Times/News

SeaTac lawmakers decided Oct. 11 to replace a controversial 1997 agreement between the city of SeaTac and the Port of Seattle with a new 10-year pact.

In the 1997 Interlocal Agreement (ILA), the city agreed not to oppose the Port's plans to build a third runway at Sea-Tac International Airport.

The Port operates the airport.

In return, the Port set up a $10 million community mitigation fund for the city. SeaTac borrowed from that fund to renovate the Valley Ridge Corporate Center into a new city hall.

In contrast, SeaTac's neighboring cities of Burien, Normandy Park, Des Moines, Tukwila and Federal Way and the Highline School District formed the Airport Communities Coalition, which engaged in a long legal fight with the Port over the runway.

The 1997 agreement also dealt with land use requirements on Port property.

The Port pledged to provide $10 million in landscaping around airport property and not oppose a 50-cents per transaction increase in the city's parking tax.

The new ILA calls for decreasing the short term parking tax while raising the long-term parking tax.

Currently, SeaTac collects $1 for each transaction at the airport garage and private lots.

Under the plan, the parking tax for two hours or less will remain at $1 until 2007, decrease to 95 cents in 2008-09 and level off at 90 cents in 2010.

Long-term parking will be stepped up to $3 per transaction over five years and remain level after that.

Public Works Director Dale Schroeder estimates SeaTac will collect $84 million in parking tax revenue over the next ten years; an increase of $34 million.

Roger McCracken from Master Park said he realized how difficult the negotiations were.

"I thank you for listening to us (private parking lot owners)," McCracken remarked. "You made some movement toward a fair tax."

Port commissioners are expected to vote on the new ILA next week.

The council vote was 6-1 with Councilman Chris Wythe voting no.

Wythe said city staffers had been steadily winning concessions from the Port each month and there was no rush to complete negotiations.

"This 10-year agreement is a defining document and it should be done deliberately,"Wythe declared.

But Deputy Mayor Terry Anderson said in the current air travel economy, Port officials would not negotiate more concessions.

"This is the best we can come up with," Anderson added.

Councilman Don DeHan, who was mayor when the original document was signed, observed working with the Port is "kind of like waltzing with an elephant."

Besides parking, the ILA deals with land use issues, surface water management, interagency cooperation and material hauling.

The lawmakers also approved a resolution allowing absent council members to participate and vote by telephone.

Councilman Gene Fisher, a commercial fisherman, requested the resolution that was dubbed the "Fisher Bill" by his colleagues.

He said a quorum of four members would still need to be present in the council chamber during meetings.

Fisher added he would have used telephone voting only about six times during his previous six years on the council.

"It's going to happen very little and only on major decisions," Fisher added.

Eric Mathison can be reached at hteditor@robinsonnews.com or 444-4873.