| PORT WATCH The Port of Bellingham and You | 2001 Postings | |
| Beginning The Beginning of Port Watch - first posts in July 2001 to where the home page takes over. After the November election, this site went inactive. In Janyary 2002 I posted an explanation. In September of 2002, the site was incorporated into NwCitizen.us and became active again. | Tuesday, Jan 29, 2002 Well, this web site is going into hibernation, along with its parent web site NWCitizen, where you can read why. The Port answers only to the Washington State Auditor and Attorney General. If you feel the Port is acting inappropriately, then you might contact one of these agencies. We have had little luck in past years. You can also attend Port meetings and speak during the public comment time. Phone the Port at 676-2500 for the time of the next meeting. I strongly feel that the Port of Bellingham needs a strong watch from the news media. This has been lacking. The Bellingham Herald only covers Port activities during elections and avoids any investigative articles. In return, the Port advertises in the Herald. We have no other competitive news media in Whatcom County. Sad to say, but I have the local reputation for being the "Port Watchdog", a title I don't enjoy. The watchdogs should be our highly paid state agency bureaucrats in the state Attorney General and Auditor offices. Don't hold your breath. I've always considered myself no more than an active citizen. More active than most, but with no agenda other than a desire for clean and open government. We don't have that, in my opinion. The vast majority of citizens I've talked with over the years agree but feel any effort towards reform is futile. Sorry I have to leave the cause, but it seemed the community was not behind it. You cannot expect any citizen to work for nothing on a sustained basis. And you cannot expect government bureaucrats to work for the public good. They are concerned with keeping their jobs. Any bureaucrat who actually works for the good of the public gets fired before long. Sorry, but that is the state of our Democracy in my experience. I've learned most of my reliable inside information from those bureaucrats with the courage to risk their jobs to get me the info on government corruption. Now it is some other person's time to step forward. How about you? Remember, Democracy is a participatory sport, not a spectator one. Adieu. I'm going sailing. - John Servais Friday, Nov 30, 2001 For weeks, the Port has been allowing tens of thousands of gallons of toxic waste to be trucked from a waste dump at the airport down to the Bellingham waterfront and dumped into Bellingham Bay. The Bellingham office of the Washington Department of Ecology knows nothing about this. We document with photos this process - and ask questions. Our Port allowed Georgia Pacific to dump pulp mill toxic wastes on the far side of the Bellingham airport from 1984 through 1993. Why? No one is saying. How polluted is the airport? Don't expect the Port to be forthcoming. They will feed us the normal half truths. Like other Port scandals documented on this web site, don't expect the Herald to touch this. And if they do, they will not credit this site with breaking the story. We will try to followup. Check back occasionally. Friday, Nov 16 For the record, incumbent Port Commissioners Scott Walker and Doug Smith won reelection with very wide margins, Walker with 56% of the vote and Smith with 59%. Thus, our work for Port Reform met with defeat in this election. I'll be analyzing why in later posts. For now, just a couple items. This web site will continue to post information about the Port of Bellingham. It may not be as often as during the past few months, but we will continue. There is much scandal and corruption at the Port of Bellingham. Enough that the State Attorney General should investigate commissioner Doug Smith's activities. This web site will post information to make that case. The Bellingham Herald does not cover the activities of the Port of Bellingham. Oh, they ran some good PR for the two incumbents on the day before the election. And, in the weeks before the election the Herald even posted Port meeting notices. However, on election day it was back to normal - no notice at all in the Herald of the Port budget meeting that very day. Don't expect much coverage for the next two years. During the past few months, virtually every Port tenant I talked with said they strongly supported Port Reform but they could not be public in that support or they would suffer "retribution" from the Port. The actual word 'retribution' was used by many of the tenants. One large tenant said "retribution is always swift and harsh from the Port". For good business reasons, most Port tenants reluctantly declined to lend their name to Port Reform and support for challengers Fenton Wilkinson and Dan Warner. I have to make a living. Since summer, several Port tenants and other concerned business owners have generously sponsored this web site, allowing me to spend much time investigating and reporting here on Port and commissioner activities. That support will phase out now. I need to find a full time job and support my family. So - check back. We will continue as best we can. I see the need to educate the voters on Port issues and how those issues strongly affect all citizens of Whatcom County. Right now, most voters don't think the Port affects them and they have difficulty learning about it. No wonder corrupt officials keep their offices. Saturday, Nov 3 Why the Port keeps losing local businesses. An article by Doug Ellis, President of Absorption Corp, a Port tenant, explains what is happening on our waterfront. For Doug to allow us to print this article took courage. The Port is feared by most tenants for retribution if they speak out about Port policies or practices. As such, this article is a rare look into what it looks like from a Port tenant's point of view. Many have told me so directly. "Swift and harsh retribution" were the words of one major Port tenant not named here. There are several other viable Port tenant businesses that are being threatened with closure by the Port. Mt. Baker Plywood, Bellingham Bay Shipyard and Redden Marine Supply, to name three. Vote for Port Reform. Vote for Fenton Wilkinson and Dan Warner. We won't have another chance for 8 years to change the Port's failing economic policies. Friday, Nov 2 A quick glance at the Port Budget for 2002 shows the usual hiding of losing projects and the renaming of regular projects to gain public relations value. Regular operating expenditures are now listed as "Public Priority Programs" supposedly economic development, environmental and public access programs. This is actually just creative accounting for PR purposes. An example is the money losing Alaska Ferry Terminal. It loses $700,000 a year. Since the Port wants to show a profit in overall operations, they have reclassified the building as an "indoor park" and thus putting it in public access. Indoor park? Well, not exactly. Remember the beautiful dome room - where you would take out of town visitors? Well, that room is now locked. You can't get in unless you rent the room for $500.00. Public access? Hardly. It is time for new commissioners who will handle taxpayer assets with an adult attitude. Enough of shell games with our tax dollars. Tuesday, Oct 23 At Point Roberts last night, Port Commissioner Doug Smith expressed his opinion of the fishing industry in Bellingham. With no reporters there, he probably expected his comments to stay in Point Roberts which has only a private marina. "Fishing is a lost cause", Smith told the audience. This is the attitude that Smith says guides his thinking and voting as a Port Commissioner. He went on to say that the Port of Bellingham should not put any more effort or money into the facilities for the local fishermen. My comment about Doug's attitude: The fishing industry of Whatcom County build our marina with their fees over the past 50 some years. The fishermen have ALWAYS paid their full way and then some. Even today the fishermen contribute more than their fair share to Port profits. Further, fishing is not dead. Salmon runs are up this year and so are catches. The problem is not catching fish. The problem is marketing the fish. Ask any fisherman. The Port could help market salmon with half the amount of money they have spent to subsidize the Bellwether hotel and office complex, a favorite project of Smith's. Our fishing fleet could be a mainstay of our local economy for indefinite future generations. The Bellwether will be a drain on our taxes for years - just as the Ferry Terminal has been a $700,000 a year drain for over 10 years. That cost is hidden in the Port books by delcaring the Ferry Terminal an "indoor park". We already see the Port hiding the multi-million dollar subsidies for Bellwether. If Doug Smith has no confidence in our fishing fleet then he should not be a Port Commissioner. Bellingham is a fishing town and we support our fishermen. Fenton Wilkinson is committed to helping our fishing industry to thrive - by providing them with proper dock and locker facilities and by helping them to market their catches. All Bellingham will benefit. Vote for Port Reform. Monday, October 22 While the editor of this web site should not be the issue in this election, Port Commissioners Doug Smith and Scott Walker have each repeatedly called me a "liar" in public and before many people. They did not give even a single example of any lie, but felt it sufficient to repeat the charge a half dozen times. So, I don't know if there is a small technical error is something printed here or if they simply disagree with my opinions. They also accused me of being an "anarchist" - something that baffled me at first. I'm the furthest thing from that. Then someone told me that they meant I created "distrust and disrespect for elected officials." If so, then they mean I exercise my American responsibility to question elected officials and that I ask for an accounting of their actions. Both commissioners have refused to appear on the same forum with me. Both have ducked any questions posed to them regarding their actions. Scott has slid sideways on his pushing a $70 million tax exempt bond for his employer. Smith almost screams that his $1 million in construction contracts at the airport are legal but he refuses to get the opinion of the State Attorney General, something he could easily do within days. I am not an elected official and as such the normal laws of libel apply. It would be nice if the commissioners would apologize in public for their slander of me. It would be nicer if they would explain what lies I posted or what actions of mine would allow labeling me an anarchist. It would be nice if they did it within the next week. I know they are informed of what appears on this web site. When I worked for the election of Scott Walker in 1991 and Doug Smith in 1993 it was with the hope they would help the Port be more accountable and more civil. It didn't improve for long. We have been going backwards for about 7 years now. Scott Walker may have perfected his gee whiz school boy personality, but he is no nicer than Doug Smith. Don't miss noting the surprise Port Commision and Bellingham City Council meeting tomorrow evening at the Alaska Ferry Terminal at 6 pm. Entertaining but nothing more than an election campaign stunt. Friday, October 19 We urge you to pick up the new issue of The Every Other Weekly. It came out yesterday and has two articles that concern the Port. When this issue gets posted online, we will place a link to it. In The Skinny, editor Tim Johnson brings his sharp analysis to dissect the current Port's absurd economic policies. While these policies have been in place since about 1994, they have only now become public because of the election campaign. Tim shows the absurdity of the Port's profit orientation at the expense of profits by local private businesses. His dissection is the best explanation yet on how their corporate attitude hurts local businesses. The other article is a guest editorial by Fenton Wilkinson, candidate for Port Commissioner. He lists several examples of economic development projects that the Port could be doing right now to help the local economy. Fenton points out that the Port is doing next to nothing for the local economy. As he says, "Rome is burning and Nero is fiddling". The local economy is falling apart and the Port is doing studies instead of acting to help. We call your attention to the special Port Commission joint meeting with the Bellingham City Council next Wednesday, October 24. This can easily be labeled a campaign tactic by both bodies. They will "...hold a joint briefing and discussion for the Port Commission and Bellingham City Council on various waterfront projects." Pure vote grabbing. It will be interesting to see how the Herald covers this blatant campaign exercise. Can someone please inform me of the last time they had a joint meeting? Wednesday, October 3 8 am - Confirmed. SkyWest air service from Bellingham to Seattle will end later this month. Gee - at the commissioner yesterday afternoon, they didn't tell us about this loss of service. They always announce good news at their meetings, but ignore the awkward - but important - news. We won't have a chance to ask them about this till November. They do not normally take public comment at the mid month meeting. 12:05 am - Reliable reports say SkyWest - United Airlines - is pulling out of Bellingham. They are ending service between Bellingham and Seattle. If true, this should not be a surprise, given how the Port of Bellingham has been running the airport lately. High landing fees, poor ground service, incompetent fueling service and confused management. I expect confirmation on this report by Thursday. Tuesday, October 2 They repainted the fuel truck - and got it wrong again. This could continue for a while, so I've started a new page to follow this. Check out the sign painted the wrong colors on the fuel truck that carries jet fuel. It is green and must be white letters on black. Monday, October 1, 2001 This morning the Port took over fueling operations at the Bellingham airport. We have a report with 5 photos of the process. Be sure and check the bottom photo showing the illegally painted fuel truck. The truck contains jet fuel but a sign on the side also says AVGAS - aviation gasoline - which if put in a jet would cause it to explode. Where is the FAA on all of this? The new manager of aviation services for the Port, Alan Birdsall, has no experience fueling aircraft. He worked at Squalicum Harbor for years and then was assistant to Art Choat who does long range planning for the Port. Let us hope no fueling accident causes damage to property or loss of life at our airport during the months it will take the Port staff to learn fueling. Why is the Port taking over fueling? Because they think there are big profits in it. The tape recording of the August 14 meeting, when they voted to terminate Alpha Aviation and take on fueling themselves, has the commissioners discussing how they can make money on this. Doug Smith in particular was eager for the profits. Friday, Sep 28 5 pm - The Port of Bellingham sent out a notice this morning saying fuel would not be available until Monday morning. The cause was the Port's mismanagement of the transition from the private fueler to the Port's own government employees who start fueling on Monday. Late this afternoon the Port finally offered to buy the equipment from Alpha Aviation, including fuel tanks. The Port could have bought this equipment anytime during the past two months but kept trying to get a lower price. With the Bellingham Herald working on a story for Saturday's paper about no fuel available, the Port's attorney, Frank Chmelik, finally decided to sign a purchase agreement with Alpha Aviation, the fueler the Port has put out of business. Fuel should be available by noon on Saturday. 8:45 am - Why? Because the Port Commissioners - led by Doug Smith - are convinced there are big profits in fueling. They are throwing the competent Alpha Aviation out of the airport and literally taking over their operations. This is another disgraceful example of the Port running its own tenants out of business. With the nation in a security emergency, this is the wrong time for the Port to make this irresponsible move. We run the risk of losing what little air service we have left in Bellingham. The Port does not have people with the skill or experience to safely manage a fueling operation. They are transferring people from other Port departments this week. They are scrambling. If the Port truly is focused on security - as reported in today's Bellingham Herald - then the Port should extend the lease with Alpha Aviation for at least three months until the security measures are fully in place. Are you concerned? Call the Port and ask for a public statement explaining why they are doing this. Call the current Port Commissioners and ask them to explain. Ask to see the special study the Port paid for that they used to make the decision to take over fueling. Call the Herald and ask why they are not reporting this story. Finally, attend the Port meeting next Tuesday at 4 pm. Ask the commissioners to explain themselves. I will be there asking them that very question during the public comment period. Friday, Sep 21 The WTC disaster slowed me down on Port reporting. If you are new here, I invite you to check the thread about Port Commissioner Doug Smith's construction contracts for buildings on Port property. I will be posting information on a third building in the next day or so. How many more are there? His total is over $1 million dollars in construction. At least he made good money with his illegal activity. Where is the Herald on this story? Where is the state Attorney General? Looks like the Port is going to cause chaos at our airport by trying to run the fueling business. They are effectively screwing over Alpha Aviation, the very professional fueler of three years standing. Alpha Aviation is being put out of business by the Port. Why? Greed. The Port thinks that Alpha is making too much money with fueling services and wants the profits for the Port. This at a time of national emergency. War. The bungling Port staff will now handle explosive fueling operations. There is no expertise on Port staff for this. The Port will lose more taxpayer money on the adventure. Their own proforma showed a probable loss. Hell, the Port closed the Airport Cafe years ago on the excuse that they did not have the sophisticated ambience that the Port wanted in a restaurant. By former Port commissioner Pete Zuanich's own admission a couple years ago, the Port has lost over a million dollars on 5 restaurant attempts. Now they want to go into the aviation gas and jet fuel business? The Port needs to hear from concerned business people from Whatcom County. Phone the Port and tell them to reinstate Alpha Aviation. We are at war. We need professional fueling. At our airport. We need profitable tenants, not another money losing Port operation. Monday, Sep 10 On the right column is my endorsement of John Gargett for Port Commissioner. We have a better chance this year of reforming how the Port works than we have ever had. Me should not squander this. John Gargett and Fenton Wilkinson will bring much needed economic development experience to the Port Commission. This could reverse 15 years of the Port competing with private industry in Whatcom County and squandering our tax dollars chasing pipe dreams like cruise ships and their own office buildings. Fenton is not in the primary election. But John Gargett is. His main opponent, Dan Warner, will not improve things at all. Dan headed up Western Washington University's master planning process for over two years and effectively blocked any public participation. He did the University's dirty work very well. He has shown the same ability for ramming projects through in an undemocratic manner when on the county council. If he gets elected, we can expect more secrecy and behind the scenes wasteful deals as have taken place over the past 10 years. Dan Warner mouths a good campaign but his track record is dismal. The Liberals love him but they ignore his habit of blocking public participation as long as he serves their liberal goals. Dan is not a reform candidate. Thursday, Sep 6 My my. Port Commissioners Scott Walker and Doug Smith are now telling citizens that I, John Servais, am a liar regarding Port stories posted here. Scott Walker in particular is now telling people that I'm a liar. Smith just fumes about me. They are also refusing to appear at any public forums where I might speak. Yet no evidence is offered by Doug or Scott against my reports. They of course, refuse to say or write anything to me. Their hope is that nothing will happen with the reports you read here. The Herald, while quick to write a front page story about my PDC complaint against Port candidate Dan Warner, is silent on the reports of Doug Smith's illegal construction projects at the Bellingham airport. And Scott Walker's promoting a $70 million tax exempt bond resolution for his employer, ARCO. The Herald should try reporting on the real news. My liberal friends are now upset with me for daring to file a PDC complaint against liberal candidate Dan Warner. How true to form. Hey, if he will allow or be ignorant of illegal activity by his own campaign manager then what can we expect once he is elected? Public process will take a back seat to his agenda. Stay tuned. I am checking out another building at the airport that Smith's company Com-Steel built. Wednesday, September 5 The Herald has an article today on my complaint against Dan Warner's campaign using Western Washington University computer facilities. The complaint was not worth a front page article. It would be nice if the Herald reported on some real Port stories - Doug Smith's construction activities on Port property, the total costs of the Bellwether complex and how much money the Port is losing on it. But to clarify the complaint. Dan Warner is saying he knew nothing about this. That is not the question. I expected him to say he knew nothing. The question is how much have University facilities, mailing lists and staff been used to further Dan Warner's campaign? A complaint was needed to stop the use of Western's staff and computer facilities for Warner's campaign. Hopefully the Public Disclosure Commission will now ask Western for a full and audited report of email on campus systems over the past several weeks that involves Warner's campaign. Hopefully Western will finally see that this practice stops. Dan Warner showed his contempt for fair play as the chairman of Western's Master Plan committee. He used University systems to deny any real public participation in the crafting of the plan. As a Port Commissioner, he can be expected to continue secretive and staged processes to avoid public participation. The fact that his campaign is using University systems is not a surprise. It is normal business for Warner. We need a new Port Commissioner who respects the public process. That person is not Dan Warner. His track record is clear on this. Friday, August 31 Absentee ballots have arrived. Primary election voting is underway. We have the best chance in 12 years of electing an outstanding person for Port Commissioner. I strongly endorse John Gargett for Port Commissioner. I know these three candidates well, having worked with all of them over the years. I helped Scott on his campaign in 1991 only to watch him plug into the Port abuse system within weeks of his election. Scott ran unopposed in 1997. He should be shown the door. District 1 John Gargett will work to end the Port's competing with private businesses. He knows the Port well. He is qualified by business experience. If you want reform at the Port of Bellingham, and improve the economy on Whatcom County, then you want to vote for John Gargett. Scott Walker, the present commissioner, has allowed the executive director to control the Port. Scott has had his chance. He has turned the Port mandate upside down, trying to make the Port a profit generating corporation instead of using Port resources to grow our Whatcom County economy. Dan Warner will be no better - and maybe worse - than 10 year commissioner Scott Walker. Dan's track record shows a consistent disregard for public process as a county council member and as the point person for Western Washington University's master plan process. Tom Spanos has not campaigned. In District 2 there is no primary. Of course hope you will vote for Fenton Wilkinson for Port Commissioner in November. Doug Smith has used his elected office for personal profit. He is a corrupt politician and should be thrown out of office. Wednesday, August 29 Check the update to the Bellwether Office Building thread. City Building Services director, Preston Burris, has provided us with an interesting statement of explanation. Monday, August 27 I've posted information on a second building that Doug Smith's construction firm built on Port property. This one is a half million dollar helicopter facility. Sunday, August 26 Porn sites and this site are forbidden fruit to Port employees. See the short article just to the right in the next column. Friday, August 24 The fix is on. Port and City officials hurriedly met yesterday after our report of the illegal use of the Port Bellwether building. Apparently permits were issued yesterday, regardless of safety code violations, lack of proper inspections and incomplete construction of building. Thursday, August 23 Illegal occupancy of the new fire code violating Bellwether Office Building is just doing business as usual for the Port. The Bellingham Building Codes Division has winked and nodded to the Port moving nine business tenants into the building months ago. The building still has no occupancy permits as of today. Preston Burris, Codes Division supervisor, has said that "no business will be allowed" until permits are issued but was unaware that tenants have been doing business in the building for months. Said he didn't know that. Read the update to this continuing story. Tuesday, August 14, 2001 Port Commissioner Doug Smith sees no conflict of interest in taking contracts to construct $400,000 buildings on Port property. A new airplane hangar at the airport was constructed by Smith's company, Com-Steel for a Port lessee But Doug Smith did more than just land the contract. He acted as the lessee,s agent to hammer through the building permit with Whatcom County Planning. When difficulties arose, Smith acted to explain to the county staff just why they should grant the permit as Smith wanted it granted. Then he built the building. No conflict? I don't think so. Read my full report here. I will be posting more information on this and other contracts that Doug Smith has benefited from on Port property. Monday, August 13 Port of Bellingham Commissioner candidate John Gargett has his campaign kickoff on Tuesday, Aug 14. John is the best candidate for District 1, imho. I urge all to support him. Check out his web site. Thursday, August 9 We post the letter that details safety defects in the new Port owned office building out near the Bellweather Hotel. We have asked Port staff about this letter but they refuse to comment. Wednesday, August 2 Today's Herald has a story on the Port serving Safe Transportation Systems (SFTS) with a default notice. This attention is misplaced. It is not a question of SFTS performance that is at issue - it is the Port's. With four stories over two weeks, the Herald has yet to quote a Port Commissioner on this whole deal. Why was SFTS given such extraordinary treatment? Where was the due diligence before granting a $5 million tax exempt bond resolution? What is the record of the Port on that particular building? That is the old KAP building which the Port bought for over $3 million back in 1991 in order to avoid going to court to recover the building for less than $1 million. The Port would have been very embarrased at what would have come out in court. Taxpayer money can be buried at the Port. The $1 million stairway. We continue to get emails from people urging us to tell all about the new stairway in the Alaska Ferry Terminal building. Yup, it cost $960,000. More later as we get more details from the Port. No comment is the answer. We have queried the Port and commissioners for corrections to any articles posted here. Seems the policy is to ignore this site and hope it fades. Monday, July 30 A third cozy tax exempt industrial Development Revenue bond to report on. This time it is a friend of commissioner Doug Smith that got the tax exempt loan. Thus, all three commissioners have done well for their employers or business friends with our tax dollars. Since 1996, every tax exempt loan vote went to a friend of a Port commissioner. On Nov 5, 96, Doug Smith excused himself from discussing or voting on a $2.5 million tax exempt Industrial Development Bond vote for Montigo Del Rey Corporation because he had "indirect business contacts" with them. Ginny and Scott voted for the bond. In the past 5 years, only three tax exempt bonds have been voted by the Port Commissioners. All three involve friends or employers of the three commissioners. One to each of them. There must be ten ways we could sum up this message. May I use the word "corruption"? Thank you. When only friends benefit then we need to throw the bums out. See below for the mind boggling deal that Scott Walker gave his friends. Thursday, July 26 Read it here and three weeks later you can read it in the Herald. Today, the Herald headline and story tells us that STS is three months behind in their rent to the Port. See below on July 3. Regardless, the Herald today has three excellent articles covering STS and the Port. John Stark has put in some good investigative reporting. What is missing is any comment from the Port Commissioners. I will be trying to get their comments. Still no challenger to Doug Smith for District #2 Port Commissioner position. He ran unopposed in '97. It would be a shame it he ran free again. He too has gotten favors for his friends through his position as a Port Commissioner. Wednesday, July 25 John Gargett, a Bellingham business person, plans to file for Port Commissioner later this week. He will run against Scott Walker for the District 1 seat. Thus, there will be a primary race, with Dan Warner already filed to challenge Scott. While John has not confirmed this report, we have received several independent reports that he intends to file. So far, only incumbent commissioner Doug Smith has filed for District 2. Doug was elected in 1993 and ran unopposed in 1997. We certainly hope he has a challenger this year as the citizens need the Port issues reviewed and discussed. The Port has been served with documentation showing extensive code violations in their new Bellweather office building. The Port says they have turned the information over to city of Bellingham inspectors. Seems Ginny Benton's legal fight is getting humorous. Now, Safe Transportation Systems claims Ginny never worked for them. In documents filed last week, they pretty much deny everything Ginny alledged in her filings. This week Ginny filed papers showing she was hired and was on the payroll. We'll continue to follow this for you. And finally, it seems Ginny is not the only Port Commissioner involved in conflict of interest activities. I carefully went back through 7 years of Port minutes and, lo - in 1997 they voted $70,000,000 in tax exempt Industrial Revenue Bonds for ARCO - the employer of commissioner Scott Walker. That is 70 million. Scott made the presentation for Arco, explaining why the bonds should be voted for. He then abstained from the formal vote, letting Ginny and Doug pass them. Now - ARCO is hardly a struggling startup company that needs our tax payer help. They used the money to expand their dock for oil tankers. So - Scott Walker has some explaining to do. We will gladly print his explanation - if he sends us one. More on this tomorrow. Check back with this site. We will post more detailed information on the above stories. I am struggling to get this site going. So far, four advertisers have given support and we will post their ads in the next couple days. Tuesday, July 17 As I prepare the report of serious fire code violations in Port of Bellingham's new Bellweather office building, I have tried to speak with the Port project manager, Bill Hager, or the Director of Development, Fred Seegar. Neither will talk to me. Indeed, the Port Executive Director, Jim Darling, has forbidden anyone at the Port to discuss this issue with me. So much for public accountability by the Port. Since I started this web site a week ago, the Port of Bellingham has erected the barricades to slow down and hinder my receiving any information. There is some comic confusion. First I was told I needed to fill our a state public disclosure request to even look at the minutes of past commissioner meetings. This by the Port manager in charge of public affairs. Then, upon my flat refusal to fill out forms and wait up to 5 working days just to see routine documents I was left in the room alone for some time. Eventually another person showed up and said I can view the minutes without filing a freedom of information form. Wow. Ahhh, but now, this week, the Port has a new policy. While I was allowed to read the minutes of past meetings, the Port administration now requires a staff member to sit at the table with me to make sure I do not do anything wrong with the minutes. What a waste of taxpayer money. The minutes are electronically stored. What I read was a printout. Further, I have never been accused of doing anything wrong with public documents. Perhaps the Port powers just want to know which pages I read and which I've no interest in. Perhaps they hope having someone look over my shoulder while I read will irritate me and that I'll request to see fewer documents. So - while I have been slowed, I will continue to investigate. Expect the report to be posted soon. I have some sponsors and will be posting their ads this week. This allows me to focus more of my time looking into Port practices. And already there is a benefit for our community. The Bellingham Herald, after six years of not reporting on the Port, has now assigned the coverage of the Port to John Stark. This is welcome by myself and the community. I will continue to try and push the Herald into greater coverage. Sponsors make possible what I consider to be a community service. Friday, July 13 We congratulate John Stark and the Bellingham Herald for what was a very good article in Wednesday's paper about commissioner Ginny Benton and Port tenant Safe Transportation Systems. However, the headline was misleading in it suggested wrongdoing by the Port tenant instead of by Commissioner Ginny Benton and the Port in general. And the Herald has printed nothing since. The Herald will often print the one article that is embarrassing to a public official or government agency and then never refer to it again - ever. This web site will ensure that these issues will not evaporate. I am receiving anonymous support from Port of Bellingham tenants who want the Port's awful business practices exposed to the taxpayers of Whatcom County. It is a challenge that I will do my best to meet. With this support, I will be able to make this writing and investigative reporting a full time endeavor. I am also receiving support from organizations that realize the benefits that reform of the Port can have for our local economy. This is especially important during the next four months - till the election in November. This year we have the chance to replace two of the Port Commissioners - Scott Walker and Doug Smith. This web site will report and comment on Port practices. Coming on Monday - an expose of building code violations and fire safety violations in the new Port owned office building out on the spit by the Bellweather hotel. We have received convincing documentation showing these violations. The building is not safe. We took a tour of the building with an expert and photographed the unsafe construction. Today I will be asking Port officials for their explanations for these violations. Monday I will post the full story. Why shoddy construction with or taxpayer dollars? Why fire code violations in public buildings? Wednesday, July 11, 2001 Headline: Herald prints article on Port of Bellingham. A week after NWCitizen broke the story. Today's Bellingham Herald finally has the story of Port Commissioner Ginny Benton and the company she is entangled with, port tenant Safe Transportation Systems out at the airport Back in 1995, the Herald decided to stop covering the Port of Bellingham and did a good job of not doing it. Seems their parent corporation, the Gannett Corporation, couldn't afford enough reporters for full local coverage and some hard decisions had to be made. I will continue to report more details that the Herald missed on this developing Port of Bellingham story. From NW Citizen, Friday, July 6 Ginny Benton, Port Commissioner, has an interesting position. She is suing a Port tenant for back wages while the Port is trying to collect back rent from the same tenant. All this should come out in the open at next Tuesday's Commission meeting. However, the Port continues to allow Safe Transportation Systems (SFTS) to continue business at the former KAP warehouse, renamed the International Trade Building, out at the entrance to the airport. The more I look into this mess the bigger the numbers get. This outfit may be stiffing the Port in excess of $100,000 in rent and improvements - and Port staff have explained it to me as if it is no big deal. I've learned that SFTS has not posted their rental bond yet. This was supposed to be done back in January. They actually took possession of the building in January but the Port let them off the first two month's rent while improvements were made - at Port expense. They then paid February and March and nothing since. Thus, the Port has recovered about $2,000 of some $50,000 in improvements. Business as usual they tell me. From NW Citizen, Tuesday, July 3 The Port of Bellingham is having a bad experience with the KAP building tenant - again. The commissioners authorized $5 million in tax free Industrial Development Bonds for Safe Transportation Systems, Inc. (SFTS) last September. Then the company hired Port Commissioner Ginny Benton as their top Administrator - full time job. Ginny duly noted at a commissioner meeting that she had been hired. The Port attorney had assured her there was no conflict of interest. And then the company leased the International Trade Building out at the entrance to the Bellingham Airport from the Port. Then, just like the original KAP scandal in 1991, the deal started to come apart. Since January, SFTS stock, selling on the OTC, has plummeted from well over $4 a share to below 50 cents a share. The company hasn't paid their $15,000 a month rent to the Port since April. Port Commissioner Ginny Benton quit her position in June and is suing the company for back pay. In asking Port officials about all this, the top managers and directors all seemed very unconcerned about any problems. The rent is no real problem - the Port is making legal moves to get the back rent, so they say. The bonds were only authorized - seems the company never followed through to take out the loan. So, to listen to Port staff, you would think all is business as usual and there are no real problems. This building may be jinxed. The Port lost over $4 million dollars when the company renting this building went bankrupt in 1991 - when it was named the KAP building. The Port changed the name of the building after that. In 1990, working before I started NW Citizen, I exposed the KAP scandal to the public with the Port denying for months that there was any problem. Here we go again. *** Beginning of Whatcom Port Watch - Wednesday, July 11, 2001 *** | |