StART

SEA-TAC STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY ROUND TABLE

Item No. 7B – Attachment 4

Meeting Date: January 22, 2019

StART enhances cooperation between the Port of Seattle and the neighboring cities of Sea-Tac Airport

OPERATING PROCEDURES

Updated on October 19, 2018

Background

In fall 2017, the Port of Seattle (Port) developed the Sea-Tac Stakeholder Advisory Round Table

(StART) to enhance cooperation between the Port and the neighboring cities of SeaTac, Burien,

Des Moines, Normandy Park, Tukwila and Federal Way (cities). This voluntary, non-governing

regional roundtable is being convened by the Aviation Managing Director, influenced by

discussions with leadership from the cities representing their communities.

Purpose

StART provides Southwest King County cities, communities, airline representatives, the Federal

Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Port with the opportunity to:

 Support meaningful and collaborative public dialogue and engagement on airport-

related operations, planning and development;

 Provide an opportunity for the communities to inform the airport-related decision

making of the Port of Seattle and other Southwest King County

jurisdictions/organizations; and

 Raise public knowledge about the airport and impacted communities.

The intent is to provide a forum that fosters a spirit of good will, respect and openness while

encouraging candid discussion between the Port and residential and business community

members from SeaTac, Burien, Des Moines, Normandy Park, Tukwila and Federal Way.

StART is the preeminent forum for information-sharing, discussing the communities’ concerns,

and providing feedback to the Port for issues related to Sea-Tac Airport. StART’s effectiveness

will be driven by a willingness by all parties to fully discuss matters of mutual concern. All

parties pledge their good faith best effort to achieve those ends (see Commitments from

Stakeholders).

Sponsorship

StART is convened by the Port’s Aviation Managing Director, who in addition to serving as the

chair, will serve as the sponsor. The sponsor will provide staff support and technical

analysis/expertise, and work with the facilitator to identify briefing topics and work toward

consensus to shape potential solutions.

StART enhances cooperation between the Port of Seattle and the neighboring cities of Sea-Tac Airport

Reporting Structure

Through discussions at StART meetings, StART members will provide input and feedback to the

Port’s Aviation Managing Director and staff.

StART shall have an informal relationship structure to the Highline Forum, with opportunities to

provide regular reports on StART activity. The Highline Forum provides Southwest King County

cities (elected representation and senior staff), educational governing bodies, and the Port with

the opportunity to share information, interact with outside speakers and other governmental

organizations, and work in partnership on initiatives that benefit the residents of Southwest

King County.

Each member-city of the Highline Forum will be given a formal role to designate StART

members (see Membership), identify recommended briefing topics to StART, and/or invite

StART to present on a regular basis.

After completion and upon achieving consensus from StART members, an Annual Report shall

be presented to the Port of Seattle Commission and the Highline Forum. Upon request to the

chair, each city will receive a presentation of the Annual Report.

Membership

StART shall consist of the following members:

 Three (3) members serving as stakeholders, designated by each Highline Forum-member

city electing to participate. Two (2) members shall be community members who reside,

own a business or property, or are employed within the city and who do not serve as an

elected official. One (1) member shall be a non-elected city employee.

 Two (2) airline representatives from each of the two highest passenger volume carriers

serving Sea-Tac Airport (one representative and one alternate per carrier).

 One (1) air cargo representative.

 Two (2) representatives from the Port. One (1) representative shall be the Port’s

Aviation Managing Director. The Port’s Aviation Managing Director shall designate the

second representative.

StART enhances cooperation between the Port of Seattle and the neighboring cities of Sea-Tac Airport

Each Highline Forum-member city may assign one (1) non-elected city employee to serve as an

alternate for the city employee member. The alternate employee from each city must be

assigned by the chief administrative officer. Assigned alternates are encouraged to attend all

meetings in order to remain current on StART activities. Because it is important for StART’s

membership to remain consistent in order to effectively address issues, each city has two

appointed community members. Community members on StART are not assigned alternates. If

one of the community members is unable to attend a meeting, the second StART community

member from that city is available to participate and provide information either representative

would like brought forth at the meeting.

Members shall be appointed for a two (2) year term; membership shall be renewed in January

of every even numbered year. All members and alternates who serve on StART shall serve at

the pleasure of their appointing bodies. It is the responsibility of each city or representational

body to notify the facilitator anytime a member is appointed to or terminates service on StART.

Federal Aviation Administration

Representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are expected to participate at

StART meetings. Periodically, time will be set aside at meetings for representatives to provide

updates and briefings at StART meetings.

Facilitator

An independent, neutral facilitator will be selected and provided by the Port to assist in the

preparation, management and summation of each StART meeting. The facilitator will preside

over the StART meetings and be responsible for ensuring a fair, open, honest, and balanced

discussion of issues and ensure the timely administering of the agenda. As a collaborative

process provider, the facilitator will not act as an advocate for anyone on any substantive issue.

The facilitator may have non-confidential, informal communications and perform facilitation

activities with Port staff, StART members, and others between and during meetings. To ensure

a spirit of goodwill, respect, openness and candidness occurs at all StART meetings, the

facilitator will manage member engagement and address situations where it appears that a

member is not acting in accordance with the Commitments from Stakeholders.

The facilitator will serve as the lead disseminator of all information related to StART and its

meetings, including meeting agendas and summaries. The facilitator will keep a running list of

aviation topics of interest to be used in the development of StART meeting agendas, which will

be periodically updated through discussions with members. The facilitator will be responsible

for drafting meeting summaries, which will be provided electronically in draft form to StART

members for proposed correction and comment prior to the next meeting. Final meeting

summaries will be posted on the Port’s StART webpage for public view.

Meetings

 Frequency

StART enhances cooperation between the Port of Seattle and the neighboring cities of Sea-Tac Airport

StART shall meet six (6) times a year unless otherwise agreed to. Meetings will be scheduled on

the 4

Wednesday of the month (typically February, April, June, August, October, December)

alternating with the Highline Forum. Meetings typically begin at 6 PM and conclude at 8 PM. If

Christmas falls on the fourth week in December, StART will be held on the third Wednesday in

December.

Special meetings may be called upon with twenty-four (24) hours notice by the Sponsor. Any

regularly scheduled or special meeting may be cancelled upon the concurrence of a simple

majority of members. Each party shall designate one of its members to have the authority to so

act.

 Meeting Attendance

Members will notify the facilitator via email if they are unable to attend, preferably one week in

advance.

 Location

The location of StART meetings will be at Sea-Tac Airport unless otherwise noticed. It is possible

that some meetings will be held at locations away from the airport.

 Notification of Meetings

Attendance at StART meetings is open to the public and the media. All meeting materials,

including agendas, are considered public documents and available to the public consistent with

the requirements of the Washington State Public Records Act Chapter 42.56 RCW. Meeting

agendas will be posted one week prior to a meeting for the public to view. Meeting notices,

agendas, and final meeting summaries will be posted on the Port of Seattle’s StART website:

www.portseattle.org/page/sea-tac-stakeholder-advisory-round-table.

 Meeting Agendas

Each meeting may include the following agenda items: updates from the Aviation Managing

Director, roundtable updates from each member and informational presentation(s).

The facilitator and Port staff will develop the Agenda for each StART meeting. Members will

receive advance copies of the Agenda and are able to provide input and suggest changes prior

to the agenda’s finalization. A running list of aviation topics of interest will be kept by the

facilitator and periodically updated through discussions with members.

At the final meeting of the year, members will complete a yearly evaluation.

 Public Comment

All StART meetings are open to the public and the meeting agenda is dedicated to StART-

related business. Limited time is set aside at each meeting for the public to provide comments

pertinent to the topics listed on that day’s StART meeting agenda. Members of the public who

wish to speak are asked to sign-up before the meeting begins and are provided one to three

minutes of time. Due to time limitations, not all who sign-up to speak will necessarily be

StART enhances cooperation between the Port of Seattle and the neighboring cities of Sea-Tac Airport

provided an opportunity to speak. Members of the public are encouraged to submit written

comments to Port staff for circulation to the full StART membership.

StART does not engage in dialogue with those who provide public comment during meetings.

Questions or requests for information or documents may be made separately from StART

meetings.

Feedback

StART is not a formal decision-making body or an inter-local agency; StART will not follow

procedural rules of order and will not entertain motions or record votes.

StART will use consensus to shape feedback, which will be captured in a formal meeting

summary developed by the facilitator. Consensus-based actions are the product of discussions

among the members to distinguish underlying values, interests, and concerns with a goal of

developing widely accepted feedback. The facilitator will assist StART in articulating points of

agreement, as well as articulating concerns that require further exploration or areas where

consensus could not be achieved.

Working Groups

Working groups may be established to allow for work to continue between StART meetings and

to give specific issues and topics a more in-depth focus. A working group will be comprised of a

subset of StART members and any staff support and technical analysis/expertise as identified by

the Port. Working groups adhere to the StART Commitments from Stakeholders. Working

groups set their agendas and work plan. Working groups will report out on the progress of their

work and are open to suggested topics and guidance on their work plan during StART meetings.

StART members who are not a member of the working group may attend as “observers”.

Working group meetings are not open to the public.

Amending the Operating Procedures

Operating Procedures may be amended by consensus of the Airport’s Managing Director and

the non-elected employee representatives from each of the Highline Forum cities. Proposed

modifications to the Operating Procedures will be distributed in writing to the Airport’s

Managing Director and the non-elected employee representatives. Any proposed modification

to StART’s Operating Procedures will be evaluated at a separately scheduled meeting with the

Airport’s Managing Director and the non-elected employee representatives. If there is

consensus, modifications to the Operating Procedures will be communicated to the StART

members.

Annual Report

StART will have an annual evaluation to review accomplishments and outstanding issues. With

assistance from Port staff, the facilitator will produce an annual report based on StART’s yearly

evaluation. After completion and upon achieving consensus from StART members, the annual

report shall be presented to the Port of Seattle Commission and the Highline Forum. Upon

request to the chair, each city will receive a presentation of the Annual Report.

StART enhances cooperation between the Port of Seattle and the neighboring cities of Sea-Tac Airport

StART

SEA-TAC STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY ROUND TABLE

COMMITMENT FROM STAKEHOLDERS

StART members will participate in good faith, which means:

1. Set aside time to prepare for and participate in the meetings.

2. Participate fully, honestly and fairly, commenting constructively and specifically.

3. Speak respectfully, briefly and non-repetitively; not speaking again on a subject until all

other members desiring to speak have had the opportunity to speak.

4. Allow people to say what is true for them without fear of criticism from StART members.

5. Avoid side conversations during meetings.

6. Provide information as much in advance as possible of the meeting in which such

information is to be used and share all relevant information to the maximum extent

possible.

7. Generate and explore all options on the merits with an open mind, listening to different

points of view with a goal of understanding the underlying interests of other StART

members.

8. Consult regularly with their appointing bodies and provide their input in a clear and

concise manner.

9. Each member agrees to work toward fair and practical feedback that reflects the diverse

interests of all StART members and the public.

10. When communicating with others, accurately summarize the StART process, discussion

and meetings, presenting a full, fair and balanced view of the issues and arguments out

of respect for the process and other members.

11. Strive for consensus in shaping feedback and closure on issues.

12. Self-regulate and help other members abide by these commitments.