P.O. Box 1209 
Seattle, Washington 98111 
www.portseattle.org 
206.787.3000 
APPROVED MINUTES 
COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING AUGUST 7, 2018 
The Port of Seattle Commission held a special meeting, Tuesday, August 7, 2018, to hold a study
session on economic development topics with stakeholders from Eastern Washington. The
meeting was held at the Student Academic Center of the Washington State University (WSU) 
Spokane campus, 412 East Spokane Falls Boulevard, Spokane, Washington. Commissioners
Bowman, Calkins, Felleman, Gregoire, and Steinbrueck were present. 
Commission President Courtney Gregoire called the meeting to order at 1:40 p.m.
In addition to port commissioners, participants included Daryll B. DeWald, Chancellor, Washington
State University, Spokane; Meg Lindsay, Director, Education and Workforce, Greater Spokane
Incorporated;  Cassidy  Peterson,  Career  Connected  Learning  Manager,  Greater  Spokane
Incorporated; Jodi Strote, Education Attainment Navigator, Greater Spokane Incorporated; Kris
Johnson, President and CEO, Association of Washington Business; Kelly Fukai, Regional Affairs
Director, Schweitzer Energy Labs; Dr. Ryan Bradetich, CISSP, Vice President Automation and
Communication, Schweitzer Energy Labs; and Joe Poire, Executive Director, Port of Whitman
County. 
Topics of discussion during the study session included the following: 
WSU's Health Sciences program is focused on nursing, pharmacy, and physician
education. 
Research expenditure in the health sciences program is approximately $30 million
annually and growing and represents about twice that amount in regional economic
impact. 
Pharmaceutical licensing results in about 3.7 percent of the university's research
revenue. Although patenting is costly, it is an aim of the university to increase licensing
revenue  to  10  percent  and  to  create  an  environment  conducive  to  applied
pharmaceutical research. 
Greater Spokane Incorporated  (GSI)  serves as a regional economic development
organization and chamber of commerce. 
Key community initiatives of GSI include growing a healthy life sciences industry,
expanding  aerospace  and  advanced  manufacturing,  and  increasing  educational
attainment in the workforce development pipeline. 
Career Connected Learning aims to bridge industry and education communities to create
career opportunities for youth in a variety of industry sectors. 
GSI's programs related to Career Connected Learning include access2experience,
which  uses  an  online  matching  platform  to  connect  educators  with  business
professionals to create career development opportunities for students, and Greater

Digital recordings of meeting proceedings and meeting materials are available online  www.portseattle.org.

PORT COMMISSION SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES                       Page 2 of 2 
TUESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2018 
Minds, which provides career development opportunities for working adults returning to
school. 
There are numerous STEM-related industry, education, investment, and community
organization collaborators in the Spokane area. 
Rural economic development efforts and strategic approach of the Association of
Washington Business (AWB) was discussed. 
Employment and job growth remain sluggish in rural areas of Washington, despite rural
areas accounting for 25 percent of Washington jobs and several leading U.S. exports. 
Ferry, Stevens, and Pend Oreille Counties have suffered from federal and state
regulatory  changes  that  have  affected  timber  harvesting  and gold  mining  with  a
disproportionate economic impact due to the rural nature of those areas. 
Issues affecting the rural economy identified in summits convened by AWB include lack
of rural broadband service, workforce deficiencies, inadequate infrastructure, and lack of
affordable workforce housing. 
Adams County and much of southeast Washington are limited by lack of rural broadband
service. 
AWB's recommendations for infrastructure investment to yield job production and
increased economic activity focus on provision of water, energy transmission, rural
communications, and roads, bridges, and ports. 
Commissioners opined on the attractiveness of Washington's rural areas to visitors. 
Cyber security considerations for power delivery systems were illustrated using the case
of a Russian cyber-attack launched in 2015 on utility control rooms in Ukraine. 
Models of cyber security based on principles of least privilege and defense in depth were
described and security models for inclusive, large networks versus multiple, smaller
networks were illustrated. 
The condition of the communications network in Whitman County and the precursors to
efforts  to obtain  authority  for ports  to invest  in rural  broadband infrastructure were
described. 
There was a discussion of the advantages for ports engaging in provision of broadband
infrastructure rather than other entities, such as utility districts or municipalities, based on
the business model of a port authority and its capacity to work with the private sector on
a long-term return on investment. 
Benefits of the Port of Seattle pursuing installation of broadband infrastructure were
noted, including the opportunity to ensure equitable provision of services to rural,
economically disadvantaged areas, economic development opportunities, net neutrality,
and the potential to reduce or control the port's own operating costs over time. 
The meeting adjourned at approximately 4:15 p.m. 

Prepared:                                      Attest: 
Paul J. White, Commission Clerk                Ryan Calkins, Commission Secretary 
Minutes approved: September 25, 2018. 


Minutes of August 7, 2018, submitted for review September 20, 2018, and proposed for approval September 25, 2018.