Template revised January 10, 2019.
COMMISSION
AGENDA MEMORANDUM
Item No.
8g
ACTION ITEM
Date of Meeting
November 14, 2023
DATE: July 7, 2023
TO: Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director
FROM: Tino Petterson, Unified Pest Management Airport Operations
SUBJECT: New Unified Pest Management Contract
Amount of this request:
$7,000,000
Total estimated contract cost:
$7,000,000
ACTION REQUESTED
Requesting Commission authorization for the Executive Director to competitively bid and execute
a Unified Pest Management (UPM) contract with a duration of up to five years, not to exceed
value of $7,000,000.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Port operates a Unified Pest Management (UPM) Program that coordinates pest control
measures across the airport to reduce and eliminate root causes of pest activity before pest
issues become health and safety concerns and centralizes pest reporting for all airport tenants.
The UPM program was created in 2013 and has grown substantially. In 2016, pest populations
both increased and became more visible. This surge required the Port to increase pest control
services and contract value to address growing pest concerns holistically. The pest outbreak was
effectively managed by mid-2019, although some areas still require regular attention. Pest
reporting declined from 2019 through 2022, likely driven by a reduction of pests and by Covid
impacts on operations, passenger volumes, waste stream volumes, and staffing numbers. As
operations increase to pre-Covid levels pest reporting began to rise and is expected to continue
increasing. Only through outreach, education, and preventative measures will the number
continue to go down, maintaining a healthy and safe airport.
Funding for the current contract will expire on May 31, 2024. The new contract will maintain a
similar level of service and the value is estimated at $7,000,000 for the next 5 years. Services will
include the same scope of work to cover all airport locations and maintaining proactive pest
control helps prevent future outbreaks and keeps costs lower.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8g Page 2 of 5
Meeting Date: November 14, 2023
Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting).
JUSTIFICATION
Requested funds will allow for a continuity of efforts already underway through May 31, 2029.
Prior to the implementation of the UPM program in 2013, airport tenants contracted their pest
control services independently, with little information available to the Port by which to
determine the type and magnitude of concern the tenants faced or what kind of control methods
their contactors were using to address them.
Today the UPM program has 100% enrollment of all concessions and airline tenants. UPM gives
the Port the ability to track all pest reports at the airport to better manage the needed action.
The UPM Working Group is comprised of many Port departments, including Airport Dining and
Retail, Port Construction Services, Aviation Maintenance, Environmental, and Facilities and
Infrastructure to better remediate pest issues by addressing items that contribute to the
problem, such as small openings that need to be sealed off to prevent pest access. Pest issues
are reported to UPM through a safety hotline (206-787-SAFE). Call-in data are used to identify
problem areas, determine best practices, and monitor contractor response times. Consequently,
the Port’s unified program has been successful in tracking and identifying where pest hotspots
are and what contributing factors need to be addressed promptly.
The program continuity is necessary to monitor and control pests as the airport continues to get
busier and generate more activity and waste. UPM effectiveness is evaluated annually to monitor
and analyze pest activity as influenced by passenger volumes, new construction activity, and
compliance of higher sanitation standards. The new contract will service all existing and new
airport square footage.
Increased passenger volume and construction activity at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
(SEA) drove the necessity for expanding pest management level of services to maintain a healthy
and safe environment. Construction across the airport, specifically the new A Concourse
Expansion, C Concourse Expansion, Baggage Optimization, South Satellite, and Perimeter Road
Work has been disturbing habitat, requiring additional pest monitoring. Additionally, significant
increases in passenger traffic post-Covid has led to an increase in waste generation, sanitation
challenges, and a rapid increase in certain pest populations, requiring diligent control measures.
Maintaining the current level of service will address these factors, while still providing adequate
pest control in conjunction with Port oversight to improve tenant sanitation and waste stream
challenges. The Port hired a full-time UPM Coordinator in 2022 to oversee and coordinate airport
pest control, allowing the Port to reduce some contracted services while maintaining current
levels of proactive control and oversight.
The UPM Working Group, with broad departmental representation, along with the Port-
contracted pest control service provider, have worked aggressively over the past 5 years to
respond to and keep pest issues under control. In 2023, the Working Group evaluated and
reprioritized Port and tenant responsibilities to reduce pest attractants responsible for increasing
pest numbers. Under UPM, the Port provides services to tenants on a cost recovery basis under
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8g Page 3 of 5
Meeting Date: November 14, 2023
Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting).
Airport Tariffs. The UPM tariff is evaluated annually to recover costs and increased for benefits
of UPM. This holistic approach to pest control has been much more successful than treating
spaces independently, which does not address root problems and has led to moving pest
problems between spaces. It is critical that the Port continue current efforts to ensure the
ongoing health and safety of the traveling public and airport employees.
DETAILS
In early 2018, the pest contractor responded to many more emergency call outs beyond the
proactive work they had been doing. By May 2018 it became clear that one technician per day
could not handle all pest management needs and 24/7 coverage was justified. With a rise in pest
complaints/sightings by the public and an increase of complaints to King County Public Health
and Washington Department of Labor and Industry it was urgent that the contractor increase
resources and technologies immediately, raising the cost of the contract well past its original
scope and budget. Since the contract increase and proactive 24/7 pest response there have been
no additional complaints issued by King County Public Health.
For the areas serviced today, rodent numbers declined under the higher level of control efforts
and increased implementation of sanitation audit results. The existing level of effort was required
to reach greater than 90 percent eradication, and the current goal of the UPM is to prevent
another population uptick in other pest population in the absence of rodents and in rodents
themselves due to their high reproduction rates. The Port audits tenant spaces to further improve
sanitation and seal off all pest entry points. Sanitation audits were added to the scope of the
current pest control contract in 2019. Tracking call-in data, pest data, and condition data
(collected from sanitation audits and other Port inspections) allows the Port to more efficiently
allocate resources to eliminate conditions conducive to pests. The goal was to reduce costs of
the UPM program even with additional building square footage over next 5 years by hiring a full-
time Port UPM Coordinator, improving airport sanitation, and reducing pest attractants and
access.
UPM Efforts to-date:
• Updated Pest Hazard data entry and location (Safety Events) in Veoci.
• Hired a new Unified Pest Management Coordinator for Airport Operations.
• Equipped more areas above drop ceilings with additional control methods.
• Provided guidance and training on best practices to reduce opportunities for pests.
• Stricter sanitation audits of tenant spaces.
• Increased pest control vender presence to 24/7.
• Aviation Maintenance secured pest access points into the terminal.
• Pest remediation at construction sites.
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8g Page 4 of 5
Meeting Date: November 14, 2023
Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting).
ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS CONSIDERED
Alternative 1 – Do not renew the existing contract. The current contract will run out of funds in
June 2024. Pest services would end until there was time to get a new contract in place, which
could take several months.
Cost Implications: $0
Pros:
(1) None.
Cons:
(1) The current Pest control contract would end, pest numbers would increase and the health
and safety of passengers and those working at the airport would be compromised.
(2) The Port will receive more notices from King County Public Health and Washington
Department of Labor and Industries regarding pest-related complaints.
This is not the recommended alternative.
Alternative 2 – Create our own Integrated Pest Management Team to do the work done by our
previous contractors (Rentokil, Sprague). This work would include monthly services, pest safety
events, weekly follow ups, sanitation audits, treatments, etc.
Cost Implications: $ 850,000 per year
Pros:
(1) System created in Veoci to collect and document all data.
(2) Reduce the current budget about 15%.
(3) Sustain current levels of rodent and insect control currently in place.
(4) 24/7 coverage.
(5) Additional personnel for snow (ramp task force).
Cons:
(1) Port retains 100% of the liability and responsibility.
(2) Independent contractor maintains industry awareness of pest controls and practices.
(3) Port would not have certification and licensing of this work prior to the current service
contract expiration.
This is not the recommended alternative for 2024.
Alternative 3 – Competitively bid/start a New Unified Pest Management Contract by June 1,
2024- May 2029 using existing scope of work.
Cost Implications: $7,000,000 ($1,400,000 per year)
COMMISSION AGENDA – Action Item No. 8g Page 5 of 5
Meeting Date: November 14, 2023
Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting).
Pros:
(1) Sustains the level of rodent abatement and insect control currently in place through May
2029.
(2) Airport will maintain oversight of pest control actions taking place with all required data
to make the best management decisions in correcting issues.
(3) Current lease agreements remain in effect without renegotiation.
Cons:
(1) None.
This is the recommended alternative.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
In 2018 our baseline was approved for $5,000,000 over a 5-year period. However, in April 2019
an emergency action request was approved for $7,000,000 (additional $2,000,000) to help
control an unprecedented pest issue, by Increasing the services and reducing the reaction time
to these events. As we’ve become more proactive and our response times improve, our pest
populations have diminished allowing the return to the 2018 baseline, ($1M/Year X 5 years).
ATTACHMENTS TO THIS REQUEST
(1) Presentation
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS
(1) April 23, 2019 – The Commission authorization for the Executive Director to execute a
new contract for an estimated value of $7,000,000 for Unified Pest Management at
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. This action requests increased contract authority
compared to the $5,000,000 Unified Pest Management authorization of November 13,
2018.
(2) November 13, 2018 – The Commission authorized to: (1) increase the value of the
current Unified Pest Management contract at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport by
$550,000 to continue current services from January 2019 through June 2019; and (2)
competitively bid and execution of new 5-year follow-on contract (commencing on or
about July 1, 2019, and continuing through June 30, 2024) for 5 years for a base year
and additional four 1-year options for an estimated amount of $5,000,000.
(3) September 8, 2015 – The Commission authorized execution of contract for commercial
pest management services at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s main terminal,
North and South Satellites, parking garage, and several other Port-owned buildings at
the Airport. The total estimated cost of the contract(s) is $1,200,000 for a 5-year
contract.
