Compiled by Bill McCallum
Action Taken at September 20, 2022 Meeting
Shall the commission:
111. Authorize the executive director to sign a $35,684 modified contract with SP Plus Corporation of Chicago for janitorial and parking management at the Bellingham airport? At the 5/17/2022 meeting, vote #69, the commission authorized a one-year contract for $563,163 with SP Plus Corporation ending on 6/30/2023. The contract was amendment #2 to a contract originally approved at the 6/21/2016 meeting, vote #113. Amendment #2 increased the parking schedule to 24 hours with limited shuttle operations. The parking staffing levels are at 42 percent and janitorial staffing levels at 57 percent. SP Plus is in the hiring process; employees have to undergo extensive background checks to be eligible for access to secure areas in the terminal. In recent months, 50 applications have been received, culminating in four new employees. The contract increased from $563,163 to $598,847. The modified contract will cover a $2.00 per hour wage increase for all positions. (12017/Consent Agenda B) Approved 3-0
112. Approve a lease with NW Explorations for premises located at the Marina Square building and Squalicum Esplanade? NW Exploration is a yacht company that offers private charters, guided flotillas, yacht sales, maintenance/repairs and a brokerage department. At the 7/6/2004 meeting, vote #68, a lease with Grand Yachts was transferred to NW Exporations. At the 9/3/2013 meeting, vote #134, a lease was signed with NW Exploration for 1,940 square feet at the Marine Square building for a showroom to display retail products and a shop area. At the 10/17/2017 meeting, vote 137, the lease was transferred from Brian and Carol Pemberton to Ross and Evelyn Tennant Ltd, a Canadian company. This new lease will be for premises at 2623 S. Loop Drive, Squalicum Esplande and 700, 704, 712 and 714 Coho Way, Marina Square. The lease terminates on 9/30/2023 with a five-year renewal option. (12013/Consent Agenda D) Approved 3-0
113. Amend the land lease with the Bellingham Bay Community Boating Center? At the 7/3/2007 meeting, vote #88, the lease was tranferred from Fairhaven Boatworks to the Bellingham Bay Community Boating Center, and it went from a profit to nonprofit corporation. The Boating Center promotes small human-powered boat use on Bellingham Bay. At the 8/16/2016 meeting, vote #145, the commission approved a lease with the center to operate the Fairhaven boat launch and moorage facility. At the 4/19/2022 meeting, vote #42, the approximately 16,107 square feet land lease was increased by 1,950 square feet to allow the construction of a two-story building to provide showers/changing stalls, restrooms, an outdoor classroom, and an indoor multipurpose space. This amendment is for property at 555 Harris Street, it will allow parking for the two-story building. The lease expires on 2/28/2026. (12014/Consent Agenda E) Approved 3-0
114. Increase the budget for the the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system at the Harbor Center? The 25-year-old 50-ton chiller system at the port administration building has reached the end of its use life. Replacements parts are difficult to find. The estimated replacement cost is $422,000. Increasing the budget now will allow design work to began ahead of the 2023 budget approval and the construction phase to be completed by the summer of 2023. (12018/Consent Agenda C) Approved 3-0
Action Taken at October 4, 2022 Meeting
Shall the commission:
115. Increase the budget for repairs at the Bellwether Building? A patio on the second floor of the building has developed leaks that drip into a room occupied by Keystone Pilates. It will cost an estimated $170,800 to repair the patio and the room below. (12029/Consent Agenda D) Approved 3-0
116. Renew a lease with the Opportunity Council for premises located at 625 Cornwall Avenue? The premises were initially leased to them in October 2017. The council employs 25 people at the location for job skills training, money management, childcare resources, housing and preschool/Head Start programs. The lease will consolide two leases into one for 6,000 square feet. The five-year lease will expire on 8/31/2027 and the total rent will be $334,800. (12031/Consent Agenda F) Approved 3-0
117. Transfer a lease from A8 Growth LLC to CableCom LLC of Fairfield, Calif.? A8 Growth would like permission to sublease the premises at 3851 Sound Way to CableCom. The lease is for a 6,460 square foot building and 8,800 square feet of exterior property at the Bellingham airport. CableCom does engineering, construction and testing of coaxial and fiber optic cable systems and employs 26 people at the site. At the July 12, 2022 meeting, vote #96, a lease at the Bellingham airport site was tranferred from RespLabs Medical USA of Ferndale to A8 Growth LLC of Bellingham? At the September 3, 2019, vote #107, the airport building was transferred from Sofie’s Properties to RespLabs Medical USA of Ferndale. The rent for three years will be $112,627 and the lease will expire on 8/31/2025. (12032/Consent Agenda G) Approved 3-0
118. Declare specified equipment as surplus and sell it at public auction? The surplus property includes: one pipe bender, one plasma arc PCM-70, nine roof-top hvac units and two Honda 90 outboard engines. (12034/Consent Agenda I) Approved 3-0
119. Authorize the executive director to renew the port’s liability and auto insurance coverage? The coverage includes excess liability including terrorism; for the airport it includes terrorism ($100 million) and war ($50 million). The premium from 10/1/2022 through 9/30/2023 will be $264,440, a 3.2 percent increase over the previous year. The 2021-2022 premium was $258,247, a 24 percent increase over the previous year. Alliant Insurance Services of Newport Beach, California, will continue to serve as the broker of record. (12037/Consent Agenda B) Approved 3-0
120. Ratify an emergency contract for $89,000 with Clean Harbors of Norwell, Mass. to dispose of hazardous waste? Aqueous film firefighting foam has been designed as hazardous due to perfluoroalkyl found in it. The foam was removed from three firefighting trucks and is required to be disposed of by an industrial contractor. At the 6/16/2022 meeting, vote #52, the commission approved a bid from NoFoam Systems of La Jolla, California, for a no-foam testing system for fighting fires. At the 7/12/2022 meeting, vote #63, the commission authorized the executive director to accept and administer state grant funds when available for the disposal of aqueous film forming foam at the Bellingham airport. A tank at the airport is holding 14,000 gallons of the waste. Fresh water has been mixed with approximately 10 gallons of the aqueous film forming foam. The waste will be transported to Utah for disposal. (12038/Consent Agenda C) Approved 3-0
Action Taken at October 18, 2022 Meeting
Shall the commission:
121. Transfer a lease with American Cup Coffee Shop to the new owner, Ali S. Whitney? The 117 square-foot business is located at 2627 S. Harbor Loop, Gate 3 in Squalicum Harbor. The American Cup Coffee Shop was sold to Ali S. Whitney; he will be doing business under the same name. (12047/Consent Agenda C)
122. Modify an agreement with the BoardMill Group? At the 8/9/2022 meeting, vote #110, the commission voted to negotiate an agreement with The BoardMill Group for a 3.43 parcel on the corner of Laurel and Granary Avenue in the Waterfront District. The group proposed a hotel, meeting space, residential units with commercial and retail spaces. Negotiations will take place over three more months and may be extended by mutual agreement. Soil tests have been performed around the Boardmill building with more testing on the site. This modification will extend the agreement until 2/28/2023. (12048/Consent Agenda D)
123. Small works roster. Contracts under $300,000 fall within the executive director’s spending authority; they only require commission notification. The executive director awarded a $70,258 contract to Ultra Tank Services of Bellingham to rehabilitate a fuel farm. The executive director awarded a $95,744 contract to Hytech Roofing of Lynden to repair a patio on the second floor of the Bellwether building that leaks water into a room underneath the patio. (12049/Consent Agenda E) Nonvoting issue.