15 Nov Commission Meeting Minutes 10-28-24
PORT COMMISSION OF THE PORT OF EDMONDS MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING
October 28, 2024
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT
Jay Grant, President
David Preston, Vice President
Janelle Cass, Secretary
Steve Johnston
Selena Killin
STAFF PRESENT
Angela Harris, Executive Director
Brandon Baker, Deputy Executive Director
Tsz Yan Brady, Director of Finance and Administration
Brittany Williams, Manager of Properties and Economic Development
OTHERS PRESENT
Jordan Stephens, Port Attorney
John Brock, Town of Woodway Council
Will Chen, City of Edmonds Council
I. CALL TO ORDER
Vice President Preston called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
II. FLAG SALUTE
All those in attendance participated in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.
III. ROLL CALL
All Commissioners are present.
IV. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
COMMISSIONER CASS MOVED TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS SUBMITTED. COMMISSIONER JOHNSTON SECONDED THE MOTION, WHICH CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
V. PUBLIC COMMENTS (Each comment shall generally be limited to 3 minutes or less and shall be limited to Port business)
• Mr. Charles Malmgren, a dry storage tenant, provided a comment regarding difficulty in scheduling fishing trips.
• Mr. Darrol Haug, a City of Edmonds resident, provided a comment regarding the Port and economic development.
VI. CONSENT AGENDA
COMMISSIONER JOHNSTON MOVED THAT THE CONSENT AGENDA BE APPROVED TO INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING ITEMS. COMMISSIONER CASS SECONDED THE MOTION, WHICH CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
A. Approval of October 14, 2024 Meeting Minutes
B. Approval of Payments in the amount of $559,127.56
VII. POSSIBLE ACTION
A. No action was taken.
VIII. CITY OF EDMONDS AND WOODWAY REPORTS
• Councilmember Chen provided an update on the City of Edmonds budget and draft EIS & City Comprehensive plan.
IX. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Executive Director Harris provided the following updates:
• She will be presenting a Port of Edmonds Update at the WPPA Annual Meeting on Thursday, December 12.
• The Fall Marina Dive Clean-Up is scheduled for Sunday, November 3.
• She provided an overview of government affairs work:
o North Portwalk & Seawall Reconstruction Phase 2 – we will be submitting for City of Edmonds permits in November. Also in November is a meeting with the WSDOT Program Manager to start the agreement process for the Port Electrification grant we were awarded. Target for construction is October 2025 with an estimated project length of 6 months.
o North Portwalk & Seawall Reconstruction Phase 3 – PROTECT NOFO was released this past weekend. The Port of Edmonds will be applying for that grant, due February 24. In addition, the USDOT RAISE grant NOFO is expected to be released in November. The Port met with DOT staff to receive feedback on our application, which was favorable, receiving medium ratings in all but one category where we received a high rating – and we made it to the 2nd tier reviews. We also met with USDOT Director Castaneda to receive her feedback, which was very helpful. Overall, the state of our application is in good form, with some additional data points needed and some additional analysis with the economists to understand their ratings.
o Mid-Marina Breakwater repair – due to our expected repair length (under 25 years) we will not be competitive in the Boating Facilities Program grant process. Therefore, we are holding on that application and instead pivoting to request State help with this project.
X. COMMISSIONER’S COMMENTS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
• Commissioner Preston – Provided a summary from the WPPA Small Ports Conference. He is also attending several Economic Alliance of Snohomish County meetings in the coming two weeks.
• Commissioner Cass – Attended the public workshop on the draft EIS for the City of Edmonds. She stated it was well attended with good comments.
• Commissioner Johnston – Attended the finance committee last week and the investment committee for WPPA meetings. Noted that the Port of Edmonds is now the 13th largest in terms of revenue in the State of Washington.
• Commissioner Killin – Provided a summary from the recent Economic Development Commission retreat. She also met with Northwest Bicycle Advocates, a group that is requesting a letter of support from the Commission on a study they are requesting to be completed on safer bicycle and pedestrian passage over SR 104.
• Commissioner Grant – Is currently attending the AAPA Annual meeting in Boston and discussed several legislative focus areas. He also shared that he is heading the WPPA Cyber taskforce and is working with Seattle and Tacoma on lessons learned.
XI. INFORMATION
A. Discuss 2025 Preliminary Budget
• Director Brady reviewed changes made to the budget from the October 14, 2024 Preliminary Budget review.
B. Waterfront Property Analysis
• The Schuster Group reviewed decisions and proforma data related to the Waterfront properties
XII. EXECUTIVE SESSION
Commissioner Grant announced the Port of Edmonds Commission will move into Executive Session pursuant to RCW 42.30.110(1)(b) at 8:13pm and will last 20 minutes. The Executive Session will conclude at 8:33pm and at the conclusion, the Commission will return to regular Commission meeting with no related announcements or actions taken. The Commission returned to the regular Commission meeting at 8:33pm with no related announcements or actions taken.
XIII. ADJOURNMENT
The Commission meeting was adjourned at 8:36pm.
Janelle Cass,
Port Commission Secretary