VANCOUVER PORT COMMISSION APPROVES PURCHASE OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTIES (12/12/07)

For Immediate Release

VANCOUVER, Wash.-The Port of Vancouver USA today addressed a need for more industrial land, and rail construction, that will aide its customers and tenants in the ability to expand.

Today, the commission voted to authorize Executive Director Larry Paulson to sign purchase and sale agreements for the vacant Alcoa Aluminum and Evergreen Aluminum, LLC properties. It is widely believed within the port industry that the parcels are among very few remaining industrial properties with deep-water access on the West Coast.

The land acquisitions, which total $48.25 million, were two of 11 action items considered by the Commission today.

Purchasing the Alcoa & Evergreen properties is critical to the port as it looks to expand rail service to accommodate business growth for its current customers – particularly those who use rail service – and to add industrial property that is shovel-ready for new customers to move to the port.

Commissioners Arch Miller, Brian Wolfe and Nancy Baker voted unanimously to authorize Paulson to sign a purchase and sale agreement (PSA) with Evergreen Aluminum LLC to purchase its property for an amount not to exceed $24.5 million. The property amounts to 110.87 acres.

Commissioners will also be asked by staff to authorize Paulson to sign an addendum to the purchase and sale the port had previously signed with Alcoa Aluminum, which would finalize the terms of the agreement. The Port Commission approved the PSA with Alcoa on June 26, 2007 pursuant to the passage of its proposed Industrial Development District (IDD) levy, which failed in the August primary election. After the levy’s defeat, the port and Alcoa continued negotiating and reached a proposed addendum to the PSA, which is what the Commission will consider at this meeting. Purchase price of the 107.3-acre Alcoa property is $23,750,000.

The port needs at least a portion of the Alcoa and Evergreen properties to build the West Vancouver Freight Access project that will provide access to trains as long as 100-110 cars, and allow for movement, storage and assembly & disassembly of those trains. The remaining property is expected to be developed as a marine terminal.

The port is currently nearly 100 percent occupied with very little room for growth. The shovel-ready industrial property will also allow the port to attract new marine and industrial customers and will allow more rapid development for those customers. This, in turn, would allow for an earlier source of revenue for the port from those customers.

Alcoa Evergreen will be responsible for cleaning the property to industrial standards, which means the port's purchase of Alcoa/Evergreen is the best possible outcome for the community, as it will accelerate the cleanup of a site that has been contaminated and vacant for years, all funded by the current owners of the property – who are motivated to get the contamination cleaned up in order to close the sale.

The Washington State Department of Ecology has received its marching orders from the governor to ensure this site is thoroughly cleaned in an expedited manner, and appropriately cared for in the future. Brownfield sites require ongoing caretaking and monitoring. This will be the responsibility of any future owner, regardless of whether it’s publicly- or privately-held, and as such, the port will assume the responsibility for ongoing monitoring.

In preparing for the purchase, the port has done a thorough analysis of the Alcoa site and will conduct a detailed due diligence on the Evergreen site. The port is aware of the contamination that is currently on the site and is working with the current owners and Ecology to ensure the public’s interests are addressed in the transfer of property.

Other action taken by the Vancouver Port Commission today includes:

• Approved an amendment to the port’s 2008-2017 Strategic Plan
• Approved a lease in Building 2100 with Burgener’s Woodworking, which needed industrial space appropriate for expansion of its operations.
• Approved a lease amendment with Manufacturers Supply, Inc.
• Approved a construction lease for BNSF Railway Company.
• Approved an action to provide rail project rights for development of the West Vancouver Freight Access Project.
• Approved a contract awarded to Rotschy, Inc. of Yacolt, Wash., for construction of Schedule 1A of the West Vancouver Freight Access Project.
• Approved a public works contract with JS & S Excavation for early grading and fill of a parcel of port property on the Rufener property.
• Approved a public works contract with Five Rivers Construction for the installation of a new concrete floor in the port’s Building 2401, occupied by IMS Electronics Recycling.
• Approved the extension of active personal services contracts.
• Approved a resolution recognizing 18 years of service by outgoing Port Commissioner Arch Miller.

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The Port of Vancouver, USA, created by Clark County taxpayers in 1912, is one of the major ports on the Pacific Coast. Its competitive strengths include available land, versatile cargo handling capabilities, vast transportation networks, a dependable labor force and an exceptional level of service to its customers and community.

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