[0:29] Today is October 13th, 2026. This is the Port of Kennewick Regular Commission business
[0:34] meeting. And I'd like to call this meeting of the Port of Kennewick Regular Commission
[0:39] meeting on October 13th to order at 2 p.m. And I'd like to thank everybody for joining
[0:45] us today. Before we begin our meeting, I have a few procedural items to go over.
[0:50] The Port of Kennewick Commission chambers are open to the public during commission
[0:53] meetings. The port provides telephone, video access, and in-person options for the
[0:58] public. Commissioners are in person today, but some of the poor team will be attending
[1:03] remotely and some are currently in the room. Often people attend remotely and we
[1:08] appreciate your patience and understanding as we work our way through the meeting.
[1:12] If you're participating remotely, please make sure that you're accessing the meeting
[1:15] with only one device to reduce audio feedback, and please mute your microphone unless
[1:21] you're speaking. The agenda for this meeting may be viewed on our website if you'd
[1:25] like to follow along. We'll also be using the share my screen feature today. There
[1:30] will be an opportunity for public comment at the beginning and at the end of the
[1:34] meeting. In addition, public comments will be received on each item if the commission
[1:39] may take action. When it's time for public comment, it may be difficult to determine
[1:43] who is speaking if multiple people try at one time. So please be patient and respectful.
[1:49] Then again, as a friendly reminder, please mute your microphone unless you're speaking.
[1:54] To verify who's participating in today's meeting, I'd like to take roll call. I'll
[1:59] start with commissioners. I'm Commissioner Skip Novakovich. Mr. Present. Tim Arnson
[2:07] present and now I'd like to ask the port staff that's in the room to introduce themselves
[2:12] and their position, Lisa. Lisa Shoemaker, special projects coordinator. Uh, good
[2:19] afternoon, Nick Quaker. I'm the deputy CEO of the board. Thank you. Tammy Story,
[2:25] the CPA CFA CF CFP and um advisor. Hello, Mike Biny, director of operations.
[2:32] Rochelle Olson, director of governmental relations. Amber Handshay, director of real
[2:37] estate.
[2:40] That's it, I guess you already introduced. We got him. How about, um, who's online?
[2:45] Any staff online to introduce themselves, Bridget?
[2:50] Thank you, Commissioner. You're Bridget Scott, executive assistant. David, you have
[2:54] a couple other employees on the line. Hello David Puna, marketing and capital projects
[3:01] coordinator. Thank you, David. Who else is online this is now?
[3:08] Carolyn Lake at council. Thank you, Carolyn. I was gonna introduce you one more.
[3:13] Who is?
[3:16] Feline Go senior accountant. There we go. Great, thank you. Thank you all. Well,
[3:22] we'll go back to the agenda and could all rise for the pledge of allegiance, please.
[3:27] I'd like to ask my fellow commissioner to lead us.
[3:31] To pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic
[3:37] for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for
[3:43] all. Thank you.
[3:48] And before we go on, I've got um a little trivia question. How many new jobs approximately
[3:55] were created in the Ports Finley area from 1952 to 1964?
[4:05] Anybody wanna take a wild guess?
[4:10] Nobody? 1000. 1000. OK, there's a guess. Not quite, but anyway. Anybody else? 999.
[4:19] This is not the Price is right.
[4:23] Teresa, you wanna take a guess? Huh, I don't know. Well, OK, there was 250 approximately.
[4:30] You should have spoken up. You should have. I said 203. Uh, you were close. All right,
[4:36] so now we're at our first session of public comment. It's an opportunity for any
[4:39] of the public to address the commission on anything on the agenda or anything you'd
[4:43] like to make us aware of. We just ask that you state your name, city of residence
[4:47] for the record, and limit your comments to 3 minutes. Would anyone like to make a
[4:50] public comment at this time?
[4:55] I don't see anybody online or in the room, so we'll move on to the consent agenda.
[5:00] These are items considered of a routine nature taken by one vote of the commission.
[5:04] Any item can be removed, placed further on down the agenda, or tabled for another
[5:08] meeting. Do we need to remove any item from the consent agenda? Uh, Commissioner
[5:12] Alvakovic, I motion to approve the consent agenda from October 13, 2027 as presented,
[5:19] I mean 2026. Thank you, I'm time traveling. Thank you. I'll, I'll second that motion.
[5:24] All those in favor of approving all items on the consent agenda signified by saying
[5:28] aye. Aye. Those opposed say no. The consent agenda is approved unanimously. Our next
[5:34] item is presentation WPP environmental seminar, Tim. Yes, thank you, commission.
[5:41] Uh, we have some pictures. What I would like to do is just give the overview of this
[5:46] and then I see I have Ms. Lake and uh Commissioner Novakovich joining me in the presentation.
[5:52] So, I'll just kind of give the brief flyover and then I would like to turn it over
[5:57] maybe to Commissioner Novakovich to offer your comments and then perhaps Ms. Lake.
[6:01] And then if there's any follow-up, I'd be happy to jump back in. But this was the
[6:06] Washington Public Ports Association environmental seminar, and as you can see from
[6:12] the slide that's on the screen, it was on September 24th of this year. And we were
[6:17] asked to address the group. There's probably 250 people in attendance. Many of them
[6:25] were either attorneys or environmental employees of various port districts, consultants,
[6:31] and so forth, and they had an interest in many of the environmental and scientific
[6:38] activities that ports are going through. And uh while they had another presenter
[6:43] that talked about PFOS, which is the topic we talked about, much of the presentation
[6:50] that the prior presenter talked about was PFOS. These are what are known as forever
[6:55] chemicals, PFOS and drinking water, because that has been a hot topic across the
[7:01] country. But we were one of the first jurisdictions to have the honor of dealing
[7:06] with PFOS in soil. It is a very new activity that is just being regulated by the
[7:12] Environmental Protection Agency at the federal level and Department of Ecology at
[7:17] the Washington state level. So we were one of the first few that um had the opportunity
[7:24] to deal with PFOS in soil, and as far as I can tell, we are, if not the first out,
[7:30] we are one of the first out of the process, you know, we got in with uh some of the
[7:36] others, we were able to conclude our activities in about a year time frame, which
[7:40] is very quick for this. And I think the reason why we were asked to participate is
[7:45] that we did have an exit strategy, and that's kind of the key. In environmental matters
[7:50] is finding the exit strategy. Sometimes that takes, uh, not only years but decades.
[7:56] So this was a great opportunity for us to share our observations with the, uh, group
[8:02] of people there. I felt that, um, our panel did very well. You can see we had Commissioner
[8:07] Novakovich that was the opener, uh. Then we had myself, Carolyn Lake, the port legal
[8:14] counsel. Then right next to Carolyn, you see John McCorkel. He is the principal for
[8:19] the Landau firm that did the um environmental work for us. And then on the far end,
[8:25] we had Richard Dubay, who's a An attorney that started his practice with the federal
[8:30] EPA and then did a lot of environmental law at a large firm in Seattle. We brought
[8:36] Richard on board to provide expertise throughout the process. So again, I felt we
[8:41] had a really tight presentation. We had a lot of audience engagement afterwards.
[8:47] We had a lot of questions related to our presentation, so I felt it was a great opportunity.
[8:53] I do feel sorry for Commissioner Novakovich, however, because he had to ride over
[8:58] to Seattle with me. That's 4.5 hours away. I do it. He had to hear all my stories.
[9:04] Then we went down to Tacoma for other business. He had to hear those stories all
[9:08] over again. So you should get the Survivor Award, Novakovich. It was entertaining.
[9:14] Thank you, Tim. Carolyn, anything to, to add or comments?
[9:24] The only thing I'd add is that this picture really doesn't tell the story because
[9:29] I remember when we were on the panel, everyone was smiling and laughing. We had a
[9:36] great time doing it and I think because it just it was, it was a Good memory to look
[9:41] back on for all of us and a good memory to share with the audience about how everyone
[9:47] worked together as a team and that really was kind of the theme of the day that the
[9:51] teamwork and the respect shown amongst all the members of the team was really what
[9:56] um what made it a successful process, um, let alone the outcome. Um, and I
[10:04] was also really happy that we had tons of questions afterwards from the audience,
[10:08] and usually your presentation is boring. They just want to get out of there, but
[10:13] there were quite a few questions from the audience in general and then people randomly
[10:18] after the presentation. So, um, just can't say enough about what a great job the
[10:24] members of the panel did. So I was happy to be a part of it. Thank you. Thank you,
[10:29] Carolyn. We're glad you were there too. And I would just add that it was a great
[10:33] presentation. The, the panel, the people that put together the team that handled
[10:37] the PFOS did, did amazing and as Tim said, there was maybe 250 people there or so.
[10:43] And I heard a lot of comments. I, I think perhaps this was the finest panel that
[10:48] they had for this, for this seminar. So it was great. So thank you all for doing
[10:53] this. Um, thank you to the team. Carolyn and Tim, you're here, so thank you very
[10:57] much for, for your job and what you did because I think it was excellent and I was
[11:01] proud to be a member of this team. So thank you. Tim, anything else to add? No, I
[11:08] think you, uh, you and Carolyn have, uh, summed it up very well. And again, um, you
[11:14] know, the guidance from the Port commission was to be transparent throughout the
[11:19] process. We had a lot of meetings with the people that have bought, uh, ground from
[11:23] us in Vista Field. They were concerned, even if it wasn't found on their property,
[11:27] they were concerned with the process. Uh, we interface with the media quite well.
[11:32] And again, this is a, uh, kind of a Pat on the back to the port commission because
[11:38] you know the guidance that you gave me was to be. Thorough with the process, but
[11:42] to make sure that transparency was at the top of our list. So, thank you for that.
[11:48] And then here's a picture of um myself at the luncheon that is uh Director Six Killer.
[11:54] He is the uh head of Department of Ecology. And after his luncheon presentation,
[12:00] I was able to publicly thank him. Because he gave a little bit of nudge to his agency
[12:07] to kind of conclude things because they recognized we had all of our paperwork in,
[12:11] and that we wanted to get back to selling property and get things, you know, on the
[12:15] tax roll and so forth. So, Director Six Killer did a nice job of kind of helping
[12:20] us get across the finish line. We did make a little bit of a wager there. I'm a Ducks
[12:25] fan and he's a Huskies fan. So we've got a little bit of, uh, wager, not financial,
[12:30] but it will be maybe some level of public service or public humiliation based on
[12:35] who wins the Ducks or the Huskies. Right now, I'm thinking I might have to figure
[12:38] out what I gotta, I gotta do for him the way the Ducks have been playing. And didn't
[12:43] you invite him to come visit us? And yeah, we, we did. I invited him publicly to
[12:48] come join us to see the joint success we've got. So we'll see if we can get that
[12:53] worked out. But I will tell you this, that Director Six Killer is a very fun guy,
[12:57] and he wants to bring a practical approach to the Department of Ecology. So this
[13:02] was a really good opportunity for him to see how we worked closely with his agency.
[13:07] Yep, good job and thank you. All right, we'll move on then to Vistafield blue chart
[13:12] meeting. Amber? Yes, thank you, commissioners. So now that we have our PFOS, uh,
[13:19] pause in the rearview mirror, and, uh, just to follow up on our environmental seminar,
[13:25] that was a twelve-month pause that we took. We took a, a pause on construction of
[13:30] some of our parking lots, so that, um, Uh, really was lightning speed and a record
[13:37] probably for any jurisdiction to get out of, um, that PFOS pause. So as we came out
[13:43] of, um, This period of time, we are now re-engaging with those builders and developers
[13:50] that took uh their time and their investment prior to that to work with us on a number
[13:57] of projects in Vista Field. So, uh, prior to um putting on the pause, we had, um,
[14:04] contractual uh arrangements with Blue Chart. And Blue Chart is a uh partnership between
[14:11] uh Chartwell Land Company and Blue Fern Development to do this, uh, single-family
[14:17] home project just for Vista Field. Uh, they understand our urban concept of what
[14:23] we want to do that's different. Uh, they understood what the houses should look like.
[14:29] Uh, so they are, we are in an agreement with them to do, uh, several phases of single-family
[14:35] homes. And that would be attached or detached. So attached could be townhomes, maybe
[14:40] some townhomes sprinkled in there. Uh, we did this conceptual drawing, which I'm
[14:44] gonna speak to, um, A little bit early on, but at the end of September, we re-engaged
[14:50] with Blue Chart and met with them, uh, for a whole day of, uh, working because our
[14:56] next step is to come up with an approved development plan where both the port and
[15:03] Blue Chart agree on certain amenities, uh, that will come from the First phase. And
[15:08] if they do well on their first phase, and we like that, then they have uh takedown
[15:14] options for future phases. So, potentially 8 phases of um neighborhoods uh with,
[15:20] with homes sprinkled throughout. So actually, Bridget, if you could go back to the
[15:25] first one, there's a few things I wanted to share on that 1st, 1st slide.
[15:34] So the whole day.
[15:37] Like The whole day was. Spent on 3 key areas.
[15:45] This Wonerf, which is a quiet street, This part of the road is already constructed,
[15:52] so this would be an extension through that neighborhood. The second item that that
[15:57] we focused on a lot was this Half Moon Park, which is a public amenity. And then
[16:02] the third item that Blue Chart felt was very important was this um entry right off
[16:07] of Deschute. So this is Deschutes right here. So, um, the, the homes are very similar
[16:13] into what they're probably gonna do. This little area across will, will most likely
[16:18] be additional homes, but this Half Moon Park, uh, is an amenity. So the port has
[16:24] committed to the infrastructure. So putting in the roads, the little Half Moon Park,
[16:31] these roads, and delivering to them, uh, shovel-ready parcels. So they will pay us
[16:38] as they take down parcels and build homes, that's how we will recoup our investment.
[16:44] The distinct feature of the the quiet street here is that they really wanted a unique
[16:51] material. So we're coming in this as you have a, uh, you have a base price, right?
[16:58] In a custom home, you add on. Amenities or you add on nicer countertops or different
[17:04] carpet. So this is where our bases, if they want to come in and do a pavers or something
[17:11] like that, then their per parcel price will probably increase a little bit. Uh, this
[17:17] Half Moon Park is part of the amenities that we are committed to taking a portion
[17:23] of that, those dollars, uh, with each lot sale and putting it towards the amenities,
[17:29] towards those public spaces. We already have the pavilions. Uh, which is part of
[17:34] our public spaces. We have the great water feature, which is a, a public space, but
[17:39] for a neighborhood, uh, they wanted something where the neighbors could come in,
[17:43] throw a frisbee, or have a gathering area, or maybe part of this is where their,
[17:49] their mailbox cluster will be located, and then you might run into your neighbors
[17:53] at the mailbox cluster. So they're thinking about how you build community and how
[17:58] you congregate people together. So a lot of conversation was around potentially this
[18:03] is still drivable for um emergency, but maybe it's blocked off with bollards so that
[18:10] it really becomes walkable. And as you're working uh to spill out onto the, the pathway,
[18:17] it almost becomes another amenity for that. Um, neighborhood, which they're trying
[18:23] to build community. You're, you know, getting out and you're exploring rather than
[18:28] just staying in your house and being in your backyard. You're spilling out into the
[18:31] front. Another aspect that was really important to Blue Chart is our manner of arrival.
[18:37] So, We have our Crosswind Boulevard manner of arrival, and that brings you into our
[18:45] more of our retail space and our restaurants and kind of our vibrancy core. This
[18:50] is, they're looking at a manner of arrival for the residential piece for that first
[18:56] neighborhood. Here's another way when you come through, you know, you've entered
[19:00] into kind of the residential area. Uh, so there was a lot of conversation about what
[19:06] will that look like. Uh, will it be something that has some, some more, um, plantains,
[19:13] maybe some unique use of our existing boulders that we have out there, which we have
[19:17] a lot of. We have a lot of boulders out there, that might be some landscape feature.
[19:22] So, uh, there was a lot of conversation on how this can look for coming into Vista
[19:27] Field. So those three. Ideas, those three concepts is what we need to agree on as
[19:34] part of our approved, approved development plan, which is that next step. So, as
[19:39] a real estate person, I'm pushing that process because we want to get to the next
[19:43] step and the next step. So, uh, a lot of great work was done. They were in a room
[19:48] from 8:30 to 2 all day, just kind of re-engaging, um, but coming up with some definitive
[19:56] decisions because this is something that we need to produce and Larry needs to go
[20:03] out to bid and get all those infrastructure costs, get it in front of you for your
[20:07] approval. Uh, and they want to go through a plot process. We have a binding site
[20:12] plot process, so is OK with the city, but they want to go through the plot process.
[20:17] So we need to get those ducks in a row. So there's lots of parallel lines that we're
[20:22] running here. But I just wanted to show everybody that these three areas is what
[20:26] we spent all day on and made them eat lunch and work at the same time. So, well,
[20:31] this worked out really well. OK, Bridget, next, next couple slides. This is collaborative
[20:38] design in action, ta da. So, um, This is all of us around one table for
[20:46] most of the day, and let's see if you could go to the next slide, and then I'll introduce
[20:50] who all the players are. We had from the port, we had myself, Tim, Bridget, and Larry.
[20:57] And then from the, and then, uh, Matt Lambert is our Vistafield town architect. So
[21:02] it was crucial that Matt was there. He kept the momentum going and he would, uh,
[21:09] look for things from the course perspective and how to simplify. Uh, something that
[21:15] was fun is that he used a pen when he drew. He didn't use a pencil that could be
[21:19] erased, so he's very confident in, uh, his feedback that he was giving. And then
[21:25] here is Darren. He's with Parametrics. He's also on our team. He's our civil uh engineer.
[21:30] He worked with us on all those first improvements with um Vista Field on Crossroad
[21:35] Boulevard, the, uh, water feature. He's been with us for a very long time. And then
[21:41] from the blue chart team, this is Levi Holmes, and this is Brad Callover. Um, he
[21:48] is a landscape architect that is also on Levi's team. And he's the one who's giving
[21:53] some different perspective and ideas on what those spaces could look like. So it's,
[21:58] it's very interesting to have him there in an outside, uh, viewpoint. And then Lawrence
[22:03] Kumar, who has worked with the port quite a bit, um, on our charette process, and
[22:09] he's, he's a friend and he's familiar to us. He's actually on the Blue Chart team.
[22:13] So, uh, we know that there will be some continuity there between our master plan
[22:19] and what Blue Chart is doing. Uh, next slide, I think Bridget's got one more.
[22:27] And then this is just another. Yup, another viewpoint of everybody sitting around
[22:33] the table, um, and we literally when, when Levi got there with all his big papers,
[22:38] we started because he was, he was wanting to get going and he's very serious about
[22:43] getting this all started for us. And then, uh, just another little note from Levi.
[22:48] He and his family were here on this weekend, uh, and they just wanted to experience
[22:53] the Tri-Cities. He's got 4 little kids and 1 on the way. So they went to Middleton's.
[22:59] I was texting him ideas and examples, and he said, oh yeah, we went up to Middleton's
[23:03] and then Uh, they, they spent a lot of time walking around Vista Fields, just being
[23:08] in the space, going over to Lawrence Scott Park. So, so they're serious, they're
[23:13] serious about continuing this project with us, but that's all I had. Tim, you got
[23:18] anything you wanna back line up? Well, let's see. Oh, there's my favorite slide,
[23:23] um, as Amber mentioned the guy in the white shirt is Lawrence Kamar, and we remember
[23:30] him. He's one of the DPZ disciples helped us with our Uh, Charette process helped
[23:35] us with our master plan. He's now on the other side of the table, figuratively and
[23:41] literally. And, um, Lawrence has got a lot of really fabulous ideas. The guy is a
[23:47] dreamer, he's a creator, and he comes up with a lot of really interesting attributes
[23:54] for a project, so I'm glad he's involved. But we were able to kind of Um, with Lawrence,
[24:01] you have to kind of give him some of the parameters. We have to talk a little bit
[24:04] about affordability and, you know, we tell him that there's time frames on things,
[24:08] but if you let him go, he'll keep designing. He'd still be down there if we let him
[24:11] go. But, uh, even though he's, he was on their payroll, we said we do have to wrap
[24:16] up at what, 2:30. So I wanted this picture of Lawrence, uh, actively drawing something
[24:22] very creative. So whatever we're able to bring back to you, commission. Hopefully,
[24:27] there will be a lot of creativity left in it, but we'll have to also put, um, you
[24:32] know, our, uh, pencils into it as far as the columns and the numbers to make sure
[24:37] that what we're gonna bring to you, we don't get you excited about, we'd love to
[24:41] have this, and we haven't done some rough math on it. So, what you're likely gonna
[24:45] see is something that has Lawrence's creativity into it, but a little bit of fiscal
[24:51] responsibility into it as well. And that was the benefit. Of this group because,
[24:57] you know, when we first started out in the morning, we were able to just throw out
[25:02] all of the ideas and then we kind of work some of them back. We, you know, like Amber
[25:06] brought in uh the concept of, OK, for the wounder if the narrow street. We could
[25:12] do some of these pavers, but we also have to have the alternative. Maybe we do the
[25:15] concrete, the stained concrete like we did in some of the other stuff that's already
[25:20] out there. So as we got working through it, we kind of dialed back some of the really
[25:24] nice to have things as we put some of the financial perspective on it. And what we've
[25:30] left it with is that our team is going to talk to their team now as we're going to
[25:35] crunch some numbers and then like I said, hopefully when we come back and show you
[25:39] something. We've at least got some order of magnitude to it number-wise, you know,
[25:44] because again, we don't want to show you something fantastic that we could just never
[25:48] pay for. But great process. And early on, I was, um, I don't want to say admonished,
[25:56] but I was advised by Amber and Larry that if I got to a place where I thought it
[26:00] was too boring, that I could go take a break. And I remember Bridget went out with
[26:04] me one time, we walked around a little bit. And they were quarreling over how wide
[26:08] a parking lane should be, 8 ft or 10 ft. And that's when Bridget and I decided, we'll
[26:13] just take a walk for a while, and then when we came back, they had it solved. And
[26:17] I don't know whether it was 8 or 10 or anything in between, and frankly, I don't
[26:21] care, but it got solved. Well, thank you, Amber, that was a, a wonderful presentation.
[26:27] Thank you for that a lot of information. A couple, maybe a few questions. Three improvements
[26:33] that they want us to make. Is there any ballpark idea what that's going to cost?
[26:37] You know, that was part of uh this process was identifying what it is, and then we
[26:43] need to put the numbers to it, uh, which is this next little piece of the puzzle,
[26:48] putting the numbers to it and then saying, OK, well, this is what it's gonna cost,
[26:53] and this is what we had agreed upon you paying. Uh, if you want all these things,
[26:59] then you're gonna have to pay more, you know, we're gonna have to increase the price
[27:02] of the parcel in order to have these amenities. If that's, if they're that important
[27:06] to you, then we need to make some adjust adjustments to price. So we don't have all
[27:10] the details quite yet on what those areas are gonna cost, but that's our next step
[27:16] is to put price to it. We need that for, um, construction of the improvements too,
[27:21] you know, we need to know what that is. So, would we have to finance those? Improve
[27:26] those 3 improvements upfront, or would they be buying lots first and then pay, that's
[27:32] how we would pay for the improvements. So we're providing them with shovel-ready
[27:36] parcels and those roads and those improvements. So it's almost like while we're doing
[27:42] our construction, they're gonna be pre-selling and then they have timelines, so we
[27:47] will have You know, we'll be paying bills and as they're taking down we'll have some
[27:53] upfront costs and then we'll be recovering those as they take down parcels. Perfect,
[27:58] yeah, perfect. commissioners, any questions, comments?
[28:04] Thank you, Kim. Yeah, my understanding, and Nick is here to correct me, but my my
[28:09] understanding is that this is already in your budget. We've kind of put in the phase
[28:13] one in the budget. So again, we have to keep, make sure that we keep within the budget
[28:18] with this. So unless I'm mistaken, Nick, we've already put this in your budget, so
[28:23] the phase one would be funded. And then like I say, like Amber said, if they want
[28:27] to upgrade a little bit. And that goes above our budget, then we say, OK, let's negotiate
[28:32] up the lot price. So Nick, how did I do on that one? Yes, no, Tim is correct on that
[28:36] one. Great, thank you. Again, great job, great presentation. This is kind of exciting.
[28:41] Uh, we're finally getting closer to that, so I'd like to, I'd like to see that happen.
[28:45] That's awesome. OK, how about, uh, Nick, how about the draft budget workshop? Yep,
[28:51] just one second here. Perfect. They're gonna let me control. OK. What's that? What
[28:58] do you mean? Can I just collect that?
[29:01] OK, so it's October, and you're all thinking exactly what I am, right? What hockey
[29:06] season started and it's budget time. Budget is even more important than hockey season
[29:12] to me, believe it or not, but, um, it's always a difficult, um, process. It takes
[29:17] a lot of time. Um, the one thing I will say is say we're gonna review the 27-28 budget,
[29:23] and then we're gonna do all the legal, uh, publications over the next couple of weeks
[29:27] and bring it back on the 27th for final approval. Um There are no surprises in this
[29:33] budget. I want to get that out there. And um everything in here, it's taken staff
[29:38] a lot of time. It's basically everything we've heard from the commission in the current
[29:42] budget cycle about, you know, what, what needs to be in this one. So, direction we've
[29:45] received from you guys um is what's in here. So there's no surprises. Um, the last
[29:51] thing, I know it sounds um cliche, but I do. This was a staff effort across the board,
[29:57] and I really mean that, and everybody, um, we've had probably more of this budget
[30:01] cycle than others, but um A lot of meetings that were um trying to get the right
[30:07] word, but, um, you know, we were looking at ways we could trim some expenses back.
[30:12] And that's always kind of one of those things that's hard for people to do because
[30:15] they've been doing the same thing for so long. Um, but everybody contributed, um,
[30:20] and it was a very successful process, although it was, um, stressful at times, right?
[30:26] Um, and then I also want to recognize Tammy. She's right next to me, and you, I don't
[30:31] know if everybody knows Tammy, but, uh, she's been here for longer than me. Um, her
[30:36] job titles have changed, and some we can't publicly talk about. But, uh, to me, she's
[30:44] my right hand in terms of very detail-oriented, and she did the legwork on the budget
[30:49] for the most part. Um, and to me, her, the name of her position is Director of Financial
[30:55] Reporting, which is a very important job for the port. So she helps with budgets
[30:59] and audits and things like that, and state audits when they come visit us. So, um,
[31:07] before we start, I think I should pass off to Tim and see if he has anything he would
[31:10] like to add. Well, just wanna say Nick hit it, you know, out of the park with this.
[31:16] It was quite a team effort. And again, you know, not to repeat too much what Nick
[31:22] said, but when we roll out the draft of the budget to the commission, there really
[31:27] should be no surprises because it's things that you've said, we've jotted down notes
[31:32] throughout the year prior to this on things that the commission feels is important.
[31:37] Um, but it's always good that We shared the draft with you, so in case we've missed
[31:43] something completely, it's nice for you to catch it in the first draft rather than
[31:47] us getting this far along. But you know, and I said this earlier, I said it's a paradox
[31:52] because it might be one of your easiest budgets because you've already committed
[31:56] a lot of the funding. For example, blue chart phase one, there's a nice chunk of
[32:00] money. So in that sense, it was easier because there wasn't a lot of other discretionary
[32:05] funding to go around. But on the other side of the coin, it was more challenging
[32:09] because then you say with the scant resources we have left, how do we allocate that?
[32:15] I know you put some money in your opportunity fund for things that could come along
[32:18] that are either anticipated or unanticipated. So, it was really, like Nick says,
[32:24] it was a tough budget, but you have to look at it from, in a sense, it was easy because
[32:28] a lot of your big projects had already been defined. But then again, sometimes it's
[32:33] like when I go out on my property on a Saturday with an easy project, it turns into
[32:37] 3 weeks, you know, I thought it'd be 15 minutes, but that's kind of how this budget
[32:41] was, even though you had some of the bigger items out of the way, then there was
[32:45] the jockeying of the other things, you know, perhaps your discretionary funds. But
[32:49] again, staff effort, I remember we had a lot of meetings at one point. You know,
[32:54] Tammy likes to project out what we might look like in a few years. I remember one
[32:58] day Larry thought that his job was going to be cut, so I had to take him down to
[33:02] Ice Harbor and buy him a sandwich and tell him that wasn't the case. And then as
[33:05] the budget cleared up a little bit, Larry became the happiest guy around, and I don't
[33:10] know how he Up with that, but sometimes, when you have planners and financial people
[33:15] talking, there's a little bit of a disconnect. But there was a lot of scary times
[33:20] in our staff negotiations. There's a lot of fruitful times, there was actually a
[33:25] lot of comical times. I got a couple of laughs along the way, but here we are, and
[33:30] I think it's a great budget. And I do appreciate Nick and Tammy and everybody else
[33:34] that cooperated, but I do have a grin on my face right now because I was remembering
[33:38] some of the stuff we had to get through to get to this point. So, after this presentation,
[33:44] commission, it's all yours, right? It's your budget, but we did have some fun with
[33:50] the process, and I hope you guys did too. Thanks Tim. Thanks, Tim. Reporting pyramid.
[33:56] We found this probably about 10 years ago and we really liked it. Um, and so really
[34:01] what it does is describes everyone's roles in the budgeting process. Uh, the leaderships
[34:05] of the elected officials are at the top of the pyramid. That means we give them summary
[34:09] level, um, information to work with, and they can make policy decisions and guide
[34:14] us. I'm at the bottom. Tammy's at the bottom. We're in every line by line. We're
[34:19] looking at insurance costs. Um, landscaping costs, very high level of detail. Tim's
[34:25] more in the green in the middle of the pyramid. Um, we try to pull him down to the
[34:30] lower part, but he doesn't like that. So we first stay a little bit higher up, higher
[34:33] level oversight of things. Um, but anyways, we found this to be very valuable, uh,
[34:39] just kind of showing where people should be in their roles in the budgeting process.
[34:44] Um, economic data, we like to start with some economic data. I like that. Glad you
[34:50] came. So, this does affect the poor, believe it or not, and unemployment, I found
[34:56] it is interesting. Washington State unemployment went up and Benton County went down.
[35:01] And I'm not sure what the reason was, but I found that to be a very positive thing.
[35:05] Um, and we're more, uh, the national unemployment rate went down as well. So we're
[35:10] more on track with the national unemployment rate than the state of Washington. So
[35:14] that's very positive for the poor. Inflation, and we all know this has been Really
[35:20] difficult to deal with in the last 5 years, um. And this is finally starting to stabilize,
[35:26] and this does directly affect the port. It really does. I mean, all of our projects,
[35:31] um, well, and in 2021, I think was the only year. Since I've been here and Amber
[35:36] and I've been here 13 years that we actually considered doing a cost of living salary
[35:41] adjustment mid-year because I mean, the same bag of groceries was almost double the
[35:48] price. Um, so, 2021, 2022, massive inflation and it's kind of leveled out a little
[35:53] bit. So that'll really be advantageous to the port.
[35:58] Any good budget starts with the question of where are we now? And this is where we're
[36:02] at now. We have about $11 million in cash, which is about standard for every other
[36:08] budget cycle. The second one, our original $5 million loan, we owe about $2.8 million
[36:14] on that loan. Um, the thing I love about this is our interest rate is 3.45%.
[36:22] And our investment earnings are 3.5%. So we actually have an arbitrage, uh, situation
[36:30] advantage to the port, um, although our rate is gonna reset at the end of 2028, so
[36:37] that's something we'll have to be thinking about. Our revenues are higher than we
[36:41] expected, our expenses are lower, and our net position, so the port's net worth is
[36:45] about $67 million. And then the last one is our levy rate. It's actually under 20
[36:49] cents. Uh, it's 0.198. Um, I actually just rounded it up to 20 cents, but, um, that's
[36:57] really, so if you have a $400,000 house, that's about $80 a year. That's what you
[37:04] pay the poor Kennewick. Uh, so you're getting a lot of bang for your buck. And then
[37:07] you can see the left, that's the 2001 tax levy. And That's the maximum capacity a
[37:15] port can levy, 44 cents per 1000. So, the spread, the difference, 44 to 20, that's
[37:21] what we call our bank capacity. So, we have a lot of levy capacity and what's going
[37:25] to happen is this is going to continue to go down at 20 cents per 1000.
[37:32] All right. So, the, we call it the BFOP. It's the budgeting philosophy. We passed
[37:38] this, the commission passed it, I want to say in 2017. And it's kind of a guiding
[37:42] document. I find, we found it really valuable, in my opinion, at least. Um Couple
[37:48] of things here, I'm not gonna talk about all of them, but the very bottom one, the
[37:51] reserve fund. OK, environmental pollution claims against the port, and we had that
[37:57] money set aside before PFOS happened. And so this is the fund we use to fund the
[38:03] approximate $700,000 we paid. Um, and it could have been more, it could have been
[38:07] way worse than it was. Um, so, If you can get out one thing in this presentation,
[38:14] the $700,000 we funded it out of the current budget. So, the way the budget philosophy
[38:20] document reads is that you can either fund it at a current budget or the next one.
[38:25] But the way we saw it was we want to pay for it right away because we will be fiscally
[38:28] responsible. Um, and we've all I don't think any media is here, but we've seen the
[38:34] news lately with all the other various entities that are having budgeting problems,
[38:39] and we don't want to be in that situation. We budget conservatively, and so we've
[38:43] actually um paid that upfront, so we don't have to worry about it in the future.
[38:48] Just put it behind us.
[38:51] Budget assumptions and then really, these are kind of a given, but the far right
[38:55] one maintaining poor investments. This has always been a value. Um, one thing we
[39:00] could sacrifice is our properties. You know, if you're walking around Clover Island
[39:03] and you want to see weeds that are growing, etc. It would be cheaper for us if we
[39:09] did that. But that's one thing we've never wanted to sacrifice, and that's what we've
[39:13] heard from the commission. And so this um budget doesn't sacrifice anything. So maintaining
[39:19] our investments. Tammy, do you have anything? Yeah, OK. Any, any questions up to
[39:27] this point? Well, it's great, Nick. Thank you. OK, so we have really 3 categories
[39:31] the operating expenses, the non-operating ones, and capital. So, and then from there,
[39:36] we further divide them into divisions. So, our first operating division, which means
[39:40] the day to day operations of the port, is the marine division. So, this is our marina,
[39:45] field dock, and um Boat hall out And so this division, um, you can see there's a
[39:52] little bit of a spread there, about 20,000 bucks, but, um, I would forecast or I
[39:56] would assume because we budget conservatively, our expenses of 783 are going to be
[40:01] lower. I would like to think they will be. I'm very positive they will be. Um, so
[40:07] really the best. The scenario we can have in the marina is that this is a complete
[40:11] wash. So that means that everybody in the marina is paying for the services they're
[40:15] providing, getting provided. That means other taxpayers aren't supplementing them
[40:20] as marina tenants. Uh, so I find that to be a really good number. We made a lot of
[40:24] really good changes in the marina for 2027, and there's various different ones, but
[40:29] the biggest one we went to was we actually reduced the insurance requirements, uh,
[40:34] for tenants because it became too onerous for poor staff to audit it. Um So actually
[40:41] reduce the cost for marine attendants, um. And then, uh, what else? Oh, we moved
[40:47] to a flat electricity billing. So, one thing that's been difficult is we have 150
[40:52] marina pedestals, power pedestals. You have to go manually read them every month
[40:57] and try to calculate how much electricity they use. And it's been a real headache
[41:01] for my department and for, I guess it's Mike's department, the operations division
[41:07] to read them. And uh so we went to a flat rate. So based upon your slip size, we're
[41:12] gonna charge somebody like 10 bucks a month. And so that's all there is to it. And
[41:16] so I think there's a lot of good improvements we made that are gonna take effect
[41:20] in January. Um So Nick, just a little on the process of the utilities to be fair,
[41:25] we did a two-year rate study so we went back through all of our 150 marina tenants
[41:30] plus our boat houses and analyzed the last two years of what we're charging them
[41:34] and then we kind of forecast out what we should be charging them currently and then
[41:38] that'll be effective January 1st, 2027. So, and then we'll reevaluate it to um every
[41:45] year so we won't be going out there every quarter to go read 150 marine attendance
[41:49] utilities and then And then sometimes they leave before the quarter's ended so we
[41:54] won't get to, we weren't able to recap the utility from them. So this time will be
[41:59] happening in real time. So and there's a few other ports that have been doing this
[42:03] pretty successfully too. We put a lot of time and effort into that, not just Tammy
[42:08] and I was a lot of team effort, our marina committee or at the port, uh, to make
[42:12] that positive change. The other thing too is our insurance costs. I mean, I, I looked,
[42:19] I, I mean, in detail here a few weeks ago, and we spent almost $500,000 on insurance
[42:26] last year. And it's much, it's very painful, but um we've met with our insurance
[42:31] providers and we're very well covered. So, we don't want to sacrifice that either.
[42:37] So, there's a cost of being conservative. And the problem is, is if we have a massive
[42:41] claim, you know, we don't necessarily, we have our reserve fund, but we don't have
[42:45] enough. Capital to cover a massive event at the marina, for example.
[42:51] OK, let's move on to the property management division. So you see more of a spread
[42:55] here. This is The cost of maintaining what we have. So this is, you see Anthony there
[43:01] working down the boat ramp. Uh, this is Clover Island, the lighthouse, Vista Field,
[43:06] I mean, these are maintaining our properties and Columbia Gardens. Um, the revenues
[43:12] are lease revenues we have associated with all of our properties, the expenses are
[43:15] all the, uh, various different costs and whether they go along with them.
[43:21] OK, let's scroll down. This is the corporate cost, the corporate division. This is
[43:25] overhead for the port. This is the cost of doing business. This is our cost right
[43:29] now as we sit here, uh, cost, um, salary, commissions, uh, for the commissioners,
[43:34] benefits. Um, also, there's insurance, liability insurance in here as well, uh, cause
[43:39] we have various kinds of insurance and that's all, a big part of that factor. One
[43:45] thing too we should probably reference um well I copiers and office supplies etc.
[43:51] um what's that insurance insurance yeah um we went through expenses line by line
[43:58] but most of them have a 5% inflation factor on uh but unless we had a reason to believe
[44:03] otherwise, which there was a few that we overrode but um we're Assuming that inflation
[44:09] is going to be 5% on our expense side, which we feel is very conservative, and we
[44:13] kind of do a linear regression analysis where we look back 3 or 4 years and then
[44:17] project it forward to see kind of what it would look like on a trend analysis and
[44:20] then we also take our Current contracts in place and we um add all those up and try
[44:25] to take the higher of the two and then mark it up with a 5%. So we're pretty conservative
[44:30] in this number so we don't like coming back to the commissioner and say we need more
[44:33] money. We want to make sure that we have enough money and we can afford the staff
[44:37] and not have all these budget cuts um like City of Pasco is doing right now, so.
[44:42] Um, yeah, so it's pretty conservative budget and like with the revenues too like
[44:45] Nick was saying, we, we only put the contracts that are the leases that are in place
[44:50] through 2028 unless they're highly likely to renew. So we work with Amber on that
[44:54] to make sure that these guys are going to highly like renew. So usually we're always
[44:58] going to exceed our revenues and go under expenditures on these budget processes.
[45:03] Yeah, and that, and that protects us from issues like you're seeing at school districts,
[45:07] cities, probably counties, and other ports. So we like to be insulated from that.
[45:13] Um, this is a non-operating division, the expense side of things, and you see that
[45:18] number 1,081,000. This is, um, Rochelle, this is her division, and this, that's not
[45:25] her salary, I promise you. Um, but there's so many things that go into that. I mean,
[45:30] our tri-ech dues, our big one visit Tri-Cities, um, our ribbon cuttings, as you can
[45:35] see a picture here, um, there are so many things that go in here. And then the third
[45:39] bar, elections, regulatory, and other. I always find it funny because elections,
[45:45] we have to pay for those, even if we don't have a commissioner up for election. We're
[45:49] always paying our share of elections. And then audits, you know, we actually pay
[45:53] them to come harass us for 3 months, which I always find kind of funny. Um, but the
[45:58] state auditor's office sends us a big bill, uh, anytime they spend time with us.
[46:02] So that's what those primary costs are. Anything on that one, Tammy, um, we, we did
[46:08] reduce the state audit costs because we went to a 2-year audit cycle instead, so
[46:13] we did some cost savings there trying to save as much as we can as we went through
[46:17] this budget process. That's a really a point. I think I briefed the commission on
[46:20] that, uh, that we switched to a 2-year budget or a 2 year, um, audit, um, which I
[46:26] thought would save us. They actually gave us a 3-year choice, but the problem with
[46:30] the 3 years, it's a long time window. And your recollection of events is less than
[46:36] 3 years and 2 years is what we did before, so we really like the thought of 2 years.
[46:40] We thought it was a good middle ground.
[46:44] OK, so let's do non-operating revenue side. OK, property taxes, you see the big bar,
[46:49] 11.1 million over a two-year period, about 5.5 million per year. It goes up about
[46:54] 60,000 per year with the 1% increase that we're allowed by statute. And then the
[47:01] interest income 1 $365,000 we've actually never been able to budget for that. Because
[47:07] interest rates were near 0 for so long. Uh, so now it's really nice. That's a really
[47:12] nice extra revenue for us. Um, so, Any questions up to this point? Commissioners,
[47:20] how you doing? Yup. All right, let's move on to the real estate division. This is
[47:25] Amber's division. Um, Revenues almost 3 million. Um, this is obviously estimated
[47:32] and that number is comprised of blue chart assuming we sell a bunch of lots of blue
[47:36] chart and that uh Dulo Foster is that the right name and we're the five-story building
[47:43] batique, OK, um, and the expenses, the blue bar is what we estimate will be the time
[47:49] allowed um it's, it's really hard to predict obviously, but We all code our time
[47:54] when we're working on these projects. So that would be like an expense related to
[47:58] the sale. And transaction costs, etc. um. To Tammy's point, we only put in here what
[48:05] we have under contract. I mean, obviously the next couple of years. Amber is really
[48:09] good at her job, obviously, and she'll probably drum up other land sales aside from
[48:15] those. So those will go in here as well. So, but we just budget for what we had in
[48:20] hand.
[48:23] OK, Economic Development division, the revenues here, the $3 million that's RCCF
[48:28] funds. Um, in the current budget cycle, we received a grant from HF, um, I think
[48:34] that was 150,000. Is that right, Tammy? Or was it 175? Well, OK, and that,
[48:42] that, um, paid for the pavilion parking lot, all the A&E design work at the pavilion
[48:47] parking lot, and the other 3 million here is for the remainder of that parking lot,
[48:51] and that's what we get reimbursed for. And it's been approved by the county. Tim
[48:55] and I went and got approved from the county. Um, and then the 10.5 million, that's
[49:01] all our capital expenses, which will match your work plan that you approved at the
[49:05] end of September.
[49:09] OK. The other thing we have to do is, like I said, we actually code our time to projects
[49:13] we're working on. And we do that because we want to make sure our financial records
[49:18] are more accurate, right? It makes sense to code your time to what you're working
[49:21] on. You can make yourself more effective as a business. And so, uh, the problem with
[49:27] that is when you're doing a tier budget, you have to forecast this out to put it
[49:30] in the budget. So that's what we did here. Um, that's an estimated Um, staff costs
[49:37] that includes pensions and benefits and federal taxes, all the stuff nobody wants
[49:42] to hear about. Um, but that's our estimate there. And then capital projects, a few
[49:49] notes here. Um, I, I'll put my cursor over here. Infrastructure West construction.
[49:58] Um, $2 million. That is an RCCF candidate. So if we decide to I'm
[50:06] assuming the commission will approve this, uh, capital budget because this matches
[50:09] the work plan that was approved. Um, at some point, Tim will have to go to the county
[50:15] and get this approved by them. We currently have about $1.6 million in our fund.
[50:20] As you can see, you can't go to them until you have $2 million and request it. So
[50:24] we'll probably be to $2 million in the spring, I'd say March or April. And so at
[50:28] that point, we can have Rochelle put together an application and we can go present
[50:33] to the county and I wouldn't expect any problems, um, but that's gonna be an RCCF
[50:38] candidate uh project. The other thing is, one thing we didn't necessarily expect
[50:44] was the $350,000 for marina pairs. And that is a fairly recent thing, um, and
[50:52] Amber's hired a consultant, um, actually the company that designed our marina. We've
[50:58] worked with them quite a bit and come up with the improvements we need to make to
[51:01] the marina. And the marina now, I mean, what do you think, Amber's 25 to $30 million
[51:06] to rebuild it? Oh, and we wouldn't be able to rebuild this, uh, as covered mortgage
[51:13] along the river. That was one thing our consultant said you would never be able to
[51:16] rebuild this marina as covered because of the fish, you know, restrictions, um, and
[51:24] what was it, $9 million when we originally constructed almost 20 years ago. Uh, so
[51:30] yes, so it's, it's in our best interest to Make improvements to it to keep it um
[51:36] nicely maintained in those maintenance, um, repairs are treated differently under
[51:43] our, our permit. So you can do repairs. You do, would not wanna take something out
[51:48] and try and put it back in. Um, so we have some repairs that need to be made from
[51:53] wear and tear, um, you know. The otters eating, you know, a float or something like
[51:59] that. We've, we've, we've got, um, a consultant that's helping us with a dive team
[52:05] came in and did some dive for us. We're looking at some things that he inspected
[52:10] on the boat launch and potentially our field docks. So these improvements to maintain
[52:15] our asset, which is obviously valuable, um, just from what Amber said, then the cost
[52:21] to rebuild it. I mean, that consultant said it would be, um, it's a beautiful marina.
[52:25] It's the most beautiful one I've ever seen. Obviously, I'm biased, but, um, This
[52:30] $350,000 would just be in this budget and then probably in the next one as well,
[52:34] because $350,000 won't cover the repairs in entirety. We need to make some repairs
[52:39] to the floats on the dock and some concrete uh decking. Um, so, this is gonna be
[52:45] one that you're probably gonna see in the 2930 budget as well. Potentially beyond
[52:50] that, I'm not really sure, we'll have to figure that out. But, um, The last one I
[52:55] want to bring up is the $100,000 for the opportunity fund right here. Um, I want
[53:00] to highlight the commission's already obligated that to the CTUIR Powwow event. I
[53:06] believe it's gonna be next summer at sometime. Uh, so I just want to make sure the
[53:10] commission's aware that that's not, um, Can't go elsewhere at this point. It's committed
[53:15] to that project. And then, you know, my last slide is really just summary budget.
[53:21] And this looks very simple. It's a very simplified version of a lot of detail, right,
[53:26] Tammy? I mean, there's a lot of different lines that summit into these, but, uh,
[53:31] this is a summary budget that the commission will pass, and this will go to Benton
[53:34] County, um, and so we can establish our tax levy in January. Um, that's all I have.
[53:41] I, you know, I really, again, appreciate everyone's time. And, um, you know, this
[53:47] budget I think is very sustainable and I think um we're setting ourselves up for
[53:51] success. So, any questions from the commission? Questions, commissioner.
[53:59] Um, I just wrote a couple of notes down. Um, no, I just wanna say thank you guys
[54:03] for enduring these headaches, uh, and creating this great communication between all
[54:07] the programs here, um, taking in national and state level stats into our budget,
[54:13] you know, always staying ahead of the what ifs. Um, yeah, just focusing on making
[54:20] sure the operations are at full staff here, um, and that our projects keep continuing.
[54:25] So just thank you for all the numbers and thoughts that you guys put into this. Welcome.
[54:31] Nick, I do have some questions. You mentioned the RCCF fund, and we've got a balance
[54:35] there. How much does that balance grow a month? It's about 50,000. It does, yeah,
[54:40] it's based upon sales tax revenue, OK. And that, that'll continue. Do we have to
[54:44] do anything with that? Is that automatic? No, actually, the county, um, was that
[54:47] last year, Tim? They actually hired a lobbyist to make sure that funding kept coming
[54:51] to the cities. And uh ports and so there was some discussion at some point of legislator
[54:58] swiping that money from the counties um but they, they went to, I mean to battle
[55:05] for us is the way I view it so really helpful because that money is valuable for
[55:09] us. We did a lot. The loop road at Columbia Drive was our CCF. That was our first
[55:13] one. It was actually the first county project, I believe. Um, so yeah, that, that
[55:18] should continue on. There's some new agreement in place for, it was like 30 years,
[55:24] longer than I'll be working, hopefully, hopefully, we'll see. We'll talk about that.
[55:31] And then what about um because you had the levy rates that were, I don't know what
[55:36] year it was 2001, 2001, and then you had the current one. Any comparison to other
[55:41] ports, especially the local ones, about what their levy rates are, um, off the top
[55:45] of my head I'm not sure. I do think we're lower. Yeah, well, a while back I did a
[55:50] rate study and we were one of the lower ones, really. Because that's, that's pretty
[55:54] amazing. I mean, I just like to brag on that one, you know, the levy rates go down,
[55:59] but the value of what the port has for the public goes up. It's just great management
[56:03] of funds. Thank you, and I, I like the fact that you're talking about maintenance
[56:07] and keeping things in order of what we have. Um, I think that's awesome, you know,
[56:12] especially after Amber's talking about the marina and the possibility you could never
[56:16] build that again. So yeah, let's take, let's take good care of things. You guys are
[56:19] doing great. So thank you very much. Any other questions or comments? Great, thanks,
[56:26] Nick. Great. OK, we'll move on to, uh, commissioner appointment update, and that's
[56:33] Carolyn and I. And as I mentioned on behalf of the board of commissioners at our
[56:38] last meeting, all the applicants were, were required to fill out a district one commission
[56:43] seat vacancy would be accepted until the final deadline of October 8th at 4 p.m.
[56:50] With that deadline now behind us today, we're announcing the names of all applicants
[56:54] who are registered voters and live in Port District 1. As confirmed by Benton County
[56:59] Election Division, these are Matt Binke, Don Britton, Barry Bush, Van Cummings,
[57:07] Nicholas Haberling, James Hempstead, Marie Moseley, and Robert Rob Welsh.
[57:14] And as we've said multiple times, there's no advantage of when these individuals
[57:18] applied because it was during our first um invitation for nominees or this current
[57:23] one. And they're all eligible to be considered on equal basis for the important role
[57:28] to serve our community. You know, and I find it very, very interesting with these
[57:32] people. If you look at them, if you know who they are or did any research on them.
[57:37] The Port of Kennewick is in a very, very unique position of what we do and how people
[57:42] view what we do. We have an awesome staff, um, that's just done quality work as we're
[57:47] talking about the marina, you know, it's, it's just, you'll never find another one
[57:50] like it. And there's, I think these people that applied. Really want to be part of
[57:56] the success that Port of Kennewick's enjoyed and be part of this team. So I just
[58:01] did a little bit and just think about this. We've got 8 applicants, 5 of them have
[58:06] held elected positions previously, 3 served on the Kennewick City council, 2 of them
[58:12] have served as mayor, 1 is a former city manager, 1's a school administrator, and
[58:17] 1 is serving in the Washington State legislature. Legislation. So just think about
[58:22] the quality of people that applied and why do we have this quality? Because like
[58:25] I said, I think it's the Port of Kennewick, and I think we've got a reputation for
[58:29] doing good things and that people want to jump on board and be part of what we have.
[58:33] So, with that said, um, I'd like to invite Carolyn Lake to share the next steps in
[58:38] our appointment process. Carolyn
[58:43] Thank you, Commissioner. Yes, we have a couple more steps in this very important
[58:49] process. Now that you've announced who the applicants are, the commissioners will
[58:55] independently review the applicants' applications, and then at the October 27th
[59:02] regular public meeting, you commissioners will determine if you want to. Finalists
[59:08] to interview or if you want to interview all the qualified applicants that um commissioner
[59:14] you just named. Then on November 4th, the court will hold a special meeting open
[59:20] to the public at 5 p.m. at the Tri-Cities Business and Visitors Center boardroom
[59:27] in Kennewick, and the purpose of that meeting is to interview finalists for the vacant
[59:32] position. And all this is posted on the port's website in case you're frantically
[59:37] taking notes at that November 4th meeting, in addition to answering questions, each
[59:43] applicant interviewed will be asked to speak up to 3 minutes about the value they
[59:48] would bring to the commission. And the special public meeting will also include a
[59:53] public comment period after the interviews and applicant remarks are concluded, uh,
[59:59] so that the commissioners can have the benefit of hearing from community members
[1:00:03] on various applicants, um. The commissioners may choose to discuss the qualifications
[1:00:10] of the of the applicants at the special meeting or most likely defer that until November
[1:00:16] 10th, um, which is the, uh, following regular public meeting of the commissioner.
[1:00:21] At that time, the commissioners will deliberate and actually appoint their selection
[1:00:27] to fill the vacant district one position. Then that appointed commissioner will then
[1:00:32] serve in that capacity until certification of the 2027 election. During the November
[1:00:40] 2027 election, voters in District 1 will then elect an individual to serve as a representative
[1:00:48] on the board of commissioners for the full six-year term. And a little bit unusual.
[1:00:55] The candidate that's elected will take place immediately after the certification
[1:01:01] of the vote. They won't wait until January. They'll assume the position after. Um,
[1:01:08] the vote in 2027 is certified and of course, whoever is selected by the commission
[1:01:14] as the appointee, uh, this year, uh, is free to decide whether to run in that election
[1:01:20] or not. Thank you, commissioner. Thank you, Carolyn. Any questions of the appointment
[1:01:27] process?
[1:01:29] Nothing. Snap, any comments or questions or? I just, Tim. Sorry, earlier
[1:01:37] I told you I wasn't gonna say anything, and Rochelle gave me my script, which was
[1:01:41] a blank piece of paper, but you know me, I can't resist. Um, from my point of view,
[1:01:47] as your executive, this is kind of a sad time. We saw a great commissioner retire
[1:01:52] that left a, you know, a big hole to fill. But it's an exciting time, as, as Commissioner
[1:01:58] Novakovich mentioned, we have some great applicants. I mean, this is, this is an
[1:02:02] all-star field. But from my perspective, And I've said this a number of times. My
[1:02:08] job is to learn. Who the new commissioner is, what he or she likes, what their thoughts
[1:02:14] might be on moving forward with the port. So, I've got some learning to do. But also
[1:02:19] another thing that I've said repeatedly is, I have to learn the entire commission,
[1:02:25] because as you get another person to join you, it's likely gonna influence how you
[1:02:30] approach things and, you know, I've always said it's 1/3, 1/3, 1/3. But as a group,
[1:02:36] I'm looking forward to some new dynamics. It will give us a new recharge of energy.
[1:02:42] There will be opportunities for interesting debates. So my job, not only is to learn
[1:02:47] the likes and dislikes of the new commissioner, but I've got to relearn this entire
[1:02:51] board. And although I've been here 24 years, I do have some background saying that
[1:02:55] because when we get a new commissioner, You know, it's kind of like scrambling the
[1:03:00] deck a little bit, and it'll be fun. It will really be fun. This is a great opportunity,
[1:03:05] not only for the commission, the staff, but the public. And, you know, I think that
[1:03:10] uh you're seeing people that are energized, that want to be a part of this organization,
[1:03:16] and they will likely have some interesting insights and views on how we should go
[1:03:22] forward. So, it's gonna be a fun time. Thank you, Tim. Anybody else comments? Carolyn,
[1:03:29] anything else to add?
[1:03:33] Uh, I do not. Thank you. Thank you. Just thanks to the support team, um, that put
[1:03:38] together, um, the, the great process and, and supporting that process along the way.
[1:03:43] Thank you. And to add to that, you know, I just wanna thank Rochelle and Bridget
[1:03:47] and anybody else that, uh, prepared all this information for us because they prepared
[1:03:53] a binder that's full of information with notes and everything on what happens at
[1:03:57] every meeting and it's just You guys have done a great job, so I just want to thank
[1:04:01] you for that because I don't know how in the world we would have done that. And that's
[1:04:05] what I always say, kind of, kind of listen to these people because they know what
[1:04:08] to do and then they've done it and they do a better job than we do. So thank you
[1:04:12] very much.
[1:04:14] Anything else to add to? Appointment process. OK, seeing then we'll move on to uh
[1:04:20] CEO report if needed. Yeah, thank you. I've got a couple of items. Start off with
[1:04:26] the, um, an update on the passenger boat. Uh, I had worked a little bit earlier in
[1:04:31] the summer to get a letter that would come from Triports that would have some support
[1:04:38] for the passenger boat concept, and we got um support from our two sister ports,
[1:04:44] Port of Pasco, Port of Benton. And not only just support in the form of a letter,
[1:04:49] but when I talked with each of the CEO's very enthusiastic support for the concept.
[1:04:55] And then, um, as we were talking with um the city of Kennewick folks during our normal
[1:05:01] monthly meetings, we brought this up and we learned that The Kennewick Fire Department
[1:05:07] would love to have access to a vessel like this that they could use for emergencies,
[1:05:13] not firefighting, because that would be a specialized boat with pumps and firefighting
[1:05:17] equipment, but they mentioned that they don't even have a way to get on the water
[1:05:21] in case there was an emergency. Remember the plane that hit the power lines recently.
[1:05:26] That was a good example for them because they could have come down here, got in the
[1:05:31] boat, gone out there, and if there were people in the water, survivors and so forth,
[1:05:36] they could have picked them up using this vessel. And again, the vessel would be
[1:05:41] small enough that it could be maneuverable. It'd likely be a jet drive boat, so you
[1:05:45] don't have props in the water if you're trying to pick people up. It's better to
[1:05:49] have, you know, no props in the water that could be of danger to people that are
[1:05:53] in the water needing to be rescued. And looking at it, I'm quite confident that the
[1:06:00] vessel we would need for our purposes, primarily passenger capacity, with a couple
[1:06:05] of modifications could be very helpful for the fire department, and it would be styled
[1:06:11] somewhat off of the new Coast Guard boats that are off the Oregon Washington coast
[1:06:16] where they have drop down areas on the sides where they can pick up people from the
[1:06:20] water that could easily be modified into a passenger boat. And it could then be very
[1:06:26] useful for the fire department. So the Kennewick City manager working in conjunction
[1:06:31] with the fire chief, wrote us a fabulous letter that we attached to our packet. And
[1:06:37] then we also included a write-up about the vessel in the Journal of Business. When
[1:06:43] Rochelle and I were talking to the Journal of Business reporter just about various
[1:06:47] port projects, we did not mention the passenger boat to the writer, and she brought
[1:06:52] it up. She said, what about the passenger boat? And then on her own, she did a side
[1:06:56] story about that, showing that there was at least enthusiasm from the Journal of
[1:07:02] Business about the vessel. So we included that with our packet. I turned it into
[1:07:07] Carl Dye at Trideck, and Carl has the opportunity to maybe help us with some funding
[1:07:13] for the vessel. So I met with Carl last week, and he's gonna kind of move it up the,
[1:07:18] up the incline, so to speak, within the organization to see if there'd be an opportunity
[1:07:23] for some funding. So, that was very positive, and I'll go over my last two thoughts
[1:07:28] here with you and then I'll pause, see if you have any questions. Uh, towards the
[1:07:32] end of this week, on Friday, Commissioner Novakovich and myself are making the journey
[1:07:37] to Lewiston, Idaho. We will be staying there for a couple of days. We will be attending
[1:07:43] the Powwow, and I believe it's the Nez Perce tribe that um has it at the casino that's
[1:07:50] just a few miles from Lewiston. And well, we have seen a powwow about this time last
[1:07:56] year in Pendleton. We wanted to see another one, maybe in a slightly smaller venue.
[1:08:03] Because if we are being asked by the Confederated tribes to help them plan their
[1:08:08] first ever powwow in Tri-Cities, we figured it'd be a great opportunity to see another
[1:08:14] one in action and get a chance to interface with the promoters and the folks that,
[1:08:20] uh, implement the event. So that'll be an opportunity for us as well. And, um, Then
[1:08:27] my final point on my CEO report is that um we used to have something called Triports
[1:08:34] where the three directors would get together, we'd meet monthly and we just kind
[1:08:38] of talk about things that are going on in the ports, maybe nothing that rises to
[1:08:43] the level of a public meeting or media attention, you know, something. That might
[1:08:48] be a little bit more mundane, we get a chance to just kinda chew the fat, so to speak,
[1:08:53] on what happens internally in the ports, any new ideas we could share. When I, uh,
[1:08:58] broached the topic with Adam Lincoln, the CEO for Port of Pasco, he asked if, if
[1:09:04] he thought it would be prudent that we joined 1/4 port with us, Port of Walla Walla.
[1:09:10] And as you remember, they have property now that is just across the Snake River,
[1:09:14] so really almost a member of the Tri-Cities community. So we invited our good friend
[1:09:20] Pat Ray and, the executive from Porta Walla Walla. We met over at Puerto Pasco. No
[1:09:26] agenda. We just started talking and it was a lot of fun and we were there for probably
[1:09:31] an hour and a half talking about some ideas and it was so positive that we thought
[1:09:35] that we would do it again. So that is my report and I'll pause, see if you have any
[1:09:40] questions or comments. Yeah, that, that is awesome. Any questions? Well, I think
[1:09:45] it's great too, you know, the passenger boats started a conversations about uh the
[1:09:51] trip ports, and I think it's just great to have Walla Walla join in. Yeah, I think
[1:09:55] it's all these opportunities of working together. I think it's gonna be good. Yeah,
[1:09:59] I totally agree. Passenger boat or the boat is just a great idea. I mean, we Talked
[1:10:04] about the marina. We have all the facilities to take care of that boat and to make
[1:10:09] sure it's, it's taken care of well, a place for it to, I don't know what you call
[1:10:13] it, harbor it or store it or whatever, but anyway, we've got everything. So I think
[1:10:18] it's great and the fact that the city and the and the fire chief are excited about
[1:10:22] it. I think this is great. Good job. Good job. All right, we'll move on then to,
[1:10:28] uh, Commissioner meetings.
[1:10:35] Um, we went to the reception, the elected leader's reception. I went with, uh, Rochelle
[1:10:39] and, uh, Tim, I think was that 2 weeks ago now, yeah, and then, uh, also I was invited
[1:10:44] to the, um, women helping women in, uh, luncheon, so I attended that as a commissioner,
[1:10:48] and I think that was it for me. OK. And as Tim talked about, I attended the WPP environmental
[1:10:56] meeting and, um. Uh, virtually, I attended a WPPA legislative committee meeting.
[1:11:04] OK, we'll move on then to nonscheduled.
[1:11:09] Lisa, anything? Nick I do have just one item. Rochelle slipped me a note, and I want
[1:11:15] to correct the record. The HIF grant was $325,000 and that paid for the A&E at the
[1:11:22] pavilion parking lot, and the RCCF will pay for the construction part. Great, thank
[1:11:27] you for that.
[1:11:30] Like anything? I just have one quick thing, this is Rochelle. On, I guess last Monday,
[1:11:36] October 5th, the Tri-City Rivershore Enhancement Council held a field tour for the
[1:11:42] US Army Corps of Engineer Walla Walla District new commander, Lieutenant Colonel
[1:11:45] Doug Dresch. And part of the tour included a stop at Clover Island, as well as a
[1:11:51] lighthouse inspection that, to talk about the incredible partnership that we had
[1:11:56] with the COR, the, the CTUIR, the City of Kennewick, and Benton County, um, as well
[1:12:01] as Washington State. To, um, enhance and restore the shoreline on the north side.
[1:12:06] They were, um, impressed with what had been done and that the plantings have continued
[1:12:10] to thrive. Um, and we had representatives from all the cities, all the ports, Benton
[1:12:15] County, uh, Tri-Dec, and Visit Tri-Cities on that tour. And so there's a few pictures
[1:12:20] you can see of them at the top of the lighthouse as well. So, um, it was a good tour
[1:12:24] and, and good to meet him. But thank you. Amber, anything? Kim? Anything non-scheduled?
[1:12:31] Yeah, I just want to, uh, say it's nice to see our good friend Cal Cooy in here,
[1:12:36] and Cal has probably been coming in here for what, at least 30 years? Yeah, pretty
[1:12:40] close, OK. OK, thank you. Uh, how about Bridget? Anything unscheduled?
[1:12:49] Thank you, Commissioner. Um, just a reminder for you to discuss your, uh, Ben Franklin
[1:12:54] Council of Government meeting coming up on Friday. Thank you. Celine, anything unscheduled?
[1:13:04] I have nothing, Skip. Thank you. Thank you, David.
[1:13:10] Nothing for me today, thank you. Thank you. How about Carolyn? Anything unscheduled?
[1:13:20] I do not. Thank you. Thank you, Carolyn. Commissioner, is anything unscheduled?
[1:13:27] OK, well, I, I have a, probably a bunch of stuff here. One of them is, I will be
[1:13:31] gone on Friday when the Ben Franklin Council of Governments is having their board
[1:13:35] meeting and, and, uh, our fellow commissioner will be attending. And there's several
[1:13:40] action items on there. I don't know if you've reviewed any of them. Um They're probably
[1:13:47] pretty routine things. You can, you can review them. There's, uh, oh jeez, there
[1:13:51] must be 200 pages in this. Packet that went out Um, I, if I were you, I would just
[1:13:58] take a look at the resolution 0826. 09 26, 1026 and
[1:14:05] 1126. Those would be the, the resolutions that you'd have to take action on. And
[1:14:10] from what I can read in those uh resolutions, I think they're just fine. If I was
[1:14:14] there, I would vote positive on, on all of those. But you can take a look at it.
[1:14:20] The other thing is we got an email from uh Michelle Holt who says that there's some
[1:14:25] group that got message of the Council of Governments meeting and it's, it's about
[1:14:29] the, oh, they're the anti, um, what, what is that called, the media things that are
[1:14:35] coming data centers, yeah, data centers, and, and they sent out some notice and said
[1:14:41] stack that meeting with people. So this morning I talked to Michelle about that and
[1:14:47] actually wrote um. Some script for their presiding officer to govern public
[1:14:54] comments, but they might have a stack room, and I'm, they're a little worried about
[1:14:59] that, but uh I'm sure my fellow commissioner can take care of it just fine. The other
[1:15:05] thing I've got is, um, we need to, or I would like to schedule a meeting on the powwow
[1:15:11] committee with Fred Hill. He's currently in Norway, but when he comes back, and I
[1:15:15] think he said November 6th might be a good date. I don't have it with me, but, uh,
[1:15:20] it would be nice if we could have the meeting in the Tri-Cities instead of Pendleton,
[1:15:24] but that's gonna kind of depend on Fred. And then a long time ago, I talked about
[1:15:30] my good friend Les Minthorne and how he, uh, before he passed, said he'd like to
[1:15:35] have me write some kind of publication about how he and I got along and how the board
[1:15:39] and the CQI got along. Well, I read a book by a guy named Fred, I think, Fred, no,
[1:15:44] Rick Stebert, I think. He's from Prineville, Oregon. He's an author, a pretty recognized
[1:15:50] author, and I read this really good book, so I congratulate him on the book. Well,
[1:15:54] we got to talking quite a bit and he's very, very interested in taking on this project
[1:15:59] and writing this book, and we'd like information. I know you guys have gathered a
[1:16:03] lot. I've got a lot, and he said maybe I could take a trip down there with information
[1:16:09] and meet him if you guys are willing to move forward with that. But he also told
[1:16:14] me in the phone call yesterday that he lost everything in a fire, lost his house,
[1:16:18] lost absolutely everything, and he was living in a tent. So he does have a a commercial
[1:16:24] building in Prineville, uh some kind of a retail store. I'm not sure what he does,
[1:16:27] but um he's he's pretty interested, but he says he wants a lot more information.
[1:16:33] So anyway, that's what I've got. Anybody else? Anything, Tim? Yeah, just to follow
[1:16:38] up on your data center, and I, I, I'm not speaking with 100% accuracy on this, but
[1:16:45] you know, the data center controversy is heating up and we might see these people
[1:16:51] come to other jurisdictions. And just wanted to get this out here in advance. My
[1:16:56] recollection is that the Port of Kennewick really isn't in the hunt for data centers.
[1:17:04] I remember a number of months ago getting a phone call to see from somebody saying,
[1:17:08] do we have any property that could be available. And while we have some acreage mainly
[1:17:15] in the Finley area that potentially could be available, when I had a chance to visit
[1:17:19] with Larry, our planner, and Amber Real Estate, found out that it likely would not
[1:17:24] work because the data centers require a lot of electricity. I think the limiting
[1:17:29] factor was this property that we have wouldn't have the availability of electricity.
[1:17:34] So when I shared that with the person that had interest, you know, the lead went
[1:17:39] dead. So I think if people came in here to talk about it. You know, we might save
[1:17:44] a little bit of time by letting them know that we likely don't have properties for
[1:17:48] this within, you know, in Port of Kennewick Holdings, and I know it's never been
[1:17:53] talked about at the commission level, so I would assume that we don't have any interest
[1:17:56] in pursuing this, even if we did have property, but again, I don't think we have
[1:18:01] property available, uh, and as you see from our budget, our interests in financial.
[1:18:07] Um, interests are pledged to other projects, so might save people some time, but
[1:18:12] if people want to come in and talk, you know, I suppose you got to let them talk.
[1:18:15] But you know, I, I find it a little bit amusing that they're going to talk to Heath
[1:18:20] and Heath doesn't have a dog in the fight on the data centers, but it sounds like
[1:18:24] they're just wanting to make the rounds. But I want to get a little bit ahead of
[1:18:28] this to let folks know that we're not looking in any way, shape or form for data
[1:18:33] centers because. A, I don't think there's interest from the commission, and B, I
[1:18:38] don't think we have property that would be suitable for that. Tim, thank you for
[1:18:41] getting that on the record and putting that out there. And, and you're right, council
[1:18:44] of governments that they're, they're going to um Attack maybe Friday has no dog in
[1:18:51] the fight either. So I think you're exactly correct. I think they're just trying
[1:18:55] to make the rounds everywhere they can. Sure, and just an observation from the peanut
[1:18:59] gallery is I don't think Commissioner Novakovic intended to have Commissioner Contreras
[1:19:05] take the arrows on this one. I really do think he had an obligation to go to Lewiston
[1:19:10] with me, right? That is correct, because I want to hear some more of your stories
[1:19:13] or the same ones over again. I'm not sure. Great. Thank you. All right, then we're
[1:19:18] in our last session of public comment. If anyone would like to address the commission
[1:19:21] on anything, um, we just ask us to state your name, state your residence for the
[1:19:25] record, and limit your comments to 3 minutes. Would anyone like to make a public
[1:19:29] comment at this time?
[1:19:33] All right, I'm seeing none. I don't see anything online. Uh, is there any other business
[1:19:38] that needs to come before the commission at this meeting?
[1:19:43] Seeing none, then this meeting is adjourned at 3:19. Thank you.
[1:19:49] Cal did,