The Port of Bellingham commissioners approved a nearly $100,000 contract with a Bellingham “strategic communications” consultant, without public input or discussion, during its Tuesday, Aug. 13 meeting.
The 16-point campaign was put together by Bellingham-based public relations firm Conflux Associates to improve the port’s image and awareness with the public following months of criticism for a series of high-profile missteps: Irish developer Harcourt’s waterfront project and legal battles, the partnership with maligned metal operations ABC Recycling, and a lack of transparency around the sudden ouster of the Bellingham International Airport’s aviation director.
The proposal, put together by Conflux owner Peter Frazier, notes “in the area of public opinion, there is now a reflexive negative reaction to the Port of Bellingham brand.”
Frazier, a longtime Bellingham businessman involved in hotels as well as civic issues, wrote, “it pains me to see the Port of Bellingham take such a reputational beating. The problem has been growing for some time but has reached a critical nadir.”
The campaign, originally pitched as a three-year contract, is “a great opportunity to look at what we’re doing and how we can do it better,” according to Mike Hogan, the public affairs administrator.
The vote for the PR contract came day after the airport’s deputy director of aviation quit. At the same time, the port revealed it faces a 40% loss of revenue from Southwest Airlines recent departure. The port has not announced plans to replace the airline’s routes, another source of complaints from area residents.
Rob Fix, the port’s executive director, has assumed the aviation director role at the airport on top of his primary role at the port.
The port commission approved the proposal during its regularly scheduled meeting with no discussion as part of the Consent Agenda, which means there is only a simple voting process.
John Servais, a Bellingham resident who’s been critical of the port in the past, said he believed the new communication campaign is the wrong step to take even if the port has an image problem.
“The idea of putting in $100,000 for a communication system means a propaganda and front-facing ‘we’ve got to put out our story,’” he said, noting the port may be more likely to issue news releases rather than answer questions from reporters.
Hogan compared the strategic communications plan to the Waterfront Future Group, completed in 2004 by a group of citizens to guide future decisions on how the waterfront could be developed. Between the port and the City of Bellingham, the two-year effort cost $500,000.
Tip Johnson, a former Bellingham City Council member and co-founder of Fairhaven Boat Works, now the Community Boating Center, said he wasn’t sure if the expenditure for the approved communications plan seemed excessive.
“But I think it would be good for the port to do some outreach and explain to people what they’re doing with the money they receive from the property tax,” he said.
Hogan said Tuesday that the port’s more prominent mistakes, such as ABC Recycling, weren’t part of the reasoning for the communication plan.
“The public has asked for increased community engagement,” he said. “We have so many big, important projects going on for the community and people have really good questions, so we really want to get that information out there.”
Servais took issue with Hogan’s characterization of the public asking for more community engagement.
“We’re not looking for more public communication,” he said. “We’re looking for transparency … When it comes to governments, we depend upon transparency. Transparency doesn’t cost them a nickel.”
The campaign lists 16 ways for the port to gain information on public opinion and engage with future mission planning including: stakeholder interviews, vision development, relationship development and executive coaching with port staff.
The campaign is supposed to run through the end of August 2025.
Hogan said hopefully by then, the port will have a better understanding of how to do their jobs better by engaging with the community.
Annie Todd is CDN’s criminal justice/enterprise reporter; reach her at annietodd@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 130.
