PORT OF SEATTLE

MEMORANDUM

COMMISSION AGENDA

Item No.

Date of Meeting

April 5, 2011

DATE: March 31, 2011

TO: Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer

FROM: Tom Barnard, Research and Policy Analyst

Geri Poor, Regional Transportation Manager

SUBJECT: Century Agenda Committee Monthly Briefing

SYNOPSIS:

The Century Agenda Committee has held several internal meetings since the March 8, 2011,

Commission briefing, and has held one Media Roundtable, also on that date.

Planning continues around the following topics:

 Logistics for the “Fostering Economic Growth” Panel, especially panel members

 Possible overarching strategic goals

 Refining panel topics and questions

Panel topics so far include: 1) Fostering Economic Growth, 2) Growing Seaport Trade and

Tourism, 3) Increasing Air Travel and Cargo, 4) Stewarding our Real Estate Assets,

5) Enhancing Community Values, and 6) Matching Revenues to Strategic Goals. We are

reviewing possible changes in the two panels following the April 12 panel, as well as engaged in

logistical preparations for the Fostering Economic Growth panel on April 12.

MEDIA ROUNDTABLE:

The Media Roundtable was a success, characterized by a high degree of thoughtful, insightful

and provocative discussion. Many themes emerged during the discussion, some of which were:

 Discontinuity: The next twenty-five years are going to be drastically different from the

past twenty-five.

 Continuity: Ironically, continuity in the sense that our seaport will still have a continued

commitment to be a cargo and cruise port in twenty-five years, and the airport will still

serve the region’s primary air travel and cargo needs.

 The challenges posed by increased competition from other ports, and changes in global

trade patterns.

COMMISSION AGENDA

T. Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer

March 31, 2011

Page 2 of 3

 The opportunities that may bear fruit between the Port’s traditional mission and the

developments in the “new economy” sectors.

 The relationships between the Port and our stakeholders as an aspect of our regional

relationships.

Contributing to the success of the meeting was the open-ended nature of the questions, allowing

participants to bring their unique perspectives to the table. Those questions included:

 What do you see as the most important issues facing the Port in the next 25 years? The

region? The state?

 What about those same questions for the next five years? Ten?

 As representatives of/the voice for the citizenry, what do you believe is most important to

Port constituents?

 What do you believe should be most important to Port constituents?

Media Participants included:

 Ray Heacox, President and General Manager, KING 5

 Glen Farley, aviation reporter, KING 5

 Bruce Ramsey, member, Editorial Board, Seattle Times

 Jon Talton, economics columnist, Seattle Times

 Bellamy Pailthorp, business and labor reporter, KPLU

 Tracy Record, editor, West Seattle Blog

At the internal planning meeting held on the March 29, the Century Agenda Committee and

senior Port staff reviewed the success of the Media Roundtable and the themes and questions for

the next panel. We paid special attention to making sure the questions followed up on themes

raised in the Media Roundtable to illuminate the Economic Development panel discussion, and

how a strategic goal would emerge from that discussion for Commission and staff consideration.

NEXT PANEL: FOSTERING ECONOMIC GROWTH

The next panel discussion will be held on April 12, 2011, from 9:00-11:00 am at Pier 69, and is

entitled “Fostering Economic Growth.” Some of the key questions to be considered will be:

 What can the Port do to foster regional economic growth?

 What are the strategic opportunities in the main job “clusters” around Puget Sound?

 What clusters make up the “new economy” and how can the Port assist their growth?

(e.g., green jobs, composites, clean energy, biotech/biomed)

 How can the Port help increase exports in the global marketplace?

 What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Port’s workforce?

COMMISSION AGENDA

T. Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer

March 31, 2011

Page 3 of 3

 What infrastructure improvements are most critical to economic growth?

 How could we use our economic development tools to gain regional competitive advantage?

BACKGROUND:

Starting in 2008, the Port of Seattle began the “Century Agenda” — a comprehensive vision and

strategic plan that focuses on the Port’s next quarter-century. The goal of the Century Agenda

process is to refresh the Port’s strategic plan, using a process that builds upon the

accomplishments of the first century with a visionary look forward to the emerging challenges

and opportunities of the 21st century.

The first stage of the Century Agenda’s work was completed on August 4, 2009, with the

adoption by the Commission of the “Century Agenda: Expert Panels’ Recommended Guiding

Principles.” Since that time, both the Commission and Port staff have engaged in iterative

discussions to develop strategic goals to further work on the principles embodied in that report.

The need for a formal process to finalize these goals prompted a proposal to form a temporary

Port of Seattle Commission Committee, as provided for in the Commission’s Bylaws, to oversee

the next steps in the Commission’s strategic planning process. On January 4, 2011, the

Commission approved the Century Agenda Committee, chaired by Commissioner Albro, and

joined by Commissioner Creighton.