EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PORT OF BELLINGHAM SHARES INSIGHTS

by John D'Onofrio, Editor, NW Business Monthly

The Port of Bellingham plays a vital role in the economic development of Whatcom County. Supported by tax revenues, the Port manages transportation in the area, holds a sizeable real-estate portfolio and is charged with creating jobs in the private sector. Charlie Sheldon was named Executive Director of the Port in October of 2010, succeeding long-time ED Jim Darling. It's been somewhat of a bumpy ride so far - the Port is involved in an ongoing airport expansion and the redevelopment of the former Georgia Pacific mill site on the downtown waterfront, a controversial effort that has been challenged by the economic decline that has occurred since planning began.

In October of last year, one year after taking the job, Sheldon announced a staff reorganization that resulted in a call for his resignation by Port Commissioner Scott Walker. Undeterred, Sheldon is enthusiastic about the future of Whatcom County, the part that the Port will play in creating it - and his role as Executive Director.

You've been on board at the port since October of 2010. Any surprises or early lessons learned?

This is a great operation here and I consider myself lucky to be part of it. Early lessons learned include a terrific staff, three truly committed commissioners, a wonderful community and some really important and challenging issues. This has for years been a well managed and well run organization, credit to my predecessor Jim Darling, so we are well positioned to face our challenges today. Surprises? I have been pleased and frankly a bit startled at how the community has welcomed me. It's been really nice.

You've worked for ports in New York/New Jersey and Seattle. How is Bellingham different?

I have been working for ports over twenty seven years and in some ways many of the issues are similar if not the same. There is always tension between our public and private purpose. The other two ports are of course much bigger but the issues and the concerns are just as critical in a county of two hundred thousand as in a borough of two or twelve million. Actually the Port of Bellingham is, I believe, better supported by the community than Seattle or New York-New Jersey - maybe because up here in Whatcom County we really are a major economic engine and people appreciate it. And the quality of the country up here is fantastic, what with the islands, trails, mountains and rivers so close by. When I was in New York I had to drive six hours to find a decent mountain to climb. Here in Bellingham I have good climbs two miles from my front door.

It would appear that under your leadership, the port has reemphasized its role as a local economic driver; supporting local businesses and working to bring new businesses to Whatcom County. This seems like somewhat of a shift from activities in the past that were sometimes criticized as being port-centric rather than community-centric. Is this a deliberate change?

Of course I wasn't here earlier so I cannot comment on earlier circumstances. We are a port and we are good at what ports do - running airport and waterfront facilities and supporting jobs and economic development. Our mission is specific and limited and we perform best when we stick to our basic role. Our success is only as good as our customers and tenants, and the broader businesses within this county. Plus in these economic times the challenges are pretty basic - retain and build jobs, again and again. Before I worked in ports I was a commercial fisherman so I have a strong bias toward working waterfronts. Strong.

The redevelopment of the GP mill site is the most high-profile project on the port's radar. What can we expect to see happening down there in 2012?

I would disagree about GP being the most high profile. I think the airport expansion should be and is the most high profile, because that is the true economic development driver in this region, we have the fourth fastest growing airport in the nation right now, and we are investing over sixty million dollars in its expansion. Downtown, of course, the GP site is most visible. This year we will and are seeing cleanup activities, more building demolitions, and we will complete the rezoning process. We have had success bringing business onto the shipping terminal site and we expect to expand that.

With respect to waterfront redevelopment, the port's original vision included a new marina geared toward large yachts - with the economic downturn that has transpired since, will those plans get a second look?

Absolutely. The Clean Ocean Marina that was an early driver of the project can only be built if its economics work, and those economics are a function of market demand and cleanup costs. The cleanup costs have risen a lot and the market these days remains soft. We don't expect to see any real work on that possible marina site for several years and in the meantime we will focus on cleaning up the GP upland site and getting businesses and activity in there as soon as we can.

There has been much discussion regarding opportunities to connect downtown Bellingham to the water via redevelopment of the GP site. On the one hand, redevelopment might add significant value to downtown if it enhanced access, but on the other, there are concerns that a redevelopment featuring high-rises, etc. might act as a "wall" separating Bellingham from the Bay. Any thoughts on this?

I think a lot of work was done to make sure that with full development there would be view corridors and height restrictions by the water, so those concerns are I believe addressed. A more challenging concern is that the current downtown Bellingham is suffering from vacancies and we don't want to create something on the GP site that further draws energy from the downtown core. The current economic malaise is a real issue here.

The case has been made that incorporating significant park space into waterfront redevelopment would add value to the city and provide a "sense of place" to the city's core, similar to iconic parks in other cities, especially those on the water. One of Bellingham's greatest assets is clearly the beauty of its setting and yet - because of the mill - the downtown has long been isolated from the water. Studies have shown that companies are increasingly looking at factors like environmental health and quality of life when making relocation plans, and a downtown that embraces the bay and the islands seems likely to augment the city's appeal on this level. Is this potential value-add being factored into redevelopment plans?

Ever since the start of the planning process parks and walkways have been planned and integrated into the site, phased with the development. There will be waterfront trails and parks on the site in several areas and I am sure they will be heavily used.

Historically Bellingham's waterfront has been a "working" waterfront. Do you envision a future that embraces this legacy? If so, how?

I think the working waterfront is absolutely key to the future of the city and the project. Of the over two hundred project acres, almost three quarters will be devoted to marine trades and maritime uses. The marine trades sector in Bellingham - fishing, fish processing, marinas, ferries, services and supplies - is the ports largest employer and these businesses throw huge amounts of money into the broader community. I think that six years ago at the height of the real estate bubble everyone thought the world was fundamentally changing and ports all around the country rolled the dice seeking upscale developments. Today it is understood that sustainable, family wage local jobs are the core of an area's success. My expectation and hope is that the GP area in the next thirty years will retain all those acres of jobs and activities. We will see higher scale development closest to the downtown core but much of the site will remain in light industry and commercial use, providing the kinds of jobs that pay taxes and support urban services.

What do think that our waterfront will look like in ten years? Twenty years?

I think we will see continued marine trades activity where it is today and additional activity in the shipping terminal area and the acreage next to it. I hope we see a university presence down on the site for training and conferences, and we will see higher mixed use development at the north end of the site nearest the existing city. There will be trails and parks and the great Bellingham tradition of being a walking city will continue. There will still be rail traffic, ship traffic, industry, and a working waterfront, and people will come to this city to visit that exciting working waterfront before heading out to Mount Baker, the islands, or the North Cascades.

The Bellingham airport is one of the fastest growing airports in the region. In the 2012 port budget, $28 million is allocated to complete phase two of the airport expansion project. What's involved in phase two?

Phase two is completing the new terminal building. Phase one added 20,000 square feet to our gate holding area, phase two will complete what will in the end be a 119,000 square foot modern terminal building capable of handling our expanding traffic for years into the future. This county can be proud of that facility.

A few months back, you announced a reorganization of the port's staff. Why was this done and what are the perceived benefits of the restructuring?

As I said earlier the staff here is terrific. When I got here I took my time observing things and getting to know the people. The organization was running well and I follow the rule that if it isn't broken don't fix it. However I did make a few changes this fall. I promoted a few people and shifted some duties to better spread the workload. I asked one of our key staff to become the Director of Business Development and really focus on bringing business to our vacant and now being cleaned up properties. We need that sort of focus now. Our Aviation Director, Art Choat, chose to retire for health reasons and I appointed Art's deputy, Dan Zenk, to fill his shoes. I asked our Human Resources Manager and our Communications Manager to take on additional duties and promoted them as well such that I now have a fantastic and capable executive team. Finally I asked our Chief Financial Officer to become my Deputy while also overseeing accounting and real estate, which will free me to focus on relationships with other organizations and customers as well as the tribes and other groups. This is a lean organization and people are asked to do a lot of work, and all of our Directors are working leaders, not administrators. Throughout the organization I have watched staff step up to every challenge. With the airport expansion we have had to add some staff as well. I have always throughout my career built teams and then let them do their job, because people who have real responsibility do the best work. It is no different here.

There has been some very public discord at the port recently - Port commissioner Scott Walker called for your resignation in October - I wonder what your thoughts are regarding this situation.

I was hired by all three commissioners to oversee the Port staff and implement the policies they chose. My leadership and management style supports the staff we have and always seeks to find solutions. There are frequently disagreements among the commissioners though not often public calls for resignations. As Executive Director, my responsibility is to work for all three commissioners and to manage and direct staff. I would point out that the other two commissioners voted not to ask me to resign and they were supportive of my style and approach, which I believe is working well. I would add that the next morning at my request I met with Scott to discuss his concerns and I continue to work with him. I enjoy working with all of the commissioners and I greatly appreciate Scott's tenure here, his historical knowledge, his creativity and his tremendous loyalty to this organization.

The Technology Development Center, developed in partnership with WWU and BTC, is lauded as a real asset on the waterfront. Will we see more of these kinds of cooperative projects going forward?

I surely hope so. We have been active with the economic development community in this region and plan to beef up our efforts there. We have worked closely with the marine trades community to help them market their business. I spent a lot of time in Asia and China when I was at the Port of Seattle and I believe we need to respect and honor that potential huge market, whether for regional exports, supplies, tourism, or educational exchange. I hope to start working with local businesses and organizations with an interest in that sector to see if we can do more for development. In Seattle I was active with the Washington State China Relations Council and I hope we can perhaps link up with that group up here.

What do you like best about your job?

The people. The staff are terrific, the commissioners are great leaders, and the people in this community are great to work with. Plus this is a great place. In listening to some of the arguments over coal trains this past year, and hearing some people argue that this area is sustainable and green and therefore must turn away from heavy industry, I have wondered if we aren't missing the real message of this place. As a newcomer up here, it strikes me that Whatcom County does it all - we have heavy industry out by Cherry Point, refineries and aluminum, but we also have tourism and mountains and the North American alps and the islands and sailing; we have universities and a great medical establishment; we have fantastic agricultural resources; we have a world class organic and sustainable farming sector; we have a huge seafood sector - did you know a half billion pounds of fish a year pass through our Bellingham Cold Storage facility? People don't know it but there are a lot of very creative businesses up here below the radar doing some very exciting things, located here because their workers love it here. We have skiing, river running, trails, Ski to Sea; we are close to Vancouver and Seattle; we have a great little airport.....it isn't just that we are green and sustainable, it's that we sort of do it all here and it works, and what's wrong with that? I just think we may be missing a fantastic marketing opportunity.

What are the biggest challenges?

Finishing the airport work, getting the GP site back into use, maintaining and creating jobs, and staying successful in an era of economic decline and always increasing environmental and regulatory standards. Somehow we need to find a way to retain and keep the jobs that will support this fantastic sustainable way of life people up here love so much. My hope is that here at the port we can do our small part to help make that happen.