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.