Latest news with #PortofOlympia
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Port hosts electric ferry demonstration. Can we expect to see that service in Olympia?
About 50 people, including Port of Olympia commissioners and other area elected officials, were on hand Thursday afternoon to see and ride on an electric passenger ferry at the Port Plaza dock on Budd Inlet's West Bay. The port hosted the event and now the questions begin, including: What would it take to introduce the service here and provide it for destinations north of Olympia? That work will begin with a market study to determine the demand for such a service, said Mike Reid, the port's community and economic development director. He's not certain the ultimate destination would be Seattle, but it might be Des Moines, connecting travelers to shuttles or light rail as they make their way to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. By traveling by ferry, travelers could avoid the unpredictability of Interstate 5 traffic and the cost of parking for an extended stay, Reid said. 'I actually think we could be competitive in that market,' he said. The port's event began at 3 p.m. Meanwhile, the Artemis EF-12 Escape Water Taxi was busy getting its batteries charged at Swantown Marina on East Bay. It then headed north, turned left and came south on West Bay quickly and quietly before it banked hard and pulled up to the Port Plaza dock. 'The vessel combines a number of different technologies,' said David Tyler, co-founder of Artemis Technologies. 'It has electric propulsion units, high-voltage batteries that have been developed from the automotive sector, and hydrofoils, which are basically a wing under the water. As the boat accelerates, it creates lift, pops a boat up out of the water, reducing the drag and providing a huge efficiency saving.' The vessel on hand was specified for 12 passengers, but can accommodate up to 30, Tyler said. The Belfast-based company is also working on a 150-passenger boat that is expected to be launched later this year. Although the company is based in Europe, its North American division is in Brooklyn, New York, and the business recently entered into a memorandum of understanding for manufacturing services with Delta Marine, a luxury boat builder in Tukwila. Here's the important part: The water taxi can travel about 50 nautical miles on a one-hour charge at a speed around 25 knots, he said. At slower speeds, it can cover about 100 miles on the same charge, Tyler said. Artemis undertook a similar demonstration between Bremerton and Port Orchard, Tyler said. That trip normally takes about 10 minutes, but they completed it in two-and-a-half minutes, spending a couple of dollars in electricity in the process, he said. 'I think once you start to provide a better service to people on the water, both in terms of ride comfort and speed, then you can really start to grow demand for ferry services and build the market,' Tyler said. For any of this to happen, Port Commissioner Jasmine Vasavada envisions that the port would need help from the state or elsewhere to pay for the upfront costs of the vessel, but would benefit from the lower operating costs of an electric ferry. Her understanding is that the water taxi on display represents $250,000 in savings to operate here versus a traditional fuel-powered vessel, she said. The state took steps to help ferry services this past legislative session, said state Rep. Lisa Parshley of Olympia, who was at Thursday's demonstration. House Bill 1923 sought to increase the availability of passenger-only ferries by establishing the Mosquito Fleet Act, so named for a boat-based transportation service that used to exist in Puget Sound. 'Expand the types of entities that can form a passenger-only ferry service district, as well as the locations where they can be formed,' the proposed legislation reads. Although that bill died in the Senate Transportation Committee, it has not gone away, and lawmakers are expected to revisit it during the next legislative session, Parshley said. Parshley seemed more than ready to embrace a local ferry service after a recent drive north to the University of Washington in Seattle took four hours. 'It took me two and a half hours to get to the Sea-Tac exit — two and a half freaking hours — and then another hour and a half to get to where I needed to go,' she said.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Here's who filed to run for Thurston County's city councils and school boards
Thurston County candidate filing week has ended and it has produced some surprises, including primary races for Port of Olympia and Lacey City Council seats. But perhaps the most surprising move: Lacey incumbent Michael Steadman has decided not to defend his seat, but challenge incumbent Carolyn Cox for hers instead. Three or more candidates in any race will square off in the August primary, while two or fewer will advance to the general election in November. Two port commissioners chose not to run for re-election: Amy Evans Harding and Maggie Sanders, who was elected to the commission when it expanded to five districts. Three have chosen to run for Evans Harding's District No. 3 seat. They are Krag Unsoeld, the third of four children born to former Congresswoman Jolene Unsoeld; Anthony Hemstad, who serves on the port's citizens advisory committee and previously applied to be the port's executive director; and Rebecca Faust, a Republican precinct committee officer. The Olympian ran into Amy Evans Harding on Thursday. 'The port is better than I found it, which is what the goal should be, right?,' said Evans Harding about her decision not to run. 'I believe in taking a turn and then letting somebody else come in. I'm still at a stage where I gotta work, I gotta take care of my family, and I'm going to focus on that for right now, and maybe I'll run again for something someday.' Port incumbent Bob Iyall is running again for the District No. 2 seat, while Jerry Toompas of Yelm has filed to challenge him for the seat. Toompas previously ran for Yelm City Council. Joel Hansen is running unopposed for Sanders' District No. 4 seat. Hansen chairs the port's citizen advisory committee and he previously ran against Evans Harding before the commission expanded to five districts. The big surprise in Lacey is that Steadman is running again, but for Cox's Position No. 7 seat. He could not be reached. But he did announce his run for re-election on Facebook. 'I appreciate the support over the last 12 years & look forward to 4 more years helping our city thrive,' he wrote. Cox said she was surprised by Steadman's decision to run against her, but she acknowledged he has every right to do so because council seats are not bound by districts but are all at-large. 'I'm running to continue the work I've done the past eight years,' she said. 'I intend to run a positive campaign and to work to earn people's votes.' With Steadman focused on the Position No. 7 seat, two people have filed for his old Position No. 6 seat: Evette Temple, board president of the Lacey-based nonprofit housing provider, Homes First, and Ryan Siu, who works for the Washington state Office of Public Defense. Incumbent Robin Vazquez, who previously said she was leaning in the direction of not running, is not running after all. Three people have filed to fill her Position No. 4 seat: Maren Turner, a gerontologist; Charles Beck, who is semi-retired but works as a professional auctioneer; and Artur Tarabichi, a recent graduate of Washington State University who works at the Thurston County Auditor's Office. District 2: Jerry Toompas Bob Iyall (incumbent) District 3: Anthony Hemstad Rebecca Faust District 4: Joel Hansen Council District 4: Wendy Carlson Clark Gilman Michael A. Marstrom Council District 5: Kelly Green Council District 6: Justin Stang Robert Vanderpool Dana Tan Council District 7: Paul Berendt David Wenzel Caleb Gieger Municipal Court Judge, Position 1 Pamella Nogueira District 4: Charles Beck Maren Turner Artur Tarabichi District 5: Andy Ryder (incumbent, current Mayor) District 6: Evette Temple Ryan Siu District 7: Carolyn H. Cox (incumbent) Michael Ron Steadman (current District 6 incumbent) Mayor: Leatta Dahlhoff Lance Brender District 4: Eileen Swarthout Vonny Turner District 5: Rachelle Martin Meghan Sullivan District 6: Peter Agabi Mayor: Callie Carpenter District 1: Laura Wilson Mayor: Bob Shaw District 1: Amy N. Baker District 3: Tom Arnbrister Bill Koutrouba District 5: Dennis C. McVey District 1: Linda Gotovac District 3: Adam Carney District 4: Tianne Curtiss Mayor: Joe DePinto Dustin Stephan JW Foster District 3: Joshua Crossman Griselda Arias District 4: Stephanie Kangiser District 5: Brian G. Hess District 6: Karl O. Sabaria Louise Oliverio Nicole Sims District 7: Terry Kaminski District 2: Jeremy Ryan Tim Bullus District 3: Sarah Tracy Loretta Byrnes District 3: Britney Johnson Rhyan Smith Renee Fullerton District 5: Jeremy Ruse Gilbert Lamont District 1: Julie Watts Sarah Overbay Dean Mings District 3: Ty Kuehl Daniel Mies Jeff (Cowboy) Curry District 4: Melissa Determan Beard Aimee Staudt District 5: Rob Warner Mike McGowan
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What's the Olympia Regional Airport master plan update and why are so many concerned?
Olympia Regional Airport in Tumwater, which has been operated by the Port of Olympia since the early 1960s, is under scrutiny again as residents raise concerns about future growth at the airport as the Port works on a master plan update. Residents have shown up to port meetings, including about 15 people on Feb. 10, while others have turned to social media, including on the site known as NextDoor, which prompted Port Commissioner Jasmine Vasavada to jump in and respond to some of the comments. Olympia resident Anita Thompson was among those residents who spoke Feb. 10. 'I'm concerned about the people who will be impacted by expanding the airport, because I would think that there will be planes flying over their homes, and a lot of them are low-income people, as I see it,' she said. 'There's a lot of mobile home parks between the Pioneer Park area and where the airport is, and so I think they will be impacted.' The word 'expand' is often used by residents. But what does that mean exactly? The Olympian reached out to port officials to iron out some of the confusion. While there is some misunderstanding, some are raising longstanding concerns about increased noise and pollution generated by aircraft at the airport. An airport master plan is updated every seven to 10 years for the Federal Aviation Administration, said Chris Paolini, the airport senior manager at Olympia Regional Airport. The airport last updated its master plan in 2013 and continues to work on updating its 2021 plan. The port commission is set to vote on the 2021 update in March. 'The FAA has us go through a master plan process and it says 'Your goals are to meet aviation forecast demand for a 20-year period,'' he said. 'And then how are you going to, as an airport, meet that demand: what development projects are needed and what infrastructure improvements are needed, so that you can meet that forecast growth.' 'It gives us a road map to achieve those FAA-required goals,' Paolini added. The port began working on the 2021 update that year as well as in 2022, a process then that included five public meetings, Paolini said. But following that period, work on the update fell dormant because of port staff turnover. That prompted the port to reopen a 30-day comment period on the plan that ended Feb. 12, Paolini said. The number of comments received was about 250, although several were from the same people and a number of them had the same copy-and-pasted comment, he said Friday. The Olympian has filed a records request to see those comments. Despite the renewed chance to comment during those 30 days, Paolini acknowledged that the comments will have little effect on the overall document. 'People think, 'Oh, the airport is doing a master plan,' but it's very different than, say, a port peninsula master plan or a city's master plan where it's local and the public has a chance to really steer some of the decision-making,' he said. 'With this one, the FAA says you have to stay in these lanes: You can comment in this lane, but this is the direction you need to go.' However, public comments of all kinds will be memorialized in the final master plan update document, he said. The physical footprint of the airport is not expanding, port operations director Warren Hendrickson says. In fact, the port is shortening a cross-wind runway to make it safer, he said. However, the number of operations — both takeoffs and landings at the airport — are expected to increase — but not nearly at the rate some fear. On this point, the master plan update does not help itself: There is a paragraph that says the maximum capacity at the airport is 630 operations per day — 315 landings and 315 takeoffs. That figure was shared on NextDoor and Commissioner Vasavada jumped in to explain. 'The 630 number is the theoretical maximum runway capacity for any single runway airport in the entire country based on 24/7 operations at the minimum safe separation distance,' she wrote. 'The 630 number therefore also shows up as part of the FAA-directed methodology in the Port of Olympia's 2013 master plan, and the master plan for any single runway airport.' She goes on to write: 'There is no plan for Olympia Regional Airport to turn into a second Sea-Tac.' The airport currently hosts 215 operations, a number that is expected to grow to 232 operations per day by 2040, Hendrickson said. There currently is no commercial airline service at the airport, although there has been in the past. The last such service, provided by Big Sky Airlines, ended service in 2004, The Olympian previously reported. Port officials say if they were approached by an airline, they would have to entertain that business as required by the FAA, but it's entirely up to the airline to determine whether they can make money in this market. So far that hasn't happened in two decades. Hendrickson also pointed out the port dropped a special certification for commercial air service years ago. 'It's called 'part 139' and it's a section of the regulations that says if you're a commercial airport, here's a whole laundry list of things you have to do,' Hendrickson said. 'We decided not to adhere to that list once Big Sky left in 2004.' It would take about a year to re-establish the certificate, he said. Commissioner Vasavada said on NextDoor that there are some in the community who would like to see small plane regional air service come to the airport. 'I'm not clear yet on whether that is viable — but I look forward to further discussions and understanding how unleaded fuel, electric aviation and other innovations can mitigate any impacts to surrounding communities,' she wrote. The port has issued a mitigated determination of non-significance for the airport master plan under the state Environmental Policy Act, although some residents have called on the port to do an environmental impact statement, the highest level of environmental review. Shawn Gilbertson, the port's director of environmental planning and programs, explained the process. 'I think it's important to note that the environmental analysis for the airport master plan is really an analysis of what the adoption of the airport master plan does to the environment,' he said. 'So it's a comparison between what is happening there now and what the airport master plan proposes. It's not a comparison to the airport if it wasn't there.' Still, the port is prepared to do environmental analysis of any new project that comes to the airport. 'That's probably not going to trigger an environmental impact statement,' he said about the plan to shorten the cross-wind runway, but a larger project could. 'Adding a 100,000-foot warehouse, and depending on what infrastructure and what they're doing there, yeah,' he said. There's still time to comment and ask questions before the port commission votes in March. ▪ The comment period for the airport master plan SEPA determination runs through Feb. 20. Send your comments to sepa@ ▪ A question and answer session on the airport master plan is set for 5:30 p.m. Feb. 26 at the Percival Plaza Olympics Room, 626 Columbia St. NW, Suite 1B, Olympia. ▪ The port commission is set to vote on the plan March 24.
