Port of Newport General Manager Don Mann and David Hall, public affairs officer for the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, confirmed Friday morning that NOAA officials had signed the 20-year lease with the port that will bring the agency’s Pacific operations fleet to Yaquina Bay in 2011.

Mann made the announcement during a community roundtable with U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) and about 20 local officials at Hatfield Marine Science Center. The discussion centered on the benefits fro the region and the next steps in the process.

Mann said an award letter from NOAA “is on the way,” and the two agencies would hold meet in 10 days to discuss their next actions.

Read more about this developing story in Wednesday’s edition of the News-Times.

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