At a special Port of Tacoma Commission meeting on Feb. 14, Port of Tacoma Commissioners authorized entering into a Memorandum of Intent with the Puyallup Tribe, Marine View Ventures and SSA Marine that focuses on cooperation and coordination of new terminal development on the Blair-Hylebos Peninsula. Marine View Ventures is the economic development arm of the Puyallup Tribe.
Key actions from the Memorandum of Intent (MOI) include these elements:
- The Port will enter into a preferential use and operating agreement with SSA Marine for use of a 1,200-foot (366-meter) berth and about 20 acres (8.1 hectares) of backup land area.
- The Port and the Tribe will exchange land to improve the overall layout of the current footprint of the future Tribe/SSA Marine terminal and future Port terminal developments. The Port will sell about 18 acres (7.3 hectares) to the Tribe, and about 12 acres (4.9 hectares) of Tribal property will be dredged and put to marine terminal use.
- The Port and SSA Marine will cooperate on the widening of the Blair Waterway at the planned terminal site to improve the navigational safety and operational efficiencies of terminals on the Blair Waterway.
- The Tribe, the Port and SSA Marine will provide mutual support of each other's development plans.
"This agreement is a milestone in the Tribe's continuing efforts of achieving greater economic diversification," said Herman Dillon, Chairman of the Puyallup Tribal Council. "By working together with the Port and SSA Marine, we are able to bring new developments and job opportunities to Pierce County and the Puget Sound region."
"This is a big step forward for the future development of our entire community," said Commission President Dick Marzano. "The Port and the Tribe have both made tremendous strides in the past by working together.
There is still a lot of work that needs to be done in finalizing the components of a comprehensive agreement, but by continuing to work together, we will get there."
"As a local company, we are very excited for our company to be expanding operations in Tacoma and working cooperatively with the Tribe and the Port," said Bob Watters, Vice President of SSA Marine. "This is an important development for the Port and for the region."
The Tribe, the Port and SSA Marine all complimented Congressman Norm Dicks for his ongoing support and leadership in supporting these cooperative development efforts. Dicks was also instrumental in negotiating the 1988 Puyallup Indian Land Claims Settlement Agreement, that led to removing the Blair Bridge, relocating SR-509 and unlocking the development potential of the upper Blair Waterway for the Tribe and the Port.
The Memorandum of Intent provides the foundation for developing the various components of a comprehensive agreement that will be developed by the three parties. The goal is to finalize the overall agreement by the end of March 2008, so that it can be presented to the Puyallup Tribal Council, Marine View Ventures, the Port Commission and SSA Marine for review and consideration for approval in April 2008.
The Puyallup Tribe of Indians has over 3,500 members. The administration building is located on Portland Avenue on Tacoma's East Side, and the tribe's reservation covers 18,500 acres in Pierce County. The tribe operates Puyallup Tribal Health Authority, Chief Leschi Schools and is heavily involved in measures to improve the local environment, including operating fish hatcheries and monitoring water quality in the Puyallup River. It operates two casinos, a hotel, Chinook Landing Marina, several gas stations and other business enterprises through Marine View Ventures, the tribe's economic development division.
