Port of Vancouver Board of Commissioners

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0:31 - 6, and I'm calling the public meeting to order at 9 30 AM. There was no executive session until this morning. Please note this meeting is being recorded. My name is Don Orange, and I'm the president of the Port of Vancouver. Joining me is Commissioner Eric LeBrant and Commissioner Temple Lynch. We're conducting a hybrid meeting along with our in-person meeting we are having here. We're also set up so that those who are not physically able can provide oral testimony virtually. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. - I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

1:28 - Moving into the agenda, the first item is approval of the minutes. We have before us Commissioner Lynch. - Chair, I reviewed the minutes of the April 28, 2026 regular meeting and find them to be in order, and move approval. - I'll second the motion. All those in favor? - Aye. Unanimously. Next on the agenda is the open forum. - Good morning, commissioners. We did not have anyone sign up to speak virtually this morning, and we do not have anyone in the audience signed up to speak today. So nobody for open forum. - All righty. Next up, action item. - We have one action item today, and I'd like to welcome Greg Westrand, senior project manager, to present our action item. Good morning, Greg. - Good morning. Good morning, commissioners.

2:28 - Good morning. - I'm Greg Westrand, senior project manager here at the Port of Vancouver. We have action item E1 today. This project aligns with the port's strategic plan goals to pursue opportunities that utilize the port's property and infrastructure investments to create jobs and support the economy. Improvements making the port rail system more robust and dependable support growth and economic opportunities for existing and future tenants that rely on port infrastructure. The hill track operated as the port's only entrance and exit for decades and was maintained accordingly. The completion of the grade separation constructed as part of the West Vancouver Freight Access Program redirected the majority of port rail traffic away from the hill track. Rigorous maintenance still regularly occurs on this section of track, even with the reduction in rail traffic. Over time, however, the hill track is experienced only where to the point where component replacement is needed. The subject section of track consists of three turnouts and two road crossings

3:28 within a 650-foot section of track. The turnout components are worn and the rail separate from wheel burns and varying sizes of rail. The project will replace the turnouts and install a consistent run of 136-pound rail throughout this section. With the opening of the upgraded dry bulk facility plan for this fall, the timing is right to remove this critical piece of infrastructure prior to it experiencing a substantial increase in rail traffic. The rail work is scheduled to be completed by the end of September 2026. On April 23, 2026, the Port of Vancouver issued invitations to build 26-21 port track replacement. The pre-bid conference and site walk occurred on April 28. On May 14, 2026, American Track LLC of Vancouver, Washington submitted a low bid of $1,172,537.42. Staff has reviewed American Track LLC's responsive bid, concluding they are a responsible contractor

4:26 capable of performing the work. The bid is within the range of the intranet's estimate of $862,590 to $1,179,690. This project is included in the improved 2026 capital budget. The recommendation is that the board of commissioners authorize the CEO to execute a public works contract with American Track LLC, the lowest responsive and responsible bidder for bid 26-21, port track replacement, in the amount of $1,117,537.42 exceeding Washington State tax. >> Do we anticipate any change orders coming out of the process? >> Well, some that we're aware of.

5:25 We tried to design and put our thought into project design to avoid change orders. However, change orders are a natural part of construction. You know, no matter how hard you work, there's always something else that we turn up. So here's a possibility that we don't anticipate. >> All right, and then the other question was just curiosity-wise when you say 136-pound track, you know what that purpose is? >> Yeah, so that is the, actually, the weight of the track. It is the size of it. When you look at the rail, if you look at it in a cross section, it's kind of a, sort of like an I-beam shape. 136-pound is actually 136 pounds per yard is what it weighs. Right now, out there, we have, through the years, with the repairs and repairing things with what we might have on hand, it's a little bit of a conglomeration of some 136, there's some 132, and there's some 115.

6:23 Our, typically, our main lines like this, the track being one of those, would be 136 pounds throughout. So we're going to make it a nice, consistent 136, very robust section of track. >> And then last but not least, the road crossing on the southern end of just probably such a pretty level. I just turned in the Harborside Drive, so I appreciate it. >> Yeah, we did two road crossings. The one where you just access, and that one is in yield sense, and that includes the entrance for Northwest Pax Blart House. But yeah, Thompson Avenue, I believe, is the one. And right now, it is currently just an asphalt only. And it does see a lot of truck traffic, you know, especially with the businesses that are down there. So we are going to be upgrading that to a concrete crossing, so it will be much better than it is. >> I appreciate it.

7:22 [ Inaudible Remark ] >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> Aye. [ Inaudible Remark ] >> Yes, so commissioners, each month in your packet, you have a copy of the Port Contract Logs. This includes contracts that are public works projects, as well as service contracts. The highlighted portion of the list are the-- is the most recent activity. And the contract logs are also listed on the port's website. So others in the public have the ability to look at the contracts-- the active contracts that we have.

8:22 Any questions on anything that you saw in your packet? >> No. >> Perfect. >> New business. >> No new business. >> Counts payable. >> We have those pretty consistently. I'd like to welcome Nick McIntyre, accounting manager, to present payables. Good morning, Nick. >> Good morning. Thank you. Good morning, commissioners. We did not receive any questions prior to the meeting, so I'll start by reading the recommendation and then open the floor for questions. The recommendation is that the Port of Vancouver USA Board of Commissioners by motion ratifies and approves the payment of April 2026 vouchers 127644 through 128030 in the amount of $5,527,333.69 including electronic payments generated between April 1,

9:21 2026 and April 30, 2026 in the amount of $1,704,732.60. In April 2026 direct deposits 150001 through 150131 and 170001 through 170132 in the amount of $804,295.62.

9:59 >> Any questions, comments? >> I have none and I'll move that we adopt the recommendation as presented. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> Aye. >> Aye unanimously. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you, Nick. >> Take care. CEO. >> Yes. We also have several projects that we are working on and so Mark Newell, our project delivery manager is going to provide an update. >> Good morning, Mark. >> Good morning, commissioners. A couple updates on some projects that are continuing and so right now this one is the 2025 birth repairs although the project is titled 2025. We're constructing it in progress currently. This project really is focused on birth four, eight and nine

10:56 and so periodically as you can imagine there's maintenance elements that come up similar to what Greg was talking about with the rail with ships resting against our births and there's a lot of wear and tear that goes on there. So each year the team evaluates which areas might be the priority and this is a contract that is addressing some of those areas. So right now the project is 60% complete. The contractor is Bergersen Construction and so and birth four's repairs are 100% complete. Some of the focus areas here you can see some different bull rail and other elements that are kind of being strengthened and constructed. We also have timber chocks and whalers that are on the fender system that brace those fender systems together.

11:55 They wear and break and so replacing those and some structural steel replacement is usually pretty typical in addition to some covering systems associated with the fender piles themselves. Next slide. Here's an example of a little bit of some of the areas where you can see clearly some pieces of bracing that are being replaced and so the contractor is assessing those areas and then working with the project team to deliver those results and make sure that they're done in accordance with the design documents. That project will continue for a while. One interesting thing about that project is there was some early work that was done just because of the water levels that had to occur underwater and so a dive team came out and did some underwater welding.

12:52 So as you can imagine, that's a little bit atypical but since the fluctuating water levels sometimes that's necessary to complete the work that we're trying to complete. Alright, next project. On the Terminal 1 dock replacement and so project is around 48% complete so here you can see looking down on the project it's continuing to progress similar to previous. You can see the sections of the dock in each one of those pile caps under construction in the foreground area and then kind of progressing upstream. We can see panels, hollow core panels being set underneath the future marketplace and then kind

13:47 of the structural surface decking piece on the far upstream portion there. So a lot of staging going on right now with the contractor. There's a lot of permanent materials that have been arriving on the site, a lot of structural reinforcement that's going on and other elements so we'll jump into a couple more photos, get a little bit closer picture of what's going on. Next slide. Pile cap placement, I guess this photo just kind of shows where they're at from a progress standpoint relative to the Vancouver Landing. So periodically the contractor's barge has been mobilizing in to cut off the pile caps that can all be seen here and cut them off to the proper elevation and as you can see on the far left hand side the pile cap false work supporting

14:46 system and form work is just leap frogging its way down. After they cure a section of concrete they then lower that down and then repeat the process. Next slide. This slide here is just really showing the far upstream side and right here you can see each one of those panels that are installed are spanning across the pile caps resting on the pile caps and then there is a closure pour section that is formed up between those two spaces and one of the interesting things about that is the design just calls for welding, an angle bracket at those points where the precast panels connect with each other so there are hundreds and hundreds of those that have to be welded and tie the structure together so that happens first and then they bring all this bar

15:43 over the top of it and then eventually there will be kind of a more of a topping slab surface poured on top of this piece as well but for right now they're just focusing on tying those pieces together and welding and connecting those elements. Next slide. Underneath the project as well as catwalk installation and so and really this is a pretty straight forward process. It's really done prior to the panels coming on top of it would be much more difficult if that was the case but the contractors planned that work to come in. They first install those braces on the top between the pile caps and then they drop these hangers down and then bring in these prefabricated sections of the catwalk and make all those connections in space.

16:43 So this catwalk allows, it just allows for some space to continue to observe the underside of the dock, perform any adjacent inspections and some of the other pieces of access that is necessary and that will continue through the project as they continue to progress they'll find those windows. And then finally there are utilities that will be installed underneath here as well mechanical work and so these provide access to that as well. Next slide. And just the concrete work continues. Here you can just see the crews making a pour out here. We have approximately 800 cubic yards of concrete installed on the project and this is mostly 8,000 pounds per PSI concrete, pounds per square inch.

17:37 So it's very strong and fast strength concrete which allows the contractor some good schedule to be able to strip forms and kind of move things forward. There's a lot of complexity within the concrete on this project just because of the amount of pours and connections and structural steel tie-ins and the crews are doing a fantastic job of identifying things that come up and our design team as well where there are areas where there might be conflicts or areas that they need to adapt to. The team's been really, really good and proactive at that portion of it. And there's a pretty significant amount of construction workers working on site at any given day out there. And with that, just one more slide here and that's just the office renovations here. The new siding installation is complete.

18:37 I think since the last time that I provided an update and future painting is pending here and so hopefully we'll move forward on that piece of it. And there are other projects that are kicking off. Building 2001 is getting started. We also have, the trail is continuing in that space but wanted to provide those updates to you for this month. So any questions? I have not so much a question but a comment. It's great to see the progress and I just wanted to say thanks especially with regard to the T1 dock. Your explanation of the projects and the pieces and the process is really clear and thorough and I appreciate it. - Thank you. - Thank you. - Thank you much and thank you for your comments. - Thank you commissioners. - Thanks Mark, appreciate it.

19:35 - That's all I have today commissioners. - Very cool. I guess we're moving in record time. It's time for commissioner reports. I can't remember what order. - Well I had the pleasure of a vacation so I didn't have a lot in the last few weeks but I met with some constituents. I met with a group of folks to talk about environmental issues and also had some meetings related to the IBR and also had the pleasure of attending yesterday the Memorial Day remembrance at the historic site and that was a very nice event. - Thank you. Let's see here, not a whole lot to report other than I had the opportunity to attend the Washington Public Ports Association spring meeting last week. That brings together reports from all across Washington state to talk about what's going on

20:35 in the port business right now. A lot of good information. Everything from what's happening in the nuclear industry to what's happening in the timber industry. We had updates from several ports around the state and also got to have a presentation around the Maryhill Museum up in the Columbia Gorge. I did find out that they do not have the peacocks anymore. But they have a turkey now instead. Apparently it's to keep the rattlesnakes down.

21:13 And then I had the opportunity to attend Labor Roundtable last Friday. And that concludes my report. - I went to the same get together as Eric and I never knew they had peacocks so apparently I wasn't paying attention. Would they replace it with a turkey? - With a turkey. It doesn't seem like a one to one. - Apparently it's friendlier than the peacocks were. - Probably tastier as well. Let me see. Besides going to that, which was informative in many ways, the WPPA conference. I also, about two weeks ago right at this very moment, went to a,

22:10 an opening of a technical center down at Hudson's Bay. They're breaking the kids in. They brought together about 15 employers and dozens and dozens of seniors that are looking to go to work in the trades. And this is a building that is used to teach these folks metal skills, carpentry skills, and so on. And it's a new set of buildings being built, as I understand it, largely with private donations at the high schools throughout the district. I think the next one is either Columbia River or Skyview. And they're finishing one up right now at Fort. It's kind of exciting and it kind of ties into some of the workforce development stuff we do here.

23:08 Along with that, I was at the same Memorial Day celebration, and I don't think we noticed it, and I don't think we bumped into each other. So if we bumped into each other, I have a short memory. But it was a good presentation. There was a mayor, the mayor was there, Congresswoman was there. It was set up by CMAQ, which is, it's a group that supports military families in the area. Finishing up on that, I think that finishes my report. And the next thing on the agenda, I believe, we've got no, no, no, no. Next thing on the agenda is to properly hand this back to the director and say, would you bring us to upcoming events, please? - I will do that. So we have upcoming events.

24:07 So the next commission meeting is Tuesday, June 9th. And as you can see, there are several community events. I would like to highlight that we are in port public tour season. So we are getting ready to kick off tour number three, June 2nd, which is a great opportunity for folks to see the port. And we do have secured areas, so you are required to do a tour to be able to see behind the secured area and what's happening on the terminal. And if you are interested in being wait-listed because they get full very fast, make sure you go to the port's website and register for that. And then just a reminder on ways to communicate with the commission. We can have people join us here at our regular meetings for open forum to share their thoughts. You can email the commissioners. You can contact the office.

25:07 We'll make sure and get you in touch with the commissioners. And again, just refer folks to the port's website. A lot of great information on the projects that we have and things about our regular meetings. - Cool. With that, we go on to sign documents. After we sign documents, there's no workshop. There's no administrative meeting. I'll adjourn this thing in a few minutes after we sign the documents. And thank you all.