Compiled by Bill McCallum
Action Taken at June 4, 2019 Meeting
Shall the commission:
68. Small Works Roster: Contracts under $300,000 fall within the executive director’s spending authority; they only require commission notification. Select tree removal at Bellingham airport, $2,159. (8549/Consent Agenda B) Approved 3-0
69. Authorize the executive director to sign a $42,067 contract (amendment #1) with PH Consulting of Tacoma for safety improvements at the Harris Avenue railroad crossing? The work to be a quiet zone includes a survey, permitting, ADA compliance evaluation, traffic engineering, design and grant funds coordination. At the 2/6/2018 meeting, vote #26, the port received a $350,000 federal grant for improvements to the crossing. This amendment will fund additional design services and brings the total contract to $124,962. (8551/Consent Agenda D) Approved 3-0
70. Approve a restated joint/shared parking agreement with Cohanim Bellwether? Building D is the last of four building Cohanim is constructing at Bellwether on the Bay. The square footage for Building D is greater than the square footage approved with Bellwether Gate at the 6/7/2011 meeting, vote #88. The original agreement had 447 parking spaces for offices, 36 spaces for retail and 53 spaces for a restaurant. This restated agreement adds an additional 45 parking spaces for apartments and 79 parking spaces for retail for a grand total of 660 parking spaces. (8553/Consent Agenda F) Approved 3-0
71. Authorize the executive director to sign a $699,934 contract with Crete Consulting of Seattle to perform remedial design and permitting for the I&J Waterway cleanup project? The port and other parties have investigated the site since 1995. The state Department of Ecology determined that the site is contaminated and issued potential liability letters to the port and Bornstein Sea Foods. At the 12/7/2004 meeting, vote #116, the commission authorized the executive director to sign a $249,470 contract for a remedial investigation/feasibility study of the the I&J Waterway. The Retec Group of Seattle completed 90 percent of the work in 2006. In 2007, the state temporarily suspended the project pending clarification of the dredge management program. At the 9/20/2011 meeting, vote #136, the total cleanup costs increased from $817,230 to $1,634,460 and the state contribution increased from $150,450 to $817,230, which is 50 percent of the total cost and the amount available under the Model Toxics Control Act. At the 5/20/2014 meeting, vote #75, the executive director was authorized to sign a contract to complete the remedial investigation/feasibility study of the the I&J Waterway. A contingency fee of $69,933 brings the total contract to $769,927. (8557/Action Item #1) Approved 3-0
Action Taken at June 18, 2019 Meeting
Shall the commission:
72. Authorize the executive director to sign a $14,750 contract (amendment #1) with One World Productions of Bellingham for video documentation of the Waterfront District? The downtown waterfront was an industrial site until 2005 when the Port of Bellingham acquired the mill property from Georgia-Pacific. Since 2015, One World Productions has been recording work in the Waterfront District, this amendment will fund additional drone footage and documentation of the waterfront site. Amendment #1 brings the total contract to $34,710. (8575/Consent Agenda B) Approved 3-0
73. Authorize the sale of two vessels for the nonpayment of moorage fees? The auction was held on July 12 in the Squalicum Harbor office for a 22-foot sailboat with unpaid moorage fees of $1,686 and a 28-foot sailboat with unpaid moorage fees of $2,651. (8577/Consent Agenda D) Approved 3-0
74. Authorize the executive director to sign a $29,389 contract (amendment #3) with Jacobs Engineering Group of Dallas, Texas, for mitigation development and monitoring associated with tree removal at the Bellingham airport? In 2018, the FAA identified 49 locations with airspace obstructions. To date, 190 trees have been removed in over 30 locations. Jacobs was retained to assist the port in complying with the county land disturbance permit. Amendment #3 identifies alternative tree planting mitigation sites that meet with FAA approval, regrowth monitoring and reporting. (8578/Consent Agenda E) Approved 3-0
75. Authorize the executive director to sign a lease (amendment #1) with the federal government for the International Trade Building at the Bellingham airport? The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) originally signed a lease for 30,000 square feet of office, warehouse and parking spaces at the Bellingham airport building in December of 2004. A new 10-year lease with a yearly rent of $305,838 was approved at the 6/4/2013 meeting, vote 95; the lease began on 12/15/2012 with two five-year renewal options. This amendment corrects an error in the 2013 lease; it shows the federal government, not the port, is responsible electricity and natural gas expenses for the facility. (8583/Consent Agenda J) Approved 3-0
76. Reaffirm the Commission Code of Governance and Conduct? An Ethics Committee was established at the 8/19/2003 meeting, vote #59, as Resolution 1181; amended at the 4/4/2006 meeting, vote #50, as 1181-A; amended at the 6/5/2007 meeting, vote #72, as 1181-B and the 2/3/2009 meeting, vote #20, as 1181-C. The Ethics Committee could only offer advice, it had no enforcement power. Processes learned through the Ethics Committee were integrated into the Commission Code on Governance and Conduct adopted at the 6/3/2014 meeting, vote #83, as Resolution 1181-D. The code provides integrity and ethical standards for current commissions and their successors. (Resolution 1181-D) 8589/Action Item 4 Approved 3-0
77. Authorize the executive director to submit an application to the city of Blaine for an amendment to the Blaine Wharf District master plan? At the 12/18/2007 meeting, vote #137, the commission established a master plan for improvements to Blaine Harbor. Proposed amendments: (1) reduce the size of planning Area 7 and broaden allowable uses to marine related; (2) eliminate the public access trail with pedestrian sidewalks; (3) housekeeping items like renaming the end of pier to Jorgensen Pier, update the Blaine Shoreline Master Program and new design standards in mixed use areas. (8590/Action Item 3) Approved 3-0
78. Authorize the executive director to sign an agreement with the federal government for placement of dredged material during the dredging of the Squalicum Creek waterway? The channel has not been dredged to its allowable depth since 2004. Sedimentation has created a navigation hazard putting shipping productions from the waterway in jeopardy. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has estimated $1,400,000 for surveys and maintenance dredging of Squalicum waterway. The state will pay $750,000, the port for an additional $250,000 and Bellingham Cold Storage will reimburse the port for all costs above $1 million. Approximately 200,000 cubic yards of dredge material will be taken to Rosario Strait and Port Gardner sites. (8593/Action Item 1) Approved 3-0
79. Renew a lease with Rainier Petroleum Corporation of Seattle, d/b/a Maxim Petroleum? The port owns the fueling facility that supplies fuel to the Alaska ferry fleet and other ocean-going vessels. The facility has been operated by Rainier Petroleum since 1999. A five-year lease was approved at the 7/1/2014 meeting, vote #97; it expired on 6/30/2019. The lease is renewed for three years ending 6/30/2022. The three-year rent is $45,000 plus fuel flowage fees. (8596/Consent Agenda H) Approved 3-0
80. Authorize the executive director to sign a $70,280 contract with FLO Analytics of Seattle to conduct an I-5 corridor infrastructure and utility study? The Port of Bellingham’s economic development team is conducting a study that examines the connections or lack thereof between Whatcom’s remaining buildable lands and existing infrastructure. It will also result in a property inventory, with a focus on industrial and residential lands for Whatcom County along the 1-5 Corridor and will be publicly available. (8628/Action Item 2) Approved 3-0
