishing pier immediately adjacent clearly reduces the opportunities to make sales. Fish On is owned by a person of color. I learned at your meeting that the Commission wants the Port of Seattle to prioritize hiring of contractors that are women and/or minority-owned, as it should. I think you should be doing everything you can to support the economic prosperity ofthis business. As an aside, the business owner is required by the Port of Seattle to maintain the adjacent public bathrooms. I think this is extraordinarily unfair to the business owner, given the park-sized bathrooms and the fact that he is an owneroperator. I read that there have been complaints about the state of the bathrooms. lam not surprised - who picks up the slack when the business owner is gone for several days due to recovery from complicated dental work as he was recently, or from serious illness as he was last winter? The owner has told me about encountering toilets filled with whole rolls of toilet paper (someone's vandalism). No small business owner should have to fix or clean public bathrooms. I am concerned, also, about the state of deferred maintenance on the public fishing pier. I heard there was an issue with one of the pier's supports (potentially, anyway, since I haven't seen the structural reports yet) but what I have noticed on the pier is that is that the shelters/related equipment and light fixtures are not being fixed. The south end of the pier got fenced off some time ago because of a dangling light fixture overhead. There is also a substantial amount of graffiti on the shelters that is longstanding. Having worked for the City of Seattle's anti-graffiti program, I am aware that allowing it to stay up perpetuates the problem. I am concerned also, based on my experience, that taggers will now see the new fence preventing access to the pier as a challenge to overcome, and that they will tag the pier yet more. This is why you see graffiti under the express lanes of the freeway, or on freeway signs: it's a challenge and they are up for it. I understand that there is an expired agreement between the State of Washington Fish & Wildlife Service and the Port of Seattle. I urge you to get the agreement worked out immediately, and find the funds to fix and reopen the pier. l have some suggestions to improve access to the pier and the related business. l would suggest that wayfinding signage on the sidewalk just south of Sculpture Park that notes the location of the pier and the business, and walking 2 and biking time to the location, because that is how park users access it. A second sign should be installed on the sidewalk immediately north of the access point by the driveway to Pier 91. And finally, I would suggest that you have the Port contact pedicab companies and encourage them to ferry customers from/to the cruise ships at Pier 91 through Centennial Park. All of these suggestions would seem to fit within your sustainability agenda. I apologize for such a long letter, but I felt it was necessary to thoroughly document the issues. Sincerely, Heather McAuliffe Seattle
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