Plans to turn a 745-acre piece of prairie at Maytown into a cargo distribution center has pitted residents worried about quality-of-life issues against the ports of Tacoma and Olympia, which say they need to boost efficiency. On July 11 and July 25, representatives of the Friends of Rocky Prairie and both ports, respectively, met with The Olympian Editorial Board to discuss the plan.
John Wolfe, deputy director of the Port of Tacoma, discusses how the ports are now operating on a global scale and how to best use the different strengths of the various ports (1:30). |
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Kari Qvigstad, marketing and business development director from the Port of Olympia, talks about how planners identified a need and a possible site for the distribution center before identifying the full project. She says there is a perception that they are much further along in their planning stages than they actually are and that there will be plenty of opportunity for concerned residents to get involved in the discussion (2:00). |
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Friends of Rocky Prairie spokeswoman Diane Sonntag discusses the residents' concerns of potential contamination of the area's waterways if a facility were built there. (2:00). |
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Diane Sonntag talks about terrorism concerns involving the storage and transport of potentially hazardous materials (1:47). |
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Diane Sonntag discusses the increased truck traffic that would come about from a new distribution center and how that poses a new pollution problem (1:15). |
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John Wolfe and Kari Qvigstad say the process in identifying the optimal site on which to build a cargo facility is still ongoing. The former TransAlta site in Lewis County is another potential site but details are few for now. It is a priority for planners that whichever site they choose be close to an existing rail line in order to keep costs down and increase efficiency (2:19). |
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Diane Sonntag and a fellow member of the Friends of Rocky Prairie say they've suggested TransAlta as an alternative site to port planners and detail why that is a better site for the center (1:29). |
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John Wolfe and Kari Qvigstad say planners are committed to a transparent process in the planning for the distribution center (1:18). |
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Diane Sonntag discusses concerns over the increased traffic that would result from the new cargo facility (1:40). |
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Kari Qvigstad and a fellow port spokesman say they are assessing how emissions could be better managed by putting more cargo on rails over trucks (00:58). |
