Port of Olympia releases conflict of interest report on Commissioner Amy Evans
The Port of Olympia’s conflict of interest investigation into Commissioner Amy Evans found no wrongdoing on her part but raises some key points on how the port, Evans and an option agreement with developer Panattoni should be handled going forward.
The 24-page investigation, done by a Bellingham law firm, was sent to The Olympian last week after the port commission voted 2-0 April 18 to release the document. Evans recused herself from that vote; Commissioners Bob Iyall and Joe Downing approved its release.
Evans makes a living as a commercial real estate broker for a company called Kidder Mathews. In late 2019, Evans approached port staff regarding a potential commercial real estate development project involving Panattoni and the port, according to the investigation.
In July 2020, the Port entered into a lease option agreement with Panattoni to develop 200 acres of port property in Tumwater that is part of the port’s New Market Industrial Campus. The port and Kidder Matthews eventually entered into a brokerage agreement, according to the investigation.
During her 2021 campaign to be port commissioner, a conflict-of-interest issue was raised in connection with the Panattoni deal. In response, Commissioner Evans announced she would forego any monetary compensation for her work on the deal, she removed herself from the Kidder Matthews listing team, and requested that her name be removed from the sign, flyer, and listing for the Panattoni project.
“Based on our understanding, Commissioner Evans has not received any payment in connection with the option agreement or the brokerage agreement,” the document reads.
Still, the port received additional e-mail complaints, and people expressed concerns regarding the matter at a port commission meeting in January. That ultimately led the port to hire the Bellingham-based law firm Chmelik Sitkin & Davis. Attorney Peter Ruffatto, who produced the report, specializes in municipal government and port district law, according to the law firm’s website.
“At the time the option agreement and brokerage agreement were approved and executed, Amy Evans was not a port commissioner,” the report reads. “She was not, therefore, a municipal officer at the time of contract formation. It was only after she took office on Jan. 1, 2022, that she became a municipal officer.
“Further, the contracts at issue were not made under her supervision for the same reason — she had not yet assumed office. As stated by one court, ‘it would be an oddity for an elected official automatically to be placed in violation of the ethics code merely by being sworn into office.’”
Although Evans announced in a letter to The Olympian that she would forego any compensation tied to the Panattoni deal, the investigation recommends something more formal.
“The waiver should be memorialized to make clear that Commissioner Evans will receive no compensation as a broker for Kidder Mathews under contracts with the port for the duration of her term of office.”
While Evans remains a shareholder of Kidder Mathews, she holds less than 1 percent of the shares of the company.
Still, if there are any modifications to the Panattoni option agreement while she’s a commissioner, the investigation outlines the following steps because of her shareholder interest.
“Commissioner Evans will be required to disclose the interest to the port commission at a public meeting and ensure that the interest is noted in the official minutes of the port commission prior to formation of the contract,” the report says. “If the port commission authorizes, approves, or ratifies the contract in good faith by a vote, it must do so without counting the vote of Commissioner Evans.
“Additionally, Commissioner Evans must avoid influencing or attempting to influence any other commissioners or port staff in the decision regarding the contract.”
Although Evans recused herself from the April 18 vote, she praised the release of the investigation’s conclusions.
“From the beginning, I have welcomed full transparency on this issue and I’m excited that the public will have access to that information,” she said.
