Greg Englin, who started in the new position of director of operations and business development in September, has been making the rounds, meeting tenants, and assessing needs and wants.

Two consistent themes have emerged, he said: Many businesses want to expand their footprint on port property, and there is a big desire for faster internet service.

“Basically, everyone wants to expand, it seems to me,” Englin recently told the port commissioners.

Current tenants seek enclosed workspaces to allow for temperature control and other factors, Englin said. Some businesses suggest that jobs could be added, along with more or larger projects, with more space.

Englin is physically and conceptually mapping utilities on port property, overhead and underground. The port has a lot of utility information, but that information isn’t in one place. The mapping is an important step in confirming what parts of the shipyard and/or boatyard could be used for what purpose, including potential business expansion.

When a leaseholder wants to change their business footprint, it could change how they operate, Englin noted. Additional structures would change both port revenue and stormwater issues, among others.

Englin is auditing fiber-optic capabilities intended to increase the service level for all tenants. Specific businesses have mentioned the need for faster service as being essential to business. The necessity for fiber optics centers on construction companies that send computer assisted drawing (CAD) files.

“It really helps us going forward,” Englin said of internet service improvements.

BOATYARD NUMBERS

In terms of the lack of boatyard activity through the winter, Englin said it’s a reflection on 2016 fishing seasons.

“I can’t overstate how bad this year was for all the salmon guys,” Englin said, referring to commercial fishing businesses that didn’t make enough money to merit substantial repairs or retrofits.

According to the preliminary 2016 year-end budget, not final until the port’s annual report is completed this spring, the work yard made $46,942 less in 2016 than in 2015. Long-term storage revenue was down $7,614. On the upside, according to preliminary numbers, shipyard revenue increased by $4,553, reported Abigail Berg, director of finance and port auditor.

Permanent moorage generated $56,101 more in 2016 than the previous year.

The work float and lift pier generated an increase of $10,424.

Commissioner Pete Hanke noted, after a budget review, that he was “surprised how little income is down compared to the appearance of the boatyard.”

Sam Gibboney, hired in May of last year as port executive director, told The Leader that her staff directive in 2016 was on “breaking down organizational silos and focusing every employee on the bottom line.” The changes netted positive results.

“We finished 2016 very strong,” Gibboney said of port revenue. She cautioned that appearances – such as empty yard slots – can be deceptive. “We’re focused on actual numbers,” she noted.

Yard activity has picked up in March 2017, typically with a seasonal push as commercial fishing businesses, followed by recreational boaters, begin to make preparations for their respective 2017 seasons.

Englin has also been working on moorage “carrying capacity” to better determine how excess capacity (open slips) can be marketed.

“He intends to map yard activity through the whole year to better understand seasonal demand, and then develop programs to market those specific needs,” Gibboney said.

One of the things on Englin’s list is exploring the cost and benefits of a “dry stack” system, in which people who don’t want to pay moorage rates during the winter move their boats on land.

As part of a system-wide rate increase to generate revenue to pay for an estimated $12 million in what Gibboney describes as “mission critical” capital improvement projects, the port is preparing to announce new yard rates. Gibboney said the proposed new yard rates and fees are to be presented soon.

Internal changes are also being made to streamline processes, such as customers making only one call to schedule both hoist and moorage. Every part of staff, customer and tenant contacts are up for review, Gibboney said, with the goal of addressing the following questions:

“How do we make what we’re doing more efficient and deliver more value, and then, how do we expand to generate more business for tenants, and for the port?” Gibboney said.

LEASE TALKS

Englin is also responsible for lease negotiations. The port is close to sealing a new lease deal with the U.S. Coast Guard at Benedict Spit, which represents “an uptick” in port revenue, Englin noted.

Negotiations continue with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) for offices at Point Hudson. A creosote mitigation plan and a maintenance plan are to be included in the lease. The port’s 2017 capital project list includes design and installation of ventilation equipment for the administration building, which Gibboney estimated would cost $110,000.

Built in the 1930s, most Point Hudson structures sit on creosote-coated pilings. When one of the buildings, previously a hotel, was renovated in 2005 as administrative offices, vapor barrier sheathing and mechanical ventilation were added to mitigate the creosote odor. The measures have been fairly successful; however, the WDFW is asking for further mitigation. Gibboney said the port is exploring options.

“As we look at the future of Point Hudson, for those buildings to be commercially viable,” Gibboney told The Leader, “we need to get a handle on the creosote smell.”