Still more questions than answers for the Port Commission

— from Minor Lile, Orcas Issues Reporter —

As the Port Commission continues to settle into its responsibilities and learns to work together in the wake of last November’s elections, it is apparent that the process of coming to terms with the various issues confronting them is taking more time than might have originally been anticipated.

Last Thursday’s regular meeting had been intended as an opportunity for the Commission, and particularly the three new commissioners, to speak directly with a representative of the consulting engineering firm (DOWL) that has been preparing the draft airport master plan. In anticipation, the Commission had provided several questions to DOWL ahead of the meeting. However, a few days prior to the meeting, DOWL advised the Commission that the questions that had been submitted would best be answered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

These questions are generally related to what options the Commission has in revising the plan at this late stage of a planning process that began in the Fall of 2017. A key question has to do with who will be financially responsible for any modifications to the draft plan. The original funding of $600,000 has been nearly depleted. Of this, the Port of Orcas put up $50,000, with the remaining funds being provided by the FAA ($500,000) and the State of Washington ($50,000). It is likely that the answer to this question will have a significant influence on the process going forward.

With the conversation with DOWL and the FAA postponed until a later date — unknown at the time of this writing, but likely to be sometime in March — the remaining agenda items at Thursday’s meeting included authorizing issuance of a job announcement for the vacant airport manager position, the regular monthly approval of vouchers and expenditures, a presentation
on the possibility of siting electric vehicle (EV) chargers on Port property, an update on relevant legislation under consideration in Olympia, and discussion of the draft Transportation element of the County Comprehensive Plan. The meeting also included a highly interactive public access period.

The Commission authorized posting the airport manager job announcement within the next week or so. In doing so, they agreed to use the job description that was prepared when the opening was first advertised last year as a foundation. There was also discussion about adding additional criteria to the job description, including a preference for candidates with an educational background in airport management or an equivalent combination of experience and education, a willingness to work outdoors in inclement weather, a valid driver’s license and a willingness to learn the requirements necessary to keep the Airport compliant with all State and Federal regulations. The salary range for the position will be from the mid-$50,000 to mid-$80,000 range depending on background and experience.

In voting to move forward with issuing the job description as soon as possible, the Commissioners agreed to leave the specific elements that will be included in the job description up to Tony Simpson, the former airport manager who is now working for the Port as an independent contractor. According to Commission Chair Mia Kartiganer, in reply to a question from Commissioner Pierrette Guimond, the important thing is to not ‘micromanage’ the exact content of the job description but to move forward with posting it on the Port website as soon as possible.

The Commissioners seemed to leave unresolved the question of how staffing will ultimately be configured. For example, the 2018 job description calls for the creation of an Executive Director to whom the airport manager would report. It is unclear whether the current Commission will go this route. There was also discussion at the February 3 meeting of the Commission about hiring a clerk to take care of much of the routine paperwork and provide support for the meetings of the Commissioners. Although that possibility came up again at this meeting, there was no final determination on whether it would be pursued or not.

During the presentation from OPALCO on the possibility of locating one or more EV stations at the Port, there were several questions, particularly from Commissioner Guimond, on where the stations would be located and who would be responsible for funding their installation and ongoing operation. In response to most of the questions, the OPALCO representatives stated that this was just a preliminary presentation, there were a variety of options available and that a specific model for the installation had not yet been identified.

Commissioner Bea vonTobel updated the other commissioners on three bills that are under consideration in the State Legislature. These were Senate Bill 5011, regarding the permanent creation of a Community Aviation Revitalization Board, House Bill 1457, which would provide that 1% of the aviation fuel tax would be passed on to the airport grants program, which is a primary source of funding for pavement repairs, and House Bill 2550, which would establish that any future development must provide a net ecological gain to the area being developed.

Commissioner vonTobel also shared excerpts from the draft Transportation element of the County Comprehensive Plan. This led to a discussion of a provision in the draft that calls for exploring the possibility of establishing international ports of entry on Lopez and Orcas Islands. According to vonTobel, who was airport manager at the time, this was previously considered in 2008. At that time, the Commission agreed that there were numerous costs and little benefit associated with this idea. The current Commission seemed to share this sentiment.

Following the meeting, Commission Chair Mia Kartiganer shared in an email that she had talked about this with County Commissioner Rick Hughes. According to Kartiganer, he told her that this goal was a carryover from the previous Comp Plan and that he had asked staff to have it
removed from the current draft.

During the public access period, there was an extended discussion about the impact of the draft airport master plan on the value of properties located on the west side of the airport that have been identified as possible future acquisitions by the Port. Neighboring property owner Paul Vierthaler stated that the inclusion of his property in the plan was having an adverse impact on his ability to sell to interested buyers.

Asked to reply by Commission Chair Mia Kartiganer, former manager Tony Simpson said that he would be personally willing to consider purchasing the property if Vierthaler would show him a copy of the sale agreement that had fallen through. Simpson added that he did not believe that merely identifying the property as a possible future acquisition in the master plan would adversely affect its value as there is no intention on the part of the Port or the FAA to exercise any right of eminent domain in acquiring the property. And that any such effort, if it were to occur, would not go down well with Congressman Rick Larson, who chairs the Aviation Sub-Committee of the House Transportation Committee.

Simpson added that there is also a ‘chicken and egg’ issue at play. According to Simpson, if the property is to ever be acquired by the Port, it must be identified in the master plan as a possible future acquisition in order to obtain funding from the FAA for its purchase. If the property is not specifically identified as a possible future acquisition, then there would be no funding available from the FAA. At this point, Kartiganer brought the exchange to a close. She noted that this was another of the questions that the Commissioners had asked DOWL and the FAA to respond to when they meet in the next few weeks.

The next regular meeting of the Port Commission is scheduled for Thursday, March 12, at 5 p.m.