PORT OF SEATTLE 
MEMORANDUM 
COMMISSION AGENDA               Item No.       7a 
STAFF BRIEFING             Date of Meeting   October 9, 2012 

DATE:    September 28, 2012 
TO:     Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
FROM:    Colleen Wilson, Chief of Police 
Peter Garlock, Chief Information Officer 
David Soike, Director, Aviation Facilities and Capital Program 
SUBJECT:  Port of Seattle Radio System Briefing 
SYNOPSIS: 
The Port of Seattle operates its own emergency radio system that includes nearly 2,000 
radios to support its Airport, Seaport, Real Estate Division, and several Capital
Development departments. The Port's radio system is aging, and it will soon be
necessary to reinvest in the system. As the Port plans to chart its course for the longterm
, it will continue to cooperate with King County and other regional partners in
analyzing the best approach for the Port and the County to take in making the right
investment decisions to support needed radio improvements and move the Port toward
future seamless radio-interoperability for first-responders engaging in regional
emergencies. The Port supports and has fully invested in this goal since 2008 when
public executives came together from across the region to find technical and governance
solutions to achieve interoperability. The Port's public safety and technical staff strongly
believe in a seamless, coordinated, redundant radio communication system. T he Port
supports the need for regional technology and equipment that may ultimately be funded
via a future regional ballot measure.
BACKGROUND: 
The radio system is a vital communication system for the Port's first-responders to
emergencies. The Port's radio system includes dispatch systems for the Port police force,
Airport firefighters, emergency preparedness teams, Airfield operations and Airport,
Seaport, and Real Estate maintenance teams. Approximately 2,000 radios are in use
within the Port system.
The Port radio system reaches well beyond Port of Seattle properties. It is also the vital
link for mutual aid responders within adjacent jurisdictions, some of whom in times of
regional emergencies, like earthquakes or aircraft incidents, will come into the Port's
radio jurisdiction to provide emergency aid. The Port actively practices emergency
preparedness drills and training each year to hone rapid response capabilities, and the

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
September 28, 2012 
Page 2 of 2 
Airport hosts a region-wide aircraft disaster drill in coordination with the Federal
Aviation Administration every three years, as required by federal regulations. 
The Port is also proud to participate in King County's larger emergency preparedness
drills and teams as the county works to be fully prepared to respond in concert with the
state and with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in effectively managing
future large- scale emergencies. 
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, government agencies have been
cooperating nationwide to create systems to allow a flow of information to all emergency
responders in the event of a crisis. As a result, a Port of Seattle Commissioner
participates as a member of the Radio Executive Policy Committee to address the
regional governance structure that would oversee the interoperable emergency systems.
The Port believes that radio system back-up capability and redundancy is a wise approach
to assure the Port can respond in times of large-scale regional disaster, such as a major
earthquake.  The Port is preparing to take initial steps to keep our radio system intact
while catching up with technology our regional partners are using. Port staff will
continue to work with our partners to evaluate the upgrade work to assure we have
mitigated the risks to the Port, to ensure our readiness capability, and to have a costeffective
system for the long-term. A Port system that continues to support our regional
mutual aid partners and that helps our emergency responders to have access to the best
immediate information will ultimately keep them safer, as well as helping them to keep
our residents and business partners safe. 
OTHER DOCUMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS BRIEFING: 
PowerPoint 
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS: 
None.