Port reappropriates funds for investigation of Budd Inlet, next up West Bay

The Port of Olympia Commission approved the transfer of $2 million from the Port’s reserve funds to proceed with the analysis of Budd Inlet on Monday, June 10.

Sediment sampling was completed in East Bay in February, so the next course of action is to continue the investigation in West Bay.

The Port intends to use the $2 million to match a $6.25 million grant from the Washington Department of Ecology. Budd Inlet Project Manager Jonathon Wolf told The JOLT that the Port will need to match the grant with the equivalent amount, so the $2 million appropriation will not completely cover the required match funding.

The West Bay analysis was not originally intended for this year but would preserve the project's momentum. Gilbertson also explained in the previous meeting that they were able to acquire their permits for West Bay faster than they were able to do so for East Bay.

The analysis of West Bay could take place either in late fall or winter this year and will involve the collection of several sediment samples in different locations.

The total cost to study the contamination in Budd Inlet is estimated at $22 million. The cost to perform the actual cleanup could go up to $200 million, according to estimates Port staff has given before.

The commission also approved using $5.2 million from the sale of the Commerce Business Center to defease the remaining debt from a 2016 general obligation bond.

The 2016 bond was partially used to purchase the Commerce Business Center.

Finance director Tad Kopf briefed the commission on May 28 about three options for using the money generated from the sale of the Commerce Business Center in December 2023.

At that time, Kopf said that staff recommended the use of $7.6 million to pay off the 2016 bond and a portion of a 2013 bond.

The decision to only use $5.2 million was based on the first option Kopf gave the commission and was the least aggressive scenario among the three options.