Port says investigation has cleared Commissioner Evans of conflict of interest charge
A recently completed investigation has cleared Port of Olympia Commissioner Amy Evans of conflict of interest concerns, the port’s executive director announced during Monday’s commission meeting.
Executive Director Sam Gibboney announced a Bellingham law firm’s findings at Monday’s meeting, and shared key portions of it with the public. The memorandum is expected to be posted on the port’s website later this week, she said.
The Olympian has requested a copy of it.
“Nothing in this memorandum implies or assumes that Commissioner Evans has at any time acted in her own personal interests or intends to do so in the future,” said Gibboney, quoting from the memo. “Based on the analysis below, and the facts as we understand them, there has been no violation of the ethics act.”
The memorandum also makes recommendations for identifying future conflicts.
“We provide a detailed discussion of the law and various means by which the port commission can avoid future violations in connection with the Panattoni project and more generally,” said Gibboney, quoting again from the document.
Evans, a commercial real estate broker, faced conflict of interest allegations during her campaign to become a port commissioner as well as after she was elected because of her role in bringing to the port’s attention a developer called Panattoni.
Panattoni signed an option agreement with the port, giving it permission to explore commercial development of about 200 acres of port-owned land in Tumwater. The land is part of the port’s New Market Industrial Campus. Panattoni has gone on to explore not one, but two warehouses for the site.
Evans didn’t respond to the memo during the meeting, but she did after it.
“I hope having an exhaustive investigative process helps people have trust in our commitment to transparency and the work we’re doing at the port,” she said. “It has been demonstrated I don’t have a conflict.”
Commissioner Joe Downing said the full report is about 24 pages.
“It gives us our marching orders going forward,” he said. “I think it’s a great document.”
This story was originally published March 29, 2022 at 5:45 AM.
