Motion 2019-10 – South King County Fund Principles Page 1 of 3
MOTION 2019-10:
A MOTION OF THE PORT OF SEATTLE COMMISSION
adopting principles to guide outreach and development of
the South King County Fund policy.
AMENDED AND ADOPTED
JUNE 25, 2019
INTRODUCTION
The Aviation Committee recommends the following principles to the Port of Seattle
Commission for consideration. In general, principles are a value statement by the Commission.
Principles provide guidance for considering tradeoffs that may arise when considering a specific
course of action or project but are not intended to create specific project selection criteria.
Principles also guide the Commission and staff when they engage with stakeholders and help
inform the development of Commission policy. The South King County Fund (SKCF) principles
will be used to engage with stakeholders in 2019 on potential project areas and to explore how
Port staff should structure the program.
Motion 2018-14 on November 27, 2018, created the SKCF, stating as follows:
Section 3. There shall be an Airport Community Fund, which will designate $750,000 in 2019
to be used to provide airport communities resources and support, as allowed under law.
Additional funding shall be designated for the Airport Community Fund over five years not to
exceed a gross allocation of $10 million between 2019 and 2023, inclusive.
Specific uses, guidelines, and timelines for the fund will be established by commission policy
directive in 2019. For purposes of illustration, fund uses may include support for addressing
airport noise and for other projects that support increased environmental health and
sustainability.
TEXT OF THE MOTION
The Port of Seattle Commission hereby adopts the following principles for the South King
County Fund:
Motion 2019-10 – South King County Fund Principles Page 2 of 3
South King County Fund Principles
1. The SKCF will be used to fund projects in the South King County area: Defined as near-
airport communities, with other locations considered on a case-by-case basis,
depending on the merits and type of program or project.
2. The SKCF will prioritize community input to inform Port decision making: Recognizes
the importance of community participation and the Port governance role.
3. The SCKF will support Port equity policies and practices: Gives underrepresented
communities access to opportunities, and uses equity policies to evaluate potential
initiatives and establish desired outcomes.
4. The SKCF will provide added benefit: Adds to current Port programs to address airport
noise, increased environmental health, and sustainability.
5. The SKCF will prioritize projects that are ready to proceed: Prioritizes measures that
we can implement now or within a short time frame.
6. The SCKF will build on established programs and commitments to fulfill current
obligations: Sets priorities based on established programs and thresholds.
7. The SKCF will promote innovation: Provides the opportunity to explore innovative
techniques that could lead to major longer-term benefits.
8. The SKCF will encourage matching funds where possible: In-kind or other funds to
stretch dollars and impact.
STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE MOTION
In support of the South King County Fund (SKCF) development, External Relations established
an engagement strategy to ensure robust, multi-cultural stakeholder involvement that will
support equitable implementation of the fund. The strategy involves near-term outreach to
local government, grass-top multi-cultural leaders, and existing stakeholder groups such as the
Sea-Tac Airport Stakeholder Advisory Roundtable (StART). It also involves the development of a
long-term equitable engagement mechanism led by a consultant and modeled off the
successful Duwamish EJ work. In total this approach will yield broad and equitable inclusion and
community accountability in the development and distribution of the SKCF:
1. Build awareness and interest in the fund by engaging stakeholders in early
discussions/interviews about potential uses and outreach opportunities.
2. Generate involvement and support for the fund by incorporating feedback from early
discussions into public input opportunities.
Motion 2019-10 – South King County Fund Principles Page 3 of 3
3. Engage a wide audience of South King County citizens through advertising, social media,
partner promotions, posters, direct mail.
4. Establish a mechanism for equitable engagement with historically underrepresented
near-airport communities.
5. Build community capacity for engagement with the Port through leadership
development.
6. Be responsive and supportive of community interests using listening/community
priority setting sessions in several South King County cities.
7. Maintain communications with engaged stakeholders through regular communications.
The plan is to support the broad outreach that will ensure deep community engagement,
leadership development, capacity-building, and data collection and support the fair and
equitable distribution of the South King County Fund to near-airport communities. This
approach builds upon the successful Duwamish Valley EJ Pilot and promotes equitable
economic development, environmental health and community capacity building in near-airport
communities. Additionally, it is a way to identify and meet emerging community needs.
Investing in this capacity-building now will elevate the voices of community members with a
vested interest in working proactively with the Port for this and future projects. One key
stakeholder group will be employees of businesses working at Sea-Tac Airport, many of whom
reside in near-airport communities.
The Commission intends to review a South King County Fund Policy Directive to guide the
development of the SKCF program and a motion to instruct the implementation of pilot
projects. As part of the policy direction, the Commission intends to retain review and approval
authority for proposed projects and to retain the authority to approve funding of projects
recommended by Port staff, as well as projects recommended through community input.
Key dates will include: July – August Airport area City Council briefings; August – October
equity-based luncheon and stakeholder engagement; September – October community open
houses; September Commission briefing and policy directive; January – March 2020
Community Equity Advisory Council engagement; and April 2020 South King County Fund
official launch.
