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Port of Seattle Spends Too Heavily on New SeaTac Concourse
By Dick Falkenbury
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WARNING TO THE PORT OF SEATTLE COMMISSIONERS: THIS IS SARCASM. DO NOT TAKE THE ABOVE SENTENCE SERIOUSLY.
The Port of Seattle Commissioners voted in July to spend $324 million to completely rebuild the SeaTac Airport concourse.
Of course this is unnecessary. Of course nobody thinks this is a good idea of how to spend taxpayer money. These things do not matter to the Commissioners. They know what's best for us (there's a lot of that going around).
We elected people like Paige Miller and Patricia Davis figuring that people like this wouldn't need to build great big things to enhance whatever it is that the other commissioners thought that they were missing (is that obvious enough?). We were wrong. The first thing that Miller and Davis voted for was a headquarters building that set new records for cost per square foot and upon completion, the place was immediately granted entry to the Oedipal Hall of Fame (Edifice Division). I can't go into the Port headquarters without a cold shower.
Now, the commissioners have found a way to outdo themselves. They have found a way to waste taxpayers' money that other politicians can only envy from afar.
This $324 million that they plan to waste on the concourse is more than King County spent on low income housing.
More than the city of Seattle has spent on emergency shelter.
More than the city of Seattle has spent on transportation.
More than anyone with an ounce of sense would spend.
And there is more! I promise you that the new concourse will not fit either the monorail or light rail when they get there. Remember, these are the same type of planners that put the wrong rails in the bus tunnel.*
I would urge you to call the Port of Seattle Commissioners at 728-3000 and tell these people that you don't appreciate your money building pyramids to Pharoahs Miller, Davis and the rest of that nest. Calling and complaining wonít do any good.
Let's find a group of candidates who can get elected who promise to reduce the Port's budget every year that they are in office, starting with a promise not to take any junkets. (It's easy to tell what is a junket versus a legitimate fact-finding trip: would you go if you had to pay your own way--and then make sure by paying for it.)
*Some idiot down at Sound Transit is going to write in saying, "You're wrong, Falkenbury. We didn't put the wrong rails in. We put in the right rails, we just forgot to properly ground them." It's thinking like this that makes you long for a slate of opponents that will throw these people out--and then make good on their promises.
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| Patrick | Mar 11, 2004 | Seattle | Sr. Ramp Controller |
| Wonderful article, well written and completely accurate. I work for the Port and this article only graze the surface of the inappropriate use of public funds as well as civil and human rights violations. Please feel free to contact me for more details. My home number is: 206-772-4833. Cell number is 206-354-8013. Thanks for taking the time to do what other papers in the area won't do. Thanks for telling the truth. | |||
