Courtney Gregoire, Port of Seattle Commission Co-President and daughter of former Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire spoke at a special "State of the Port" luncheon at Jack Block Park on Sept.3.

The event was sponsored by the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce.

Her remarks addressed new executive hires, the expansion of the Cruise Terminal at Pier 66, the growth of the ports, the SeaPort alliance, the future of Terminal 5, the cleanup of the Duwamish River, SeaTac Airport and the need for a modernized International Arrivals Facility, and job growth at the Port.

Here is the text of her speech:

New Executives
o Last year, when my co-president Stephanie Bowman was here speaking with you, we had just hired a new CEO – Ted Fick.

o In the past year, Ted has taken the wheel with both hands and is now navigating well through all of our lines of business.

o He’s hired five new executives in the past five months, and he’s looking for two more to lead the aviation and maritime divisions beginning next year.

o He is bringing in professionals with a wide range of experience in the private and public sectors.

o Dave Caplan – Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives - to ensure the Port’s metrics are aligned with strategies, that programs support a high performance organization, and that the LEAN philosophy is incorporated into all aspects of the port’s business processes.

o Paula Chan Edelstein – Senior Director of Human Resources – worked for Weyerhaeuser for 20 years, will help to invest in and develop employees so that we have high-performing teams.

o Julie Collins – Senior Director of Public Affairs – came from the Port of Tacoma where she was chief external affairs officer, provided leadership in the development of The Northwest Seaport Alliance.

o Dave Freiboth – Senior Director of Labor Relations – many people know Dave from his work for the King County Labor Council over the past nine years.

o David McFadden – Managing Director of Economic Development – was President and CEO of the Yakima County Development Association since 1997.

o Ted and the new executive team are offering new ideas that will help the Port remain competitive, implement an aggressive growth strategy, and develop partnerships to support economic development.

Cruise Seattle & NCL Lease
o Last month we signed an historic 15-year lease with Norwegian Cruise Line to operate Pier 66, on the central waterfront, as their homeport cruise terminal.

o In addition NCLH will share the cost of $30 million in improvements, mostly to the interior of the Bell Street Cruise Terminal.

o The deal is estimated to generate over $2 billion in total business revenue for the region, nearly 900 jobs, and over $65 million in state and local taxes.

o Seattle’s cruise business—currently leading all cruise homeports on the U.S. west coast in passenger volume—is responsible for more than 3,600 jobs, $441 million in annual business revenue, and $17.2 million annually in state and local tax revenues.

o Each homeport vessel call generates $2.5 million for the local economy (192 this year) Northwest Seaport Alliance

o Two months and 28 days ago we officially launched The Northwest Seaports Alliance, working with the Port of Tacoma to find new ways to compete and grow jobs in the cargo industry.

o The goal of the Seaport Alliance is to increase our collective market share and generate more cargo through Puget Sound.

o The Alliance provides the best opportunity to collectively improve terminal capacity utilization, better focus on financially sustainable business models and provide infrastructure needed for containerships over 10,000 TEUs.

o This is a marriage, not a merger. Each port will retain existing commission governance and asset ownership. The Alliance is governed jointly by each commission.

o Cruise and fishing business, airport and our real estate division remain separate.

o Together, the two ports comprise the third largest gateway in the United States, following LA/Long Beach and New York/New Jersey.

o Taken together, the ports...
...Created more than 48,000 jobs in 2013
...Generated $4.3 billion in economic activity
...And supported marine cargo activity that produced more than $378 million in local and state taxes.

o This alliance will allow the Pacific Northwest Gateway to compete more effectively on a national and international scale.

Terminal 5

o Terminal 5 is another major investment in our future.

o In 2013, we suspended cargo handling operations at T5 to make dock upgrades to
accommodate the larger vessels that replace the ships we see today.

o One of the container lines that calls Seattle recently told us we should prepare for ships that can carry as much as 14,000 containers in the very near future. The cranes now at T5 can service ships capable of carrying up to 6,000 containers.

o These investments are critical for sustaining the region’s jobs and supporting our state’s manufacturing, agriculture, import and distribution businesses.

o Waterside Improvements include upgrading dock and power supply to support new cranes.
o In the meantime, T5 is open for other maritime/industrial businesses to generate revenue while dock improvements are being made.

Deepening Study

o Equally important to what happens on land at T5 is what’s going on under the water.
o Last September, the Army Corps of Engineers and the port kicked off a 3-year study to explore deepening a limited area of the waterways fronting our container terminals.

o For the most part our waterways are quite deep but we’ve found some high spots in areas that could pose a threat to safety and navigation for larger vessels.

o Depth limitations also restrict the amount of heavy exports that can be loaded here.

o Scoping for this project will get underway next spring.

Environmental Stewardship

o We’ve had a lot of attention on Terminal 5 and the fact that it is currently being used to service vessels involved in Shell’s Arctic oil explorations.

o But that narrow look at the Port’s operations does not do justice to the bigger environmental efforts that have been made in the past five years.

o We recently produced a publication showing those actions and the benefits to air and water quality, wildlife habitat, resource conservation, waste reduction, and historic pollution cleanup (copies are on the tables).

Here are some of the highlights:

o The Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy is reducing greenhouse gases by 15% per
ton of cargo and reducing diesel particulate by 80% per ton of cargo by 2020.

o Our At-Berth Clean Fuels program reduced carbon emissions by more than 860 metric tons by providing incentives for ship operators to burn lower-sulfur fuel – today, ships are required to burn cleaner fuel within 200 miles.

o The Clean Truck Program has replaced 407 older vehicles with trucks that meet higher emission standards.
o Sea-Tac Airport was the first in North America to receive the Airports Carbon Accreditation certification for reducing emissions.

o The Pre-conditioned Air Program enables planes to shut off their power units while at the gate, reducing emissions equal to taking 8,000 cars off the road each year.

o We’ve restored 31 acres of habitat and have 70 more reserved for potential restoration.
o And we’ve installed systems to treat polluted stormwater runoff from 150 acres on our cargo terminals, as well as at the airport.

o All 22 of our parks and public access areas are 100% organic, a practice we’ve had in place since 1998.

Lower Duwamish Waterway Cleanup
o A major focus of our environmental stewardship is cleaning up the Duwamish River.
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o The Lower Duwamish Waterway Group (including the port, Boeing, City of Seattle and King County) supports a healthy river and healthy Duwamish communities.

o The cleanup plan for a five-mile stretch of the river was approved by the EPA last year.

o Early actions have already cleaned up about 50% of the river. At our Terminal 117, we removed 77-thousand tons of PCB-contaminated upland soil and 21-thousand tons of sediment.

Sustainable Airport Master Plan
o Sea-Tac is the fastest growing hub airport in the nation: new routes, four years of record passenger numbers.

o Airport’s state-wide economic contribution (2013 data):

o Generates nearly 172,000 jobs

o Directly supports industries like aerospace, agriculture, seafood, medical devices, and high-tech manufacturing

o 75% of our cruise passengers fly through Sea-Tac

o Over next two decades, airport passenger volumes are projected to double to over 66
million passenger trips per year.

o The Sustainable Airport Master Plan guides development of the airport over 5-, 10-, and 20-year time frames.

o Will focus on accommodating growth in the most sustainable way possible within Sea- Tac’s current 3-runway configuration.

o Will work closely with all parties—local government, regulatory agencies, transportation agencies, and airport communities – on a thoughtful, strategic approach to managing airport’s needs over next 20 years.
North Satellite Renovation:

o Increase the number of gates from 12 to 20 o Add 181,000 square feet to the facility
o Double dining and retail space

o Alaska Airlines is the sole tenant and will be contributing $36.8 million to fund board room and employee spaces

International Arrivals Facility:

o More than 3.5 million international passengers flew through Sea-Tac in 2013 (an increase of 32% in six years).

o During same time, gained 14 new long-haul international services (most recently Hainan Airlines added Shanghai).

o Each new international route represents an estimated $75 million dollars annually and 1,400 jobs to the region.

o Our International Arrivals Facility was built in early 1970’s – is bursting at the seams. o 30% of all international passengers transfer to and/or from a domestic flight at Sea-Tac – so improving it benefits domestic airlines too.

o Costs for new facilities and projects are spread out over all of the airlines through terminal rents and landing fees - no local taxpayer money goes into capital projects or operations.

o Working to create a safe and efficient facility for domestic and international airlines, tenants, and travelers and in the most cost-effective way.

Quality Jobs

o While the airport is growing, we are taking steps to make sure everyone benefits from that growth.
o Last year, the Commission voted to increase wages and compensation and expand economic horizons for approximately 3,500 workers at Sea-Tac Airport.

o The policy established new wages and compensation standards for airfield support personnel who are important for safety and security.

o Two weeks ago, the State Supreme Court ruled that the City of SeaTac’s $15 minimum wage law applies to Sea-Tac Airport.

o Port of Seattle employee wages exceed the initiative’s minimum wage standards, and we are working with airport tenants and vendors to make sure they can comply with the law as well.
o Last year, we approved a policy to support quality jobs and the development of family- wage jobs at the airport. It includes:

 A workforce development program that offers enhanced training and advancement opportunities that support job and economic growth throughout the region – not just at Sea-Tac;

 A motion directing staff to incorporate Quality Jobs expectations into future Airport Dining and Retail leases, promoting livable wages, health care, and other benefits for the more than 15,000 men and women who are employed by tenants and concessionaires.

As you can see there is a lot of exciting change at the Port of Seattle and a bright future
ahead.

The Port is hosting a Working Waterfront boat tour for the West Seattle community on Saturday, September 19, 9:30 – 11:30