The Regular Meeting meeting scheduled for 2024-05-28 at SEA

Transcript

The Regular Meeting meeting scheduled for 2024-05-28 at SEA

This is Commission President Hamdi Mohammed convening the regular meeting of May 28, 2024
The time is now 10:32 a.m
we're meeting in person today at the Sea Conference center and virtually via Microsoft TeaMS Present with me today are Commissioners Calkins, Cho Felleman, who's virtual, and Commissioner Hasegawa, who are gathered currently in the executive session room awaiting the public meeting to be opened
We'll now recess into the executive session to discuss one item regarding litigation, potential litigation or legal risk per RCW 4231 ten, section one I
The session is expected to last about 30 minutes and will reconvene into public session at 12:00 p.m
thank you
We are in recess
This is Commission President Hamdi Mohammed convening our regular meeting of May 28, 2024
The time is now 10:54 a.m
i am returning to extend our executive session to discuss an additional new item regarding litigation, potential litigation, litigation or legal risk per RCW 4230, section 110, section I
Let me repeat that
RCW 4231 ten section one I
The session is expected to last for an additional 35 minutes and will reconvene into public session at 12:00 p.m
pm
Thank you
We are back in recess
Commissioners, I call the public meeting to order and have taken
Let's try this again
This is Commission President Hamdi Mohammed reconvening the regular meeting of May 28, 2024
The time is now 12:05 p.m
we are meeting in person today at the Sea Conference center and virtually via Microsoft TeaMS Clark Hart, please call the role of all commissioners in attendance
Thank you
Madam Commissioner
President, beginning with Commissioner Calkins here
Thank you
Commissioner Cho present
Thank you
Commissioner Felleman joining us virtually present
Thank you
Commissioner Hasegawa
Thank you
And Commissioner Mohammed present
Thank you
We do have a quorum established with a full board here today
Thank you
Clerk Hart
A few housekeeping items before we begin
For everyone in the meeting room today, 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 commission or the executive director participating virtually or you are a member of the staff in presentation mode and actively addressing the commission
Members of the public addressing the commission during public comment may turn on their cameras when their names are called, and then you'll turn them back off again at the conclusion of your remarks
For anyone at the dais 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 wait to speak until you have been recognized
You'll turn your microphones on and off as needed
All the items noted here will ensure a smoother meeting
Thank you all
All votes today will be taken by a roll call method so it is clear for anyone participating, virtually how votes are casted
Commissioners will say aye or nay when their names are called
We're meeting today on the ancestral lands and waters of the Coast Salish people with whom we share a commitment to steward these natural resources for generations to come
This meeting is being digitally recorded and may be viewed or heard at any time on the port's website and may be rebroadcasted by King county television
Now please stand and join me 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, with liberty and justice for all
Thank you all
The first item of business today is the approval of the agenda
As a reminder, if a commissioner wishes to make a general comment for or against an item on the consent agenda, it is not necessary to pull the item from the consent agenda
Rather, you may offer supporting or opposing comments later in the meeting once we get to that part of the agenda, these comments are in order
Once the motion to approve the consent agenda has been made, however, it is appropriate at this time if a commissioner wants to ask a question of staff or wishes to have a dialogue on a consent agenda item to request the item be pulled for a separate discussion
Are there any items to be pulled from the consent agenda or a motion to rearrange today's meeting? Commissioners? Madam President, I move that we pull item 8d regarding salaries and benefits for employees not covered by collective bargaining agreement from consent
Thank you, Commissioner
Vice President Hasegawa
We will pull that item
Commissioners, are there any other items that you would like to pull from the consent agenda today or to rearrange any of the order of business today? Hearing? None
Commissioners, the question is now on approval of the agenda
Is there a motion to approve the agenda as amended? So move
Madam President, is there a second? I'll second
Great
There's a
There's
The motion has been made and seconded
The motion has been made and seconded
Is there any objections to approval of the agenda, as amended? Hearing? None
The agenda, as amended, has been approved
There is one special order of of the day today
Clark Hart
Please read the item into the record, and then deputy executive director Goon will then introduce the item, followed by commission strategic advisor Erica, who will then speak on the item
Thank you, Madam Commissioner President, this is item four, a proclamation commemorating may as Asian American and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Commissioners as some of the fastest growing racial and ethnic groups in the nation, Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities represent a multitude of ethnicities, languages and experiences that enrich American and strengthen our community
During May, we take time to honor, recognize and celebrate the innumerable contributions, vibrant cultures and rich heritage of Asian Americans and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islander communities
Our home of Asian and Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group, known as Happy is hosting several events this month and details can be found on compass, the internal webpage
Today's proclamation is another wonderful opportunity to celebrate these employees and their NHPI members of our community
Sorry about that
I'll now turn over to commission strategic advisor Erica Chung to introduce our presenters
Good afternoon, Commission President Mohammed Commissioners and deputy director Goon
My name is Erica Chung, strategic advisor for the commission office
It is an honor to introduce a special order, a proclamation honoring Asian American and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month alongside readers from the port of Seattle, home for Asian Pacific Islander Happy Employee Resource Group
As an Asian American Korean American, it is a proud moment for me personally to introduce this order and proud to work with an organization that creates a space for us to recognize and to elevate our diverse AA and NHPI community and contributions at the port of Seattle
Before I turn it over to our happy ERG members to help us read the proclamation, I would like to recognize our four happy ERG members
They are Keoki Lau, security access specialist and native Hawaiian Khan Tavong Sac, lead total rewards specialist and laotian American Christian Santos, payroll operations assistance analyst and Filipino American will Tran, building inspector, plant examiner and Chinese Vietnamese American
Now I'd like to turn it over to Keoki Lau
Whereas together we are stronger
And whereas, Asian American and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander heritage Month is a time to reflect on the long history of Asian American and Native Hawaiians and Pacific islanders across our nation, in our state and at the port of Seattle
And whereas, AA and NHPI Heritage Month is also a time to elevate and celebrate the innumerable contributions and achievements of Asian Americans and Native Hawaiians and Pacific islanders in defending our democracy in times of crisis, in building our great nations infrastructure, and in stimulating small business development
And whereas, we celebrate the achievement of Vice President Kamala Harris, the first south Asian American woman to hold the second highest office in the nation
And whereas we celebrate the achievement of Mayor Bruce Harrell, the first Asian American and first biracial mayor of the city of Seattle and whereas, we celebrate the achievements of our Port of Seattle commissioners in serving in leadership positions in the port's 111 year history, Sam Cho, the first Asian American and first Korean American elected to the presidency in 2023 and Toshiko Grace Hasegawa, first Asian American woman and first Japanese American woman to serve two terms as vice president in 2023 and 2024 and whereas, AA and NHPIs are represented at every level of staffing and leadership at the Port of Seattle and we praise the tremendous work of home for Asian Pacific Islanders happy employee Resource group in continuing to elevate the voices of AA and NHPIs at the Port of Seattle and whereas we commemorate the third anniversary of the Atlantis bomb murders of six women of Asian descent and highlight the continued rise in hate and violence perpetrated against AA and NHPIs nationally and locally since the pandemic and whereas, AA and NHPIs are diverse, with very distinct cultures and lived experiences representing 48 distinct Asian and Pacific islander nations and whereas, it is precisely the diversity of people and perspectives within the AA and NHPIs that makes AA and NHPIs community stronger, more resilient, and able to achieve better outcomes, as demonstrated by Port Happy Erg and whereas, happy members representing AA and NHPIs are honored to work collaboratively against anti Asian bias and discrimination and stand united in seeking greater opportunities for AA and NHPIs and whereas, the recognition of May as AA and NHPI heritage Month is an important and meaningful step in honoring the history and contributions of AA and NHPI people and Port employees, now, therefore, the Port of Seattle Commission hereby commemorates May as Asian American and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, acknowledging the contributions of the home of Asian and Pacific Islander Happy Erg, committing to promoting an inclusive and unifying environment for AA and NHPIs and reaffirming the importance of advancing AA and NHPI leaders throughout the organization claimed by the Port of Seattle Commission this 28th day of May, 2024
Great
Thank you so much for reading that proclamation
Thank you to our home for Asians and Pacific Islander erg group
Happy
Such a beautiful name
We will now go ahead and get the main motion on the floor and then we'll open it up for commission comments at that time
Is there a motion and a second for this item for the proclamation to be adopted? So moved
I'll second
Great
The motion has been made and seconded
Commissioners, the floor is now open for your comments
Commissioner Hasegawa
Thank you, Madam President
Thank you, so much to our happy representatives who are here today and have worked on this proclamation and brought it forward for our consideration today in a public reading
And thank you so much to Erica Chung and all the other staff behind the scenes that put so much research and so much of their valuable time into drafting this for all of us
I want to acknowledge a little bit of the history that brought us to Asian American and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month
It was really, I think, historically understood that who is Asian was considered by the census
Race is a
Is a construct, and there's a lot of folks who have historically been carved out of who is Asian and therefore were invisibilized and didn't have fair access to services, to funding, and so they organized
And visibility has always been a core piece of the fight for fairness
In the 1990s, in a movement led by Pacific Islander women, native Hawaiians and Pacific islanders demanded to be included in this umbrella term, recognizing that there's strength in numbers and that there's strength in solidarity
However, while we recognize that we also have to continue to hold up the continued risk of invisibilization, that our communities are not monolithic
Asians, native Hawaiians and Pacific islanders come from over 40 countries across Asia and the Pacific
We speak over 100 languages and over 1000 dialects
We come from different beliefs, from different socioeconomic backgrounds
But one thing that we have in common is that we crossed the seas to arrive at these same shores and hope for opportunity and a better life for our posterity
And I think that that is a legacy from our ancestors
And for those who have braved the challenges that we're here to honor today and lift up and celebrate
You know, we have, I think, over 30 members, the different unions here represented today to make sure that they're giving voice to their needs
And we also recognize that the labor movement has been what has given voice and resonated justice for historically marginalized and exploited people
I would like to lift up and acknowledge the work of the Asian Pacific American Labor alliance, or Apollo, that has worked historically to make sure that they asserted this group of people, Asians, native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, as stakeholders in economic justice and deserving of fair access to representation as well
I also want to acknowledge that in the audience, we have the first ever democratically elected president of the flight attendants union with us
Paula Isla Gil
So thank you for being here, and it was an honor to shake your hand earlier today
I appreciate that staff wrote Commissioner Cho and I into the verbiage of this, and it is certainly an honor to sit here as commissioners, it is a privilege that we do not take, that I do not take for granted
And it's also equally important that we raise up that we are the exception and not the norm
Right? And I though I acknowledge and am proud of being exceptional in that way, I think what will deserve more recognition is when we don't just repeat this and see more folks elected to public office in historically exclusive spaces, but that we see it repeated over and over and over again, because that means that we have achieved institutional change
And that, I think, is the true mark of, of our framework and what we are hoping to be able to bring to this very noble institution
I'd just like to close by saying that we are coming out of a long weekend in observance of Memorial Day yesterday
And historically, for me, Memorial Day has been a retrospective opportunity, where I look at the gravestone and I see my great grandparents who immigrated over and their reasons why and what they went through, their accomplishments, in order to pave a better way
But this year, I had the opportunity to bring with me two children, including my three year old, but also my infant son
And for me, it was not only an opportunity to look forward and all the reasons intergenerationally that we have to continue to strive and carry and pay for that legacy, but the urgent reminder to love hard on each other as a community right here, right now, and lift each other up and empower us in this moment so that we can have a brighter future
So thank you all so much for this action here today, because it truly is in the spirit of collaboration, togetherness, and that we are one people, one community, one family, one earth
And so thank you for seizing this moment, and that concludes my remarks
Thank you, commission vice President Hasegawa, for those powerful remarks
Commissioner Chunks
Yes, thank you
My first mistake of the day was going after Commissioner Hasegawa
I know
I try to help you out because I'm looking at my notes and I'm, like, frantically crossing out things
No, thank you, Commissioner Hasegawa, for your remarks
Let me start by first thanking, happy for all the great work you all do
Keoki Con Christian will
I sincerely appreciate all you all do to represent our people at this organization
I had the opportunity to break bed with some of you at our heritage month brunch over some dim sum, good times
But, you know, I just, you know, every day I come into the port and I'm reminded how special this place is as an institution
And obviously, we do this proclamation every year, at least for every year that I've been here, and one could say, oh, it's getting old
It's redundant
But I feel strongly that this is necessary
I think we can have a month of the year
And quite frankly, I think it's important because it's a reflection of how important this institution is for so many, mainly because I think, on a fundamental level, the port of Seattle, and specifically this facility here, Seattle Tacoma International Airport, serves as a gateway to a region for countless immigrants who contribute to our diversity, our strength, and what makes us so unique as a country, my parents included
And I think most folks in here know that in the late eighties, my parents immigrated to this airport when they first got here
And so being here is a tremendous privilege and an honor
And I hope that, you know, throughout the work that we do as commissioners, you know, through our unique experiences in life, one of the things that we always try to do is pay it forward, right? Ensure that, as we like to say, it's great to be the first, but we should never be the last
Right? And as Commissioner Hasegawa says, that we pay it forward in a way that we see many, that we are not the exception, but the standard
And that doesn't just go for Commissioner Hasegawa and I, but it kind of actually goes for all of you, members of HAPIU, API, members of the port family who continue to do the work here, because at the end of the day, you all are on the ground making this place the gateway, the welcoming place for people like our families who came through this gateway as immigrants
And so that's why I really wanted to thank you all, in addition to all the great comments Commissioner Hasagawa has made, because this place wouldn't be the same without are ERG all the work that you do
And the last thing that I want to say is that I love that we get all these opportunities to celebrate each and respective communities
But I also want to emphasize it's always important to work across communities
Right
And we have amazing ergs throughout this organization and over the years, whether it's through the pandemic or whether it's through the Black Lives Matter movement, we've had opportunities to show solidarity and allyship with our brothers and sisters in the black community and the Latinx community, in the veterans community, and the LGBTQ community
And I also want to thank you for all that
I'm reminded of a Martin Luther King quote
I think it's really pertinent to this, and it's that we all came here on different ships, but we're all on the same boat now
And so I really appreciate all the work you do
I look forward to the continued growth that I will see and happy
And you all know that you have huge champions in Commissioner Hasegawa, myself, so happy AANHPI Heritage Month, and I'll yield
Thank you, Commissioner Cho, for those powerful comments as well
Commissioner Calkins
Yeah, thanks
Hard to add much to that, particularly from my vantage point
But I will say that one of the things I think about a lot as we think about our strategic advantage at the port of Seattle relative to other ports is that we are a part of a Pacific community
And while the history in the United States tends to slant toward a kind of Atlantic viewpoint, whether it's the east coast or relationship with Europe, the future is the Pacific
And so our relationships with both Asian countries and directly the Asian American communities in the United States and in our region give us an enormous strategic advantage
And so, quite honestly, we need to turn our gaze away from the Atlantic and focus on the Pacific
From a pure business standpoint, that is where our growth is
So, I mean, I know that's not the sort of message, but I really genuinely think, I am grateful that we get to have leadership that reflects that future looking perspective on our institution
So thank you for bringing this up
I'm going to vote for it every year
I don't get tired of it
I think it's a great thing
Thanks for a few minutes
Absolutely
Any additional comments? I'll just chime in quickly and just say I appreciate the quote from Martin Luther King in that we are all in the same boat
And I sometimes I think it's very important to recognize that very basic fact
But I also think alliances are very important, too, to strengthen each other
And I'm just very happy to be part of this unusual group, the Asian Jewish alliance, and because of our shared experience of discrimination of late
And so I appreciate the unity and of Happy's efforts to keep us in front of us
So thank you again for all your work
Thank you, Commissioner Felleman
Yeah
And I will just quickly add, I echo all of the sentiments of my colleagues and just want to say I feel very lucky to be able to sit next to commissioned Vice President Hasegawa and Commissioner Cho
You both represent the Asian community broadly so well, and you bring both the cultural understanding, the business understanding to the commission, and lots of gratitude to the both of you
And also recognizing our deputy executive director Goon, who is Korean American herself and is the second most highest ranking person at the port of Seattle today
And so thank you for your public service and the work that you do every day
And to all of the staff at the port of Seattle, all the ERG members of Happy, thank you so much for the work that Japanese
Oh, okay
I got that
I'm Chinese American, Japanese, and Chinese
I stand corrected
Executive Director Goon, who is Japanese American and Chinese American, but you can be Korean, too
I'm okay with that
There's just a lot going on there, so it's okay
That's like when, as a Somali people, think I'm Ethiopian
Right
My mistake
But I do appreciate that the leadership that you bring to the port of Seattle as well, and to our broader community, and really just appreciate the comments of solidarity that that does make us stronger, and I think we represent that well
We're diverse by race on this commission, also by religion
As you heard from Commissioner Felleman, whether it's Jewish Americans, Muslim Americans represented on this community, I hope that the larger community feels proud of that
And to Commissioner Calkin's point, I do think that that makes us stronger from a business standpoint
If we're going to compete in a diverse marketplace today, we need to be represented by our entire community
And, yeah, we bring strength up there as well
And so thank you all for those comments
With that said, Clerk Hart, please call the roll for the vote
And, commissioners, please say aye or nay when your name is called
Thank you
We'll begin with Commissioner Hasegawa
Aye
Thank you, Commissioner Cho
Aye
Thank you, Commissioner Calkins
Aye
Thank you, Commissioner Fellemon
Commissioner, you're muted
Just give us a thumbs up
I heard it
Thank you
And Commissioner Mohammed
My bad
My bad
Aye
Thank you, Commissioner
Commissioner Mohammed
Aye
Thank you
Five ayes for this item
Great
The motion passes
Thank you all so much
Thank you, commissioner
Next on our agenda is the executive director's report
Deputy Executive Director Goon, you have the floor at this point
Good afternoon, commissioners
I'm sitting in for executive Director Metruck while he's away on business travel in Australia, participating in a program on policy opportunities related to energy and security sponsored by the Aspen Institute
I would also like to acknowledge the Memorial Day holiday yesterday and express my gratitude to all of the port staff who have served in the military for risking their lives in service of our country
This is more than just a long weekend or a marker for the beginning of the summer
Memorial Day was established as a federal holiday to remember and honor the men and women who died while serving in the United States armed forces
Their sacrifice should never be forgotten
I hope everyone was able to use the holiday to recharge and reflect on members of their family who provided this valuable service
Before we continue with today's meeting, I would like to share some quick highlights
Earlier this month, we held a groundbreaking for our maritime innovation center at Fisherman's terminal, a project many years in the making
The Maritime Innovation center is designed to be a beacon for innovation, transforming one of the oldest port structures into the state of art facility that would attract investments and entrepreneurs to Seattle
Congratulations to the economic development team and many others across the port on this milestone
At our seaport, we welcome the celebrity edge cruise ship to our port for the first time
Our cruise season is well underway and we look forward to sharing more about this line of business at a future meeting at our airport
Our teams are still crunching the numbers for Memorial Day weekend, but this is usually the start of the busiest summer travel season
We do know that on Friday before Memorial Day, TSA officers screened more than 2.9 million individuals at airport checkpoints nationwide, setting a new one day record
Thank you to all the teams who kept our operations running smoothly during this period
I also wanted to provide an update on staff staff work on the sound insulation, repair and replacement pilot program
Staff has defined three phases in the timeline associated with the assessment, planning, surveying and reporting, as well as criteria for ensuring outreach incorporates an equitable approach outreach began last week when awareness postcards were mailed to approximately 3200 households in the 65 DNL on June 3, these residents will receive the first of three survey mailings
After we collect survey data, we will conduct the acoustic testing phase to inform our final approach
In addition to this work, the port will also host a part 150 in person kickoff meeting on June 5, 6th and 8th
More details for those events will be on our port website
Moving to today's commission meeting, I would like to highlight a few iteMS Many of the items on our agenda today relate to asset preservation and facility upgrades for our employees
Item eight B on our agenda is an additional funding for a facility upgrade to support our port construction services team
Item eight C helps preserve our assets at Bell Harbor Marina and Pier 66 through pile wrapping and protection
Item eight e supports our sustainable fleet plan through investing in infrastructure to power our vehicles Item eight F supports a facility upgrade for our firefighters and item eight G is a competition waiver for a grant application for the US Environmental Protection Agency Clean Ports program, climate and air quality planning grant application
You will also hear a resolution related to our mitigation bank program and progress on our redevelopment of Fisherman's terminal
Lastly, I would like to welcome many of our labor representatives who are in attendance today
We were in a briefing earlier where we heard updates on our efforts to release more First Amendment activity areas, so I appreciate their willingness to be here and share their concerns
Commissioner, that concludes my remarks for today
Thank you, deputy executive director Goon, for that report
So moving us along in the agenda, we are now at committee reports
Erica Chung, will you provide the report for us? Good afternoon again, Commission president Mohammed commissioners and deputy executive director Goon
I have three committee reports for you today
On May 21, Commissioner Felleman and Calkins convened the waterfront and industrial Lands Committee meeting with three items for briefing and discussion, which was an update on Wasca, a briefing of the upcoming future lines of business study and an update on the real estate strategic plan
The port wide arts and culture board met on May 21, also with Commissioner Felleman in attendance
The board received briefings on two potential new maritime art installation projects at pier 66 to beautify new equipment necessary for shore power at the pier and a potential art installation at Fisherman's terminal
The board also received status updates on the redesign of the Ralph Helmick piece and an update on the current projects at checkpoint one
The Highline forum met on May 22, with Commissioner Felleman chairing the meeting and with community co chair Des Moines councilmember Mahoney in attendance
The forum received updates from the host city of Tukwilla administrator Marty wine on changes to the city leadership and within the community and their efforts to address the needs of asylum seekers on start 2023 annual report from port Community Engagement manager Marco Melanes and government relations director Nate Camino
Most notable was the success of the startled advocacy for a number of federal policy issues included in the 2023 FAA reauthorization bill that was signed into law on May 16
They also received an update on the part 150 study from Port aviation noise program manager Tom Baggerstrom
I apologize for the killing of the name there and the part 150 noise and land use compatibility study will evaluate the noise using an FAA required model, which will determine the noise footprint around SEA airport
They also received an update and phasing of the sound insulation repair and replacement pilot program from senior manager of aviation noise program Riot McMullen, which was created by the Commission on February 27, noting that postcards in multiple languages have been sent out alerting homeowners to surveys that they will receive after June 3 and an overview of such sustainable airport master plan near term project Environmental review process by Port Aviation senior environmental program manager Steve Rybold the draft National Environmental Policy Act Environmental assessment is still expected to be released in fourth quarter of this year, at which time the public will have an opportunity to comment
This concludes my report
Thank you
Thank you, Erica, for that update
Commissioners, are there any questions regarding committee reports hearing? None
I'll move us along in the agenda
We are now at the public comments section of our agenda
The Port commission welcomes public comment as an important part of the public process
Comments are received and considered by the commission in its deliberations
Before we take public comment, let's review our rules for in person and virtual public comments
Clark Cart please play the recording
We all get nervous at this part
The recording is long
It's only three minutes
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
Before proceeding, we will overview the rules governing public comment for your general information
Each speaker will have two minutes to speak unless otherwise revised by the presiding officer for the purposes of meeting efficiency, and the speaker shall keep their remarks within the allotted time, provided a timer will appear on the screen and a buzzer will sound at the end of the speaker's comment period
The commission accepts comments on items appearing on its agenda and items related to the conduct of port business
The presiding officer will ask speakers to limit their comments to these topics
This rule applies to both introductory and concluding remarks
Disruptions of commissioned public meetings are prohibited
General disruptions include, but are not limited to, the speaking before being recognized by the presiding officer holding or placing banners and signs in the meeting room in a way that endangers others or obstructs the flow of people or view of others at the meeting intentionally disrupting, disturbing, or otherwise impeding attendance or participation at a meeting refusing to follow the direction of the presiding officer or security personnel attempting to use the comment time for purposeful delay without conveying a discernible message using the comment period to assist in the campaign for election of any person to any office or for the promotion of or opposition to any ballot proposition, except when addressing action being taken by the commission on a ballot proposition appearing on its agenda directing public comments to the audience engaging in abusive or harassing behavior, including, but not limited to, derogatory remarks based on age, race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, disability, pregnancy, sex, gender, sexual orientation, transgender status, marital status, or any other category protected by law, the use of obscene or profane language and gestures, assaults or other threatening behavior and sexual misconduct or sexual harassment
For safety purposes
Individuals are asked not to physically approach commissioners or staff at the meeting table
During the meeting, individuals may provide written public comment before or after the meeting, and in addition, speakers may offer written materials to the commissioned clerk for distribution during their testimony to the commission
A detailed list of the public comment rules is available through the commission clerk
If a meeting is disrupted by an individual in attendance in the meeting room or by an individual providing public comment in person or virtually, the port will impose progressive consequences that may result in exclusion from future meetings
Written materials provided to the clerk will be included in today's meeting record
The clerk has a list of those prepared to speak
When your name is called, please come to the testimony table or unmute yourself
If joining, virtually repeat your name for the record and state your topic related to an item on the agenda or related to the conduct of poor business
For those joining virtually when you have concluded your remarks, please turn off your camera and mute your microphone
Our public comment period will now commence
Thank you again for joining us today
Is that really three minutes? It is, yeah
Just aye
it? Yeah
And it's the revised version
The long one was for sure
Okay, I'm going to go ahead and pull up our timer
Thank you
One moment
Thank you
And while you do that, if I could just say I wanted to echo deputy executive director Goon's comments just during her report
I want to thank our labor unions for being here today
And specifically, I want to just inform folks that we did extend our executive session today to discuss the issue around being able to assemble at the airport and to exercise your first amendment
And we're expecting a positive report out to our labor unions within the next couple days or maybe in about a week
And so I'm looking forward to that report reaching our labor unions
And again, thank you for all of you for being here
And public comment is an important part of our commission deliberation process
And so we encourage you all to come and provide these comments
And so I look forward to hearing from folks today
With that said, clerk Hart, please call the first speaker
Thank you, Madam Commission president, members of the commission, we have one person who has signed up virtually today
We then have 15 speakers from in room, so we'll call our virtual speaker first, and that is Marie Bell
Marie, please restate your name for the record and your agenda item or topic related to the conduct of port business, please
Good afternoon
My name is Marie Bell
Good afternoon, President Muhammad and commissioners
Thank you for allowing me to speak today
My comment today is for the benefit of adoption of resolution number 3823 and the resolution amending the policy directive for salaries and benefits for employees not covered by the collective bargaining agreement established by resolution number 3820 and providing an effective date for all amendments as of June 1, 2024
I'm a member of the black community at the Port of Seattle, and I have both black and tlingit heritage
I've been an employee since February of 1995, and as a member of the black and brown community, I feel we have been overlooked and underpaid
I also believe that the compensation package is a result of systemic racism that exists within the negro organization
It is my experience the port promotes our coworkers to positions that perpetuate the inequality they claim to be addressing with equity
They hire us
And when we share our work experience with our coworkers, those same coworkers end up becoming our supervisors and our managers
And from the findings of the Employee Engagement survey and the women of color assessment, the court's failure to promote tenured black and brown employees is having a significant impact on morale
Many of us have already reached the maximum of both the current and the new grading structure
And personally, my new grade is the equivalent of what it was in 2004
This compensation package does not reflect equity
And honestly speaking, it expresses a total lack of respect and disregards the years that I have served this organization
Thank you for your time
Clark Harper, please call the next speaker
Thank you, Marie
Our next speaker from in room is Jeanette Abevie
And for all of the people that I call today, I apologize in advance if I don't pronounce your name properly
Please forgive
And if you could please go ahead and restate your names for the record and your topic related to the conduct of port business or your agenda item, please
Okay
My name is Gandhi Abubu
Hi, everyone
My name is Ganeth Abebe, and I'm a g two employee here at the SEATAC airport
I'm here before you today on behalf of all my coworkers, to let you know that we have been fighting for the healthcare the past couple of months
We have present you with our personal stories and petitions demanding on healthcare
We understand that there is some work being done behind the scenes, but we also want to let you know that we are not going to give up on this fight
I'm wearing this pin today, and you will see my co workers wearing them, too
We want everyone to know that we need affordable health care, and we need it now
Thank you for listening
Thank you
Our next speaker is Karen
Sorry, Karen
If you could go ahead and repeat your name for the record and your agenda item or topic related to the conduct of port business, please
Hi, remember me? It's still Karina Babayans, wheelchair agent from g two
So nice to meet you guys here
Thank you for having us as speakers again
And I'm here today with my coworkers, you know, sitting on the back, and the union team to remind you guys that we still need the healthcare
We're still here
We're still fighting for it
We also have the buttons that supposedly all the people who signed the petition and more will wear it on their badges across the airport, that we keep people aware that, you know, we're still fighting for the healthcare
We still need it
I'm still sick
My mom still needs the healthcare
And we just want to remind you guys that we really hope on your decision, and we really want you guys to not only improve the airport from the inside as a construction part that is going on
Right
But also for the people who work here and make this all possible
So, yeah, we really hope on that
And we, you know, we keep fighting
We keep staying aware, and we did not forget
Thank you
Thank you
Our next speaker is Katie Garrow
And, Katie, if you could go ahead and repeat your name for the record and your agenda item or topic related to the conduct of port business, please
Happy to
Katie Garrow, she and her pronouns
I'm the executive secretary treasurer for MLK labor, and I would like to talk about badge access and First Amendment rights for workers here at the airport
MLK labor, as you well know, is a coalition of hundreds of thousands of unionized workers, including airport workers, many of whom labored here through the pandemic and are holding up the industry in a deluge of air travel
Currently, these workers want to be able to have the right to freely assemble, to win a fair contract, and to be able to have a union
In October of last year, MLK labor raised these concerns around these two key issues
We sent a letter, and we've had a couple of meetings
Workers who want to draw public attention to their cause, like the flight attendants who you'll hear from soon, aren't able to have the large scale actions and demonstrations that we need to be able to garner public attention to win support for our cause
As you know, sit ins, pickets, marches are tactics that the labor movement and the civil rights movement and many other social movements use and rely on to be able to win public support for our causes
Airport leadership has told us that we can't demonstrate inside the airport like we used to because of TSA policies
But we've talked to our colleagues in San Francisco and in Los Angeles
And these problems or these policies do not seem to be an issue there
Thousands of workers in this airport are exploited every day
And currently there is no structure that allows for a union organizer to enter into the airport to talk to a worker unless a company here authorizes it
This system is unworkable and puts workers at risk of retaliation during a union organizing campaign
I know that all of you commissioners would consider yourselves pro union
However, currently the policies that SEA has for airport workers around First Amendment rights and around bad access for union organizers are hostile to union organizing and are not helpful
So we ask today that you help rectify these policies to be in line with our shared values of democracy, justice, fairness, and self determination
Thank you
Thank you, Katie
Our next speaker is Daria Noanola
And if you could please restate your name for the record, far better than I probably did
And your agenda item or topic related to the conduct of port business, please
Hi, my name is Diana Noynala
I am a organizer with the International association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
I just wanted to speak about my experience as an organizer here, trying to make organizing efforts in my experience
Like Katie Garrow recently said, it's hostile
I just want to share an experience here
So picture this
Me as an organizer
Multiple times I've been here and I've been speaking with workers before or after their work
And they're meeting with me, you know, in a very vulnerable situation, talking about and opening up about their interest in organizing
And a security officer walks in front of you and is kind of just watching, seeing what's going on, and then approaches you and asks you to leave the premises
As an organizer, we should be allowed to have First Amendment rights and speak to our people that are our workers that are interested in organizing
And if you are an organizer and you're speaking to somebody that's very vulnerable and afraid already to have an officer or a security guard ask you to leave the premises in the middle of your conversation, that deteriorates trust that takes away all opportunity and all vulnerability that the worker no longer will have and will no longer be brave enough to speak to you as an organizer
So I just want to share this to the commissioners and let you know that this is what's happening to organizers out here in Seattle, here at the airport, that are trying to make organizing efforts and share their own experiences of what unionizing can do for them
I'm a second generational unionized member
I actually am a first generation American from my family that immigrated here from Laos in Thailand
And I know that unionizing has changed my life and can change many more
But not having our First Amendment rights upheld here and being able to
To speak about organizing is really, really sad
And it's really hard to see that the tenants here are in support of allowing their workers to unionize when their security guards are telling us to leave
Thank you
Thank you, Diana
Our next speaker is Michelle Felhauer
And Michelle, if you could repeat your name for the record and your agenda item or topic related to the conduct of port business, please
My name is Michelle Fal Howard
Thank you for having me this afternoon
I just want to speak on the first amendment
Michelle, can you pull your mic closer? I believe it's on
Is the mic on? Sorry
Sorry
Michelle picked the wrong one
Maybe we'll just have her move to the middle
Or you can do that
Try this again
Thank you
My name is Michelle Felhauer with the IAM local 2202
Out of here
I just want to speak on the first amendment
Some of the examples of what I have experienced
One of the examples I have is why seated down by the security door, just taking a moment, was talking to one of the other agents, was then had the duty managers show up stating, I had a table set up, handing out flyers, which was not the case, but was then returned when they saw I did not have that happening
I stood up and was walking around waiting just to talk to some people
And I was then approached again by the duty manager
And the port of Seattle police was asked if I was surveying or handing out any information or soliciting
I explained, nope, just waiting for a co worker
And they were asked me to leave
Since I did have some flyers in my hand that was handed to me
I was also been asked to leave during the time of talking to members who want to organize
I have been asked when, on the first Amendment right of a permit on the SkyBridge, have been approached by the port of Seattle police to verify my permits
Or when I do have the permits, I'm on the sky bridge
I have also had the duty managers come out to verify our permits, which I would assume that they would already know we have the permits
They have come out to state that we are blocking traffic
And when asked to show us the video of how we are blocking the traffic, they would not do that
Just simple harassment on the process of organizing
Thank you so much for your comments
Thank you, Michelle
Our next speaker is Dominic Ojeda
And Dominic, if you could repeat your name for the record and your agenda item or topic related to the conduct of port business, please
Hello, I'm Dominic Ojeda
I am speaking about badge access and First Amendment rights
I'm Dominic Ojeda with UFCW 3000
We represent Hudson and duty free workers at the SEATAC airport
I won't give a speech about why unionized workers are important because many of you have accepted our campaign contributions and we've helped canvassed for you all
I know two of you have helped canvass for, so I'll focus on the greater power and balance that our workers have as these national companies operate here
Where are workers to exercise their First Amendment rights and demonstrate against the employers in their contract or fight for a fair contract? Hudson recently acquired a company named Stellar, which also operates at this airport
These companies are growing, and the way workers fight these increasingly powerful companies is by increasing their rights to fight
Unions under MLK labor have been more than patient and accommodating to the port of Seattle commissioners and staff to have workers rights respected at this airport
SEATAC is special as a major airport in the west coast, and it's special because it treats unions with the most hostility and indifference
At UFCW 3000, we've had unrestricted badge access for over a decade
I've been the union rep for our members for two years
I've gone through the appropriate security requirements to receive this badge and go through security every time I enter
Why are our union siblings restricted from receiving badges or go through unreasonable burdens for their badge? Badge policies should keep airport goers safe, not unions and workers rights
Out
UFCW and our members will stand together with our fellow unions as long as it takes, either with this commission or the next
Thank you
Thank you for your comments
Thank you, Dominic
Our next speaker is Stefan Moritz
Stefan and Stefan, if you could please repeat your name for the record and your topic related to the conduct of port business or your agenda item, please
Good afternoon, my name is Stefan Moritz with Unite here local eight
Good to see you all
It's been a while
I want to talk about badging access and free speech
I'm going to focus on badges
Local aid
Unite here used to have a direct badging relationship with the port of Seattle
In the past that was important because it created a level playing field and workers were not dependent on the goodwill of their employers, on who they can talk to, when they can talk to them, and how they're being treated when they talk to a union representative
That right was taken away
I don't remember exactly
Somewhere like eight to ten years ago
One example which echoes what you've already heard
One of our union organizers, Cindy Richardson, who had worked at the airport for 30 years and has been with the union for the next 20 years, was talking to workers
She was wearing a badge issued from one company
She was talking to workers
She knows a lot of people
They come up to talk to her
All of a sudden, port security shows up and says, you have to leave
You're not authorized to talk to this group of people
Turns out a company representative, an employer, had called the port security on Cindy, and she was escorted out of the terminal
And again, as somebody already said, that is chilling, right? Because workers speaking to her are all of a sudden thinking like, I don't know if I want to talk to the union
That seems kind of tricky to me
Right? So that's where we're at
I think one of the solutions that we had proposed in the many conversations that we had about this topic is that the unions should have a direct badging relationship with the port
It used to work
We never had a violation in all of our years that we had that unions are willing to be reasonable about what the rules are around having those badges, but we should not be dependent on employers to have access to workers
Thank you, Stefan
Our next speaker is Paula Isla McGill
And, Paula, if you could please repeat your name for the record in your agenda item or topic related to the conduct of port business, please
Good afternoon
My name is Paula Islam McGill
I am the local council president for Alaska Airlines flight attendants, represented by association of Flight Attendants CWA Council 19
Thank you so much for allowing me to speak today on the first Amendment activities policies here at SEATAC
For over 18 months, our members at Alaska Airlines, which are the largest and most passenger facing work group for Alaska, have been in contentious contract negotiations with management
In February, our flight attendants overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike by a vote of 99.48%
It is the first time we've taken such a drastic step in over 30 years since our historic chaos strike in 1993
Since July 2023, our members have held four informational pickets at SEATAC to raise public awareness regarding our financial struggles amid contract negotiations
It has been greatly disappointing that the impact of our message and the voices continue to be silenced by the restrictive policies of First Amendment activities at SEATAC airport
Picketing at airports should serve as a powerful tool for flight attendants and airport workers to raise awareness about issues such as fair wages, adequate rest periods, and safe and improved working conditions
But we cannot do this when the port of Seattle confines us to a remote location that does not even serve as the main access point to the airport
We need to be at the departure level near the ticket counters where passengers can hear and see that the airlines that they are flying on are poorly treating the cabin crew that is supposed to take care of them and keep them safe
At SEATAC, we are limited to 25 participants at the flag pavilion and two per SkyBridge that is unusually low and unnecessarily infringes on our free speech rights
25 people is less than 1% of the 3264 flight attendants based in Seattle
For Alaska Airlines, we are planning yet another picket on June 13, which is our worldwide, worldwide day of action for flight attendants
We are asking to be able to pick it and be more visibly seen
We're just asking to be seen and heard by the very people that we are trying to reach at our place of work
Thank you
Thank you for those comments
Clark Hart thank you
Our next speaker is Nicole Grant
Nicole, if you could repeat your name for the record and your agenda item or topic related to the conduct of port business, please
Thank you
Good afternoon
Nicole Grant with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 46
And I'm here to speak about two things
One is the first Amendment rights of workers in unions at SEATAC airport
And another thing is my members contract as electricians at the Port of Seattle at SEATAC, and I feel as though they are related
This Friday will mark the one year anniversary of when Port Electricians union contract expired, and it is not a best practice to let a contract expire for over a year before coming to an agreement
We know that the Port of Seattle port management has and can be the best, can lead in best practices, but this is not that
So we're looking to turn a corner here
I believe that we're close
There is a last topic of benefits that has been secured by other construction unions and building trades like operating engineers or plumbers
And we want to make sure that electricians have the same benefit as other construction workers who are our peers
But if we could get that wrapped up this week and vote that contract, it could come in in less than a year
And I think that would be a milestone to beat and hopefully it won't come to that next year or with our techs that are also bargaining on the topic of the First Amendment
I just want to say that I worked here for four years as a union electrician, and it was a long time ago
And when I think back on it, I think of all the cool stuff I did and all the incredible people I met, but I also think about the times that I was in real serious danger and the idea that my union wouldn't have access to me or to a potential new union member when they need it is unacceptable
And I think it's something that the commission has the power to address
Thanks
Thank you for those comments, clerk Hart
Thank you
Our next speaker is Shannon Sanchez
And Shannon, if you could please repeat your name for the record and your agenda item or topic related to the conduct of port business, please
Hi, I'm Shannon Sanchez
I am here to speak on badge access
I'm a union representative at Teamsters Local 117
I represent members here at the port working at the credential specialist employee parking, bus drivers, rental car facility, bus drivers, as well as the cashiers over at the toll plaza
As a union, we also represent the traffic support specialist as well as the port of Seattle police
So we're a little bit everywhere
When I come to the port to meet with my members, it's not as easy as one might think
I'm often left knocking on doors and windows trying to get somebody's attention, to be able to have access to my members
I am here often throughout the month
We have new employee orientations, labor management committee meetings
I have investigations for potential disciplinary matters, checking on working conditions, as well as posting important union information on the union boards
There's a lot of time of mine wasted just trying to get in and get access to my members
The most difficult is probably the north employee parking lot where I go and see my employee parking bus drivers
There's a security gate there, and I often get held up there at the gate trying to explain who I am, why I'm there, how long I'm going to be there, and what exactly I'm doing
And in the meantime, there's traffic piling up behind me trying to get access as most people don't leave themselves enough time to get on the bus and get to work on time
So it causes an incredibly stressful situation
And even if all of the cards line up, I still have to get a supervisor on the other end to answer the phone to say it's okay to grant me access to just see my members
It absolutely should not take that long for me to have access to my members
And for many unions, it doesn't
Some unions already have badge access, which is actually news to me because the first time I came here, I thought to myself how easy and nice it would be
Thank you for your time
Thank you for your comments
Our next speaker is Joshua Welter
Joshua, if you could repeat your name for the record, your agenda item or topic related to the conduct of port business please
Joshua Walter, Teamsters Local 117 Commission president Mohammed and members of the commission
Thanks for the opportunity to testify today
I'd like to speak about airport taxi
Last year in February, you all voted for a commission order for the next five years of the taxi program
There's a few items that also were spelled out for ongoing oversight in terms of improvements around dispute resolution and taxi marketing
We've been working over the course of the last year to provide proposals in good faith on those issues and I think that we're getting to the point where additional oversight from the commission is going to be helpful to kind of get the resolution that we want to see for those issues
So thank you for your oversight and also I just want to stay standing here in solidarity with my union siblings on the issues of badge access and first amendment free speech
So thanks so much
Thank you for those comments
Clerk Hart thank you
Our next speaker is worku beline
Worku, if you could go ahead and restate your name for the record and your agenda item or topic that you want to speak about today
Hello all your dear commissioner, good to see you all
My name is War Kubalayana
I am driving taxi airport taxi
Also I am union member
I would like to speak with you about taxi marketing, a topic that was included in the commissioner taxi order
In February of last year, our union developed a proposal support taxi marketing
The following encouragement of the port commissioner, particularly commissioner we present our proposal to port in October of last year
We are still waiting for written response from the port disputing being disappointed
Adel Slow Peace we hope you will receive a meaningful written response in our next meeting with the port staff so we can collaborate productively on the development of a program
At last I am thank you for your oversight and commitment to taxi drivers
Thanks so much
Thank you for those comments
Thank you
Our next speaker is Habe Jamek and Jave
If you could go ahead and repeat your name for the record
My name is Jbe Jamak
I'm one of the driver union and I'm speaking about the airport taxi driver union members
I would like to speak to you about union effort to support fair dispute and resolution for taxi drivers
Following the port commissioner's order of February last year, we have been negotiating with the port around appeal procedure
There are two issues that are remaining that we need to oversight
Our union believes that
Number one, our union believes that it should be fair, objective and standard for when the port restricted driver ability to work
Our union believes that bill should be heard by neutral decision maker
Thank you for your oversight and commitment
And thank you, the employees, port employees, Jeff Wolf and Peter Lynx, thank you for working with us
Thank you
Thank you for your comments
Our next speaker, Madam Commission president, is Jimmy Limerick
Welcome
And Jimmy, if you could go ahead and restate your name for the record and your agenda item or topic that you want to speak about related to the conduct of port business, please
Hello, my name is Jimmy Limerick
I have Terry Hyslop, my vice president
I'm the president of the ILWU local nine
I represent the security and operations workers here at SEATAC airport and I'm here to talk to you about First Amendment and badge access
I'm here in support of my fellow brothers and sisters, from all the representative employees you've heard from today and from the MLK
And I appreciate all this, all the things that they have done to address this issue with you
Yesterday was Veterans Day
I'm a veteran, 21 years of the United States Navy, and I wanted people to know that a lot of people sacrificed as we celebrated or remembered yesterday for First Amendment, the freedom to assemble, the freedom of speech, and also the laws that pertain to union organizing
That people have the right to do that
I've been shocked and dismayed sometimes that what I've seen some of the instances of people trying to just get together and talk as a group, as a port community, and then be dispersed by the airport duty managers or some other entity here at the port
An example of that was several months ago
I saw the IBEw with about four or five people out on the sidewalk on Highway 99 holding a sign
And right across the entrance, on the other side of a sidewalk, were two ADM's with their arms crossed staring them down
I brought that up to labor relations during our contract negotiations that I was very disappointed that the port would do such a thing, and I took it as a form of intimidation
I wanted to say that I think we should celebrate our union employees
We should celebrate our labor unions
They're the bread and butter of this port
The non representative employees do a good job too
I'm not discounting anything they do
But the union employees come to work every day
They do the hard work
They deserve the respect of their employer
Thank you
Thank you so much for your comments
Clark Cart I think we are at our last speaker
Yes, our last speaker today is JC Harris
And JC, if you could repeat your name for the record and your agenda item or topic related to the conduct of port business, please
JC Harris, ctacnoise.info so 3200 out of 9600 homes with port packages received these lovely postcards
I think it's fair to say that everyone assumed that when you created order 2404 that our over 1000 members would have at least some nominal involvement in the assessment process
But the program was not only designed with no public input, it was rolled out with no heads up
Many people receiving these postcards have already tossed them because they have no idea what they mean
Of the 10.5 million allocated for the program, over half is for this assessment
From what we can see, that consists of 3200 postcards, 3200 surveys, and 30 acoustic tests before a final report where you had intended to begin construction in 2025
The majority of the narrative in the presentation and survey concerns windows
I remind you that a port package is not just windows, it's a system
The presentation mentions acoustic testing, but not installation treatments to ceilings, walls, insulation
It also fails to discuss HVAC and airflow, which was a component of many thousands of these installations and required a sign off by a licensed engineer
And there's nothing in the presentation that explains how you actually get to fixing anyone's home in 2025
And we're struggling to understand how 32 postcards, surveys and 30 sight tests represents $5 million in value of state and federal taxpayers money
Even after getting a state law passed and free money to do this assessment, you're continuing to promote a tired narrative of determining if there is a problem rather than simply making it easy for people to get their port packages fixed
Please contact us and let's develop a program that can actually make that happen according to 2404
Thank you for your time, madam commission president
Thank you, JC
Madam Commission president, we do have another speaker who is asking to speak
There is Melinda George Henderson
Please proceed
And Melinda, if you could restate your name for the record and your topic related to the conduct of port business or your agenda item
Thank you
Good afternoon
My name is Melinda George Henderson
I am the local AFA 19 vice president here in Seattle for Alaska Airlines
This here is Jerry
He's my person that I'm always with
Twenty four, seven, and we work with
Paula, does this come out? There we go
That's a little more comfortable
Thank you
I had a bunch of stuff on here written down three, four, five different ways that I was going to address everybody
First of all, I just like to say thank you so much for having us
Instead of doing that, what I think I want to do is just maybe go over a little bit of history and come to where we are right now
So I've worked here at the port for 32 years, since 1992
I've seen a lot of things change
And when I first started out with Alaska Air Group, I did have a port badge
I had port access, and
Excuse me, I'm sorry
I am speaking about port access, port badge access, and the first right amendments
So port badging back then was quite a bit different, and I was thankful of the way that it actually operated
Flight attendants don't go through the same type of port badging that the rest of ground service or anyone else that actually needs access to the port would go through it
But I do believe that it's very important, especially for those that are trying to organize
What I have seen, I have seen in the past up through almost the pandemic
I've been here with other unions where we were able to go ahead and do our first amendment rights
I've been through quite a few protests with quite a few other people
And it was very nice to be able to do so because sometimes the outside world doesn't know what we're actually going through
And that has changed since COVID We can't do that anymore
We're in a place where we really need to get the word out
For us at Alaska, we always try to do the right thing
We pull permits with the city of SEATAC
We pull permits with the port of Seattle
And we follow the rules
Does it work for us? Not so much
Even when we're in the sky bridges, we get approached
We've done what we've needed to do
But they don't approach the other people that are at the other end of the bridge
I don't know
What's good for one is, I guess, not good for all
I appreciate your time and listening, but I wish that you guys would consider what we're looking to do for everyone
Thank you
Thank you so much for your comments
Thanks for having me
Clerk Hart, are there any additional signups for today? We don't have any additional persons signed up to speak
If you want a call from the room
Yeah
Is there anyone else present on the team's call or present in the room today who did not sign up but wishes to address the commission? If so, please state and spell your name and state the agenda item or topic related to the port conduct that you wish to speak about for the record
Welcome
Yes
No problem
Just state your name
My name is Brandon Johnson
Brandon
Brandon Johnson
May I have a seat right here, please? Do
And then just state your topic related to
Yeah
So I'm here to talk about the first amendment activities here as it relates to labor relations and labor rights
Perfect
Please proceed in the timer rules
Yeah
So I too am an employee here with Alaska Airlines, an employee of this airport
I got a COVID booster right here in this room
I've hugged total strangers
I've been attacked by total strangers
I've faced the whole gamut here
And I'm shocked and disappointed when we are permitted on the SkyBridge and your duty managers come out there to intimidate potential members of our organization
Those same people that you talked about earlier, those marginalized communities, those people that you are talking about protecting are the same people that we are trying to have a better future for
But your police department comes and questions us when we're permitted
Your duty managers come and they highlight things that we're supposedly doing wrong
But when we ask them where's the proof? Show us your evidence
They can't do nothing
So I wonder
You talked about Doctor King
And as you know, Doctor King was a champion for labor rights
And I just wonder what aye
thoughts would be when the police were talking about the police come and speak to us when the police come and intimidate
Not myself, my colleagues
I just wonder what Doctor King would say about that
I mean, you brought aye
up
So I think it's fair to point out that we are being harassed, that we are being intimidated and why is this allowed to happen? And what are we going to do here to change that? Thank you
Thank you for your comments
Are there anyone else who is present on teams or here in the room that would like to make any additional comments at this time? Well, thank you to everyone in the room for providing comments today
We really appreciate it
And again, it is an important part of the commission's deliberation process
And so just lots of gratitude for you all coming out here, being vulnerable and sharing your stories and experiences
And we take a lot of those, all of those comments very, very seriously
And we'll be looking into some of the items that you all have brought up today
Again, thank you for the time clerk Hart
Please give us a synopsis of any written comments that we've received today
Thank you
Madam commission president, members of the commission, we've received two written comments submitted for the meeting today
These have been previously distributed to you and will become a part of the meeting record
These come from Johnny Zamra and Linda Boynton, who both write regarding the port's port package update pilot program and note their concerns related to recent postcards announcing an upcoming survey
They state that the postcards for this survey announcement only went to one third of homeowners with port packages and without any details about the survey, they ask that postcards be sent to all homes with port packages and to work with ctacnoise.info at each step of the program
And that concludes our written comments received today
Thank you, clerk Hart
So, hearing no further public testimonies, we will now move to the consent agenda on our business agenda
Thank you all who provided comments today
Again, we appreciate your time moving us along to item number eight
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 agenda
Items at this time, the chair will entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda
Items covering items eight a, eight b, eight c
Item 8d was removed
Eight e, eight f, eight g and eight h
So moved
Do I have a second? Great
The motion has been made and seconded
Commissioners, please say aye or nay when your names are called
Clerk Hart
Thank you
Beginning with Commissioner Calkkins
Aye
Thank you, Commissioner Cho
Thank you
Commissioner Felleman
Aye
Thank you
Commissioner Hasegawa
Aye
Thank you
Commissioner Mohammed
Aye
Thank you
Five ayes and zero nays for this item
Great
The motion has passed
Great
So now I will move us back to item number eight D, and I can read that into the record
Please do, clerk Hart
Thank you
This is item 8d, adoption of resolution number 3823, a resolution amending the policy directive for salaries and benefits for employees not covered by a collective bargaining agreement established by resolution number 3820 and providing an effective date for all amendments as of June 1, 2024
Commissioners, you received a briefing on this item at the last commission meeting today
We are requesting adoption
Every year you approve the salary ranges and grades for port employees
This year, we ask you to approve jobs titles, salary ranges and pay grades that reflect the work underway to improve the ports compensation program
As you will hear in this presentation, the port is updating a program that is more than 20 years old to be more simple, more transparent and more equitable
This is a multiphase project
Approving the new job titles, salary ranges and pay grades is a key element, and we will continue implementing this program over the course of 2024
Joining us today is Katie Gerard and Kesha Reitstein from the human Resources Department
Katie, please
Please proceed
So we have the presentation that we did the briefing on at the last meeting, so we'll walk through those slides again for you today
Yeah
And if you want to keep it short, you're welcome to
If there's anything that you want to focus on, you're welcome to do that
And I think commissioners have some questions
Sure
So our presentation really goes through the process that we have gone through to get us to where we are today
We brought forward a phased approach where, and this would be the first phase of implementation, covering, just as deputy executive director Goon said, the pay structure along with that is all of the pay grades and the job with the new pay grade and the new structure assigned
So that is the gist of what we are looking for
There are some, of course, technical corrections that are proposed as well to update some definitions and just provide additional clarity in the resolution itself
We're happy to answer any questions that you may have, but the information is in the briefing
Thank you for just sharing a little bit more about that
We did pull this item on from the consent agenda today, and just for the public's benefit, in February 2024, the commission actually received a comps plan briefing
Each commissioner received that information, and at that time, we did ask for a delay in the process and ask that we go through a more thorough, deeper analysis, legal analysis, also being able to find
We had a lot of questions related to the practical issues being addressed in your process and how that worked, and many of us felt like that we got sufficient information back
That said, the item that comes before the commission today, we did receive more concerns from employees at the port asking us to continue to engage on this issue and additional questions and comments that us, as commissioners, don't have the answers to and would like to get additional information on, especially around how this would impact people from a practical standpoint and some of the market analysis that will be conducted
And it's my understanding that it's hard to pinpoint some of that in phase one, and we would get more clarification as part of the phase two process that HR is conducting
I'm confident that that process will go really well
That said, I know we do have a motion in front of us that will be introduced, and so I'll kick it to Commissioner Hasegawa to introduce that motion
Thank you, madam president
I moved that we direct staff to come back in advance of the implementation
Madam Commissioner
President
Through the commission
President to Commissioner Hasegawa, could you please move the main motion to adopt this resolution? First, I think there's two options on the motions that Commissioner Hasegawa would like to consider
I withdraw the former verbiage and I'd like to move that we postpone consideration of this item to a future board
So we will need to have the main motion on the floor in order to be able to postpone it to a different date
Okay? So just go ahead and move the motion to adopt the resolution, and then your motion to postpone will be in order
Okay
Madam President, I move adoption of resolution number 3823
I have a second second
And the motion has been made and seconded, and she has the floor
And I would like to
Is it a motion at that point to postpone to a time certain? Yes, ma'am
Okay
As stated by the clerk, the next meeting
The next meeting would be June 11, 2024
So, madam commissioner
President
Through the commission
President to Commissioner Hasegawa, I hear there is a motion to postpone to a time certain to June 11, 2024, for this resolution? That's correct
Clark, will you call the roll? Was there a second on the motion to postpone? I'll second, and I can
Bear with me just a moment on the motion to postpone this item to June 11, 2024, beginning with Commissioner Calkins
Aye
Thank you, Commissioner Cho
Thank you, Commissioner Felleman
Aye
Thank you, Commissioner Hasegawa
Thank you, Commissioner Mohammed
Aye
Thank you
Five ayes, zero nays to postpone this item to June 11, 2024
Thank you, Clerk Hart
And commissioner
So we will move to postpone that
I know that is not the most favorable solution for our HR team, but we will send those additional questions and hope to get answers in the meantime
Thank you again for the time
Thank you
All right, so moving us along to our new business section of the agenda, we have three new business items today
That
Those are, items ten b and ten c will be heard together with items ten b being a briefing and an action request on items Ten C
Clark Hart, please read the first item into the record, and then deputy executive director Goon will introduce the item
Thank you
This is agenda item ten a, introduction of resolution number 3824
A resolution to determine 500 mitigation credits from the ports terminal 117
This is t 117, mitigation bank, site R, surplice
I'm sorry, I wanted to say area mitigation bank, site R, surplus, in accordance with RCW 53.08,090 and ex 30, and to authorize the executive director to enter into a purchase and sale agreement to sell those credits at fair market value
Commissioners, the port was recently approached with an offer to buy 500 habitat credits from the Ports Habitat bank at Duwamish
People, Rivers People's park
This transaction would be the first of its kind for a port in Washington state and represents a major accomplishment for our environmental team
We will seek adoption of this resolution at the next commission meeting
Presenters today are Sarah Auger, Director, maritime environmental and sustainability, John Sloan, senior manager, environmental programs, environmental planning and permitting and compliance, and Kathleen Hurley, senior environmental program manager
Great
Thank you, commission and deputy executive director
This is Sarah Auger as mentioned and just so pleased to be here today
We're going to introduce you to a topic this afternoon of a proposed habitat credit transaction
It's very exciting
It's a great opportunity for the port
We'll be asking you to consider a resolution to move the forward
Just a couple words about how we got here
With foresight and vision, the port has prepared for many years by establishing a mitigation bank line of business and methodically cleaning and restoring lands so we would prepare, be prepared for opportunities like this one
I think you will find that this transaction we propose has multiple benefits for the port, including financial and environmental benefits for the port in the region as well
This transaction can help the port make increased progress on our century agenda goals
You'll hear a little more about that in our presentation
And the transaction leads the way in demonstrating an application of mitigation bank tools for ports in Washington state
With that, I want to transition to the formal presentation and our program staff presenters here, John Sloan and Kathleen Hurley
Thank you, Sarah
If we could go to the first slide
So thank you, commissioners deputy director, Goon
We're really excited about this, to be here
This is, we're going to be talking about a resolution to surplus and sell mitigation credits, as well as authority to sign the purchase and sale agreement with our customer to sell them at fair market value
And first, this is a long journey to get to this point
Point
And we've built a project that we're very proud of
I want to hand it to Kathleen to describe what is a mitigation bank, because it's not common knowledge for most people
And what is a mitigation bank credit and how does it relate to the Duwamish River People's park and also share some kind of an update of where we're at with that project and all the success that we've had with it
Thanks, John
Next slide, please
So the Duwamish River People's park and Shoreline habitat area is a 14 acre site that's located in the south park community of South Seattle
It's very exciting because as John mentioned and Sarah mentioned, it took us over 20 years to develop this site, from acquisition to cleanup to then actually building a habitat restoration site that includes important public access areas that connects the community to the river as part of this plan
This is our first mitigation banking site within our mitigation banking plan, and a mitigation bank is essentially what we would call sort of a conservation finance tool whereby a bank sponsor, which in this case is the port, builds a habitat which is larger than which is typically larger, an area that then generates credits, and those habitat credits can then be sold to entities that need them, need to offset their impacts within a watershed
These can be used for ports use
They can also be used for other maritime industries
And so it also relates to our mission to support maritime industry
So this site has generated 521.5 mitigation credits, or what we've also called habitat credits
This site is, it's important to mention, is under a conservation easement, the sale of these credits, the transaction of those does not change the port's commitment to the site
We will retain ownership
We are in a ten year monitoring plan
We have a 20 year, and after the ten year monitoring plan, we have a 20 year stewardship commitment
So we will be engaged and involved in this site no matter what
As the bank sponsor, we are obligated to ensure that this site continues providing those important environmental benefits in perpetuity
As I mentioned, this is the first project in the Ports Mitigation bank proposal
We first came up with this site as part of a plan in the Duwamish river restoration Plan in 2009 that was further refined in our portfolio restoration plan in 2016, and then finally in 2019 in our mitigation banking prospectus submitted to the Washington State Department of Ecology and the US Army Corps of Engineers t 117, or Mitigation bank site number one, has been a cornerstone of those plans throughout the entire process
What we know now, three years in into our monitoring plan, is that this site is an astonishing success
It has increased the acreage of marsh in the lower Duwamish by 40% while also providing important public access
Additionally, we have caught Chinook, and through our monitoring plan, we have not kept them
We release them when we are monitoring, but we also know it's become, and it will continue to become an important fish, wildlife and public community asset
We have planted over 40,000 native plants at this site
We continue to monitor them
As I mentioned, we are in our second year of monitoring of a ten year monitoring plan, and we anticipate ongoing success and benefit from this site, both from the environmental aspect, the public access and then also with this transaction, hopefully from a financial standpoint
So with that, I will pass this back over to my colleague John to continue discussion of this
Thanks, Kathleen
Next slide, please
So Kathleen mentioned some of the important dates here
I just want to review a quick timeline
The first date on here is 2016, when we started the habitat initiatives line of business
But it goes back long before that
The site was purchased in the year 2000
And then in 2006, after some deliberation with the Environmental Protection Agency, our commission, your predecessors, went into the neighborhood in South park and asked the community, what do you guys want us to do with this site? We had planned on doing some maritime industrial use
The community spoke loudly that they would like to see habitat and public access built there
And unanimously, your predecessors approved that as a future use
Then we set about cleaning up the site through 20, 1314 and 15, then designed the habitat that would follow
As Kathleen mentioned, we submitted our approval for a bank in 2019
Then we really set about marketing these credits
The site generates 521 credits
We needed customers for those credits
Credits are surplus to our needs
And then in 2024, earlier this year, we had the fortune and circumstance of a customer we'd been courting came forward and said, yes, they would like to purchase 500 of these credits
Next slide
Some really important background here
There are 521 credits, 0.5, being generated at this site
We're proposing to surplus 500 of them
We have a pipeline of credits to serve our own needs and our own liabilities through many additional sites that we have in our inventory of restoration sites
So these are surplus to our needs
As Kathleen mentioned, we're not selling the Duwamish river people's Park
We're selling the intangible assets that reflect the ecological lift that's represented by these credits
We are on the hook to continue to own the site, maintain the site, keep it shiny, and really serving the community in perpetuity
One other important point
We've determined that the credits are surplus pursuant to our new mitigation banking policy for surplus and sale of credits, as well as state statute related to surplus of property
Next slide, please
1 second
And I wanted to underscore the benefits of this transaction
Through this transaction, we continue to build habitat and furtherance of our century agenda goal
Oh, back one
Yeah, unfortunately, I don't have controls here
It's the last one
Here's super tiny
I can wing it
Can you talk about the benefits there? Yeah
We have a goal under the century agenda to enhance, restore, create 40 additional acres of habitat
The Duwamish river people Park gives us 14 acres
We have plans to develop another ten at terminal 25
And as I said, an inventory of other sites through this conservation finance vehicle to get to the 40 acres and hopefully beyond the cash flow from this transaction that we're proposing will be or can be used to support additional habitat restoration
And through this first transaction, we've established a process, templates of the purchase and sale agreement, a term sheet
The process we go through to surplus and sell credits has now been clearly articulated, so expect future transactions as well
And the thing I'm really excited about is this is a perfect example in my view of the triple bottom line, the people's park through the viewpoint pier, public art canoe and kayak launch
It's easy to see the community benefits associated with that project
14 acres of habitat providing Chinook salmon refugia
Also easy to see the environmental benefits
Now with this transaction, we can see financial benefits, too
So all three boxes are ticked, and this project is essentially paying for itself
Next slide
Just want to restate the request
This is the first reading of a resolution
We wanted to give you information about the transaction and the mitigation bank site
We'll be coming back on June 11 for second reading, where we'll be asking the commission to determine that 500 credits are in fact, surplus in accordance with state statutes and our port policy, and then authorize the executive director to sign the purchase and sale agreement with the customer to sell them at fair market value, which we've determined is approximately $48 million
So with that, we'll entertain questions
Thank you so much for the presentation
Are there any questions for staff at this time from commissioners Commissioner Hasegawa? So how many credits total are we talking about involved with the sale? 500 credits
Mitigation credits
How many of those are for? Is that for the people's park? The park generates 521.5
Over time, 500 of those will be transacted in this action, and this would be the first time we've engaged in something like this
Is this the port of Seattle? Is this the first time this has happened for any other port authority? This is unique in terms of its size and type of any kind of mitigation bank transaction sponsored by a port
There are other public and private banks in the state, but none have had a transaction like this
It's our understanding that no other ports in Washington have sold their credits
So some ports have credit banks, but they use them just for their own purposes
And then there are other banks that have done several transactions but not owned by ports
So this is unique in that aspect, but we're not the first public entity to have ever sold
There's another example of another jurisdiction
Washington state, for example, the Washington state Department of Transportation, working together with the city of Kent, has a small bank in the green Duwamish, and they sold, I believe, one to two credits a couple of years ago
Very, very small scale transaction
No bank, public or private, in the state has had a transaction of this magnitude
So who currently uses habitat credits? Habitat credits are used by developers
Maritime, industrial folks who need to repair or build a new dock have some development that impacts the environment
Usually aquatic areas are wetlands or listed species
Regulations require that they offset those impacts
So they need either to build a project on their own site, which most of our folks on the waterfront don't have the room to do it, or they buy credits from a party like the port, who builds them in advance and then can transact them with them, and those are essentially extinguished
The regulatory agencies that are issuing the permits for that development recognize those credits, extinguish them so they can't be sold again, and then the developer gets their permit to move forward
Okay, but we're not talking about opportunity to develop any piece of the people's park
No, no
And why would we? What does it mean to sell our credits? So to sell the credits, we have a line of business we set up in 2016, knowing that we had this long list of properties that we wanted to do habitat restoration on, but lacking for different funding mechanisMS Sometimes we do restoration to serve our own mitigation needs
We're repairing, like, terminal five
We might need to do some
An acre of restoration somewhere, or the SAMP, and we would have to do that work somewhere on our own site or purchase them from somebody else
The purchaser of these credits owned a shipyard, ran a shipyard, World War Two era, at the north end of t five
They have historic environmental liabilities that they need to offset, and they're using our credits to do that
So what does this mean for the Duwamish river people's part? And the site was designed for credits that could be sold
The site will not change in appearance
One of the obligations of selling these credits is that we maintain and act as stewards of the site so that that environmental benefit endures
So why sell instead of just have our own restaurant? Conservation project
We're trying to achieve the century agenda goal to get to 40 acres and beyond someday
So this is the conservation finance mechanism we're using to get the cash flow we need to invest in more and more habitat
Otherwise, it's just using tax levy dollars or general fund money to build habitat
We like the idea of using other people's money to do it brings other revenue to bear on the interest
And I would like to just add that, Commissioner Hasagawa, with your question
What happens at the park? As Sarah mentioned, nothing changes
We have a conservation easement that is over the park property, which means that no other type of development would happen there
And so it will maintain its public access
The habitat benefits that will not change
It's really credits are awarded based on the upper uplift, the benefit that's provided from constructing the habitat and those benefits
Thank you for acknowledging that there's an easement in place that preserves the ecological integrity of the duometer of Rose People park, as well as the community benefit of that park
And as opposed to just keeping the credits and using it for our own project, I'm also hearing you say that it expands our opportunity for habitat restoration in other places
So more than just like a business transaction, I think it's important that we're just lifting up and exposing that this is part of a greater strategy to broaden our footprint towards some of our environmental goals for our properties
Thank you
Thank you, Commissioner Hasegawa, for your comments and questions
Commissioner Cho, are we aware of any other ports that have been able to sell their carbon credits? Us carbon credits? And this is regarding habitat credits
Yeah
So we're not aware of any other ports that have sold habitat credits
So we should get an award for that
I think I might have one for you
You know, I think there's an argument to be made here
I understand the argument from the port perspective
I don't disagree with the philosophy that we need the capital to do this work, and this is an opportunity for us to recapitalize, to continue the flywheel
But there's also a more macro argument that could be made that by selling the credits and not banking it, you are allowing others to just pollute and enabling others
In theory, it's kind of zero sum
And so I'm curious why, what the line of, other than a financial reason, which could be the only reason, which is a fair argument, at the end of the day, wouldn't we be doing a far greater impact by just banking the credits? No, the credits are designed as mitigation, and it is a fair critique of mitigation that some have portrayed it as a
What do you mean by no, the credits? The park is designed and we've pursued certification of the site for credits to be used as mitigation
Correct
But the credits then are sold by two corporations that go out and pollute
Well, in this case, these credits are resolving historic natural resource damage liabilities
So the
And I'll make my sales pitch for mitigation banks as being better than a zero sum game
With mitigation banks, you're generally building a project restoration project that's larger, strategically located in the watershed and a more benefit to fish and wildlife than if a private party who had some sort of either future liability for a permit mitigation or a historic liability just went and built it on their own site
It would be smaller, poorly managed, lots of examples of how projects like that have failed
So by doing work in advance that's larger and better located, we're actually getting ahead
We're doing things that make a difference
And the federal government, state government have all recognized that mitigation banks are a preferred method of mitigation as compared to what they call permittee responsible or private party mitigation that's smaller and not as valuable
Yeah, I mean, I don't think I disagree with any of what you just said
I guess my point is if we harvest these habitat credits and we have them in our hand
Right
We could choose to hold onto them indefinitely
Right
Or as we are doing now, choosing to sell them off, which is to offset pollution somewhere else
Right
They will be used to
It's a mitigation tool, so it will be used to offset impacts
Maybe it's not pollution, but impacts
That's the intent
So kind of the end user is irrelevant if you adapt the regulatory construct of a mitigation credit
If I may, I see that Director Stephanie Jones
Joan Stebbins has her hand up
Would you like to add some comments to Commissioner Cho's questions? Yes
Thank you, President Mohammed
I wanted to add my perspective on this as a maritime director
And actually, when we created the habitat mitigation bank was when I was the environmental director for the maritime division
This is a vision that we've had for quite some time
And the idea is that if we just use the tax levy to build pieces of habitat, we would only be able to build so much
But the idea that we built a bank and then this creates like a self funding mechanism, we get these funds in that continues to support, and it doesn't specifically go into a fund, but this is funds that continue to support generation of more habitat and really help support
And I will say the other thing about this is that we have an expertise that in building habitat, that very few have
I would argue we are the best at this in our region
So we build habitat and it works
This allows us not only to be the builder of habitat in a way that really that others couldn't achieve, but I think even more importantly, it creates a self funding engine that then creates more habitat
That was the vision when we created this
I guess it was seven years ago
And this is the very definition of patient capital that we have been at this for quite a while
This is a realization of really a vision that we've had for some time to really enable us to continue building more habitats
Thank you for allowing me to speak
I just want to be clear about what point I'm trying to get at
I was trying to get it out of you guys, but clearly it's not registering
If there is a financial aspect to this and that is the reason why we're selling these credits off
Let's just admit it, right? And say, like, saving the environment costs money and that's what we need, and this is a way for us to do it perpetually
Right
I was trying to ask you if there's other reasons why we would sell off the credits other than the reasons that Stephanie just pointed out and that you all are telling me, but I think we should just be really transparent about this
Like, sustainability isn't cheap
I go around the world and I say this all the time, this isn't cheap
And it makes us, as a port, more expensive to do business with, quite frankly
Right
There's an argument here that someone's got to pay for it
Right
And the question is very poignant
Do we use tax levy dollars? Do we use, you know, where do we get the money for it? And if we could do
If we create
If we create the system whereby others will pay for it, I agree with you, John
I do think this is an incredible way forward
But there are those out there who will argue that we should just hold onto these credits because on net, it's a net positive
Right? Do you understand what I'm saying? Okay
I just want to make sure that mitigation banking
Oops, wrong
Mitigation banking isn't the only way that we're accomplishing this entry agenda goal
We have a sustainable shorelines program where we're softening hard shorelines, installing wood and topsoil and marsh plants, etcetera
And much of our restoration goals will be achieved through that as well
So this is part of a kind of a multi step
I agree with Stephanie
We're the best at this
I just want to make sure people in the public who might be a little jaded about how we're doing this understand why it's necessary
So thank you all for the great work
There are critics of mitigation in general, but the regulatory contract of our state and federal government has embraced mitigation as the best practice for addressing impacts and overcoming them
And you'll find that many times the mitigation units far exceed the impact that was caused
So you do get some lift with that as well
That's great
Thank you, guys
Thank you, Commissioner Calkins
I really like the system
I recognize it's 24 years since purchase of the property
This is a process that takes a long time
But I love the idea that here we have this property, we're able to bring it from Brownfield State to a habitat that's beautiful
I remember when we did the first turn of the shovel down with community members from, from South park and Georgetown present
Then we now accomplish this, get this cash flow out of it that we could then use, say, for t 25, do the same thing, create a new set of mitigation credits, which then could then cycle into a new and in perpetuity
I think it's a really clever way of dealing with what you described as the sort federal and state regulatory environment while also just doing the right thing to clean up these properties and creating a sort of cyclical cash flow cycle that allows us to keep reinvesting in these expensive efforts
And I think it's going from the hypothetical to the concrete and saying here we have this really important ecosystem on the Duwamish river that quite honestly, not all parcels of property are as important, but an estuary like that has got to be very high on the list of critical spaces in the overall ecological system
And so the fact that we get to do it in that space must be very impactful
Impactful on an acre per acre basis
So I think it is
It does kind of, it's hard to understand from a transaction basis
But I do think this is a pretty elegant way to address the need to keep doing, make sure this cyclical and we keep working at it
I just wish it could go faster
I wish we could do it quicker
And so my question is, you know, it says on the benefits cash flow can support habit restoration on other port properties
What's next in the queue? We have a couple sites that are in design
Thank you for your comments and your question
We have two sites
One is terminal 25
And right now we're almost, we're getting to 30% design
We anticipate construction in about 2029 or 30
That's a ten acre site
And in the east waterway, a critically important part of the salmon life cycle in our saltwater marine environment
T 117 is in the estuarine environment
And so what we're looking at is kind of a hole of watershed approach of how can we phase our restoration such that it benefits salmon throughout its life phase
We also have another project, a much smaller project about two acres in terminal t five southeast
And that actually arose from our sustainable shorelines program, where we inspected shorelines and realized they were severely eroding
And we had an opportunity there to improve that shoreline, stabilize it, while also providing some environmental benefit
That one, we just are almost
We're probably at about 25% design, so almost 30% design, not construction date to be determined, but so those are two projects that are in the pipeline that we're working on design
And like you, we wish it could go faster
And I know it's not an exact acre equals x number of credits, but, like, for t 25, what would it generate in terms of mitigation? Bank credits? About 642
Even more at this point in time, it's highly dependent on design and habitat elements
And so where we are in the design process is we work with the regulators, and we're currently tweaking that conceptual design such that we can move forward to 30%
But right now, we anticipate about 642 credits will be generated there
And then the other site that we're working on would be about 50 ish credits
And again, because we're still in about early stages of design, you know, that can be tweaked a little bit depending on the benefits and the design of the project
But we seek to maximize credits while also maximizing the environmental benefit in these designs
Thank you, Kathy
And I see Commissioner Felleman's hand is up
Commissioner Felleman, you have the floor
Yeah
Thank you
Thank you for that presentation and the creative work that you're doing
A couple thoughts
One is the idea that by us acquiring the habitat, we can do these larger pieces and have the continuity through the watershed
All that makes a lot of sense versus having industries doing it a piece at a time
But also the question that Commissioner Cho raises is an interesting one in that it's like paying your carbon offsets rather than not flying
You are paying to that net neutral idea
There's an interesting thought
In terms of historic pollution, we still have our own liability, so we're going to spend some of these credits for assuageing our own guilt
That is our obligation to do so
And I see for all the other industries that are sitting on historic pollution and stuff like that, this is a great use of trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again
It is an interesting question, though, if there's like, you know, more recent events like, you know, negligence going forward, whether that this has the same
It's still the benefit of having the habitat protected
But is, you know, otherwise it's just like a liability for an industry that has an oil spill or something like that
Right
There's no
Would that be, I guess the natural resource damage assessment would determine whether they would have to then turn around and do have a debt project
Or would they just be paying for an incident, you're asking
So I think regulators will determine who is obligated and lawyers will determine who has liability
And I think I'll leave it at that
No, but I'm just saying like, you know, I'm just saying the difference between a historic pollution issue and a current, like, malpractice
Right
And so using the banking credits to offset, you know, somebody else's historic problem versus to offset a
What might be seen as a negligence
That's sort of getting at Commissioner Cho's question of, you know, are we
Are we sort of letting somebody else
I guess paying for the credits is the way if they're paying us, I'm just trying to think through the point they're paying us, then it would be better than just having money spent without having the habitat protected
So I think I just sort of answered my own question on that
I do like the idea, but one of the questions was initially that it was like a ten year monitoring project
So in order to assure that this goes on forever
What is the frequency of monitoring? To know the ecological values are preserved
I can take that
Thank you for your question
We have a ten year monitoring period
We're in year two
So we actually started at year zero, which is our baseline period
We monitor every single year
The performance monitoring varies a little bit year to year
And also as the project matures
So, for example, we're undertaking sediment sampling for contaminants
That's happening almost every year in these early years
As well as fish sampling is happening almost every year during almost
I think it's years zero through five
But then as the site matures, then that monitoring frequency becomes a little bit less
We also monitor for the stability, the physical stability of the site
To understand how is sediment moving through the site
Is there any part of the site that's becoming unstable, do we need to take action? We're also monitoring the vegetation as well as all the bugs that are produced by the plants and in the sediment to understand what fish might be eating
So that intensive period occur
And all of those items are being monitored throughout this first ten year period
Then when we complete the ten year period, we enter into what's called a 20 year stewardship phase
We will still have some monitoring requirements during that phase, but they will not be as frequent and they might be slightly different than what we're doing now depending on what the site looks like at that point in time
And when, as we approached year ten of monitoring, then we will be working with the regulators to develop that 20 year stewardship plan
And just to be clear
All right
And this will continue to go on this week
Sorry, this has to go on forever, though, right after this 20 year stewardship plan, we would, we would then again meet with the regulators and figure out what the next step is
I anticipate that we will have some level of monitoring beyond that
But, you know, to be determined what that would look like at that point in time
And I wanted to just add in to be clear, I would imagine
Go ahead
Oh, just that ten years of intensive monitoring and the 20 years of stewardship our commitments at the port has already taken on independent of this transaction
So because of our commitment to that land, that property, we will be doing that stewardship
Well, that was my understanding
That's why I was just wondering
So now that you have this imperpetuity obligation on top of that, it was just wondering, like, you know, obviously I would assume once the site is fully mature, then you would be less likely to have it, you know, fail, shall we say? I would assume you're getting through this emergent phase, you monitor it, and then I would assume, right, you don't have to do it as frequently, but there's still some obligation
There isn't, but it does
This transaction does not add an additional layer of stewardship commitment beyond what we've already committed to
And I think that the port is very proud of that property and will be a long term stewardship in that area for years to come
Thank you for those answers
Okay, so you're saying 20 years
20 years is the end of our obligation? Technically
I see three fingers up
I just want to know
Technically we have a, each of these mitigation bank sites will have a ten year, very intensive maintenance and monitoring program requirement
So we're out there almost every year
We're doing quite a lot of work
And then from year eleven to year 30, there's
It's called the long term stewardship program where you're going out less frequently because the site has matured
It's maintaining itself for the most part but still needs a little attention
And then from year 30 on, in perpetuity we still have some obligations under the conservation easement to maintain the site go out, make sure it's staying, doing what it's supposed to do
And one of the coincident benefits of having to do these intensive monitoring programs and longer term stewardship programs is it's allowed us to scale up our program
We now have conservation or contracts with the Washington Conservation Corps to do maintenance
We have a team that goes out to do the monitoring
We've developed protocols for that
And that then spills over to our 1617 other habitat sites that aren't in the mitigation bank that enjoy the benefit of having that sort of stewardship
Thank you
Does that congratulate you? And we still have obligations, though ourselves
Right
We're sort of paying this forward but we're still going to have to need credits for our own work too
Right
And, commissioners, we are happy to provide additional check ins with you if you have more questions too
If any of you would like to meet myself and our technical team would be glad to answer additional questions
I don't mean to cut you short, Commissioner Felleman
I just want to make sure you all were aware of that opportunity too
Thank you
Thank you for letting us know
Do you want to answer that last question that Commissioner Felleman asked? Do you want to restate it? Is that a yes or no or a number that could be provided? I think we can just take it offline
I took up plenty of time
Thank you
Thank you
Commissioner Felleman, appreciate you hearing
No further questions for this item
Is there a motion in a second to introduce resolution number 3224? So, second
Thank you
The motion has been made and seconded
Commissioners, please say I or nay when your name is called
Clerk Hart
Thank you
Beginning with Commissioner Calkins
Aye
Thank you
Commissioner Cho
Aye
Thank you
Commissioner Felleman
Aye
Thank you
Commissioner Hasegawa
Aye
Thank you
And Commissioner Mohammed
Aye
Thank you
Five ayes, zero and Nays for this item
Thank you for the presentation and for answering the questions
The motion has passed
Clerk Hart, please introduce the next item into the record
Then deputy Executive Director goon will introduce the item
Thank you
Madam Commission president, members of the commission I just want to note that that resolution was just introduced and it will be back before the commission at the next meeting on June 11
Thank you Clark Hart
And then this is items ten b and ten c
We will actually read these together today, beginning with ten update regarding Fisherman's Terminal Maritime Innovation center and site improvements project, interpretive signage and public art programs with accompanying item ten c authorization for the executive director to authorize additional funding in the amount of $250,000 for public art from the Waterfront Art pool for Fisherman's Terminal Maritime Innovation center and site improvements project for a total estimated project cost of $36,858,000
Commissioners last week we broke ground on Fishermen's Terminal Maritime Innovation center
That project is part of a larger redevelopment effort to enhance the visitor experience through improved wayfinding signage and public art
The interpretive signage is nearing completion with anticipation anticipated design completion by the end of this month following the status update of this project, we will seek your authorization to acquire art for the site
Part of the ongoing work of the Portwide Arts and Culture Board is to define the governance for a portwide public art program
Maritime has been working with the art program manager Tommy Gregory for art support and guidance on public art selection as well as civic art project management
Kira Lee, Director, real estate development and Planning Administration Kelly Purnell, Capital project manager, Waterfront project management is joining us today
Thank you
Thank you deputy director Kuhn and esteemed commissioners
Happy to be here to talk about yet again about Fisherman's terminal and its redevelopment
Two parts right now, I'm going to be talking about the process to bring new interpretive signage to the public space improvements we've planned and funded as part of our Fisherman's terminal redevelopment project
And then a second presentation, I'll be joined with Kelly and Toni to talk about enhancing our art investment at Fisherman's terminal in line with our construction of the awesome Maritime Innovation center
So next slide please
Next slide
This update is related to some important cultural investments we're making as part of our overall Fisherman's terminal revitalization project
What we're going to talk about here is progress on establishing new interpretive signage and the partnerships that we've invoked to make this new signage relevant to our contemporary understanding of our culture and our emphasis on fishing and the history of fishing at Fisherman's terminal
Providing new site improvements was a primary goal of the Fisherman's terminal strategic plan that was pursued in 2016
At that time, we embarked on a strategic plan for the renewal and revitalization of Fisherman's terminal at its centenary
One of the key assessments that guided our projects was the interest in engaging the public on the past and the future of Fisherman's terminal
A whole series of improvements to the public realm came out of this aspiration to provide for educating the public about the role of fisheries to hopefully increase revenues for our existing businesses there, to improve the partnership between the port of Seattle and interested organizations, and increase the literacy of the general public on the maritime industry
Those were the focus of our interpretive signage goals, and you'll see how we've been working with that ever since to bring us to where we are today
Next slide, please
The Fisherman's terminal site improvements include not only the interpretive signage and art programs which we'll be speaking about today, but a whole series of reinvestments that channel the public into important vantage points throughout the terminal to look and watch this working waterfront from a safe and proximate distance so the fishers can do their work and other laborers and tenants can do their work, while at the same time providing for an invitation to the general public to come in and learn more
These improvements are three general buckets landscaping, which include improvements to the crosswalks signage, the interpretive program we're going to be talking about in detail today, but also comprehensive wayfinding for all modes of travel throughout the Fisherman's terminal site and a new monument sign in the entranceway along Emerson and improvements to the site lighting
This illustration shows you generally where these overall improvements will go, but today we're going to focus on the interpretive signage
Next slide, please
In order to really come to grips with the needs of improving the interpretive signage, we had to look at what our aspirations were, but also look at what's there today
Many, if not all, of you have been out to Fisherman's terminal, and when we hired Cascade, a signage firm that supported this overall project in its early days, they were looking at what the existing signage performed, how well it performed, what it was consisting of, and what we wanted to do with it
One of the major facets of their observations was an absence of the indigenous life and the immigrant workers voice and the interpretive history content that was on the science that we have today
That became for us a major focus as we picked up that content and repurposed it for the new project that we're going to be talking about today
Next slide, please
There are three main focuses on our interpretive signage program to promote visitor and worker safety was number one
It's a very complicated task to both be inviting but also be very boundaried in the ways that we want people to observe with their whole families
What's going on at the water's edge, where the North Pacific fishing fleet is doing incredible work on a seasonal basis
But we wanted to be engaging, so we took an inventory of the existing signage and we critiqued it
We also were sensitive to the fisherman's memorial
This important collective memorial memorializes those that have been lost at sea in the pursuit of fishing as business
These are often family operations, as you all know, and we wanted to make sure that our signage was responsive and respectful of the memorial, which will be untouched in our new program
Next slide, please
We hired a group of professionals to support us, starting with Mayor Reed, who is an interpretive signage consulting firm that's a sub to our architect, Miller hall that are based in Portland, Oregon
We hired Sharon Boswell with a firm called Statistical Research, which I know doesn't sound much like signage or history, but she is a historian through competitive process
We selected because she had great depth in understanding and contextualizing environment and ecological history along with native history, and has been working in the region for decades
And then we hired headwater people consulting to provide stakeholder outreach and recommendations on what we anticipated was a lively, refreshing new component of the history to engage the native experience of fishing
Next slide, please
We also put together a robust stakeholder engagement process that represented fishermen in the region, tribal representatives, Washington's maritime blue, who will be our tenant operator at the Maritime Innovation center, and local historians familiar with interpretive histories at Mohai, the Nordic Museum, the Burke Museum
We kicked off in May of 2023 to invite feedback from the stakeholders, and they continued to be engaged
Next slide
We also have a lot of people inside the porch supporting this process, depending on their roles, and that included folks already at Fisherman's terminal, Andy Gregory, Root, Paris Suiter, Dalmas, myself, and obviously Kelly
But Devlin, Jessica Carlson and Roxanne Murphy is our latest investor here, our new tribal liaison
Next slide, please
As I mentioned in my earlier comments, native engagement was central part of our process, working both with Atwater people, but also working with our historian Sharon Boswell to learn ourselves more about the native experience at Fisherman's terminal, both past and present, and to arrive at some fundamental interests that are just strictly related to tribal fishing in the Puget Sound
So you'll see that feedback figures into an entire panel dedicated to the attainment of fishing rights, particularly the bulk decision, which is a key factor in how we are adjudicating native fishing throughout the Puget Sound and a key achievement in the civil rights struggle that native fishers engaged in in the seventies and eighties
But another key feature that we got from our engagement with headwater people is that all the panels, regardless of their topic, will feature some representation of the native experience
So we're pleased with that contribution as well
And I think it's important to say that we hired Sharon as a historian, and of course, she produced history for us
But what we also learned from our discussions with the native tribal members was that natives are still fishing in the Puget Sound
They are doing so today with great gusto, and we all know that
So we made some modifications there in the process of updating the more contemporary history of the native experience in Puget Sound
So next slide, please
This became the theme outline as we pursue the content, which is not finalized today, but is on the road to doing so
We've had several rounds of conversations with our stakeholder teams and our historians, and on balance, these are the topics you will see in our new content about the past and present
Fishers at the terminal, both themselves and their boats and the way they do their work
The native heritage which we've talked about, the ethnic heritage, the many immigrant communities that have made their living fishing at Fisherman's terminal, and women in fishing
What it's like to work on a boat, for instance, that will be one of the topics
But also of interest is the fishing industry and new processes of developing maritime commerce roughly connected with the maritime Innovation center
So to nuts, this is the general themes that we're pursuing in this content
Next slide, please
The outcome is eight interpretive signage panels, four at the rotunda, and I'll show you in a map, just a moment
Four at the waterfront near the Fisher's memorial and historic photograph chronology in the public breezeway in the c 15 building
The maritime Innovation center will have its own signage in this interpretive program
Next slide, please
Here's roughly a map of where those signs will appear
Although some of the content, and as continuing to move around, these sign captions do represent, broadly speaking, what we've ended up with
Sign on site orientation a sign on the cultural history of the site, one on fishing rights, one on sustainability within the fishing community, an invitation to explore Fisherman's terminal, a discussion of the fishing way of life from multiple perspectives, an invitation to learn more about fishing vessels and gear and fish themselves and that soliciting for the maritime innovation center
Next slide, please
Here are some examples that are still in development, and after this, both Kelly and I can take questions
As I mentioned, one of the key facets is the fish themselves
And in the sign that you see on the left here in red would talk about salmon as a species and what it is meant for both natives and other fishers to fish salmon in the Puget Sound
Now, one feature I want to point out, I guess I can't point on those slides, but you'll see this little QR code maybe could be pointed out below the first text block
Thank you
So QR codes have been around for a very long time, but as all of us that went through the pandemic have learned, it's a great way to explain, extend content, or provide content for any kind of poster, anything like that
What we've been pursuing here is that each of our signs will be, in effect, continuously updated on the web, so that if you were intrigued by what you learned on the sign, you can go to the QR code, pull up a website site that will have even more content and interest for those that want to pursue that
So we're really excited about the website that will also provide new content in historic observations and contemporary observations of life at Fisherman's terminal, along with some of these topics also in the bottom here, this north Pacific fisheries, some of the signs, like this one, will be improved with sculptural elements
So each of these fish species will actually be built out in a more 3d sculptural connection, similar to the base of the memorial that you see on this slide to your right
That will provide a physical experience, if you touch it, that also will enhance the ADA component so that the blind can also navigate those species in a different way, in a more sculptural way
And there will be several signs like that that will be improved with some of these sculptural or interactive elements
We are finalizing our content
We welcome your interest in this project
We hope to complete our content in the next two months, and that will allow these signs to be created and installed in time for our opening days of the maritime Innovation center and our other improvements
Next slide, and then we can take your questions
And then, Kelly, is there anything else that I missed that I should have said, or did I get everything? Nope, you captured it all
Well done
Happy to take questions
Great
Thank you so much for the presentation, and this is an exciting project
Commissioners, are there any questions for staff at this time? All right, hearing
No questions for this item
Commissioner Felleman, Commissioner Felleman
You're muted
You're on mute, sir
Never did that before
Thank you so much
I do
I'm a big fan of interpretation, you know, and I have, like, two questions
One is, I think the QR code idea is really great and allows, like, culture, it continues to evolve
So
But it does create that opportunity to use less words on the sign, because you can find more words later
Yes
And I don't know the size of these signs, but in just looking at them, there's a lot of words
It just strikes me there's a lot of text there
And sometimes if you get a wall of words, hard to dive into any one of them
And I know that's always a trade off when doing interpretive work
So that was just one of the things that struck me
And the other thing, salmon is us
It seems like it shouldn't be salmon auras
Ah, I think that's correct
But I think they both may be correct
I will look into the grammar aspect of that
Wants to offer an opinion
It's like toys r us, you know? Yeah
All right, well, I will check into that
Back to the word cap and Kelly, maybe you could chime in with exactly how big some of these vertical signs are, but this is the ongoing conundrum for us and for our sign designers
They have provided us with ideal word count
We've exceeded it in most cases
I have a feeling it's going to go back and forth until we land on something
And now here's my perspective, for what it's worth
I'm the person, the 10% that read every word on an interpretive panel, I recognize
I'm not that, you know, that's weird
Right? But you want to give them enough to get going
So we may end up with a smaller number of words on a sign, especially since we've engaged with this content enhancement strategy with the QR code
So stay tuned
We probably will exceed the word counts that our designers have come up with, but not greatly so
And most of us need readers past 40 anyway
So we'll try to keep the signs or the words big enough to read
Kelly, did you, were you able to find out what, how big these signs are? So the big ones that you see here, the vertical signs are three and a half feet by 7ft tall, and the horizontals are about a foot and a half tall by 4ft wide
So they're pretty big
Kira's right
We have gone back and forth a little bit on the word count
We have a treasure trove of really good content that has been provided to us by both our historian and also headwater people who've done some narrative writing for us, for the QR codes
So it's the big debate as we're finalizing content of what should go on the sites and what should be in that digital content
So it's an ongoing process that we're whittling down with our designers
I'm clearly
But 7ft is a lot bigger than looking at this
So that does help interpret that
Just two quick other things
One is across the way is the Seattle Maritime Academy
And so in terms of, like, how would you get a job in the fishing industry? Or how would you get a job in the maritime industry? Is there like a straight up workforce content? I see in the blue economy thing, it says, you know, the last line says jobs of the future, but, like, you know, where would I go? Isn't this an opportunity to have, you know, dub dub dub, get a job? Yeah, absolutely
And we'll be working on that in the extended program for sure
But it's a great observation
Thank you for that
We do have another briefing for ten c, is my understanding, but could we call the vote for that? These two items are connected, and it's
The ten c is
The amount that being asked is 250,000 is my understanding, which is actually within the executive director's delegation of authority
And so we would like to take a vote on it immediately
So thank you, madam Commission president
Members of the commission
I would just ask staff if they have any material information that they want to provide in the Tennessee briefing if there's anything we do
Yeah
Point of order, Madam President, I move to remove this item from the agenda as it
The requested amount is below the delegated authority
One moment
Let me look at that, please
Thank you, Commissioner Hasegawa
Either that or we can call the vote now
Well, I think there was a reason, so let me look at that very quickly
The estimated project cost is 36 million
So I think that the additional 250,000 was in addition to funding that had already been appropriated, putting it over the $2 million threshold for delegation
I see
Do you want to remove your motion, Commissioner Hasegawa? At that point, I
Excuse me
What was the motion? Okay, great
Okay
All right
Perhaps staff could proceed to the next item
We would actually like to call the vote for this item
Okay
So the presentation
We've reviewed the materials
I'm hearing you, commissioner
Thank you
So I'm motion approval for item ten c
That would be appropriate
I'll second it
The motion has been made and seconded
Clerk Hart, please call the roll
Thank you
One moment
Beginning with Commissioner Calkins
Thank you
Commissioner Cho
Aye
Thank you
Commissioner Felleman
Aye
Thank you
Commissioner Hasegawa
Aye
Thank you
Commissioner Mohammed
Aye
Thank you
Five
I zero nays for this item
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
The motion is passed
Appreciate the presentations we've received this far
I'm gonna move this along in the agenda
All right
So we don't have any presentation or staff reports scheduled for today
So this brings us to item twelve, which is referrals to committees and closing comments
So this concludes our business meeting agenda for today
Are there any closing comments at this time or motions related to committee referrals for commissioners? One quick one
Commissioner Cho, I just want to acknowledge a very special guest we have in the room today
Walker Britton
He's right here in the audience, is shadowing me today
He's a high school student from UPREP, my alma mater
He's graduating in two weeks, so congratulations
And if I recall correctly, you're going to Wake Forest University
So excited for you there
He's shadowing me this week because he has an interest in politics and business, and this is the place for both
And so good on you
This is for a senior project, which means he's far ahead of I was when I was a senior at UPREP
So good on you
Last week, he spent some time with Congresswoman Marie Gluzenkamperez and Nick Brown, running for state ag on the campaign side
And then this week, he has the privilege of following me around to learn about the bureaucracies of local government
And I've recently also learned that if he doesn't finish this project, he doesn't get to graduate, which means I hold your future in my hands
But, no, it's been a pleasure to have you
I'm really glad I had this opportunity to show you what it's like
Wish you all the best, Walker
And we're going to make sure you have the best in your project in your class
I yield
Thank you
You should have invited aye
to the dais
I didn't know that today
Oh, no
Commissioner Calkins
Just a quick echo of something deputy executive director Goon brought up in executive director reports, which is our commemoration of Memorial Day that has become, for me, a very special holiday and something that, with my kids and their love of history, we've kind of, we dive into a learning story about a particular service member who died in combat
And I would commend that to all parents
It's a great exercise in learning about our nation's history and the extraordinary acts of service that people perform on our behalf
And so I think it's a wonderful way to celebrate that holiday and something we're going to do carrying forward
Thank you, commissioner
Commissioner Hasegawa thank you, President Mohammed
I just wanted to raise that I participated last week in a press conference with Governor Inslee, former EPA administrator McCarthy Paulina from the Duwamish River Community Council, and that was it
To raise awareness about the funds, the public funds that we received in order to fund some of our big transformative projects, such as T five
So we got to get a walking tour of the terminal hosted by our operators, SSA, and we talked about how huge half billion dollar investment like that are only possible with outside funding from the federal and also the state government and named specifically that, you know, the money that we get to support the clean air, the clean, the ports, clean air strategy come exclusively from the Climate Commitment act and the funds that it generates
So we look forward as a commission to be able to support continued revenue streams from the CCA and bringing that into forward as well in NWSA
Thank you, Commissioner Hasegawa
Are there any additional comments? Commissioner Felleman? I didn't see your hand up
Okay, now I do
Commissioner Felleman, I just put it up
I guess I missed the motion for the last item that we decided not to discuss the art project at Fisherman's terminal
But being on the art committee, I feel compelled to just say a couple things
I think the artist selected is really beautiful
We did unfortunately get a tagged the dosey mural as you come in gets tagged
And so it's something that we have to be continuously concerned about with the invest in art, that we have a way to maintain it as well
And I think these projects have been very collaborative
But I know we're waiting on getting some sort of a one port art project consultants report so that we can move forward as having this unified vision that the commission had passed some time ago
And I forget when that consultant's report is due, but I think it's very important that we have this really phenomenal art program port wide
And I just ask that we get a sense of when it's going to be done
Thank you, Commissioner Felleman, and we'll make sure that we get answers to you for those questions
So that, are there any comments from deputy executive director Goon? No
Thank you for your time today, commissioners
Wonderful
So hearing no further comments and having no further business, if there are no objections, we are adjourned
And the time is now
02:45 p.m
thank you.

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