Legislature(1993 - 1994)
02/24/1994 03:40 PM Senate TRA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
February 24, 1994
3:40 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Bert Sharp, Chair
Senator Randy Phillips, Vice Chair
Senator Jay Kerttula
Senator Georgianna Lincoln
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Tim Kelly
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
Presentation by the Port of Bellingham, Washington.
WITNESS REGISTER
Jim Darling, Director
Port of Bellingham
625 Cornwall, Ave., Bellingham, WA 98227¶(206)676-250
Bruce Ayers, Council Member
City of Bellingham
(address not available)
Mike Brennan, President
Whatcom County Chamber of Commerce
(address not available)
Greg Dronkert, Director
Alaska Marine Highway System
P.O. Box 25535, Juneau, AK 99802-5535¶465-3959
(One would expect Mr. Ayers and Mr. Brennan could possibly be
contacted through the Port of Bellingham's address.)
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 94-6, SIDE A
Number 001
CHAIRMAN SHARP calls the Senate Transportation Committee meeting to
order at 3:40 p.m.
The chairman thanks the Port of Bellingham delegation for visiting
and keeping the legislature up to date on the port.
The chairman invites the delegation to the witness stand to give
its' presentation.
Number 027
JIM DARLING, Executive Director, Port of Bellingham states the port
district is a county-wide incorporation, which operates marinas,
and property development throughout Whatcom County. Mr. Darling
states there are two developments relating to transportation which
are in the works.
The first one is the Bellingham International Airport, which the
Port of Bellingham operates. The airport is a port of entry with
a 6,800 foot runway. The airport is scheduled to get a new control
tower. Bellingham International Airport currently has the dubious
distinction of having the only control tower in the country that is
actually lower in elevation than the runway itself. New
navigational aids are also being added at the airport. Bellingham
will now have the tools to approach commercial air carriers in
order to reestablish air travel with Alaska.
Number 066
MR. DARLING states the second important development is the
reestablishment of Amtrak service between Seattle and Vancouver,
British Columbia with a stop in Bellingham. It is fortunate that
the Port of Bellingham was able to convince Amtrak to place the
station right at the Alaska Marine Highway Cruise Terminal.
Bellingham has also been fortunate in securing federal and state
grants to build a new multi-modal facility about 300 feet from the
ferry terminal.
SENATOR KERTTULA asks Mr. Darling where the Amtrak station is
located in Seattle.
MR. DARLING replies the station is on King Street in downtown
Seattle. Mr. Darling refers to a handout given to the committee by
the Port of Bellingham. In addition to the Amtrak station, there
will also be a Greyhound bus station at the multi-modal facility in
Bellingham. There have also been thoughts of adding a facility to
handle flat-bed train cars so people can load their car on the
train, as they do on the east coast. The Port of Bellingham
believes the multi-modal facility represents a renewed commitment
to the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS).
Number 131
BRUCE AYERS, Bellingham Council Member thinks it is important to
point out to the committee that Bellingham has had a shift in its'
council in the last election. There are now seven new people in
office. It has given Bellingham a chance to reestablish its'
commitment to Alaska and to the idea of a multi-modal
transportation facility. The support for this project has been
very positive.
MR. AYERS states there will be a truck route through the Fairhaven
district from the AMHS terminal to the interstate highway, so that
traffic will not have to travel through that fairly congested area.
It will also enable the Fairhaven area to develop as a retail and
pedestrian friendly area. In addition, the Fairhaven district will
also be allowed to have their own separate parking district, which
will allow the construction of more businesses and services, such
as a motel. Mr. Ayers says 800 motel units have been added in the
Bellingham area recently. The City of Bellingham, as well as the
Port of Bellingham, are well behind investing and making plans for
the use of the multi-modal facility.
Number 170
SENATOR KERTTULA asks if there is substantial export to the orient
from the Bellingham area.
Number 172
MR. DARLING responds there are two principal commodities exported
from the Bellingham area, they are wood pulp and aluminum.
However, there are local producers and manufacturers that need the
access point the Port of Bellingham provides.
Number 180
CHAIRMAN SHARP asks if the Port of Bellingham still has the "free-
trade zone" warehouse facility.
MR. DARLING replies there are four "free-trade zone" warehouse
facilities. It is for either warehouse operations or manufacturing
"free-trade zones". One example is a company that imports material
from the far east, they manufacture jeans from the material, and
then they export the product back to the far east. The product
technically never enters the country. Mr. Darling introduces Mike
Brennan, from the Bellingham Chamber of Commerce to give the
committee some information on the business impact of the AMHS.
Number 206
MIKE BRENNAN, Bellingham Chamber of Commerce hands out some
Bellingham publicity information. Mr. Brennan says recent sales to
Canadians are down, but Bellingham expects to see an increase in
the future due to development in Mount Vernon/Skagit County. This
development is starting to increase sales in Whatcom County to
Canadians, because the Canadians are finding it more difficult to
fight the traffic going into Mount Vernon/Skagit County now.
In addition, the Port of Bellingham did a study related to how
Bellingham businesses can have better access to the people using
the AMHS. Bellingham is doing this in part to be a better host
community for the AMHS southern terminus.
Number 252
SENATOR KERTTULA asks how big the student body of Western
Washington University (WWU) is now.
MR. BRENNAN replies it is approximately 12,000.
SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS asks if WWU is a teachers college.
MR. AYERS responds it is no longer just a teachers college, but has
eleven different colleges. At this time, the College of Education
is just one of the eleven colleges of WWU, and is probably one of
the smaller ones. Eighty percent of freshman level classes are
taught by professors with doctorate degrees. WWU is Bellingham's
largest employer.
Number 274
SENATOR LINCOLN, referring to the report from the Port of
Bellingham, asks about the yearly passenger comparison and how it
relates to Bellinghams' recent drop in retail business.
MR. DARLING replies the statistics in the report are for ferry
passengers, and it really doesn't apply to what Mr. Brennan was
addressing regarding retail business to Canadian shoppers.
Number 293
SENATOR LINCOLN asks if the graphs in the report can be broken down
further, to define exactly who is using AMHS.
MR. DARLING responds that can be done.
Number 299
SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS asks why the county is named Whatcom.
MR. BRENNAN replies it is a Lummi Indian name, meaning "noisy
waters".
Bellingham is made up of three communities which consolidated in
1907 or 1908.
Number 306
CHAIRMAN SHARP comments that the multi-modal facility is not too
far from the airport, and there is secure, long term parking at the
multi-modal facility. So Bellingham will have the AMHS, Amtrak,
Greyhound, I-5, and an international airport. Bellingham is quite
a hub of transportation.
Number 317
SENATOR KERTTULA asks if AMHS maintained its' projected growth when
the southern terminus was transferred from Seattle to Bellingham.
MR. DARLING responds it is his understanding that the passenger
count has gone up since the terminus was moved to Bellingham.
Number 330
SENATOR LINCOLN asks if there are brochures in Bellingham to
advertise events occurring in Alaska.
MR. DARLING replies there is a visitors' booth at the local
convention and visitors' bureau. The Port of Bellingham is also
working with AMHS to develop some pre-booking marketing.
Number 338
SENATOR LINCOLN asks who the Port of Bellingham works with in
Alaska.
MR. BRENNAN says the Port of Bellingham works with the Alaska
Visitors' Association (AVA) and the Alaska State Chamber of
Commerce.
Number 351
MR. DARLING adds that the Port of Bellingham works very closely
with the staff of the Alaska Marine Highway System.
Number 355
SENATOR RANDY PHILLIPS states he has not had any complaints on the
Port of Bellingham, compared to the Port of Seattle.
Number 364
SENATOR KERTTULA says there used to be a lot of problems with the
way the state handled its' Seattle reservations system. Senator
Kerttula notes the state will be building a new ferry, and
expresses dismay that the state cannot have two built at the same
time, since the second ship comes considerably cheaper.
Number 369
CHAIRMAN SHARP introduces Greg Dronkert, the new director of the
Alaska Marine Highway System.
GREG DRONKERT, Director, AMHS, states the AMHS has a good working
relationship with the Port of Bellingham.
Number 380
CHAIRMAN SHARP asks if anyone has any more comments or questions.
Hearing none, the chairman adjourns the Senate Transportation
Committee meeting at 4:07 p.m.
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