By The Herald Editorial Board
Most voters in Snohomish County on their Aug. 6 ballots will be asked a question not posed to the electorate for more than 100 years: Do they want to be part of a port district that includes nearly all of Snohomish County?
The last time the question was put to a vote — in June of 1918 — county voters rejected the ballot measure, but supporters of the proposal in Everett regrouped and convinced its voters to support creation of the Port of Everett a month later. (Edmonds followed with approval of its own port district in 1948.)
So, why return to the voters now for an expansion of the Port of Everett that would include most of the rest of the county?
“The idea is that we ought not lose another century to respond to the economic needs of Snohomish County,” said Bob Drewel, who served as Snohomish County executive from 1992 until 2004, then served another 10 years as executive director of the Puget Sound Regional Council. Drewel and other supporters of the expansion proposal spoke with the Herald Editorial Board earlier this week.
It’s not that the idea of expansion hasn’t been discussed during the last century, but the time now seems especially advantageous, Drewel said, noting recent and continuing investments in transportation and other infrastructure in the county as the entirety of Snohomish County attracts more residents and more job-creating opportunities.
“All of the efforts that have needed collaboration are now at the point where the port can be not only a full-time partner, but a unique port partner, because of this remarkable access to federal funds and other grant opportunities that are not available to cities and counties,” Drewel said.
It’s the abilities of a public port taxing district to serve as an economic engine for a region — with tools specifically set out by state law and not available to other local governments — that make the case to expand the port district’s boundaries. Ports through their taxing and bonding authority and their access to state and federal grant funding can assist in economic development, job creation, infrastructure improvements, environmental cleanup and enhancement, public access and other projects and programs.
What’s on the ballot?
Voters are being asked to expand the boundaries of the Port of Everett to include all areas of Snohomish County, excluding those areas within the Port of Edmonds district.
With inclusion in the port district comes participation in the levy that the district assesses to district property owners. Currently, properties pay a levy rate of 18.8 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. For the average home in Snohomish County, assessed at $550,000, Port of Everett residents pay about $103 a year. If approved, collection of that tax in the expanded port district would begin in January 2026.
But a few things will happen before then.
Shortly after approval the Port of Everett’s administration would begin work to redraw the three districts of the port’s board of commissioners, who represent port residents, set policy and approve the projects and programs the port undertakes. Those district boundaries would be in effect until November 2025 when voters will be asked if they want to stay with a three-member board or increase the size of the board to five members.
Work also would begin to reopen the port’s strategic plan, which outlines the port’s priorities and future investments, to update the plan through a public process to include new economic development proposals throughout the county.
That strategic plan process, along with a potential increase in the size of the board, will be important to public buy-in of the port’s future plans, said Ellen Hiatt, an Arlington resident supportive of the expansion.
The Port of Everett, Hiatt said, has a good record of being responsive to residents’ wishes, and sees it being open to community thoughts for its future plans. She expects the port to ask a lot of questions:
“Where do you want us to do this work? What are your priorities? Is it environmental cleanup? Is it public access to your river ways? Is it more roadways and infrastructure. Do we need better access across to Monroe, where? Where do you want us to invest?” she said.
What would an expanded port do?
One of those who sees the opportunities available through an expanded port district is Karen Guzak, currently a Snohomish City Council member and former mayor. Guzak said the city has used the tools available to it, such as tax revenue through a transportation benefit district; still cities are limited in what they can do, she said.
“This is another taxpayer investment that we can really leverage to get more help in our city,” Guzak said.
One idea she and others in Snohomish hope to propose involves the city’s public works yard along the Snohomish River. With the city planning a new municipal campus that would include a new station for the fire department, other municipal departments and a new public works yard, the relocation of public works would open up that four- to five-acre site along the river for recreational and tourist activities, public river access and more parking for the downtown.
The assistance and expertise of the port, Drewel said, also would be available to guide and speed up development projects. While the cities of Arlington and Marysville successfully partnered to develop the Cascade Industrial Center, which has attracted major employers such as Amazon and Blue Origin, Drewel said the port’s assistance in the project early on would have been a big help.
“We needed a third leg for the stool when we were talking about transportation investments, so we could take on investments like Amazon and take on investments about new aerospace ingenuity,” Drewel said. “Those conversations would have been significantly easier.”
Right now, that assistance is limited to the current boundaries and some 100,000 residents, representing only about 15 percent of the county.
Yet, the current port supports more than 40,000 jobs and contributes more than $430 million annually to the state and local tax rolls. And many of those jobs, Drewel said, are approaching six-figure levels, about $97,000 a year. An expanded port, could expand those figures.
What’s in it for the economy?
Of Washington state’s public ports, about 15 are county-wide ports. While smaller in area than most, the Port of Everett still counts as the fifth largest port on the West Coast in terms of its economic impact, said Rashma Argawal, vice president of public affairs for the Economic Alliance of Snohomish County. An expanded port would, she said, would add to its economic impact.
What a larger port district would do for port operations would build on the transportation network — roads, railroads, bridges, airports — and other infrastructure on which it depends, she said.
“That is all reliant on connectivity, investments into the capital, infrastructure that the port can do relatively quickly compared to other organizations, and to help with the growth of the region,” Argawal said. “It also brings together the whole international trade piece for us, knowing that 60 percent of jobs in Snohomish County are tied to international trade.”
Hiatt, acknowledge that for many voters, the $100 investment that comes from a home valued at $550,000 is significant, but it can result in considerable return for jobs and the economy.
“For every dollar the port invests, it yields $7.90 for the community’s economy,” Hiatt said. “So I think the public could expect to see that return. They’ll see it on their tax bill, but they’ll also see the benefits of it in ways that are fruitful.”
Those tax revenues, she and others pointed out, are used exclusively and put directly into those investments. The port’s current operating centers, including its seaport and marina operations and its administration are self-supporting, meaning no taxes are used for their support.
‘A community decision’
Drewel, a veteran of Snohomish County government and economic planning and advocacy, said The Port of Everett has presented its case well for its expansion, holding public meetings, gathering comments and surveying residents about the proposal.
“This will be, ultimately, a community decision. But those are the types of things, in the way we approach politics, in asking for support of any government that we need to see more of,” he said.
The economic engines of the Port of Everett have provided immense benefit to the residents of its currently hemmed-in boundaries.
An expansion to nearly the rest of the county promises even greater benefits for the entire county and for the next hundred years.
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