Port of Olympia extends contract with federal lobbying firm Crossroads Strategies

The Port of Olympia commission amended a service agreement with federal lobbying firm Crossroads Strategies during a meeting on Monday, January 23, extending the contract’s term until the end of 2023 and increasing its not-to-exceed amount to $85,000.

The original contract was set to end of January and had a not-to-exceed amount of $50,000. It was signed by Port Executive Director Sam Gibboney in August 2022 under her delegated authority to provide the Port with government affairs support and to advise them on the federal legislative process.

The Port would pay the firm at a rate of $7,500 per month until December 2023, leaving a remainder of $2,500 which can be used to cover travel expenses for the firm.

Port Executive Services Director Lisa Parks had said at a previous meeting this January that the priority of Crossroads Strategies in 2023 would be to assist the Port with the cleanup project in Budd Inlet.  Parks said the firm would assist the Port in securing federal funding as the project is expected to cost more than $100 million. The firm would also guide the Port with the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) process.

On its website, the firm describes itself as a bipartisan and federal relations consulting firm based in Washington, DC. According to their proposal, the Port of Olympia is their third port client in Washington State, also representing the Ports of Everett and Kalama. They have also previously represented ports in Bellingham, Grays Harbor, and Tacoma.