Port of Olympia needs Fishburn

How many people in Thurston County know the port is $50 million in debt and that we pay for the port vIa property taxes at the rates of $5.2 million to perhaps closer to $6.7 million per year..Our $5.2 million in taxes barely covers their debt and interest payments of around $ 4.8 million per year.

The Port is going further into debt each year as it is still losing money even when they count our tax payments as income.

The Port is one of the largest property owners in Thurston County and yet it provides very limited value from those $100 million dollars in assets.

Most all private business’s could never operate under those conditions!

We were fortunate to attend a port commissioner candidate meeting and the gentleman clearly explained a lot about what needs to be done to make the port viable,to try and to financially break even at the end of the year.

Consider breaking up the dysfunctional threesome.

New blood and new ideas and certainly transparency would would be a step in the right diirection.

We liked the man ,he was honest with all his answers to all ,and some tough questions asked.

We think this man can make big difference to the ill health of the Port of Olympia.

His name is Bill Fishburn.

This story was originally published September 19, 2017 at 12:50 PM with the headline "Port of Olympia needs Fishburn."