The Regular Meeting meeting scheduled for 2024-01-23 at SEA

Transcript

The Regular Meeting meeting scheduled for 2024-01-23 at SEA

This is Commission President Hamdi Mohamed convening the regular meeting of January 23, 2024
The time is now 12:01
We are meeting in person today at the Sea Conference center and virtually via Microsoft TeaMS Clerk Hart, please call the call roll of all commissioners in attendance
Thank you
Beginning with Commissioner Calkins here
Thank you
Commissioner Cho present
Thank you
Commissioner Felleman, present
Thank you
Commissioner Hasegawa is not present for this meeting and is excused
Commissioner Mohamed, present
Thank you
We do have a quorum established
Wonderful
A few housekeeping items before we begin
For everyone in the meeting room, please turn your cell phones to silent
For anyone participating on Microsoft Teams, please mute your speakers when not actively speaking or presenting
Please keep your cameras off unless you are a member of the commissioner or the executive director participating virtually, or you are a member of the staff in presentation and are actively addressing the commission
Members of the public addressing the commission during public comment, they may turn on their cameras when their name is called to speak and will turn them back off again at the conclusion of their remarks
For anyone at the dais here today, please turn off the speakers on any computers and silence your devices
Please also remember to address your request to be recognized, to speak through the chair, and to wait to speak until you have been recognized
You'll turn your microphones on and off as needed
All of the items noted here will ensure a smooth meeting today
All the votes today will be taken by a roll call method so it is clear for anyone participating virtually how votes are casted
Commissioner will say aye or nay when their names is called
We are meeting here today 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
Now please stand and join us for the pledge of Allegiance
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible one, liberty and justice for all
Thank you all
The first item today is approval of the agenda
As a reminder, if a commissioner wishes to comment for or against an item on the consent agenda, it is not necessary to pull the item from the consent agenda
Rather, a commissioner may offer supporting or opposing comments later in the meeting
Once we get to the consent agenda, please wait until the motion is approved
The consent agenda is on the floor for these comments, if any
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 a separate discussions
Are there any items to be pulled from the consent agenda or any motions to rearrange the meeting? Commissioners, the question is now on approval of the agenda
Is there a motion to approve the agenda as present? So moved
Second
Wonderful
The motion has been made and seconded
Are there any objections to the approval of the agenda as presented? Hearing none
The agenda is approved as presented
Okay, we have no special order scheduled for today
Next on our agenda is the executive director's report
Director Metruck, you have the floor
President Mohamed Good afternoon, commissioners
It seems like the beginning of every new year brings with it some weather challenges for us here at the port
This year is no different
So I'd like to begin by acknowledging the heroic efforts by our colleagues and partners who responded to a barrage of freezing weather related emergencies over the past several days across the port's numerous facilities
I'd like to thank them all
Every part of the airport was impacted during this freezing weather incident, including every concourse, the airport office building, the parking garage and tenant locations in and out of the airport
On the maritime side, crews responded to 50 incidents, burst pipes and valves at 14 different locations throughout our facilities
Thank you to all of our professionals who monitored facilities, assessed damage under challenging conditions, made repairs, worked on emergency declarations, reviewed agreements, supported customers and put our facilities back into service
Staff and contractors continue working on emergency repairs even today, including ongoing work at our airport office building, where many staff have been displaced
I note that these efforts are on top of everyone's normally busy workload, continuing challenges in our aviation sector and increasing construction here at the airport
Speaking of construction and the progress that it brings, employees and visitors to SEA will notice new construction barricades and changes this week in the SEA concourse
The SEA Concourse expansion project adds a new four story building with additional room for operations, tenants and customer service amenities, including 13 new restaurant and retail spaces
Coming this month, a new construction barricade went up near gates c two and c three
We published a blog in our newsroom to help passengers find favorite locations that may have moved around the airport and to find the closest restroom or water refill station
The SEA concourse expansion is one of the projects we're working on to be ready for the world when it comes for the FIFA World cup in 2026
In other project news, I also want to share that our shore power project for Pier 66 aye
a major milestone this month
Despite the freezing temperatures, a crew successfully laid the shore power marine cable from Pier 66 under the floor of Elliott Bay and over to terminal 46
The work will now focus on making electrical connections at Pier 66 in preparation for the transformer to arrive
We are still on track to commission the shore power connection with Norwegian Cruise Lines this summer
This project will make us one of the few cruise home ports in the world to offer shore power at all of its births, an accomplishment that we're very proud of
Something else that we're proud of are our ongoing efforts supporting antihuman trafficking
January 11 was Human Trafficking Awareness Day, and I'm proud to have joined commission president Hamdi Mohamed and Commissioner Sam Cho at the press conference announcing new maritime and aviation signatories to our pledge against human trafficking
This was the first year the cruise lines calling on the port signed our pledge
We were pleased to have Robert Morgenstern, Carnival Corporation senior vice president, represent the cruise industry, and Kirsten Foote, the new executive director and chief executive officer for the businesses ending slavery and trafficking, best represent advocates and survivors
I'm also pleased to participate in an impressive and well attended employee recognition and awareness event organized by our anti human trafficking working group with a special shout out to Wendy Ryder and Delmas Whittaker, who mc'd that great event
I'm deeply impressed by the commitment of our staff and proud to see port employees showcase their effective organizational efforts and national leadership to end human trafficking
Thank you to everyone on the working group, especially those who recruited new signatories to our pledge and those that put together the employee recognition and awareness event and also looking ahead next month, I'd like to note that February upcoming is Black History Month, an important time, and I look forward to sharing more details about the many events and programming we're planned to have throughout the month as they are finalized in the time that's left here in January
Moving to today's commission meeting, I like to highlight a few iteMS Under new business today, there is a commission order related to our diversity and contracting goals for 2024
While it is not typical to comment on commission orders, I will say that I'm supportive of this order and this is a priority of mine to make significant progress on these goals by the end of the year
Other items on the agenda today include our annual briefing on tourism and our local government regional community engagement priorities
Commissioners, this concludes my remarks
Thank you
Thank you executive director Metruck for that information
And I also want to echo your sentiment in thanking our port staff and those who work on our facilities during the challenging weather challenges that we've seen
So I'll move us on to agenda item number six, committee reports
I understand that we do not have any committee reports for today's meeting, so we'll move on to our next order of business item number seven
We are now at the public comment section of the agenda
The port welcomes public comment from the public as an important part of the commission's public process
Comments are received and considered by the commission in its deliberation
Before we take public comment, let's review our rules for in person and virtual public comments
Clerk Hart, please play the recording of the rules
The Port of Seattle Commission welcomes you to our meeting today
As noted, public comment is an important part of the public process, and the Port of Seattle Commission thanks you for joining us
The commission accepts in person, virtual and written public comment regarding matters related to the conduct of port business
Before we proceed, here are the commission's public comment rules of Procedure
For your information, each commenter will have two minutes to speak and should stay within the allotted time
A timer will appear on the screen and a buzzer will sound at the end of the two minute period for each speaker
The commission reserves the right to receive comments specifically related to the conduct of court business
If comments are not related to the conduct of court business, the presiding officer will stop the speaker and ask that comments be kept to matters related to the conduct of port business
This rule applies to both introductory and concluding remarks
All remarks should be addressed to the commission as a body and not to individual commissioner
Disruptions of commission public meetings are prohibited
Disruptions include, but are not limited to, the following refusal of a speaker to limit remarks to topics related to the conduct of court business threats and abusive or harassing behavior and language, obscene language and gestures refusal of a speaker to comply with the allotted time set for the individual speaker's public comment leaving the podium or testimony table to physically approach commissioner or staff during one's public comment provided speakers may author written materials to the commission clerk and any behavior that disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the meeting
Any disruption will result in a speaker's microphone being immediately shut off by the presiding officer and a warning or loss of speaking privileges or removal from the meeting room may occur as provided in the commission's bylaw
Written materials provided to the clerk will be included in today's meeting record
The clerk has a list of those prepared to speak
We are taking comments from anyone who has signed up to speak virtually, as well as from anyone who has joined us today here in the meeting room
When your name is called
If you are joining virtually, please unmute yourself
Then please repeat your name for the record and state your topic related to the conduct of sport business
You may turn on your camera at this time
The two minute timer will then begin
If you're on the team's meeting and at the same time streaming the meeting on the website, please muted the website stream to avoid feedback
When you have concluded your remarks, you may again turn off your camera and mute your speaker
If you are speaking from the meeting room, please come to the testimony table, repeat your name for the record and state your topic related to the conduct of port business
Our public comment period will now commence
Thank you again for joining us today, clerk Hart, please call our first speaker
Thank you
Madam Commissioner, president
Give me just one moment to get our timer up here
There we go
I have two signup sheets today, one virtual and one for in the room
We'll start with our virtual signups and I will rotate between them, beginning with Joe Kunsler
Joe, please go ahead and state your name for the record and your topic related to the conduct of port business, please
Thank you
Clerk Joe Kunzler here
I'm speaking on I of ten a
I'm speaking only for me and I'm presuming that you can hear me
I will speak on I of ten a and ask, could it be passed without amendment? Because when we have a MAGA monster committed to hurling hate, I will put down my press pass and pick up the necessary weapons and defend my nation, my state, and the world's best international airport
Period
Because it's going to be SIA that's going to lead in staff
It's going to be SIA that leads the world through a moral reckoning in how flight attendants are treated, and it's going to be SIA that leads in and abuse of public comment
I have already asked Bellevue and Redmond to adopt the public comment rules of ten a
Soon after today's victory, I will ask sound transit and King county council and others to do so as well
This will be the end
We're going to end this guy Zimmerman going after you
Not just because we've prayed for peace, because inside of each American is a yearning to be free from hate
Hate oppresses and divides
Hate silences and destroys democracies
Hate is also on the side of climate denial and hiding campaign finances
So I would leave the port commission with this recent Zelensky quotation
Increasingly, the world hears and realizes that more wars may be ahead, but we have the strief to stop it
We have the strief to defend normal life
The world has strief
End quote
Honestly passing item ten a is exhibiting that strife to defend our commons as much as gifting south korean arterial Roy shells and American Patriot service to air missiles to Ukraine to defend normal life
And I really hope that you will pass these rules because this troubled individual who comes before you and interbodies I find extremely concerning
And so I ask you, please pass to item ten a
And I want to thank all of you for your public service
And I also want to
If I may, I want to say that the Seattle International Airport is the world's best international airport
And I fly from there when I can
Thank you for your public service
Clerk Hart, please call the next speaker
Thank you
Thank you, Joe
Moving to our in house speakers beginning with David Blanford
David, please come to the testimony table
Restate your name for the record and your topic related to the conduct of port business, please
President Mohammed, Commissioner, Director Metruck
I'm David Blanford
I'm CEO of State of Washington Tourism here today to speak on the importance of the Port of Seattle's tourism development program and the support it provides statewide to the tourism industry
Thank you for your continued tourism leadership throughout the state
The port's direct investment in tourism development, statewide industry grants and programs that bolster our state tourism program have sped industry recovery and are helping position Washington for future success
We have more work to do
According to research just released from the US travel Aviation, Washington's tourism expenditures and tax revenues are down 7% respectively year over year through November
These compare with us averages of 3% and 2.5% or in the case of neighboring Oregon, they're up 11%
State of Washington Tourism's promotional budget is still one 10th of Oregon's and similar to many other western states
We'll work in 2024 to incrementally increase program budget and greatly appreciate the ongoing support of the Port of Seattle
Meantime, the port's international marketing agreement with State of Washington Tourism is seminal
Staff at both the port and SWT are working together seamlessly, carefully aligning priorities and priority markets, operating in market reps, sales missions, and other destination programming
A special thanks to Nick Leonti, tourism director for aye
leadership and to newly hired industry veteran Chantel Lusbrink
Finally, I want to acknowledge Commissioner Felleman and the port's direction toward responsible travel and tourism education and attracting visitors who share that vision
We look forward to continuing that program with you
Thank you
Thank you, David
Clerk Hart, please call the next speaker
Thank you
Our next speaker is John Worthington
Joining us virtually
John, please go ahead and restate your name for the record and your topic related to the conduct of port business, please
John, can you hear us? The five mile radius issued the lawsuit
John, I'm going to go ahead and stop you
Can you please restate your name for the record and your topic related to the conduct of port business, please? Thank you
John Worthington
Sequim, I'm making comments on the five mile radius lawsuit
Go ahead, please
Against the port and the airlines
Can you hear me? Am I ready to go? We can hear you, Don
Please go ahead
The public was given adequate notice of the issues surrounding SEATAC airport
In the believe officially in, the EPA gave a warning
That's why Senator Julia Patterson requested the Department of Health look at the issue
The city of Tukwilla Burien, Sea-Tac and Des Moines were given ample public notice of a problem
Yet they continued to move people in there to take advantage of their densities, pursuits under the Growth Management act
Then later, the University of Washington came out with a study after the fact
I believe it's the Washington State Department of Health that is the true party of interest
Along with the cities of Tukwilla Burien and Sea-Tac and Des Moines, rather than the port and the airlines
They had plenty of opportunity to zone out residential development
And that was before the third Runway
They knew
But they just had to take advantage of their density pursuits
I believe because sound transit was coming in and they wanted to develop it
And they put the public at peril
I don't believe it was the port that did
So I don't know where you stand in your lawsuit, but it was pretty clear by the record
The Seattle Times, Highline Times, the Seattle PI
The media warned the public and Julia Patterson decided to do the study and they decided to fill in
So that's my comment
And I hope you can act in time to make arguments that those are the true parties of interest, not the port and the airlines
Thank you
Thank you, John
Clerk Hart, please call the next speaker
Thank you
Our next speaker is Jesse Welton from the room
Jesse, please restate your name for the record and your topic related to the conduct of port business, please
Okay, thank you
My name is Jesse Welton
I'm here as an individual only representing myself right now
And your topic, Jesse? Oh, my topic is collective bargaining agreements
Sorry
Thank you
First, I wanted to congratulate MS Mohamed on your new position as president
And MR Metruck, you mentioned there's a lot of large projects coming up
It's definitely an exciting time to be here at the port
It's made a lot of changes
So what brings me here today is the topic of collective bargaining agreements
Per the port's public website, you have 24 different collective bargaining agreements that the port employees work under
Of those 24 CBAs, seven are currently expired
That is 30% of all your CBAs
It also represents a large number of port employees currently working under expired contracts
Majority of those contracts are eight months expired and not much progress in those negotiations
In the next eleven months, you'll see seven more contracts expiring
That will bring the total of 14 of 24 contracts expired
That's roughly 60% of all contracts expired
That represents a vast number of port employees
In the last four years, all the contracts were eventually ratified
The average contract was expired for nine and a half months at the time of ratification
Some of those were as long as 24 months
I really hope that your current labor relations team makes a change for the better and starts getting these contracts negotiated in a timely manner and also bringing a fair and equitable offer to the table to all your collective bargaining teaMS Thank you
Thank you, Jesse
Clerk Hart, please call our next speaker
Yes, our next speaker is council member JC Harris
And JC, if you can restate your name for the record and your topic related to the conduct of port business, please
Good afternoon, my name is JC Harris and I represent SEATAC noise info
The topic is SB 59 55, HB 21 three the port package update bill
The port's opposition to SB 59 55 is shameful
Since 2017, you've set aside millions of our property taxes for various community grant programs that never get fully spent
This is a chance to spend those dollars fruitfully
The port package program has not made a single new building eligible since 1996
Anytime you talk about projects that you're doing, you're simply playing catch up from 30 years ago
Shame
For five years, you've had a chance to do something voluntarily, simply emulating what SFO has already been doing
You should support SB 59 55 and join SFO simply to show Congress that you can actually do this right
That is the path to the larger federal program
By not supporting this bill, you're confirming what the public has long suspected
It was never about need
It's always been in your financial interest to delay any sound installation, programs, new or updates
And by delaying so long, by forcing people to replace these systems out of their own pockets, you then take all those homes permanently off the table
This is something our communities deserve to get right the first time in exchange for the permanent benefit of having 1000 planes fly over their homes every day
And given that there was no second chance, it's just bad form to not take responsibility for doing so many so poorly the first time, especially when you're generating a billion dollars a year now, you could take the entire tax levy off the table and still be in the black forever
You should direct your staff to immediately support SB 59 55 and get it across the line
Thank you
Clerk Hart, please call our next speaker
Thank you
Our next speaker, and our last speaker who signed up today from the room is Greg Warner
Greg, please restate your name for the record and your topic related to the conduct of port business, please
Hi, my name is Craig Warner and I'm here to talk about the parking and logistics or traffic flow
I've been here resident for six years
I'm an Uber driver
I've been here no less than a thousand times, and I've seen the traffic flow in its worst and its best
And I believe I have figured out a way to totally correct it permanently and parking and have it paid for
I don't know if the design engineers have looked at my ideas or not
I would just like the opportunity to sit down with them, discuss it, and see if they have any ideas that they have or have not explored
I don't see anything in the records and I've been here for six years and I've seen zero progress with it
But I do believe that it can be corrected in minimum, maybe 18 months and be permanent for even if the airport doubles in volume
That's my thing, and I would just like to see if I can maybe talk to somebody in the design department
Thank you
Noted
Thank you for your comments
That concludes our sign ups for today
Is there anyone else present on the team's call or present in the room today who didn't sign up, who wishes to address the commissioner? If so, please state and spell your name and state the topic related to the conduct of the port you wish to speak about for the record at this time
I'll ask the clerk to please give a synopsis of any written comments received
Thank you
Madam Commissioner President
We've received one written comment for this meeting
This has been previously distributed to all commissioners and will become a part of this meeting's record
This comes from Jordan van Vost, who submitted written comments regarding requesting the port to reduce the 2024 cruise sailings and passenger levels to at or below 2019 levels, and to reduce the number every year until the industry no longer pollutes oceans and the air or emits climate changing greenhouse gas emissions
And that concludes our written comments received today
Thank you, clerk Hart
Hearing no further public testimonies, we'll move on to the consent agenda
But before we do, I know that there are a number of electricians who are in the room today, and I just want to acknowledge you guys for being here and say thank you to the work that you do on our facilities every day
Items on the consent agenda are considered routine and will be adopted by one motion
Items removed from the consent agenda will be considered separately immediately after adoption of the remaining consent iteMS At this time, the chair will entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda covering items eight a, eight b and eight c
So moved
The motion has been made and seconded
Commissioner Felleman, do you range items? I was hoping to have a quick comment on the federal agenda
It was like one word
Please proceed
And I'm sorry I didn't catch this before, but on the formally
Oh, actually, my mistake
You could withdraw
Yeah, I'm sorry
I was looking at 23
It just said, promote tourism, and I just didn't know whether we had updated that to sustainable tourism
Just promoting tourism was something that I was concerned that we were not specifying
But I was just looking at the fact sheet and that's all I saw
It's been corrected
Thank you
Correct
Okay, so, commissioners, please say aye or nay when your name is called for approval of the consent agenda, beginning with commissioner Calkins
Aye
Thank you, commissioner
Cho? Aye
Thank you, Commissioner Felleman
Aye
Thank you, Commissioner Mohammed
Aye
Thank you
Four ayes, zero nays for this item
The motion passes
Moving on in the agenda, we have two new business items today
Clerk Hart, please read the item
The first item into the record
Executive Director Metruck will then introduce the item
Thank you
This is agenda item ten
A adoption of resolution number 30 817, a resolution amending resolution number 3778 and prior corresponding, enacting and amending resolutions through incorporation pertaining to the commission's bylaws and rules of procedure
Commissioners, you received a presentation on this at our last meeting and are now considering it for action
Periodic review and updates to our bylaws and rules of procedure is an important part of being a high performing public agency
The recommendations included in this resolution cover ethical behavior, officer responsibilities, clarifying duties, remote meetings, rules of order, and many more
Our presenter for this is Michelle Hart, our commission clerk
Thank you, MR Executive Director
Madam Commission President, members of the commission, as noted, resolution number 30 817 was introduced at the January 9, 2024 meeting
At that time, staff presented an overview of the bylaws and rules of procedure, policy directive, amendments proposed
We received commission feedback and incorporated that feedback into additional amendments, and we will overview those for you here today
There are four amendments, Aubree, if you can go ahead and pull those up, and those are printed in a package
And before you, I will again overview them here today
And then we will get into the main motion and amendment process where we can get into discussion, if there is any, for these particular amendments, and we will take them separately, one at a time
So our first amendment that you see up here on the screen actually amends article three, section five, officers, duties of the president, subsection e
And this amends the first sentence to strike the phrase on behalf of, and to insert in its place the phrase in consultation with, simply to make that language more specific and in alignment with the provision and the bylaws immediately before it
Go ahead and move to the next amendment
Amendment number two is a technical amendment, and this amends Article six, section ten c, the last sentence of the provision to add the phrase unless otherwise revised, and to strike the phrase unless extended
The reason for this amendment, I'm requesting it as a technical amendment to be moved
The original amendment construction was not put together correctly
Our presiding officer, our chairperson, now has the ability to lengthen or shorten the time for public comment as needed to preserve the efficiency of the meeting
Amendment number three
Thank you, Aubree
Amendment number three amends Article three, section 5d, duties of the president, oversight of the commissioner office
And what this amendment does is it reorganizes the oversight of the office of the Commission under article two, commissioner, and additionally recognizes the standard operating procedures for both the office and for the review of the commission
Chief of staff
Go ahead and go to the next slide
Thank you
And amendment number four amends article four, section eight e, executive sessions to provide for periodic review of executive sessions through outside council for compliance with open public meetings act requirements
And those are the four amendments that we have before you today
And that concludes my presentation
Thank you, executive director Metruck for introducing the item
And thank you, clerk Hart, for your presentation
So let's first get the motion on the floor, and then we can discuss the amendments
Is there a motion and a second to adopt this resolution? So moved, second
The motion was made and seconded
Commissioner Felleman, I think you have the first amendment
Please move your motion to amend the policy directive
So I move to amend for amendment number one for the bylaws as was described
If you want me to reiterate that just replacing on behalf of the review of both the chief counsel, general counsel, as well as the external relations senior director to be in consultation with the president rather than on behalf of the commission
Wonderful
Is there a second for the motion? Second
Great
The motion has been made and seconded
Is there a discussion on the primary amendment at this time? Yeah
I have a question, Commissioner Cho, so I want to really understand why we're making this change, because I think my concern is that it changes things such that the two officers that would be dual reports would be reporting to five commissioners, which is an efficient way of doing, of managing things
So I just want to understand what this is trying to do exactly
Commissioner Felleman, do you want to
Sure
The president is the one, the point person to do the review
It's just like we have with the other positions
They will do it in consultation with the other commissioners rather than what I would think on behalf of does not imply a
But this is not about performance review
This is about oversight
The oversight is a type of reviewing in terms of the way in which things are conducted, overseeing
That if there is a question of something that occurred, then it would seem to me to be not just the discretion of an individual equally elected official to be making that call
And that's what I've been doing throughout all the amendments, is that we are all elected countywide, and that if there is an issue associated with anybody that we have any oversight of, and there are only two dual reports, and then we have the executive director and our chief of staff, and this way it would be consistent across the way
So if I can make a comment on that, I think the procedure matters here in the sense that how that review happens or what the consultation looks like will matter
And I think he states what the intent is, and so long as that is documented somewhere, I think we would be fine there
I would be okay with the language being more specific and saying that a performance review of the dual reports is done in consultation with commissioners
But I think oversight performance reviews are retroactive things
They're not active things
Right
I think everyone would agree with that
Oversight is an ongoing thing
And to me, this reads in a way where you are going from a dual report reporting to one person to a dual report potentially reporting to all five commissioners
And I think that introduces inefficiency in the way we do things
And so I would suggest that we clarify if your intent is to provide performance review in consultation with the commission
I think that's what it should say right now
This introduces a tremendous amount of ambiguity
Clerk Hart, is there a line that you could recommend or Commissioner Cho, is there some sort of description that language we could add here that would be sufficient to describe the intent here? Yeah, I think something along the lines of performance reviews of dual reports will be done in consultation with the commissioner and in concert with the executive director
I would consider that a friendly amendment
But I was just wondering, is there any place in the bylaws that deal with performance review of dual reports? Currently there's not
This was the provision
Okay
So I was thinking that this was just a consistency
I would agree that to be consistent, it would be on performance review and not oversight
So that certainly was my intent
Yeah
No, I hear you, Clerk Hart
Have you captured that? Is that something we could do, or should we take a pause to make sure that that is clear language? I do have the language
Performance review for dual reports in consultation with the commission, and in concert of that could be a secondary amendment
Madam Commission president, I'm also looking at the title of this particular provision, which is oversight of staff reporting to both the commission and the executive director
It's not specific to performance reviews, as was just noted
So I don't know if we're changing intent there by specifically adding a secondary amendment, making it explicit to performance review
Yeah
So I think oversight is more of a broad term than performance review, and I think performance review does fit under oversight
So I'm not arguing whether or not it fits
I do think that putting a clause in about performance review specifically would be appropriate because it goes a little more granular
Please, the lawyers can correct me if I'm wrong, but under the oversight umbrella, we can put this clause in about performance reviews
Or could you just include it in the title, or is there an f? Can we put an f that says, performance reviews of dual report staff shall be conducted in consultation with commissioner? There is an f
And I do think that we can make a secondary amendment to this particular provision to capture your intent with your language without creating another provision
Okay
Do we want to take a quick add ease and discuss this with the attorneys to make sure that this is okay? The one question I had was 1 second, could we not vote on this item and move on to the next amendments while the attorneys consider that language? We can do that
I would like to consult with the attorneys and with the executive director and commission chief of staff as well, if it is possible to take a quick at ease
Let's do that
Thank you
Can I just have one thing to be considered in changing the title, oversight and review of staff, if that allows it to be more specifically encompassing
That will be considered
Commissioner Felleman
We'll take that
Thank you
I appreciate that
No problem
Sorry
That was a good catch
No, it was totally not the intent
Madam Commissioner
President
Thank you for that
At ease
I believe we are ready to continue the conversation
Are there any further discussions on this item, Commissioner Felleman? Yes, I would be happy to withdraw this, seeing that item ten encompasses this
Although I'm hoping that perhaps in President Mohammed's amendment, that standardization of these processes would include the formalization of this type of review, which, honestly, in my eight year tenure, I don't recall being involved with yet
So thank you for that
So I will withdraw that
Chief of staff, do you want to speak to that? Yes, Commissioner Felleman
We'll make sure that you guys have that in the next week or so
So you see the process very clearly, how that rolls out
And we'll glue that in our operating manual that we're in the midst of developing right now
Thank you
Appreciate that
Madam Commissioner
President, can you please ask if there's any objection to withdrawal of the amendment? We'll do
Are there any objections from my colleagues to withdraw this item hearing? None
We will withdraw the item
Commissioner Felleman, we have a technical amendment requested by the commission
Clerk, will you also move that item
Amendment, please? Hopefully, it'll be a little easier this time
Yes
This technical amendment put forward by the clerk
Is to give the flexibility to the president to extend or shorten the public comment
So to insert the words unless otherwise revised
With regards to speakers being limited to two minutes, do I have a motion? Wonderful
Is there a second for the motion? Second
The motion has been made and seconded
Is there a discussion on this item? Hearing? No further discussion for this motion
Clerk Hart, please call the roll for the vote on this primary amendment
Commissioners, please say aye or nay when your name is called for the primary amendment
Beginning with Commissioner Calkins
Aye
Thank you, Commissioner Cho? Aye
Thank you, Commissioner Felleman
Aye
Thank you, Commissioner Mohammed
Aye
Thank you
Four ayes
Zero nays for that amendment
The amendment passes
I also have two amendments that I would like to propose at this time
I'll move each amendment separately
I'll read the first motion into the record
I move to amend resolution number 30 818, article three, section 5d
Duties of the President, oversight of the office of the commission to repeal paragraph b in its entirety
Removing oversight of the commission office from the duties of the President and reenacting it under article two
Commissioners, paragraph eleven, oversight of the office of the Commission and the Commission chief of staff to read as follows oversight of the office of the Commission and the Chief of staff
The commission, as a body coordinated by the commission president, shall provide oversight and review of the performance of the commission Chief of Staff according to the commission office standards operating procedures
The commission chief of staff shall be responsible for the organization and management of the commissioner office according to the commission office standard operational procedures
The commission Chief of Staff shall consult with the commission regarding performance, evaluation, hiring and firing of staff of the commission office
Is there a second for this motion? Submissive
So the motion has been made and seconded
Is there a discussion on this primary amendment? Yeah
Commissioner Cho
I'm just joking, I suppose
This pulling my leg
Hearing
No further discussions on this motion
Clerk Hart, please call the roll for the vote on the primary amendment
Commissioners, please say aye or nay when your names are called
Beginning with Commissioner Calkins
Aye
Thank you, Commissioner Cho? Aye
Thank you
Commissioner Felleman? Aye
Thank you
And Commissioner Mohammed? Aye
Thank you
Four ayes, zero nays for this amendment
The amendment passes
I'll go ahead and move my second amendment and read it
I move to amend resolution number 30 818, article four, section eight a
Executive sessions to insert a sentence at the end of the paragraph to read as follows
Periodic reviews of executive session sections shall occur by outside council for open public meetings
Act compliance
The motion has been made
Is there a second second
The motion has been made and seconded
Is there a discussion for this primary amendment? Commissioner Cho, he's just trying to trip you up
Hearing
No further discussions for this motion
Clerk Hart, please call the roll for the vote on the primary amendment
Commissioner, say aye or nay when your names are called
Beginning with Commissioner Calkins
Aye
Thank you, Commissioner CHO
You're doing great, by the way
Aye
Thank you
Commissioner Felleman
Aye
Thank you, Commissioner Mohammed
Aye
Thank you
Four ayes
Zero nays for this amendment
The primary amendment passes
We are now back at the main motion, as amended
Is there any further discussions? Hearing
No further discussions
Clerk Hart, please call the roll for the vote on the main motion, as amended
Commissioners, please say aye or nay when your names are called
Thank you
Beginning with Commissioner Calkins
Aye
Thank you, Commissioner Cho
Aye
Thank you
Commissioner Felleman? Aye
Thank you
Commissioner Mohammed? Aye
Thank you
Four ayes
Zero nays for this item
The main motion passes
Clerk Hart, please read the next item into the record
Commission strategic advisor Tyler Mski will introduce the item
Thank you
Give us one moment here
Am I moving quicker than you guys? No, this is great
This is agenda item ten b, order number 20240
Three, an order of the Port of Seattle commission to update the port's diversity and contracting goals for 2024
Great
Is this thing on? Yes, it is
All right
Hello commissioners, and thank you for the opportunity to present this order for your consideration today
This order is part of the arc of the Port of Seattle's long journey towards increasing women in minority business enterprise WMBE participation in port contracts
This work is crucial for the port's equity efforts, so white men like myself are less than 30% of King County's population, but non win b firms received 94.7% of the value of port contracts in 2016
Thanks to the determined efforts of commissioners and staff, both past and present, the port has made progress towards reducing this disparity
The port's 2018 diversity and contracting policy directive has directly led to the increase of Port WMBE spending as a percentage of all port contracts, from 5.3% in 2016 to 12.6% in 2022
Furthermore, the number of WMBE firms that contracted with the port rose from 118 firms in 2016 to 329 firms in 2022
In order to further increase WMBE participation, the port is conducting a disparity study that seeks to identify barriers to the port's contracting with WMBE firMS The 2018 policy directive included five year goals ending in 2023
In 2024, the port will be crafting plans and implementing changes to increase WMBE access based on the port's internal WMBE data analysis, including the findings of this disparity study, this work will result in a new five year plan starting in 2025
So while this work is in progress, a one year extension of the WMBE goals included in the 2018 policy directive is warranted for the interim year of 2024 to set expectations and guide staff work
So per commissioner feedback during the November 20 8th 2023, Equity and Workforce Development Committee staff have drafted an order setting the 2024 diversity and contracting goals as follows, which is also the text of the order before you
So here it is
The Port Commission hereby directs the executive director to set the following diversity and contracting WMBE spending goals for the 2024 budget year number one, a port wide WMBE goal of 15% of the total port spend
Number two, a WMBE firms utilized goal of 400 firms in 2024
So additionally, the port shall also be required to set annual division and or departmental goals on non construction WMBE spending
So with that and with the note that diversity and contracting director Mian Rice and I are available for commissioner questions on this order, I will turn it back over to Commissioner President Mohamed thank you, Tyler, for that presentation and information that you've shared
Are there any questions to the staff at this moment from commissioners? I know this item has come before us before
Okay, so hearing no further questions for this item
Is there a motion in a second to adopt order number 2024? Three
So moved
Second
The motion has been made and seconded
Clerk Hart, please call the roll for the vote
Commissioner, please say aye or nay when your name is called for the vote on this order, beginning with commissioner Calkins
Aye
Thank you, commissioner Cho I think we're making Mia's job too easy here, but aye
Want to ask a question? No
I'm kidding
Thank you
Commissioner Felleman
Aye
Thank you
Commissioner Mohammed
Ayes
Thank you, four ayes and zero nays for this item
Thank you
The motion passes
And me
And thank you for your work
Thank you all
I appreciate it
Thanks, commissioners
Thank you
All right
Sorry
Moving us along
Moving to item eleven, presentation and staff reports
Clerk Hart, please read the next item into the record
Executive Director Metruck will then introduce the item
Thank you
This is agenda Item Eleven a, the tourism development Development briefing
Commissioner? Tourism and travel creates economic opportunities for tenants at our port and for businesses and communities all around our state
Visitors generate significant economic benefits to households, businesses and government alike and represent a critical driver of Washington's future
The port has been a longtime leader in the space and is finding new ways to make progress, such as our responsible tourism work
This briefing will cover our successes in 2023 and work plan for the year ahead
At the next commission meeting, we will request our authorization for the 2024 iteration of the Tourism marketing Support program
Presenters this afternoon are Dave McFadden, managing director, economic development division, and Nick Leonti, director of tourism development
So I guess, Dave, we'll begin with you
Good afternoon, commissioners
Good afternoon, Executive Director Metruck
We are excited to be with you today to give you an overview on our tourism development prograMS Let's advance the slide
What we want to cover today is just start with an overview on some of the tourism stats and trends
Nick will cover most of that
Then we'll proceed to talk about some of our international tourism marketing efforts, some of the media we've generated, a slice of what we're doing on responsible travel
And finally, we'll talk about our tourism grant prograMS Let's go to the next slide
I think, as you know, travel has bounced
Travelers through our facilities have really rebounded almost to past the point where we were before the pandemic
So we have some momentum
Things are turning in the right direction, but there's still work to do
And with that it's my real pleasure to turn it over to Nick Leonti, our tourism development director
I think he's done a really good job over the last 18 months since he's joined the port of really rebuilding and deepening the partnerships we have and really implementing some of these programs with precision
So Nick, show is yours
Great
Thank you very much, Dave
Good afternoon everyone
It's always a pleasure to come here and talk tourism with just
We'll start off with another slide here of some stats from the US Travel association that does show we are, as Washington state, slightly behind the country's average of overseas arrivals through SEA airport
And obviously that's a focus for us
And travel spending, as Dave Lanford also mentioned earlier, is a bit down year over year, down 7%, but right at about pre pandemic levels
And we really want to monitor those trends and we are in touch with us Travel association all the time, seeing how those trends are progressing and how they relate to Washington state and what we can do there
If you could advance to the next slide, please
I will mention that as Dave mentioned, a big focus for us is international tourism marketing and we have a new team
We mentioned I've been here for 18 months
I'd like to mention in the seats behind me today we have Chantel Loosebrink, who's our new tourism development manager
She joined in September of this year
So very much a new team, kind of having a new look at the industry and where we're going and what the port's role is there
But international tourism remains a top priority for us and we look for those high ROI travelers who stay longer, spend more
They visit all regions of the state, they'll visit urban areas, rural areas, and share that bond of responsible travel passion that Washington's residents have
And we have international in market agencies in a number of markets
We have those under contract through our relationship with state of Washington tourism
Right now we are fully activated in the UK and Ireland, Germany and Australia
We also have contracts based on project basis in Japan, South Korea, France and Benelux and the Nordic region
So we have been able to expand our footprint a bit and get back into the international realm this past year
Again, really focused on those relationships and the partnership with state Washington Tourism and visit Seattle, who are our close partners there
Next slide please
Some of our key priorities heading into this year
We're really working on establishing sea as the premier US gateway
We talk with folks from all over the world and promote what a premier gateway that is and what a great airport it is, especially going through the renovations
And we share some stats with people
I love to share the fact that the flight from London to Seattle is the same length as the flight from London to Miami
So a great way to get to the west coast here
So that's a big part of what we talk about
Obviously, we want to increase the economic impact of those cruise passengers who are coming through town
We want them to add those days on before and after cruise
They're coming here for that, to see Seattle, see the surrounding area and spend some time and some money in the region
Again, when we look at those international visitors, they can stay so much longer
A cruise could be part of a two or three week itinerary where the cruise is just a portion of that, and they can spend a lot of extra time in Washington and the west coast
We also obviously have the responsible outdoor recreation is very popular here in Washington, and we'll talk a little bit about that later on in the slideshow here when we address responsible travel
And obviously our main goal is always to increase the economic impact of the port's facilities through the leisure travel and keep our destination top of mind
We can go to the next slide, please
And one thing on that previous slide that was mentioned in kind of the quote box there, and I think it's really important that the port has that global reach
State of Washington tourism also has a global reach visit Seattle does as well
But other than those organizations, the smaller destinations and attractions throughout Washington don't necessarily have that reach
So we take that responsibility on to do what our local industry can't necessarily do for itself, to bring those stories to the world and help bring visitors to all the areas of Washington in a responsible way
Some of the highlights of this past year, obviously we want to get face to face with a lot of our customers, and that means going to trade shows, doing sales missions, hosting familiarization tours for media and travel trade meaning tour operators, travel agents, folks like that
So this past year we had over 225 face to face, one on one appointments
And in this industry, face to face meetings really go a long way to stand apart from the crowd
I think we've all even pre pandemic, face to face meetings weren't as common as they were
And now post pandemic, it's so easy to do a Zoom call or send an email
We really see value in getting face to face at the trade shows and sales missions and hosting events
We have a few examples of what we did this year
Again, we got involved in hosting groups, hosting travel writers, we were involved in those markets
UK, Mike Mo from state of Washington tourism and I, we did sales calls to Japanese and south Korean receptive operators that are based out of LA
So we're expanding that international footprint and reaching out to other markets and seeing where we can get the best ROI for us
Next slide please
We look at the media we generated
I mentioned we hosted travel writers
We also host content creators, influencers, anyone that we think can help move the needle to drive visitation to our region
See this photo here is from a couple called local adventurer
They spent five days in the area
They visited, I think every one of these trolls, which was great and they played a lot of pickleball, but those types of things, they were a fun group
But we also host, you can see on this list here, we had some Pam trips that were hosted by the cruise lines
Some of these are travel writers
But we hosted over 100 people to spend time in Washington state and Seattle over the past year
And we see those results in the media that is produced
You can see, as this says, we had over 2.2 million in earned media value
And if you're not familiar with that term, it's kind of the space that that content takes up in a publication
What that value would be if it were an ad, that's where we get that 2.2 million
But obviously, since it's not an ad, since it's real content created by an actual person, not a marketing person, that carries a lot of weight and is even worth more than that to our region
Next slide, please
That brings me to responsible travel
This past year we produced our responsible travel handbook, which is a 96 page guide specific to Washington state's tourism industry, which helps promote port priorities and really focuses on destination stewardship, inclusivity in travel
We want to be a welcoming destination and this will help all of our DMOs throughout the state learn the methods by which they can help welcome people from all over and what their marketing should look like and what other types of programs they can be involved with
So we worked with the Travel foundation, which is an international leader in destination stewardship and sustainable travel
They helped us produce this
They led community engagement sessions with dozens of our tourism stakeholders from across the state and it really creates the foundation for the next steps for all of Washington's tourism industry to work better for all Washingtonians
Should also mention, as you see here, Commissioner Felleman's work with the US Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, or TTAB, as it's known, has really helped position Washington for future success in sustainable tourism
And by that sustainable tourism, most simply, that is maximizing tourism's positive impacts while minimizing the negative impacts, which is always top of mind for us
And through conversations, aye
conversations with industry leaders throughout the region and through aye
association with the TTAB, the commissioner set the stage for the port to hold in depth stakeholder meetings regarding a destination assessment through the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, or GSTC, which is internationally recognized organization that produces basic guidelines for destinations that wish to become more sustainable and be a way for us to see where things stand and where we can go as far as being a sustainable destination
So we look forward to having those conversations as we move forward and we can go to the next slide
That brings us to the tourism grant programs, which have been, I think we're entering the 10th year, I believe so we have two different programs through the tourism department, the SEA Spotlight Advertising program, which provides free ad space in the airport to our tourism partners
So that's rolling along
Everything's smoothly
We change out the ads quarterly
The ad space is free
They still have to pay to produce the ads, but the space here at the port is free and that's very valuable space
The other larger program we have is the tourism marketing support program, which over the past nine years has provided two to one matching grants, up to $10,000 per recipient
And those products are all based on the main focus is to drive out of state visitation
So we awarded 22 of those awards this year for a total of a little over $185,000 support funds which were awarded
But this is also a program that we're looking to refine moving forward, and I'll talk a little bit about that first
We can go to the next slide, please, just to give you an idea of what we do with these prograMS You see, we've always put emphasis more and more since the program's inception, more focus on DEI ecotourism and increasing visitation to shoulder seasons when we're not overcrowded here in the area
And as we put more emphasis on that over the years, we used to be able to say like 15 out of the 20 recipients were focused on ecotourism or DEI
We really want to evaluate every single application for that moving forward so we can say that all of our grant recipients address the DEI ecotourism and the shoulder seasons
And being able to support cultural organizations, smaller organizations, is important to us as well
I'll follow up a little bit on this in a few slides when we get to the refinements that I'll be proposing
We can go to the next slide, though
Take a look at some more examples here
Organizations can use our tourism grants for digital campaigns
They can produce rat cards like this one here
They can promote events, anything that would drive out of state visitation, visitors through SEA
That's the main focus
Next slide, please
Here's more
They can host content creators, travel writers
They can do those kind of travel trade activities that we participate in as an organization
They can use the funds to do that as well
Here's one where San Juan Islands hosted traveling while black last year
We go to the next slide
Think this is my final page of examples
This shows some of the programs that from 2023, we helped fund the refuge outdoor festival
The one in the middle there, there's Explorer Olympia
They created an LGBTQ website called you belong here
So programs like that we're supporting, and we want to be able to do more of that
So if we could go to the next slide now brings us to the refinement
So over the past year, I had meetings with grant recipients, with prospective grant recipients, with past grant recipients, to kind of just get a feel of how the program was working
And in general, people love the program, very grateful for it
But there were a number of issues that did come up
Obviously, $10,000 doesn't go as far as it used to
Inflation has impacted the value of the grants
I mentioned wanting to work on those shoulder seasons
Right now we award the grants in April, early May, and we need the final reports in November
So it's a pretty small window, especially when you want to focus on the shoulder seasons and spread out that curve of tourism throughout the year
And again, I mentioned that we wanted to put more emphasis on ports priorities of DEi and sustainable tourism priorities
And we wanted to expand the application window as well and make sure that smaller applications or smaller organizations, that it was fair so they could get their applications in
Because we did tend to see larger organizations that maybe had an official marketing person, they were more likely to apply rather than some of the smaller organizations that kind of one person shows
We can tell that there was a struggle to get applications in, so we took this, and if we go to the next slide, we're hoping to expand the grant program
Rather than 200K awarded over one year, we'd like to expand it to years, and that would give more time for those projects to be executed
We would also create two different tiers of grants
The main grant would be up to $20,000 per recipient, so twice the amount
And that's open to any organization can go for that top tier amount
The second tier would max out at ten k, but provides a little more flexible match requirements and kind of the emphasis on funding for new or nontraditional grant requests
That's kind of those smaller organizations that need a little more help getting into the world of tourism
That's where we can help them
But again, any organization, whatever the size, can apply for the larger grant, too
They just wouldn't have the extra flexibility built into the grants
We also are going to increase our outreach
Right now, we have a growing list of over 300 potential applicants on our mailing list
We really want to have more informational sessions, Q and A sessions, basically holding office hours to give them all the information they need to properly get their applications in
We also have a strength in the evaluation criteria
Really simplify it
When our judges look, they'll just be looking at the DEI shoulder seasons, ecotourism, and then kind of the overall impact of each program on 100 point scale
And that's a little cleaner than it has been in the past
Real simplified, really maximizing those priorities, because we want all these grant applications to relate to our priorities
And really, we mentioned the responsible travel handbook
We want applicants to use that as a foundation for the projects that they propose to us
That book is available on our website for download
Kind of broken up so that it's easier to digest, but lots of great ideas in there, and we hope that they use that as they put together their applications
As it mentions here, we'll be looking to get approval for this new, refined program at the February 13 commission meeting
And I believe next slide should just say thank you
There we go
So, any questions? Happy to field them
Thank you, Nick, for your presentation and director McFadden, for being here
I'll open it up for comments and questions from commissioners
Commissioner Calkins
Oh, I should have deferred to Commissioner Felleman, our resident expert, but I just had a, on slide four, I think when we pulled it over from the larger report, I was trying to figure out the scale on the top graph
So does that begin post pandemic? Can you explain what
Tell us
Tell us what's happening in this graph
This is comparing the overseas arrivals to 2019
Okay
And this is where the top line, the blue line there is all of the US
The lighter blue line, a little bit under that is Washington, and the time range is 2020
To see me today, training to see that just post 2019, I'm not surety if I can see the commissioner Felleman was saying it's the same as the bottom
Yeah
Chart
Okay, that makes sense
All right
So what we're seeing here is that we had a bigger drop from our benchmark of 2019 down to about 50%, compared to 68% for the US
And we've recovered to 74, which is slightly better recovery, but we're still below
Right
And so for overseas arrivals, some markets have recovered
We have 35 flights a day to London and other European destinations, but the Asian countries are still lagging behind
That's sort of what explains it here is that we have
That's the main reason right now is we just don't have as many flights as we had before, mainly to those Asian
Primarily from Asian markets
So when we think about how we're investing in, there's a bit of a chicken or egg there
We want to create some demand from Asia, but we also need our carrier partners to also begin reinitiate those flights
They're not going to reinitiate those flights unless there's a market for it
Right
A lot of it is
We look at Japan, for instance, as that market builds back, there's a really negative exchange rate for them
Right now
If you want to go on a vacation to Japan, though, now's a great time
But for those inbound travelers from Japan, there are some of those battles
And then in have
It's just been really slow to build
Back in the leisure market, we're seeing some business travel, some educational travel, but the leisure travel market is slow to return
Okay, thank you
That's really helpful
Point of clarification, did you say 35 direct flights to London? I did say that
That's weekly
That might be a little out of date right now, but that was the number we were saying up until a few months ago
Okay, maybe on a weekly basis
Commissioner Felleman
Thank you, Nick
And thank you for all the work that you've been doing in revitalizing our tourism program and look forward to meeting our new, I understand, veteran in the field, but new to the port
And I really appreciate the port's embracing of the sustainable outdoor and all these other things that are really the market is going towards
And I appreciate the handbook in that it does identify that market interest, and it's a large volume and I'm still going through it, but it seems to have a lot of good stuff in it and people that have reviewed it have enjoyed the materials that they found in it
I think it's also really good that you're looking at the funding for the shoulder season because obviously one of the great mitigation members measures for overtourism is sharing the love across the year
And so I think that's a great goal for your
And multi year funding is always, with all our cumbersomeness in our grant program, I think that's true across the way
One of just two other points
One is that in the TTAB and other exposures that I've recently had, is that this demand for some sort of certification acknowledgement that we care about our sustainability is held highly by the international traveler and that they have these things overseas and that there's a great deal of skepticism that United States takes it seriously
So the demand is there, but even if the words are out there, they don't believe us
And that was something that was really surprising to me, especially from the German traveler and things like that
So I think it's great that we're working together to try to see how much we can put our money where our mouth is or walk the talk, whatever you want to say
And then just finally, while I've always been inclined to enjoy the outside world and bring people to see nature, people tell me years later that I changed their life because I showed them a killer whale
These are ferries that last forever, right? And it's a great reinforcement
In fact, it keeps it young for me
But the pandemic really did show what it would look like if we didn't take these measures now
It was really a little glimpse into the future, and I just saw that
I'm trying to see what this reference is, but I think it's the US travel tourism program
But it said in terms of maybe elucidating the question that Commissioner Calkins raised, that an estimated 7.1 million more Americans enjoyed an outdoor activity in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, than in 2019
It's the Outdoor industry association's outdoor participation trends report
7.1 million more people in a year
So obviously it's a big market, but from the user's experience as well as from the environment that they're visiting, it's very important that we do better job of both shaping the perspective, coming towards here and having measures in place as well as letting people be able to have some money left behind
So thank you again for all the work you're doing
Thank you
Thank you for those comments
Are there any questions or comments from my colleagues? Well, thank you, Nick, for the presentation again, and Director McFadden, I appreciate it
Thank you so much
Absolutely
Moving us to the next item and presentation
Clerk Hart, please read the next item into the record and then executive director Metruck will introduce the item
Thank you
This is agenda Item Eleven b, 2024, local, regional and community engagement policy priorities briefing commissioners, under your leadership, the port has ambitious policy and government relations priorities, focusing on promoting economic opportunities, improving quality of life, advancing trade, travel and commerce, and operating in an equitable and environmentally responsible manner
Engaging with our local and regional partners help us makes those goals possible
The following briefing will outline some of our priorities in 2024 for engaging with our community and government partners to help fulfill our mission
So the presenters this afternoon are we have all three here, which is Sabrina Bouju, regional government relations manager Dave Kaplan, local government relations manager and Samantha St
John, East King County Community government relations manager
So with that, I'll turn it over
Sabrina, you're going to kick us off
I will
Thank you
All right
Hello
Good afternoon, everyone
Commissioners, executive Director Metruck, ELT
We are just so honored to be here this afternoon
My name is Sabrina Bullyu
I am our regional government affairs manager
I'm joined by Dave Kaplan, our South King county government relations director, and Samantha St
John, our East King county government relations manager
And she also serves on our community engagement team as well
You may remember that in years prior, we've come to you for your approval of our local and regional policy priorities
And I also do want to take a moment to remind you that our local and regional priorities are much different than that of your federal and your state legislative agendas, where our work really encapsulates incremental change and our long standing relationships within our mutual jurisdictions throughout King county
And so with that, I also want to acknowledge the fact that our communities are all moving out of the pandemic and recognizing that that's the case
There's no longer the same amount of federal funding that was coming to our local municipalities as it has previously
And with that in mind, there's a number of our local jurisdictions that are facing significant budget deficits
We have a unique opportunity on the local government relations team to be thinking about how we leverage our assets and our infrastructure projects to jointly team up with other local municipalities
Today's presentation is not about that necessarily, but I do want to highlight that that is the local temper and flavor for what we experience on a local level
I also want to remind you all that most recently we have created our local and regional priorities document to be based off the port century agenda
In 2012, the Port of Seattle adopted 100 year vision
Actually, it was the 100 year anniversary of the Port of Seattle and it was a guiding vision
It was called the North Star document in 2017 that was updated to include carbon emissions in our work to work on greening the environment that we live in
And so with that in mind, we have aligned our key policy priorities behind the port century agenda
And I'll turn it over to Dave and Samantha to quickly introduce themselves before we jump into the slides
Dave Kaplan, local government relations for South King county
Hi, Samantha St
John, East King county community and government relations manager
Okay, I think we can move on
Okay, great
So this is just to level set
We will have one slide to just quickly touch on all of the good advances we've made in 2023
And then from there we'll move on to capturing key priorities for us in 2024
And we've had the opportunity to brief you all commissioner, appreciate that
And I think you also are aware that the presentation we're going to roll through doesn't include every single priority we're working on, but we try our best to keep it high level
And ultimately, this presentation will turn into a one page leave behind that we'll use when we meet with elected officials from all of the jurisdictions around King county moving forward throughout the next year
And then we'll look for your adoption on February 13 and we can move forward
Okay
So the three of us will tackle this a little bit, but we want to just take one moment to look at the year prior
I think you all know the maritime industrial lands policy that passed in the city of Seattle was monumental
And many thanks to most of you commissioners that spent a lot of your personal time
Let me correct that
Your professional time, not personal, but you were all very engaged and passionate is my point
And I want to thank you all for your work
And then the other is, we've spent a lot of the ones who aren't, yes, all good things
And then we've spent a lot of time deepening our engagement in the city of Seattle's waterfront
It is like the marquee area of the city of Seattle
And we've spent a lot of time one adjusting signage to make sure it's culturally appropriate
We have engaged in the aquarium MoU, the electrification at pier 66, and now we're looking at new opportunities to deepen our presence on the waterfront
And I'm really excited to continue working with you all on that
And then I'll look to Dave
And just a reminder, the commission had an opportunity to review the 2018 or local agreement, as required, with the city of Seattle, city of Sea-Tac, and be able to review that to continue it through, to determine whether to continue it through 2028 or to make some adjustments and in agreement with the city of Sea-Tac, chose to go forward
That was not a small piece of work in terms of trying to make sure everybody had a chance to review it and go through that
And the commission needs to be congratulated for having completed that as well during the course of this last year
Another monumental achievement is, of course, the MoU
We signed with the Muckleshoot tribe a long time coming
We're very, very proud of that work
The Suquamish tribal MoU is just right around the corner, if not later this week or next week
And beyond that, we, as a government relations team, has fully understood just how important it is to deepen our relationships with local tribes
And I don't see Roxanne in the audience now, but we are very proud to announce our new hire of Roxanne Murphy as our tribal relations liaison
And it's about time
And I want to thank you, commissioner, for really being passionate and helpful on that front
The other item, and it's also new, is over the last year, we held two South Seattle roundtables addressing airport concerns in the local community
That was spearheaded by Commissioner Hasegawa
And we've worked with other local electeds to address near airport community concerns
And this is going to be a cadence that we're going to continue
And we boast a number of local jurisdictions and levels of government that have engaged, and these issues aren't going to go away, but we were going to work our hardest to address them and also hear community, and we've made really good progress, and I'm looking forward to the next roundtables we have over the next year
And finally, in terms of the last bullet there around overnight truck parking, I've been at the port for nine months now, and one of my first meetings when I started at the port was about East King county truck parking
So quite a bit of meetings have happened around that, and we expect to see a lot of advancement in those conversations over this next year
Okay, next slide, please
Okay, great
So now we're getting into the Century agenda goals here
Century agenda goal one, position the Puget sound as a premier international logistics hub
This is all work
That's your bread and butter
You're fully aware of it
But this continues to be our priority, and it will be every year that I can think of moving forward
We just want to, of course, highlight our work with t five, phase two, supporting the work of the Northwest Seaport alliance, the terminal 46, and the future tenancy of that site
And then a new, well, not so new, but a relatively exciting development with the Wasca site across from terminal 46 that will be a major focus for us on the local government relations team
And then, along with all these key projects, is maintaining no net loss of industrial lands that you all approved several years ago and also thinking proactively about what are ways to expand ownership along the waterfront and expand our footprint and making sure that the waterfront maintains active for the maritime community and expands our reach in the industrial world
Consistent with goal number two, advancing the region as a leading tourism destination and business gateway
We heard a lot about that during the tourism presentation immediately before us, but continuously improving the operational efficiency and customer experience at SEA
Efforts that have resulted in our being a four star Skytrack airport for the last couple years and the variety of projects under upgrade SEA, which are making improvements to the existing facilities to make it more comfortable for the passengers that are currently coming to the airport
That strengthens our competitiveness of the airport regionally and in regional market or global markets, and then meeting the region's air transportation needs by delivering vital facilities and infrastructure in a sustainable and cost effective manner
The Samp NTP Sustainable Airport Master plan near term project environmental review is ongoing
We're anticipating the draft environmental assessments out by the end of the year
And as we promised the community, we will be providing 30 days advance notice in advance of our solicitation of their input on the environmental review
And of course, everyone is excited about FIFA, which is coming in 2026
And so as it pertains to local GR, we are communicating out how we are preparing as an organization for FIFA, of course, with our facilities and preparing for the amount of travelers that we're going to get globally coming here for this
Very exciting
Our local partners are really excited for this initiative and we want to be a good partner to help talk to them about how they can partner with us for the preparation
Next slide
Okay, so ecotourism, which we've been talking a lot about lately, it's obviously a port priority to promote healthy tourism, bringing together sustainability with tourism to grow our state's economy, encouraging partnership programs to protect our environment while we're welcoming visitors to experience all that we have to offer in our beautiful region
Many of our conversations with our city partners include helping them to understand ways to partner with the port through our grants, business support initiatives, and tourism resources
Cruise is obviously an important part of tourism promotion and economic development, so we're looking to find ways to help connect local businesses to opportunities to connect to the cruise industry
To supply local goods and services
Then, as we can see our developments in the green corridor, we will keep our cities informed about this body of work as well
Next slide
Okay, so century agenda goal three, responsibly invest in the economic growth of the region and all of its communities
This is where we want to touch on youth maritime workforce development core, plus the Seattle Maritime Academy, but also our interest and investment in alternative fuel sources around decarbonization
So hydrogen production for storage, distribution, but also, of course, the offshore wind supply chain and how we want to engage in that body of work
And then the ongoing work of the Duwamish Valley Community Equity program
And this continues on on goal four, be the greenest and most efficient port in North America
This again is an emphasis on decarbonization
Just like in 2017, we made sure to add decarbonization to our mission moving forward
This includes shore power at pier 66
We're making really good advances and we want to see that project come to fruition
We're very close
And then fostering the clean truck program, otherwise known as the Northwest Seaport Alliance Clean Truck Collaborative
There might even be an event I'm hearing with Congresswoman Jayapal and the Seaport Alliance this week, and this is really exciting work around electrification, and we want to continue championing that on the local government relations level within that line of thinking, sustainable aviation fuels
MR Felleman, I know you are a champion for us on that
And we want to continue partnering with King county and the exploration of how these fuels can eventually be utilized for commercial aircraft and then the kelp seaweed research and restoration efforts with the Seattle Aquarium
We recently signed that MoU and we want to make sure that that work is implemented and we continue to explore it as we continue with the goal for the greenest and most efficient port in North America
This also leads to our work on better serving the near port communities surrounding port operations, so particularly the Duwamish Valley neighborhood, meeting our obligations for cleanup and doing right by the people that live in the Duwamish Valley, including the east waterway, and implementing cleanup, leading with inclusive environmental justice and community engagement principles, and consistent with goal five, becoming a model for equity, diversity and inclusion, furthering our WMBE and diversity and contracting goals
Another conversation you had earlier today, briefing you heard earlier today, minority business accelerator and some of the work that's been going on over the course of the last year that Dave McFadden and economic development can speak to the support for the next phase of the study surrounding development of the South King County International public market
Phase one was completed
Phase two, I believe is currently underway and looking at the details on how to make that a success
Continuing to hold interjurisdictional South Seattle roundtable meetings, as Sabrina mentioned earlier, with Beacon Hill, Georgetown and the South park communities to make sure that their voices are being heard
Tribal engagement Internship program has been mentioned before
Duwamish Valley Community Equity program continue to make sure that that remains strong and achieves the goals that are set out and new to this year
Equitable community engagement in advance of the part 150 noise study, including outreach to owners and initiation of inspections of failed packages by the third quarter of this year
So we're anticipating that to be part of the scope of the study and public engagement with the port 150 is scheduled to happen, I believe, in the second quarter or late second quarter of this year
So looking May June, I believe next slide okay, century agenda goal five become a model for equity, diversity and inclusion and this slide really just speaks to our interest in making sure to expand green jobs, but serving the underserved and making sure that these jobs are attractive and available for BIPOC communities
And we're working in partnerships with private business
So public private partnerships
So this is just about highlighting our interest in the green jobs workforce and making sure that's applicable and achievable for all of Seattle lights
It is our goal, as you all know commissioners, to build a bench of future maritime leaners that may not follow a traditional college education tract
And so this is a nod to our interest in apprenticeships
The Seattle Maritime Academy Maritime High school career connected learning and making sure we have an emphasis in BIPOC sectors which we all know is greatly needed in the maritime space
And as you can see, we have three slides on this particular goal because it is something that is important at the center of what we do
So we're really proud to showcase the port's leadership and equity work that's taking place both internally and externally, becoming the model for EDI
In my body of work, which falls under both government relations and community engagement, there are some of our sponsorship dollars that are dedicated specifically to EDI programming that's happening in our partner organizations in the various communities, which amplifies that work outwards
Next slide and then century goal six being a highly effective public agency, which is a really broad category
But some of the things that most stand out, and I'm not going to speak to all of the bullet points there, but I do want to point out a few things in particular are continued advocacy for regulatory approval and transition to PFAs free firefighting foaMS The issue of PFAS is very broadly felt in the local communities, and their concerns are our concerns
Advocating for the long term health of North SEA Tac park has not dropped off the radar
Wanted to make sure everybody was aware of that
And the last item in particular, continuing to educate the community on the port's land stewardship plan
This is coming to commission
It first came to commission last fall
We had a webinar and public outreach through early January, and commission review and adoption is scheduled for March
Next slide, please
And part of this as well speaks to environmental justice principles, both with internal external stakeholders ensuring that we have meaningful engagement for healthier communities
And that's with all communities around port facilities
Two things in particular, exploring partnerships for SEA bike and pedestrian commuter improvements
This actually speaks to discussions in Seattle which have been brought up regarding the waterfront and bike access there, as well as communications with the city of Sea-Tac and others in this vicinity, talking about ways in which we can be supportive of the projects that they have moving forward that will better connect their non motorized facilities to the airport
And then the last item, continuing the work of sound insulation program to meet the 2026 goal that has not fallen off
And our noise program is working hard to meet that goal
Currently working on houses of worship and apartments and the few single family homes where people have agreed to participate in the voluntary program
Next slide
Okay, so we've come to our conclusion
Thank you all
Happy to answer questions and we're looking for your adoption on February 13
And just thank you so much for your time
Sabrina, thank you, Samantha and David, for your presentation and making sure that we stay connected to our local communities and making sure we have good regional partnership
I'll now open it up for questions and comments from commissioners
Commissioner Cho yes
First and foremost, I want to thank you all for the terrific work that you all do
It's not always front and center what happens on the local level
I know sometimes we pay more attention to the federal and state level stuff, but all politics is local, as we like to say
And so I don't think it could be overstated how monumental your work is to our century agenda goals as well as our short term goals
I want to turn our attention to a topic that was brought up earlier today and is a topic of discussion in the state legislature, and that is our sound mitigation program
I think there are some leaders who are disingenuous about this topic when they insinuate that the port is not doing its part on sound mitigation
Could you please, for the public and to educate those leaders who may be misinformed and or disingenuous, tell us what we're doing on sound mitigation, what efforts are underway, and maybe even talk about some of the challenges that we face when it comes to sound mitigation
I don't run the sound program
I have all got to get the short answer
Director Sandy Kilroyd is here
You can speak to it as best as you can from a local community standpoint, and then we'll invite director Kilbert to provide any comments that she may have
I was going to say within the part 150 boundary, which is what defines what the port is able to mitigate for and continue to receive federal funding necessary, which is about 80% of the funds that pay for the sound insulation, there's approximately 100 homes left
My understanding every year our noise program reaches out to all of the remaining homeowner, individual homeowners out there in multiple languages to make sure that they understand what their opportunities are
Again, it's a voluntary program, so it's entirely up to them whether or not they wish to participate
Some homeowners have been around a long time and said no
All of a sudden they sell their house and you have a new homeowner
So there are opportunities that do present themselves over time in terms of the apartments apartments have identified over time as well
There are a large number of apartments that are going to be worked on and completed
I forget how many this year are scheduled
I know there are hundreds scheduled to be done next year
Again, it's up to the property owner to decide on a voluntary basis whether they want to participate in the program or not
There are also some condominiums that are participating, a few that are not, and there were, I believe, seven houses of worship, three of which are participating, and those, I believe are being started this year
The port has insulated over 9400 homes over the course of the years through an agreement with the Highline School district
We are providing money towards sound insulation when new schools are being constructed, and ten out of 15 schools have been or are in the process of being reconstructed
That leaves only five schools left, an obligation that the port made a number of years ago
And we continue to move forward on the failed package issue
We've been looking at that issue in a lot of different ways
It keeps getting brought up in a federal venue, in a state venue, and of course, here at the port commission, one of the challenges is making sure that we're being consistent with federal law, that there's an opportunity for us to be able to fund things in a constructive way and without shifting the burden to others
And that's probably the most I can say
And I'll leave it to Sandy to fill in the blank
Dave, you just did an excellent job answering the question
I would just say also that a few years ago, the commission at that time asked us to accelerate our sound installation program
Can you just share your title? Oh, I'm sorry
Sandra Kilroy, senior director for environment and sustainability
So a few years ago, the commissioner directed the staff to accelerate the sound installation program, which we've been doing towards the goal of 2026
And Dave did an excellent job recounting the numbers
We've been focusing now on apartments, condominiums, and places of worship, and have very few single family homes remaining
We do function within the DNL boundary that FAA sets for financing these sound insulation prograMS And so we work very diligently within that boundary to offer these services
Commissioner Cho, does that answer your question? Yeah, absolutely
I just want to recap
9400 homes, seven places of worship, ten out of 15 schools
It actually sounds like we're doing a lot
And I want to just emphasize that if we can insulate every home, we would
But there's a process here
There are priorities
And those who are close to the airport, I think, or affected the most, as we would say, disproportionately impacted by the noise of the airport, should get priority
I understand that there are failed packages out there
I don't doubt it
But the reality is that they don't get to jump the line if there are houses out there that never got packages to begin with
So before we address the latter problem, we need to make sure that we've done everything we possibly can for those homes and those facilities that have not been addressed
And so I really want to make sure that the public is not misled and that whatever is happening down in Olympia is based on facts and not based on conjecture or hypotheses
But the fact is that we are working as fast as we possibly can with the resources that we have within the letter of the law to address these issues
And when the time comes, we will address the issues that are secondary
Thank you
And I think I would just want to emphasize that that is very much a part of our part 150 process
And having a methodical and clear process for the presumed failed packages is really important, and that will be rolling out this year
Thank you, Director Kilroyd
And thank you, Commissioner Cho
For those comments
And if I could just quickly add, the commission is not opposed to house bill 21 three
I think that is what Commissioner Cho is also speaking to
We are assessing it, but for the record, we have not taken a position to say we're opposed to it
And also when it comes to the failed packages, as part of the part 150 study, the commission has asked that as part of that we accelerate looking at failed packages
And in fact, we just recently had one of our colleagues on the Sea-Tac city council send us a home that she believes has a failed package, and our staff is looking at it
So this is an issue that has continued to be a priority for the entire commission, and we're doing whatever we can in our power to help accelerate
And so I do appreciate Commissioner Cho making those comments
Do other commissioners have questions for staff at this time? Commissioner Felleman, I was delighted to hear there was some clarity about the packages with regards to the 150 study
I just want to make sure that I'm still on the Highline forum
So as you know, we'll come up again that the evaluation, right, the assessment of, not the inspection per se, but the evaluation of how many failed packages there are, will be conducted this year
My understanding is that the assessment is going to be part of the part 150 study in terms of looking at the issue and then figuring out what the next steps are relative to the package
But it's the time frame because the 150 study is like a three year, quarter of this year
We will have begun the assessment or we will have completed the assessment, Director Kilroyd is saying
So do we have an idea of how long that might take? I don't
I assume there's going to be a second phase, is going to actually inspect the specific, people are going to tell us where they think things failed, and then we have to verify that
But I just think it would like just to get an order of magnitude sense of how big this again
Senior director, environment and sustainability
It's Andy Kilroy
We are beginning it Q three
I'm happy to get you after the meeting more details on the process
It isn't maybe as simple as it might sound to figure out how we conduct the assessment, but I do not expect the complete assessment of all potential failed packages to be completed this year
But we will begin it in Q three, and I'll get you the better dates after the meeting
Sarah Cox is also on
Do you have any comments to add? Good afternoon
Sarah Cox, senior director of aviation environment sustainability
Yes, Sandy did indicate that correctly that we will be kicking off our survey for the part or the failed packages element, and it is complex
We're working through what information that we're trying to gain and glean from the survey and for future evaluation
So once we have more details on what the structure of that looks like, we'll be able to share that
Thank you, Sarah, for those comments
Do you have additional comments? Go for it
I do appreciate trying to follow the guidance of the sentry agenda now jumping to the broader stuff, although I must say, like we amended it before, the idea that making ourselves a destination for business and travel, tourism and all of that recommendations are just about expanding the airport
There's nothing about the seaport
This isn't your fault
But in the context of looking at all the things about business and tourism, there are different things that we do as an organization to address those things
Among them are the port
And so I just think that we do ourselves, and the FIFA example is a really good one, that we're trying to look at the sort of onslaught of people not just through the airport but coming through the area
It's part of our tourism package
And one of those things also, you spoke to the issue of tribal relations issues that Puyallup tribe is like the lead liaison for FIFA into the state
And so it's kind of an interesting opportunity for our furthering that effort
And specifically with the travel internship, I definitely want to follow up on whether we're going to be able to do these exposure tours rather than having to have an intensive internship program, but at least some chances to expose travel kids what some of the future opportunities are
And I think I had just one other point
Yes, Samantha, you brought up the issue about hearing about trucks in North Bend and stuff, and one of the things I've noted is that the port of Seattle does not have a direct representative on the Northwest Seaport Alliance's truck collaborative
We do have DEI representation, but it's not in terms of what we're doing, even on the waterfront real estate that we own
And I'm just wondering, this seems to be another example, while we have this whole collaborative of truck related interests, that this would be something I'd like to find a way that we can bring to that conversation and the whole way in which truck parking is part of that conversation
So I just want to put a pin in that
But thank you so much for, this is a huge pallet of work, but thank you very much
Any additional questions or comments? Commissioner Calkins? First, I wanted to say thank you all for great work on keeping us and the communities around King county informed about the great work board is doing and also serving as a conduit for hearing community needs and how we can support them
Something that executive director Metruck and I have been talking about in the last couple of times we met is the potential for renewing
One of the documents that we used pretty extensively, and I don't see Kathy here, but when I first started the port, five or six
I do see Claire, though, and I think she helped me with this, too, quite a bit
We had produced an economic impact report
Does this ring a bell? Yes
Jump in if you
I didn't specifically call it out, but I believe that it is budgeted as
And I forget whose budget it's in, whether it was in Eric Shinfield's or as in somebody else's, but I believe that's budgeted to be done this year
Great
Yeah, I think I'd heard that affirmation that that great project that was really helpful in both providing us with an understanding of impacts in places that you might not expect the port would have economic impact
But I recall it having jobs numbers, overall business revenue numbers, things like that, and done graphically in a way that was useful for us in presentations to chambers and city councils and other things
So I'm glad to hear that we're going to re up that
I think that's a very powerful tool
Dave McFadden shot great
Ok
Thank you so much
So I'm looking forward to the refreshed version of that
Thank you
Any additional questions or comments? Well, thank you all for the presentation again and for answering those questions today
I will move us along in the agenda
Moving us along
That concludes our business meeting agenda for the day
Are there any closing comments at this time or motions relating to committee referrals from commissioners hearing? None
Executive director Metruck, are there any closing comments from you today? No
Thank you, commissioners, for your time today
And I think, I don't know if we kept up with Commissioner Cho on aye
time, but it was a very efficient meeting and I thank you for that
It's not a competition
Thank you, Executive director Metruck
I take that compliment
Hearing no further comments and having no further business
If there are no objections, we are adjourned at 2:04
Nicely done.

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