The post Port of Skagit Gets Clean Audit from the State appeared first on Port of Skagit.
]]>BURLINGTON, WA—The Port of Skagit recently underwent its required annual audit by the State of Washington, with no findings reported.
The annual audit conducted by the State Auditor’s Office, which normally takes several weeks to complete on site, was done almost entirely virtually this year due to COVID restrictions. This annual procedure includes two sections of review: an accountability audit to review all business matters from 2019 to ensure the Port is safeguarding public resources and assets; and a financial statement audit to ensure that finances are prepared using appropriate general accounting principles. There were no findings in either of the two sections of the annual audit for the Port of Skagit, essentially a “clean bill of health”.
2019 was a busy year for the Port of Skagit, including a variety of economic development projects, work on the countywide fiber optic infrastructure, the addition of US Customs & Border Protection services and managing operations and growth at the Port’s four properties: Skagit Regional Airport, Bayview Business Park, La Conner Marina and SWIFT Center.
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]]>The post Port of Skagit Adopts “Bring Your Child to Work” Policy appeared first on Port of Skagit.
]]>BURLINGTON, WA—The Port of Skagit recently adopted a new policy in response to the growing challenges that many working families are facing.
At its September Port Commission meeting, the Port of Skagit adopted a “Children in the Workplace” policy for Port employees. This policy creates some flexibility for Port staff who find themselves trying to balance the demands of work and home responsibilities with school resuming at home for most students. The new policy is a temporary measure that would allow employees to bring their school-aged children to work under certain conditions.
“The Port strives to provide a family-friendly work environment for our employees,” said Patsy Martin, Executive Director for the Port of Skagit. “We recognize the challenges that working families are facing today, and we want to be proactive in helping our team achieve a work-life balance that meets their family’s needs while remaining productive at work.”
The policy is not meant to be a substitute for childcare, and the Port reserves the right to adjust the policy as the 2020-2021 school year progresses and needs change. The Port of Skagit currently employs a total of 35 people at their four properties: Skagit Regional Airport, Bayview Business Park, La Conner Marina and SWIFT Center.
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]]>The post Finding a Way to Help at the Port of Skagit appeared first on Port of Skagit.
]]>Skagit Regional Airport remains open to air traffic, as an important transportation asset to the local and regional community. Skagit Regional Airport is used by several different emergency medical flight services so keeping the airport open is increasingly important during public health crises.
Similar to Chinook Enterprises, Eddyline Kayaks and others in our community, some manufacturing tenants at the Port are also pivoting away from their normal production lines and shifting their efforts to producing much-needed personal protective equipment (PPE) to meet the increased demand for such items.
One of those tenants is Design Techniques, a manufacturer of boat covers and enclosures located at the La Conner Marina. Scott Weatherly and his father Dave wanted to find a way to help, so they signed up on the volunteer resource list with Island Hospital. After sharing a few face mask prototypes with a volunteer coordinator with the hospital, they are now cutting materials and creating more templates to help with the increased demand. “We’re just trying to help, with some additional time put towards it each day,” Weatherly explained. “But until they tell me there is a vaccine, we’re ready to keep helping as much as we can.”
In hard-hit Snohomish County, Port of Skagit Commissioner Dr. Kevin Ware is also answering the call to help by volunteering at a Public Health testing site obtaining lab samples from symptomatic patients. He has been a part of the Snohomish County Emergency Medical Response team for 20 years.
“I think that if we all work together on this COVID-19 problem, the outcome will not be anywhere near as bad as some have predicted,” Dr. Ware said. “Toward that end, the Port of Skagit is making sure we keep the airport open as it may be required for emergency purposes. The Port administrative office staff are all working from home on several projects which will add a lot of new jobs for the community after this crisis has passed. We anticipate the Port will be back to its normal function by the middle of June.”
As part of keeping operations up and running, the Port of Skagit Commission will conduct its regular commission meeting on Tuesday, April 14 at 2pm via Zoom teleconferencing. As always, the public is welcome to attend the meeting. For details on how to join the meeting, please email [email protected]
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]]>The post Public-Private Ground-Breaking at Skagit Regional Airport appeared first on Port of Skagit.
]]>Burlington, WA—With a small group of supportive stakeholders holding golden shovels, a ceremonial ground-breaking was held May 26th for a new, privately-owned hangar project at Skagit Regional Airport. This exciting, albeit low-key, ceremony marked the next stage of a project that will fulfill a significant need within the local and regional aviation community.
The hangar project is the vision of Mike Dyberg of Dyberg Aviation and will consist of two separate buildings each housing 10 new T-hangars. Dyberg has been a steadfast presence at Skagit Regional Airport for years, operating his flight training center out of the airport terminal since January 2017.
The Port provided assistance for the project in the form of ground preparation, while the building costs, and subsequent ownership of the structures, will be Dyberg’s. For the Port, it is a beneficial public-private partnership that supports general aviation at Skagit Regional Airport, something that Dyberg feels strongly about as well.
“General aviation is an important part of the airport’s future,” he explained. “Giving cover to general aviation aircraft will support that future.”
Skagit Regional Airport is a general aviation airport with an intentional focus on business aviation that supports good jobs and economic growth opportunities for our community.
This hangar project is located on Crosswind Drive along the 04-22 runway, the area of the airfield that focusses on hangars and services for smaller aircraft in the Skagit Regional Airport Master Plan. The main 11-29 runway and apron can accommodate larger jets and is supported by the FAA.
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]]>The post Port of Skagit Adopts New Safety Protocols for Public and Staff appeared first on Port of Skagit.
]]>As business operations throughout the state begin to phase back in, Port of Skagit leadership has developed and adopted new Disease Prevention Safety Protocols to further protect Port staff, visitors, tenants and the general public.
Social distancing, protective equipment and safety, protections for high-risk employees and guest access are just a few of the topics covered in the thoughtfully crafted policies.
With a wide spectrum of staff job duties and roles, including maintenance, airport and marina operations, business development, and direct customer service to the public, the new safety policies had to address an equally diverse and broad range of risks, accommodations and protocols. Port leadership encouraged all staff to participate in the development of the policies by gathering feedback from staff surveys and holding multiple teleconference meetings to hear concerns and explore solutions.
Visitors to the Port Administrative and Marina offices can expect to see more physical barriers, signage to provide guidance, and protective supplies like masks, gloves and hand sanitizer for guests and staff to use. La Conner Marina staff are on-site getting geared up for the spring boating and RV season. Port staff at the Administrative Office will return to on-site work beginning June 1st once all the new safety measures are installed and prepared.
The full Disease Prevention Safety Protocol policy can be viewed HERE
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]]>The post Skagit Regional Airport to Receive $69,000 Through CARES Act appeared first on Port of Skagit.
]]>Nationwide, nearly $10 billion in airport grants will be awarded to eligible U.S. airports to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus impacts as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
According to the funding announcement from the Federal Aviation Administration this week, funds can be used to keep airports in reliable, safe operation in order to serve public needs, support the economy and keep airport and aviation workers employed.
More than 3,000 airports are eligible for funding, ranging from large commercial airports to general aviation airports like Skagit Regional Airport. Skagit Regional Airport has remained open during this pandemic as an essential public transportation hub, providing access for emergency medical flight arrivals and departures, and continued operations of essential businesses.
The Port of Skagit has not made any decisions yet on how these funds will be allocated. Further evaluation of the funding requirements and Port projects is currently underway to determine the best fit and highest need area for using the funds.
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