Port of Newport General Manager Don Mann signs the 20-year lease to seal a deal to homeport the NOAA ‘s Pacific fleet operations in Yaquina Bay. Port commissioners unanimously authorized Mann’s signature during a special session at noon Wednesday. Mann shipped out the 200-plus-page document Wednesday afternoon. As of press time, NOAA officials had not yet confirmed their signing of the agreement. (Photo by Terry Dillman)

Waiting is no longer an option.

Port of Newport officials find themselves immersed in a public feeding frenzy in the wake of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s selection of Newport as the operations homeport for its Pacific fleet operations. And they wasted little time in authorizing General Manager Don Mann to sign the 20-year lease to seal the deal.

Port commissioners Ginny Goblirsch, Joann Barton, Dean Fleck, Don Mathews, and David Jincks met in a special session Wednesday at the port conference room, where they unanimously approved a resolution to authorize Mann’s signature on a most historic document. Barton made the motion, seconded by Jincks, with a roll call vote providing a resounding “aye, aye” and a full speed ahead orientation.

“In the words of Harry Potter, we’re ‘stupdefied,’” Goblirsch said, referring to the tsunami of public reaction rolling over them after Rear Admiral Jonathan W. Bailey, director of the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations and the NOAA Corps, announced the decision Tuesday morning.

After a brief celebration and toast to the success of their bid, Mann retreated to the crow’s nest to sign each of the more than 200 pages in both copies of the minutely detailed lease agreement.

The sense of urgency underlying the port commission’s actions stems from two sources: the deal isn’t done until both sides sign the accord, and even then the other bidders at the current NOAA facility at Lake Union (Seattle), Port Angeles, and Bellingham can lodge formal protests either with NOAA, the Government Accountability Office, or the United States Court of Federal Claims.



Backlash

NOAA’s “source selection” committee made a decision based on what Bailey called “the best combination of price and technical qualifications.” Bailey also said each site “was evaluated on the same criteria,” and - despite intense lobbying from all directions from both states - appointed and elected officials “had no (direct) influence” on, or say in the final decision.

But Washington officials question the soundness of the decision and the fairness of the selection process. They are asking why Newport, and whether this is “the right move” for NOAA.

“After almost 50 years in Seattle, NOAA’s decision to select another homeport is deeply disappointing,” Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels noted in a statement on Seattle.gov. “Ultimately, this was a real estate decision between NOAA and a private Lake Union landowner who could not compete with massive public subsidies.”

To build the required docks and other structures, the Port of Newport intends to issue $24.76 million in revenue bonds to cover half the cost of the new facility, supplemented by $19.5 million in bonding capacity from the state.

A Port Angeles official contacted the News-Times Thursday to inquire about the source of the state bonding funds.

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said she would oppose the move, using her position as chair of the Senate subcommittee that oversees NOAA. In a statement issued Tuesday, Cantwell said she seriously questioned whether relocating NOAA’s ships outside of Puget Sound “is really the right move for NOAA,” adding that she is “not confident that all options have been thoroughly reviewed through this process.”

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said the process did not allow for input from the public or elected officials, and U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) said he might launch a formal protest.

Jean Godden, a Seattle City Council member and chair of the city’s budget and finance committee, called it “a puzzling outcome” in a column on Crosscut.com. “Looking at the criteria, one could be excused for running down the list and thinking that Newport would have ranked dead last.”



Unified front

Port commissioners have no doubt why Newport stood out.

“This would not have happened without community involvement from top to bottom,” said Barton, her comments echoed by the other commissioners. The city, county, the entire state backed the port’s play.

The resolution noted that homeporting NOAA’s Pacific fleet would enhance Newport’s and Oregon’s reputation as a hub for marine related scientific studies, a leader in understanding environmental relationships, and developing energy related technology for the future.

Jincks noted the effort is the merging of past, present, and future.

“This moment was actually started years and years ago by people who built the infrastructure - the building blocks to get us where we are now,” he said. Later, in considering objections about moving NOAA from Lake Union, he waggishly noted, “I never could figure out what a world class oceanographic operation was doing in a frog pond.”

As of press time, the News-Times had not received final word on whether or not NOAA officials had signed the lease. Mann said they were “in the process” Thursday afternoon, but he had received no final confirmation.



Terry Dillman is the assistant editor of the News-Times. Contact him at (541) 265-8571, ext 225, or terrydillman@newportnewstimes.com.



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