The Port of Olympia Commission authorized Executive Director Alex Smith on Monday, Sept. 23, to sign an interlocal agreement for the governance of the Deschutes Estuary restoration project.
The agreement establishes the responsibility of the various entities involved in the project.
For the Port’s part, the agreement stipulates overseeing maintenance dredging in Port vessel berths once the Fifth Avenue Dam has been removed. Additionally, the Port’s responsibility covers bathymetric surveys, design, permitting, and contract management for the dredging activities.
The agreement also commits the Port to contribute money towards maintenance dredging costs. Starting in 2027, the Port will be contributing around $200,000 every year to help fund future dredging activities. The cost will escalate each year, so the Port is projected to spend a total of $8,643,000 by 2050 when the interlocal agreement ends.
The agreement was initially included in the commission’s consent agenda as the Department of Enterprise Services, which spearheads the project, already briefed the commission on the agreement two weeks ago. Commissioner Amy Evans Harding motioned to remove it from the consent agenda so the other commissioners and the public could comment on the agreement directly before the commission voted.
For Commissioner Jasmine Vasavada, the project is the “beginning of a potential transformation of downtown,” but she acknowledged the financial aspect of the project.
“The Port is not like an endless fund of money… Part of what we're doing is figuring out the margin, the business revenues we need in order to pay for our mission. And our mission has really kind of consolidated around restoration and community values. That said, we still need to operate our businesses,” Vasavada said.
During the public comment section of the discussion, Sue Patnude, a member of the Port of Olympia Citizens Advisory Committee (POCAC) but who was speaking on her own behalf, agreed with Vasavada’s statement and added that the Port’s spending would have to shift in order to afford the community’s environmental needs.
Resident Carla Wulfsberg expressed concern about how the financial impact of the Port’s contributions to dredging will tie in with the Port’s future master plan.
“I would really like to have you address those for us so that we can understand how you're planning to pay for all of this and how it fits into the master plan,” Wulfsberg told the commission.
Joel Hansen, who chairs the POCAC and said he also spoke for himself, used his time in public comments to pitch the idea of collaborating with the Thurston Conservation District to work on the watershed and restore riparian zones, reminding the commission that the whole river system is connected.
“I think it would be wise to spend some money in that way to see if we can reduce the amount of sediment coming down the rivers,” Hansen said.
2 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
BevBassett
The Port can't afford to pay for dredging the Marine Terminal and it never has been able to--especially since the MT loses millions each and every year. And with escalating sea level rise, it is an exercise in futility.
That said, the handwriting is on the wall: Taxpayers will continue to bear an ever increasing burden.
Here is our opportunity to do the right thing and close the MT and send the Yacht Club packing. It would allow nature to take its course while letting the dioxin be overlaid by cleaner sediments (if active sources of dioxin are also managed).
AND, it would be healthiest for natural systems and all Olympia's creatures from the bottom of the chain to the top.
12 hours ago Report this
HarryBranch
If we don't identify the sources and pathways of dioxin entering Budd Inlet, the bay will continue to be contaminated and these contaminants will continue to enter the food web. The sources are likely from historic activities. The way to find them would be to take core samples on land. Read more at https://gardenbayblog.com
4 hours ago Report this