WPPA Awards Lifetime Membership

By Karen Robes Meeks

Outgoing Port of Vancouver USA Commissioner Jerry Oliver was recently lauded as an Honorary Lifetime Member by the Washington Public Ports Association (WPPA).

Oliver was presented with the award on Nov. 22 at the WPPA Annual Convention in Tacoma, Wash. He was chosen for his outstanding leadership and service in the port industry. As a commissioner, Oliver played a key role in the $250 million West Vancouver Freight Access project to extend the port’s rail system from 11 to nearly 50 miles.

“Jerry Oliver’s impact on the Washington Public Ports Association has been monumental,” said WPPA President Don Meyer. “He has served as a past president of the association, as a commissioner at the Port of Vancouver since 2007 and has been an absolute stalwart member. For his contributions and leadership within the association, and within the Vancouver community, we were pleased to present Mr. Oliver with an Honorary Lifetime Membership.”

Oliver, who announced he would not seek a third term, will step down at the end of this month when his term expires.

Port of Vancouver USA Wins Outreach Award

By Karen Robes Meeks

The Port of Vancouver USA has earned the Washington Public Ports Association’s Community Outreach Award for its annual Lecture Series.

The award, which the port accepted earlier this month in Spokane, Wash., recognizes a port effort or project that engages the residents of the community in a positive way.

“The Lecture Series has been an incredible opportunity to reach out to, and connect with the community in a way we never have before,” said CEO Julianna Marler. “We are grateful to the many organizations and individuals that dedicated their time and expertise to make these lectures happen.”

Since launching in 2017, the series has drawn over 1,000 visitors, and included topics such as “The Mighty Columbia – Our Working River,” “Railroading 101,” and “Great Western Malting – Tradition and Innovation in Malting.”

Seaport Alliance Wins Port of the Year Award

By Mark Edward Nero

The Washington Public Ports Association, which represents the interests of the 75 public ports in the state, has recognized the Northwest Seaport Alliance with its annual Port of the Year Award.

The annual award recognizes a Public Ports Association member port that demonstrates exceptional success in the industry.

The Northwest Seaport Alliance, formed in August 2015, is a marine cargo operating partnership of the ports of Seattle and Tacoma.

The selection committee cited the NWSA’s first-year accomplishments, including improvements to General Central Peninsula and Terminal 5 and returning cargo volumes.

“We are honored by WPPA’s recognition of our work,” Northwest Seaport Alliance Co-chair Connie Bacon said in a statement. “We are also grateful for the association’s continued advocacy to keep our state competitive.”

“This partnership between the ports of Seattle and Tacoma is important for our region. It demonstrates that these ports are committed to working together for the benefit of everyone,” said WPPA President Troy McClelland, a commissioner at the Port of Everett. “The entire port community in our state recognizes, supports and is grateful for this accomplishment.”

The NWSA co-chairs received the award at the WPPA annual meeting last week in Tacoma.

WPPA Accepting Annual Award Nominations

By Mark Edward Nero

The Washington Public Ports Association is accepting nominations for its annual awards, which salute individuals and ports whose efforts are seen as deserving special recognition.

The WPPA is accepting nominations in three categories: Port of the Year, the Life Member Award and the Outstanding Service to the Industry Award.

The Port of the Year Award is to recognize a member port that has demonstrated exceptional success in the industry. The recipient will receive an individual plaque, plus the port’s name will be added to a plaque in the WPPA office. The award will be presented during the WPPA’s annual business meeting, Nov. 20 at the Renaissance Hotel in Seattle.

Regarding nominations for Honorary Life Members, nominees must have served as an officer or committee chairman or employee of the WPPA.

The intent of the “Outstanding Service to the Port Industry” award is to provide recognition to commissioners and staff, who upon retirement or departure have provided “a significant and meaningful contribution to the success of a public port district or the public port industry,” according to the WPPA.

Nominations may be made by any port to either nominate itself or another WPPA member. The Ports Association asks that nomination letters be limited to four pages at most, and that letters explicitly describe the reasons for the nomination.

Nominations must be received by the Association’s office by 3 pm Sept. 29 to be eligible. The mailing and street address is 1501 Capitol Way S., Suite 304 Olympia, WA 98501.

The Executive Committee will review all applications for each award and forward its recommendations to the Board of Trustees. For more information on the nomination and awards process, call the WPPA at (360) 943-0760.

Ridgefield Named Washington Port of the Year

By Mark Edward Nero

The Washington Public Ports Association named the Port of Ridgefield the recipient of its annual Port of the Year Award at a December ceremony in Bellevue, Washington.

Ridgefield, in southwest Washington’s Discovery Corridor area, is a rapidly growing suburb of the Portland-Vancouver area. While the port’s nomination application included a host of development projects completed within the last year, totaling more than $9 million, WPPA cited the port’s extensive, multi-year, $90 million environmental cleanup of the Port of Ridgefield’s 41-acre waterfront site – Millers’ Landing – as the determining factor for the award. The site was cleared for development late last year.

This site on Ridgefield’s Lake River was the location of Pacific Wood Treating, which operated there for 30 years. When the company when bankrupt in 1993, it left the port with the problem of cleaning up the environmentally-significant site adjacent to a 5,500-acre national wildlife refuge, and just quarter-mile from the Columbia River.

WPPA executive director Eric Johnson said the port’s 20-year project is now winding down, with the final stages – the dredging and planting of adjacent Lake River and Carty Lake – currently in progress. Project completion is anticipated in late spring 2015.

“We have recognized the Port of Ridgefield for their extraordinary work in cleaning up and revitalizing the Ridgefield waterfront. This port took on a daunting challenge and saw it through to a successful conclusion,” Johnson said.

The WPPA has given the award each year since 1987 to recognize a member port that has demonstrated exceptional success in the industry. There are currently 75 member ports operating within Washington State.

Port of Ridgefield Executive Director Brent Grening, port commissioners Scott Hughes, Joe Melroy and Bruce Wiseman, and key staff members and advisors were on hand to accept the WPPA award.

“My fellow commissioners and I are proud and pleased to win this prestigious award,” Wiseman, the port commission chair, said. “It was working together over so many years on a project that were all passionate about that got us here.”

Grening, who has been at the port’s helm for more than sixteen years, voiced his appreciation for the recognition from his peers.

“Port staff and its commission, and many, many others, worked long and hard on this effort, with a successful project outcome. That the port industry recognized the good work we’ve done is very rewarding,” Grening said.

Grening also noted that next year marks the Port’s 75th anniversary, making the completion of the decades-long project especially timely.

“Instead of dealing with problems of the past, we now get to look forward to the work we can do as Ridgefield’s community port for the next 75 years,” he said.

2013 WPPA Board President Chosen

Port of Vancouver USA Commissioner Jerry Oliver will serve as president of the Washington Public Ports Association (WPPA) Board of Trustees for 2013.

The WPPA, which promotes the interests of public ports through government relations and advocacy programs, was formed by the Washington State Legislature in 1961. Oliver was elected president on November 30 at the association’s annual membership meeting in Seattle, Washington.

“As a true believer that the Port of Vancouver plays a critical role in the economic well-being of my own community, I am honored to serve on the board of an organization that promotes the value of public ports throughout our state,” he said.

Oliver, who was elected to the Port of Vancouver Board of Commissioners in 2007, has been a member of the WPPA board for three years. He’s also the incoming president of the Port of Vancouver’s three-member Commission. His current six-year term on the board expires at the end of 2013.

Oliver holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan. His career includes 20 years in the medical products distribution business as well as seven years in the financial brokerage business, according to the Port of Vancouver. Oliver also was self-employed for eight years when he worked in mid-market mergers and acquisitions. He retired from business in 2008.

Vancouver USA Receives Industrial Park Grant

The Port of Vancouver USA has been awarded a $5.7 million grant for the development of almost 60 acres of the port’s Centennial Industrial Park.

The grant agreement between the port and Washington State Department of Commerce was finalized in September and announced Oct. 16. The funding was provided through the Washington State Legislature’s “2012 Jobs Now Act,” a $1.1 billion capital budget package aimed at stimulating the state’s economy.

The project was of a set of port infrastructure projects put forth by the Washington Public Ports Association. It’s expected to attract an estimated $100 million in private-sector investment and create as many as 500 new jobs for the local community.

Centennial Industrial Park, which is situated in Southwest Washington, encompasses 108 acres zoned for light industrial use. It has proximity to a deep-draft shipping channel, key freeway freight corridors, and dual-carrier rail service by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad.

“There’s good reason for the Columbia River Economic Development Council’s designation of this property as a development of county-wide significance. It’s one of the most development-ready light industrial sites in Clark County,” Curtis Shuck, the port’s director of economic development and facilities for the port, said. “And thanks to the grant funding we can fast-track our site improvements to meet growing market demands, which is especially important now that the port’s industrial occupancy rate is 99 percent.”

The port says grant funding will be used to make infrastructure improvements to the first 58 acres of the park, which will support future development of about 550,000 square feet of manufacturing, production, warehouse and ancillary office space. Specific improvements include final site preparation, installation of underground utilities, construction of roadways and sidewalks and the creation of a new storm water management system.

The current site plan divides the property into seven buildable lots ranging from five to 11 acres, with the ability to be assembled into larger parcels to accommodate marketplace needs. According to the Washington Public Port Association, infrastructure construction is expected to begin later this month and be complete in July 2013.

Longview Port Named Washington Port of Year

The Washington state Port of Longview has been named the 2009 Port of the Year by the Washington Public Ports Association.

In awarding the honor, the WPPA cited the port's successful efforts to recruit the EGT Development grain terminal. The large export grain facility is being built by EGT Development LLC, a partnership by St. Louis-based Bunge North America, Japan's Itochu Corp. and South Korean shipping company STX Pan Ocean. Construction on the 38-acre $200 million project began in August. When completed in 2011, the state-of-the-art facility will allow the simultaneous unloading of up to four, 110-rail car trains.
The WPPA also cited the Longview port's record revenues in 2008--due in large part to the port's development and growth in the wind-energy sector.

“This award is a true reflection of the staff’s dedication and the community’s support of the Port of Longview,” said Longview Executive Director Ken O’Hollaren in a written statement.