VANCOUVER, Wash. –The Port of Vancouver USA Board of Commissioners will meet Tuesday, October 22, to attend to five action items, including consideration of a lease with the Tesoro Savage Petroleum Terminal, approval of the port’s preliminary budget for 2014, the awarding of two public works contracts, and commissioner compensation.

Click here for a complete agenda and meeting materials. Open session begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Commission Room at the port’s administrative building, located at 3103 NW Lower River Road, Vancouver.

As with all regularly scheduled board meetings, a public comment period will be included as part of Tuesday’s meeting.

For those not able to attend, the board meeting will be televised live on CVTV (cable channels 21 and 23). It also will be streamed live on www.cvtv.org and archived later on the same website for future viewing.

Tesoro Savage Petroleum Terminal Ground Lease

The lease under consideration is the same document that was approved by the commission on July 23, 2013. A new vote is anticipated during the October 22 meeting in light of concerns brought to the port’s attention about procedures used during a July 22 workshop leading up to the prior vote. The concerns raised are focused on the port’s use of executive session during the workshop.

“We are confident that our use of executive session was appropriate,” said Todd Coleman, CEO for the Port of Vancouver. “However, because concerns have been raised, and because we’re committed to a transparent public process, the port will be presenting the lease to the commissioners during Tuesday’s meeting for deliberation and a new vote.”

Consideration of a possible lease with TSJV follows a series of five commission workshops held over a ten-week period between May and July of this year. The workshops provided both general information on issues related to crude oil as well as information specific to a proposal by the port’s longtime tenant Tesoro to construct and operate a crude oil handling facility at the port. In partnership with the logistics company Savage, Tesoro is proposing to bring North American crude oil to the port by rail where it would then be transferred to marine vessels for transport to refineries along the West Coast.  

Workshop topics included marine safety, rail safety, the permitting process, an overview of the TSJV project, and a review of proposed lease elements. Taped coverage of the workshops can be viewed at www.cvtv.org, and summaries of the workshops, copies of presentations and links to the televised coverage can be found here.

Preliminary Budget

Commissioners will consider adoption of the port’s preliminary budget for 2014 as part of the October 22 meeting. Adoption of the draft budget is the second step in the port’s public process of establishing the organization’s budget for 2014. Prior to adoption of the draft budget on Tuesday, commissioners will meet with port staff to discuss the port’s 2014 budget at a workshop on Monday, October 21, beginning at 9 a.m., at the port’s administrative office, located at 3103 NW Lower River Road, Vancouver.

The budget workshop is open to the public, although no official public comment will be taken during the workshop. Click to view the port’s two-page 2014 preliminary budget, totaling $86,342,934.

The commission is expected to vote on the final 2014 budget at the November 12 meeting, during which a formal public hearing on the subject will be held.

Public Works Contract for Great Western Malting Demolition Project

Commissioners will be asked by staff to authorize the executive director to execute a public works contract with Rhine Demolition of Tacoma, Wash., the lowest responsive and responsible bidder for the demolition of several grain silos and a drum house previously owned by Great Western Malting, but now owned by the port. Removal of the structures is necessary to continue work on the port’s new rail entrance, a key element of the port’s $275 million West Vancouver Freight Access Project. The contract would be for an amount not to exceed $3,910,677.

Public Works Contract for Security Building Project

Commissioners will be asked by staff to authorize the executive director to execute a public works contract with 2KG Contractors of Portland, Ore., the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, to build a new security building for the port. It was necessary to remove the previous security building to accommodate expansion of the port’s internal rail system as part of the West Vancouver Freight Access Project. The contract would be for an amount not to exceed $743,082.

Commission Compensation

Commissioners will consider approval of Resolution No. 10-2013, which would adopt a schedule that increases port commissioner salaries as the gross operating revenues of the port increases. If approved, the adjustment in compensation for each existing commissioner will go into effect only after each existing commissioner stands for election. Any commissioner appointed to an existing position would not be eligible for the salary increase until after being elected to the position.

The commission’s existing rate of per diem compensation would remain the same, which is $114 per day, with a maximum of $13,680 per year.  

The topic of commissioner compensation, specifically how to adjust commission salaries so they are more commensurate with the breadth and complexity of the port’s expanding operations, was discussed at a public workshop on September 10. The topic also was discussed during the board’s last two regular commission meetings on September 24 and October 8.

A copy of the proposed resolution is included in the October 22 meeting materials, which are available here.