Above: Log exports are the primary line of business at the Port of Olympia marine terminal, as seen here from Rotary Park on Sunday afternoon. The Washington Public Ports Association says the log export boom was over as of 2014, with no future growth in sight. A 2018 Port budget proposal includes $3 million to purchase two new log loaders.
-Rail Blockade Continues
-2018 Port Budget Vote Set for November 27
-2018 Port Budget Vote Set for November 27
-Port Staff Describes Missing Public Meeting Videos a “glitch”
By Janine Gates
Little Hollywood
There is still no clear mandate for the Port of Olympia’s marine terminal operation located in downtown Olympia, just days after an election in which a progressive
candidate for port commissioner apparently lost by a few hundred votes.
Despite significant public outcry, port commissioners
and staff appear entrenched in business as usual, seeking out contracts that cater to the fossil fuel industry, and continuing the
export of raw logs to Asia well into the
foreseeable future.
By doing so, they ensure continued controversy,
protests and lawsuits well into 2018.
Above:
Activists continued a railroad track blockade near Seventh and Jefferson Street
in downtown Olympia this weekend. The blockade began on Friday.
Ceramic
Proppant Rail Blockade
It was a quiet weekend for activists who began a railroad
track blockade on Friday near Seventh and Jefferson Street in downtown Olympia.
The blockade continues.
Their goal is to prevent another possible trainload
of ceramic proppants from leaving the Port of Olympia. The ceramic proppants are used in the process of hydraulic fracking for gas and oil extraction
in North Dakota.
The process of hydraulic fracking is messy and degrades the environment, contaminates groundwater and causes earthquakes. Each time a
well is fracked it uses two to eight million gallons of fresh water.
The activists, collectively known as Olympia Stand,
have used their time without law enforcement intervention this weekend to fortify barriers on and around the tracks.
Last year’s eight day rail blockade may have been
the longest, continuously occupied direct action disruption of a fossil fuel
industry shipment in state history.
2018
Budget Includes New Log Loaders
Keen eyed port activists are also filing citizen
complaints about other issues as well, such as the Port’s upcoming
2018 budget, a questionable expenditure for new log loaders and a failure to
videotape public meetings.
The 2018 Port of Olympia budget proposal will be
explained by port executive director Ed Galligan at a special commission work
session on November 21, from 1:00 – 3:30 p.m. at port offices, 626 Columbia
Street NW, Suite B in Olympia. He is scheduled to speak for two hours.
The budget includes the purchase of two new log
loaders. The loaders cost $1.8 million if they are bought outright, but $3
million with financing over 20 years.
Of further concern to port watchers is that Galligan signed a legally binding lease agreement in June for the log loaders that cumulatively exceeds the amount he is authorized to sign for, $300,000, without a vote of the commissioners.
Of further concern to port watchers is that Galligan signed a legally binding lease agreement in June for the log loaders that cumulatively exceeds the amount he is authorized to sign for, $300,000, without a vote of the commissioners.
Helen Wheatley of Olympia spends a considerable
amount of time researching the port’s budget expenditures.
She thinks Weyerhaeuser should pay for the log loaders or, if that's not possible, the commissioners should delay their decision and continue to lease them instead of purchasing them. Since this is a “lease to buy” arrangement with delayed penalties, it would cost very little to postpone this purchase even for a year.
“A delay could be used to gather better information and financing options. The current plan of ten years of low payments and ten years of high payments contributes to the additional $1.2 million over the named price,” she said in recent public testimony in front of the commissioners.
The long-term viability of the log export market is also questionable. The Washington Public Port Association says that demand for log exports will remain flat or even possibly decline in the foreseeable future.
She thinks Weyerhaeuser should pay for the log loaders or, if that's not possible, the commissioners should delay their decision and continue to lease them instead of purchasing them. Since this is a “lease to buy” arrangement with delayed penalties, it would cost very little to postpone this purchase even for a year.
“A delay could be used to gather better information and financing options. The current plan of ten years of low payments and ten years of high payments contributes to the additional $1.2 million over the named price,” she said in recent public testimony in front of the commissioners.
The long-term viability of the log export market is also questionable. The Washington Public Port Association says that demand for log exports will remain flat or even possibly decline in the foreseeable future.
“In March, Weyerhaeuser said it is ready to bring
its extensive Southeastern timber holdings into production. Meanwhile,
Washington’s timber looks increasingly like toothpicks. Who do the commissioners expect to pay for this? The
taxpayers. They claim that it will somehow lead to even more log exports, and
that is good for us all, but Japan, for example, is growing its own trees
now….
“Port commissioners never seem to think strategically
about the future, or think about where our own trees are in these global cycles
of timber extraction. They pretend that ‘if you build it, they will come,’ and
instead of expecting the timber exporting business to pay for itself, they
expect Thurston County taxpayers to pay for it with promises that miracles will
happen,” says Wheatley.
Commissioner E.J. Zita is looking for alternatives to Galligan’s budget, as Galligan has not yet provided any other options.
The commissioners are set to vote on the final 2018 Port budget on November 27.
The commissioners are set to vote on the final 2018 Port budget on November 27.
Missing,
Edited Videotape
And if you wanted to binge watch Port of Olympia meetings
and catch up on all the drama, there's a problem:
Since February 2016, the Port has recorded its own
meetings, taking the contract away from the well-respected services of Thurston
Community Media who contracts with the cities of Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater
and Thurston County to cover official meetings. The results have been dismal.
For well over a month, port staff has only
videotaped their meetings for a couple of hours. Some port meetings
last over four hours. And, the port is also apparently editing its own meeting
video through an outside vendor. From the beginning, audio quality is also a
persistent problem.
Bev Bassett of Olympia, another avid port watcher and budget cruncher, recently wrote a formal complaint to the port about
inadequate and unsatisfactory citizen access to meeting videos
from the Port's website. She says only the most recent 40 videos can be
accessed.
“The October 20, 2017 Budget Study Session video
will not stream beyond two hours, 22 minutes. Additionally, the video for the
marathon five and a half hour commission meeting on October 23, 2017 is
completely unavailable on video - only audio is available,” she wrote to port
staff.
About heavy video editing, Bassett says that the
first part of a video from a meeting where the public content section included
a skit parodying Galligan and Commissioners Bill McGregor and Joe Downing, plus
a six minute presentation about Port involvement in climate change by Bassett and
another port activist remains unavailable.
“It seems an unlikely coincidence that the Port's
video system usually malfunctions when there are contentious meetings about
difficult and controversial subjects.
These are only a few examples of these recurring problems with video
access to records of public Port Commission meetings,” says Bassett.
Port staff responded to Bassett’s complaint on
November 16 saying they regretted the “glitch,” saying the meeting minutes
serve as the official public record for Commission meetings.
“Audio recordings are not required, but rather a
value-added service we provide in order to facilitate public access to Port
discussions and decisions. In other
words, we regret the glitch and will work to resolve it promptly, but can
assure you a formal record is being taken,” said port communications manager Jennie
Foglia-Jones.
At the same time the port took over its own video recording, Commissioner McGregor initiated and successfully changed the format of meeting minutes so that a brief synopsis of an individual's public comment was eliminated from the minutes.
His stated reasoning, at the time, was that the public could go to the videos to hear what was said.
At the same time the port took over its own video recording, Commissioner McGregor initiated and successfully changed the format of meeting minutes so that a brief synopsis of an individual's public comment was eliminated from the minutes.
His stated reasoning, at the time, was that the public could go to the videos to hear what was said.
Above:
The rail blockade in downtown Olympia continued on Saturday and Sunday with little to no obvious law enforcement presence.
Activists used their time to fortify their blockade.
Editor's Note, November 21, 2017: Previous versions of this article said that the 2018 Port of Olympia budget meeting was set to be voted upon on November 28. The date is actually Monday, November 27. Also, port executive director Ed Galligan signed the lease agreement for the log loaders in June, not July. Little Hollywood regrets the errors.
Little Hollywood has written extensively about Port of Olympia issues, including last year’s rail blockade, ceramic proppants, Rainbow Ceramics, sea level rise, and more. For more information and photos, go to www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words into the search engine.
Little Hollywood has written extensively about Port of Olympia issues, including last year’s rail blockade, ceramic proppants, Rainbow Ceramics, sea level rise, and more. For more information and photos, go to www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words into the search engine.
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