Port of Olympia Seeks Clearer Vision

Above: The Port of Olympia has launched a new initiative, Vision 2050. A 27 member task force, which includes Chris Richardson, Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, and Rhys Roth, Center for Sustainable Infrastructure, above, met for the first time on Tuesday.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

http://www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Eager for a fresh start after ousting executive director Ed Galligan last month, the Port of Olympia has embarked upon a public outreach initiative called Vision 2050. 

A 27 member task force is charged with helping port staff and consultants interpret public feedback that will help shape how the port will look, feel and function in the years ahead.

Task force members were handpicked by port staff, its project consultant, and Thurston Regional Planning Council staff. They met for the first time Tuesday afternoon at the Lacey branch of South Puget Sound Community College. Eighteen task force members were in attendance, and one called in on speaker phone.

The public process is off to a rocky start. 

Notice for the meeting was sent out at 2:20 p.m. on Monday afternoon only to those who were already on the port commission agenda email list. A press release, social media postings, and links on the Port's website announcing the initiative will be posted Wednesday, said staff.

“While I understand the short notice wasn't ideal, it still fell within the 24-hour notice required for public meetings,” Jennie Foglia-Jones, Port of Olympia communications manager, told Little Hollywood on Tuesday morning.

The port's website for Vision 2050 is www.portolympia2050.org and is expected to go live on Wednesday.

No port commissioners were in attendance, but acting executive director Rudy Rudolph was present throughout the meeting. One member of the public was present. 

Vision 2050 Purpose

The meeting agenda included an overview of port functions and financing by Eric Johnson, executive director of the Washington Public Ports Association.

“We are fundamentally about community control of important assets such as waterfronts, airports and industrial areas,” he said.

Throwing the doors wide open, Johnson said ports have a lot of flexibility in what they choose to do, adding that ports now have the authority to own and operate tourism facilities.

It was Marc Daily, executive director of Thurston Regional Planning Council, who asked about the elephant in the room – port acceptance of controversial cargo such as military cargo and ceramic proppants - and asked whether or not the port has a choice in what it decides to accept.

Johnson walked back his comments saying the port has to abide by certain laws such as the Federal Shipping Act of 1984 which states that terminal operators cannot unreasonably discriminate in the provision of terminal services.

Throughout the two hour meeting, task force representatives asked questions, obviously unclear about their role, what they were being asked to do, and why.

Staff responded that the project’s scope of work was approved by the commissioners. 

While the commissioners adopted its current strategic plan in 2017 and like it, they are open to feedback. Depending on the feedback, the commissioners may go back and revisit the plan, said Foglia-Jones.

“The primary responsibility of the task force is to ensure we design a comprehensive and inclusive engagement process, interpret community input accurately and translate those ideas into a vision and action plan that ensures the Port remains prepared, impactful and sustainable in the years ahead,” she said.

The task force is anticipated to meet approximately five times between June 2018 and August 2019 and will be responsible for presenting a recommended vision plan, with strategies and actions to the commissioners for consideration and adoption.

It is unclear when the group will meet again, but it may be several months or up to a year.

The consultant and his team will interview selected community members, conduct an online survey, offer presentations and forums, and use social media to collect public feedback.

Questions posed will include: 

When you think of the Port today, what's the first thing that comes to mind?

The Port funds operations through multiple business lines. What do you consider priority areas for future revenue growth?

Looking forward, what do you perceive as the Port's most significant barriers to success?

Over the longer term, where do you think the Port should focus direction and/or investment?

Public Involvement

With fifteen minutes to spare in the agenda, task force members were asked to review and endorse the consultant’s proposed public engagement plan.

Helen Wheatley of Olympia holds one of the four public-at-large positions but was unsure of her role and hesitated to endorse the process. She said more time is needed to ensure representational community engagement.

She wondered about the methodology for identifying stakeholders and expressed concern that the group wasn’t being asked to provide input into the study or the outreach methods.

“The actual request for proposals for this project says the Port of Olympia is seeking assistance in the development of a community vision for the Port of Olympia. It also says it would be in alignment with the update to the Port’s Strategic Plan,” she said.

Referring to a 2012 citizen survey conducted by the Port of Olympia, she wondered what the port plans to do with the information it gathers about community values and preferences if it is not in alignment with the port’s current strategic plan.

She is requesting that the public make suggestions about organizations that should be on the task force.

“Organizations that should really be on this committee list need to be alerted that this is happening,” she said.

Above: Helen Wheatley, in pink, provides feedback to Thurston Regional Planning Council staff during a meeting of the Port of Olympia Vision 2050 initiative.

Task Force Members

Travis Matheson, Task Force Chair, Vice-Chair, Port of Olympia Citizens Advisory Committee

Stephen Bramwell, WSU Extension/South Thurston Economic Development Initiative (STEDI)

Michael Cade, Thurston Economic Development Council

Jeff Choke, Nisqually Indian Tribe

Josh Cummings, Thurston County

Todd Cutts, Olympia Downtown Alliance

Marc Daily, Thurston Regional Planning Council

John Doan, City of Tumwater

Ann Freeman-Manzanares, Intercity Transit

Michael Grayum, City of Yelm

Brian Hardcastle, Tumwater School District

Brad Hooper, North Thurston School District

Teri Pablo, Yelm Community Schools

Ray Peters, Squaxin Island Tribe

Drew Phillips, Public-at-Large

Bryan Reilly, Olympia & Belmore Railroad

Chris Richardson, Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation

Rob Rose, International Longshore Workers Union Local #47

Rhys Roth, Center for Sustainable Infrastructure at The Evergreen State College

David Schaffert, Thurston Chamber of Commerce

Bill Sloane, Olympia Yacht Club

Keith Stahley, City of Olympia

Shanna Stevenson, Public-at-Large

Shauna Stewart, Experience Olympia & Beyond

Dr. Tim Stokes, South Puget Sound Community College

Rick Walk, City of Lacey

Helen Wheatley, Public-at-Large

For more information about Port of Olympia issues, go to Little Hollywood, https://www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type in keywords. 

Port of Olympia Woes: Proppants, Logs and Videotape

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

-Port Staff Describes Missing Public Meeting Videos a “glitch”

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

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.

Above: Activists took the opportunity to project a message on a train car, “This Train Shall Not Pass!” for Port of Olympia officials on Saturday night. The train car is parked at the Port of Olympia and is one of several cars allegedly containing ceramic proppants.

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. 

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.

“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.

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. 

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.