Olympia — The Port of Olympia commission voted unanimously on Monday to approve a longterm ground lease with Swire Coca-Cola, a bottling company that intends to do business near Olympia Regional Airport on 95 acres of land.
The commission’s decision came after more than 90 minutes of discussion, half of which was devoted to public comment. Fifteen area residents spoke out against the proposal, nearly all of them touching on the same theme: that the port was moving too fast to strike a deal with the bottler.
“I’d like to ask that you delay your vote on the Swire Coca-Cola lease until environmental and other serious public concerns have been fully researched and the public has had ample opportunity to be engaged on the issue,” said resident Carla Wulfsberg.
Despite those concerns, commissioners Joe Downing, Bob Iyall and Amy Evans Harding voted to approve a lease that could run as long as 75 years.
Evans Harding phrased her decision in the form of a question, asking: Should we take the first step to allow a tenant to embark on this land-use process in hopes of building a manufacturing facility?
“Balancing the opinions of the broader community, the need for economic development and critical environmental stewardship, I believe the answer is ‘yes,’” she said.
Once the lease is signed, Swire, which operates in 13 western states including Washington, will pay the port an initial lease rate of about $170,000 a year before it eventually grows to about $2 million a year. Before then, however, a habitat conservation plan has to be completed and the port needs approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Although the property is on port-owned land, it’s also in Tumwater, which means Swire will have to go through the city’s land-use process, including any potential requirements identified under the state Environmental Policy Act.
Swire officials say the manufacturing facility, plus accessory warehouse, will employ up to 600 people. During public comment, many of those critical of the lease, questioned whether it would create that many jobs.
That prompted Commissioner Downing to finally question that number, too.
Jenifer Freeman, director of public relations and government affairs for Swire Coca-Cola, said she still couldn’t give a specific answer to that question because they are still in the planning stages. However, she emphasized the facility is designed to house that many workers.
There also were environmental concerns, with some wanting to know how much water the bottling plant would actually use?
A specific number was not disclosed, although Tumwater City Administrator John Doan, who participated in the meeting by phone, said the city could accommodate a large water user.
“We have no question that we could provide this amount of water within our portfolio for this user,” he said.
He said about two-thirds of the city’s water is spoken for, with one-third of it remaining for use. Swire would use a portion of the remaining amount, still leaving the city with water for more than 8,000 equivalent residential units, Doan said.
“Like all water organizations we continue to seek additional water rights and opportunities for wells and to provide water resources,” he said.
Mike Bernier, Swire’s director of sustainability, again reiterated the company’s climate, recycling, packaging and efficiency goals. The company has reduced its water use by 20 percent over the last 10 years and is aiming to do another 20 percent by 2030, Bernier said.
“I’ve been doing this for 14 years and I’m not the first,” he said. “Our company has been doing this for a long time. We understand the planet we live in and we understand a healthy planet is a healthy business.”
Commissioner Iyall thanked everyone who attended and spoke during the meeting. He also reminded them that Monday’s vote was one step in the entire process.
“There’s still a long way to go with this,” he said.
