an online publication of the Port of Seattle • January 2008
Message from the CEO Most people have seen the headlines about the State Auditor’s recent Performance Audit of the Port of Seattle. Based on that coverage, I’m sure many have asked themselves, “What’s happening at the Port?” Fair question – and as the Port’s CEO, I want to share some of my thoughts about the audit, as well as the action plan to help right this ship. First, I want to clarify one of the biggest concerns raised in this audit – wasted money. The Port did not waste $97.2 million in taxpayer money. Here’s where I’m coming from.
Bill Bryant
John Creighton
Patricia Davis
Lloyd Hara
Gael Tarleton
Chief Executive Officer
Tay Yoshitani
Port – County Rail and Trail Agreement In November, the Port announced a partnership with King County and Burlington Northern Santa Fe designed to bring a significant freight corridor into public ownership. Specifics of the deal continue to be negotiated, but the Port and King County are both committed to bringing the property into public ownership and to accommodating a dual use for the land – rails and trails. More information will be available soon. Read the Memorandum of Understanding here.
Upcoming Port Events Join us or check the Events page to keep up on a wide variety of events this winter like the Maritime Career Day coming in February.
Airport University Reconnects Rungs of Career Ladder for Airport Employees Transforming the airport into a classroom, Airport University offers on-site college courses to help low-wage workers build skills to move from entry-level jobs into successful careers.
New Airlines - New Routes at Sea-Tac Airport Virgin America will begin serving Sea-Tac Airport with seven new daily non-stop flights to San Francisco and Los Angeles starting in March of 2008. This is the fourth new airline to announce service to Sea-Tac in 2007.
And now there are five non-stop European destinations from Sea-Tac: Air France to Paris; British Airways to London; Lufthansa to Frankfurt and SAS to Copenhagen. Northwest Airlines has service to Amsterdam and beginning June 1st, daily non-stop service between Seattle and London.
Other international service from Sea-Tac includes six airlines with non-stop service to Asia, two to Mexico, and four to Canada.
Duwamish Waterway Cleanup Study Continues The Port of Seattle is a member of the Lower Duwamish Waterway Group, a voluntary coalition dedicated to environmental remediation of a key industrial waterway. Other members of LDWG are Boeing, King County, and the City of Seattle. The group recently released a Remedial Investigation which provides information about the location and intensity of sediment contamination. State and local environmental agencies are also participating in the effort. The report includes a human health and ecological risk assessment. Now that the RI has been released, the LDWG will begin crafting a feasibility study.
Sea-Tac Wins Award of Excellence in Concessions Contest Sea-Tac Airport has won the prestigious Airports Council International's 2007 Richard A. Griesbach Award of Excellence for its Airport Concessions program. Sea-Tac’s mix of national, regional, and local brands in the areas of food and beverage, retail, and consumer services has created a dynamic new experience for its passengers.
Terminal 91 Prepares for New
Construction Projects Two major construction projects are underway at Terminal 91. The Berth M project consists of replacing the remaining creosote timber apron structure with a new apron, some of which extends under the Magnolia Bridge. The work is scheduled to be completed by the end of April 2008.
The T-91 Cruise Ship Terminal will be a 144,000 square foot, two-story building to be completed by the start of the 2009 cruise season. This project includes some demolition of existing infrastructure and the installation of new utilities including extensions for shore power service to the cruise vessels, reducing air pollution.
The Green Report from Around the Port During the first three quarters of 2007, Sea-Tac collected and recycled a combined 952 tons of material including coffee grounds, paper, cardboard, cans, plastic, cooking oil, glass and wood. That is equal to about 80 dump truck loads. The airport set a new monthly record for recycling tonnage with 122 tons in September 2007.
At Pier 69, the Portside Cafe switched from using styrofoam to corn-based biodegradable paper products, and also has contracted with Cedar Grove Compost to compost 90% of all cafe food waste.
The Bell Harbor Conference Center complex at Pier 66 has reduced electrical energy consumption by 2.4M kwh – 58.4% between 2002 and 2006, and improvements there are ongoing.
Follow Port Commission Actions Online Audio recordings and live streaming video of Commission meetings are available on the Port’s Web site, along with news releases of key actions and agendas for upcoming meetings.
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Sea-Tac Airport has won the prestigious