Saturday, September 7, 2024
It’s the tale of two ports. The Port of Everett, the largest in Snohomish County, wants to grow even larger. Voters will soon have their say.
The Port of Edmonds, meanwhile – the only public port between Shilshole Bay and Everett – is OK with its relatively small imprint.
For now, it seems.
On March 12, the Snohomish County Council unanimously approved a motion to place the Port of Everett’s petition for boundary enlargement on the August primary ballot. How large? If voters approve and the port follows through on the plan, Everett’s port boundary could include most of Snohomish County, excluding the Port of Edmonds, Woodway, Edmonds, Esperance, and Point Wells.
The Beacon Magazine spoke with both port directors to get an overview of their operations and for a look into the near future.
Lisa Lefeber, Port of Everett CEO, acknowledges the burning question: If the port’s boundary expansion annexes most of Snohomish County, will all its residents pay taxes?
Yes.
By law, Lefeber cannot promote the expansion. But she can give facts. Foremost is that ports are the lowest taxing entities in the county at about 0.3% of the distribution. Port District property owners pay about $100 annually in port taxes, based on a $500,000 home, a number that is surely higher now.
The port – formed in 1918 – collects about 18.8 cents per $1,000, which is about $5.9 million, or 6.5%, of the Port’s 2024 budget. Taxes only fund capital projects, public access, and environmental cleanups.
The port now serves Everett, portions of Mukilteo, Marysville, and unincorporated Snohomish County. An example of the port’s development: Two years ago, the port and the Mukilteo City Council adopted a vision and a set of guiding principles for the redevelopment of the Mukilteo waterfront. The 26 acres under study stretch from Lighthouse Park to Edgewater Park. The effort came after the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration decided not to proceed with a new research station at the Mukilteo waterfront. The property returned to the Port of Everett.
So why should all county residents pay into a port they may not ever have visited – or plan to visit? A larger district would make port resources like matching port funds and state and federal funding sources available to more communities.
With nearly 830,000 residents and growing, only about 15% of Snohomish County has access to certain port tools and investments. The port says this significantly restricts how it can help advance economic and community priorities across one of the fastest-growing counties in the state.
“This is the first time in 106 years that Snohomish County residents will get to vote on the scale and scope of their port,” Lefeber said. “Snohomish County has changed dramatically in this time, so it will be good to give the new generation a voice in the matter.
“Ports were created for economic development, and economic development looks different in every community. Economic development could be, in some cases, building recreational assets such as a marina with shops and restaurants. Or it could be building a road, utilities, and fiber to an industrial park to be able to attract a large customer base that’s going to provide family-wage jobs.
“Infrastructure – whether it’s maritime, recreation, transportation, environmental, public access – is the common denominator of all of those investments.”
In the port industry, she adds, any kind of public investment the port receives in taxes returns to the community for infrastructure investment.
To do that, an important port function is to leverage federal investments – there are federal grants that only Washington ports are eligible for, as the state operates its ports differently from the rest of the nation.
It has the largest locally controlled public port system in the world. There are 75 port districts statewide, all governed by an elected commission and operated independently of local governing agencies. Port districts vary greatly across Washington state, but share a common goal: to provide economic stimulation for their communities.
How do other countries and states operate? Canada has a federal port, so the federal government dumps hundreds of millions of dollars into its port infrastructure.
Lefeber gave two examples of states in the U.S. – Georgia and Maryland (Port of Baltimore) specifically.
“They’re part of the overall general fund of the general purpose government but have their own economic development arm. Washington and state courts are special use districts so we’re our own independent entity.”
So, locally, the Port of Everett is not that large.
“But if you add us all together,” said Lefeber, “and you look at the industry, ports are important. But on a federal level, when a court weighs in on a project, specifically, or is involved, or a named partner in a project, and it involves the efficient movement of freight and supply chain, it ranks higher on grant applications. So just having us at the table makes a difference in competitiveness.”
Lefeber gives inland Monroe as an example.
“They’re looking at a lot of grade-crossing removal. Right now, all we can do is give a letter of support. If the (boundary expansion) was approved, grade crossing removal – similar to what we’ve done in Everett – would be something that would be an opportunity.”
Lefeber said only about 15% of the county’s population has access to port economic development tools and resources. “The Port of Everett is one of the largest ports in the state that doesn’t serve a county-wide district. (The expansion), if passed, would allow the port to make sure of economic and community priorities across the county – from transportation and supply-chain improvements to public access, environmental enhancements, and more.”
If passed by a simple 50% plus one vote, the port would be required to address governance by submitting to voters on whether to increase the number of port commissioners from three to five.
Like the Port of Everett, the Port of Edmonds has a limited footprint. So small that only a small percentage of the city’s residents have a say in its election of commissioners. The port’s district boundaries were established when created in 1948 – the marina was built in 1962 – and the city of Edmonds was much smaller.
Part of the reason the Edmonds port was created was because, in the late 1940s, the Port of Everett was in discussion to include all of Snohomish County as part of its district, as the Port of Seattle had done. “Taxpayers approved the formation of the district, in part, to retain local control and preservation of the waterfront,” according to “A Brief History of the Port of Edmonds,” a booklet on the port’s website. “Considering that the citizens of this area were being asked to tax themselves, it is noteworthy that the issue passed by a remarkable 985–58 margin, a 94% majority,” the booklet noted. “After the election, proponents of the port district had wished that the boundaries were double in size. A wish that is still talked about today.”
Since then, the city has grown through annexations while the port district has not. Simply, the port and city are not contiguous. Residents must live inside the port district to vote for port commissioners.
That district includes the city of Edmonds west of 92nd Avenue West, roughly from Olympic View Drive in the north to the county line in the south, and the town of Woodway.
To expand the port district boundaries would mean asking citizens and voters to be annexed into a taxing district. “It’s counterintuitive to expect non-port residents to vote themselves into the port district and pay more taxes,” former Port of Edmonds Executive Director Bob McChesney told the Beacon in 2017. “It has never been done.”
Today, though, current Executive Director Angela Harris said the Port of Edmonds will see what happens in Everett’s ballot measure. “We are eager and curious to see how the Everett expansion effort goes this year.”
Like McChesney, she said expansion into other parts of the city would be up to voters.
Harris, who succeeded McChesney May 1, 2023, said she would be interested in community conversations about expansion. “When I was a commissioner, I heard that,” she said. “People saying they want to be able to vote for commissioners. I’m in Edmonds; this is my waterfront too.”
Although the port may not be expanding anytime soon, there is certainly expansion happening at the port itself. It recently debuted a two-story administration and maintenance building. It’s phase one of a three-phase project that will bring major infrastructure repairs and public access improvements to the port’s waterfront.
Along with electrification upgrades, phase two involves bulldozing the old port administration building to make room for a waterfront public plaza. Phase three includes the reconstruction of the north marina seawall, as well as walking surface, lighting, landscaping, and seating upgrades to the waterfront boardwalk, known as the Portwalk. The port is currently seeking permits and funding for phase two and three. Construction on the Portwalk is expected to begin in 2026 or 2027.
Both the Port of Everett and Port of Edmonds say they work as economic engines that provide jobs for their communities. Everett, an international port supporting nearly $21 billion worth of U.S. exports annually with eight shipping ports, manages and develops 3,400 acres of property, including new mixed-use at Waterfront Place and habitat sites like the 353-acre Blue Heron Slough salmon restoration.
An example of the mixed use is the 264-apartment Waterfront Place Apartments (one bedroom starts at $1,842) and 142-room Hotel Indigo.
Through the operation of international shipping terminals, real estate development ventures, and its stature as the largest public marina on the West Coast (2,300 slips), the Port of Everett supports more than 40,000 jobs in the region and contributes $433 million to state and local taxes.
Port properties provide numerous public access and recreational opportunities for area residents and visitors to enjoy, supporting a vibrant, livable, and balanced waterfront.
The Port of Edmonds includes marina operations (public boat launch, over 800 boat slips/spaces, and a work yard). More than 80 businesses operate on the port property – some of which the port has ground lease for and others where it owns the buildings as well as the land.
These businesses employ over 600 people. The port sees thousands of weekly visitors as it connects the community to restaurants, shops, the fishing pier, parks, and events. There are several fishing charters that operate out of the Edmonds port, as well as Freedom Boat Club, and the Yacht Club is located in the port as well. Puget Sound Express also operates out of the port – attracting more than 30,000 visitors annually.
Edmonds’ revenues are about 67% marina fuel sales, boat launcher, moorage – in water and dry storage – parking, lift operations, work yard operations, and 23% rental properties.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here