Ed Galligan's tenure as Port of Olympia executive appears set to end Thursday

Ed Galligan's tenure as the Port of Olympia executive director appears set to end Thursday.

A special commission meeting is planned for Thursday morning, and will begin with a closed-door executive session, one of several the three-member commission has held since Galligan was placed on paid administrative leave at the end of April.

The focus of Thursday's executive session is to discuss potential litigation. After that, the agenda reads: "Request for approval of separation and consulting agreement and general release of claims, executive director Ed Galligan."

Port spokeswoman Jennie Foglia-Jones declined to comment on the agenda before Thursday's gathering. Port attorney Heather Burgess could not be reached Wednesday. Galligan is not expected to attend the meeting.

Galligan, who has spent nearly 13 years leading the port, was placed on administrative leave by commissioners Joe Downing, Bill McGregor and E.J. Zita on April 23.

The port and commission have been quiet about that decision, but Downing shared some thoughts about the action they took in an email to his constituents.

"We thank him for his leadership over these years. But, time for a change," Downing wrote. "There are new challenges and that requires new leadership. The three commissioners are on the same page."

Galligan arrived at the port in late 2005, a time when ship traffic at the marine terminal was almost non-existent. But that soon changed with the arrival of Weyerhaeuser's log export business.

The port also continued its work on the cleanup of the former Cascade Pole site and created a parking area, walking trail and park at the north end of the port peninsula. An old warehouse on East Bay was demolished to pave the way for future development, which brought the Hands On Children's Museum to the area. More development is expected in that area.

A fuel dock also opened at Swantown Marina.

But community controversies loomed large during his tenure. For example, the port commission decided to import fracking sand from China and send that material by rail to companies in the Midwest that drill for oil and gas. Commission meetings became heated as activists shared their concerns about the fossil fuel industry. Later, they blocked rail shipments in downtown Olympia.

The prospect of handling military cargo also generated commissioner and community concerns.

After oil prices collapsed, fracking shipments slowed and revenue to the port fell sharply. Since then, the port has had to operate with much leaner and tighter budgets. In November, the port commission took the rare step of increasing the tax levy rate by 3 cents per $1,000 in property value.

Thursday's meeting is set for 10 a.m. at the port offices at 626 Columbia St. NW, Suite 1B.

This story was originally published May 30, 2018 at 11:40 AM with the headline "Ed Galligan's tenure as Port of Olympia executive appears set to end Thursday."