The Port of Skagit is a

port authority In Canada and the United States, a port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority for a special-purpose district usually formed by a legislative body (or bodies) to operate ports and other t ...

that owns and operates four key facilities in Skagit County, Washington. They include the

Skagit Regional Airport Skagit Regional Airport is a public airport located three miles (5 km) west of the central business district of Burlington and northwest of Mount Vernon, both cities in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The airport is owned by the ...

, Bayview Business Park, the SWIFT Center and the La Conner Marina. The Port of Skagit also maintains an extensive

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...

system and several properties it owns.

Airport

Skagit Regional Airport, situated in the heart of the Bayview Business Park, is a popular general

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

facility offering terminal facilities, aviation fuels, restaurant, and a variety of aircraft maintenance and related services including qualified flight instruction.

Marina

La Conner Marina is located on the Swinomish Channel. It acts as a passage to the

San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core of ...

. The La Conner Marina has both covered and uncovered berths, and also owns land which is leased to several surrounding marina-related private businesses.

Business Park

Near the airport, the Port of Skagit operates a large

business park A business park or office park is a designated area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. These types of developments are often located in suburban areas where land and building costs are more affordable, and are typically ...

where it provides utilities and leases land and buildings. It also runs an

incubator An incubator is anything that performs or facilitates various forms of incubation, and may refer to: Biology and medicine * Incubator (culture), a device used to grow and maintain microbiological cultures or cell cultures * Incubator (egg), a de ...

program here, where companies with a sound business plan and strong potential for sales growth, are offered lease rates at one-third the normal market rate during a business’s first year, two-thirds the normal rate in the second year, and full price by the third year. This service is meant to help local small businesses grow.

Port district

The Port of Skagit County is an independent, self-supporting government entity in Skagit County. The Port is under the control of a three elected commissioners and is administered by an executive director.

History

A vote from local residents established the Port of Skagit County on Nov. 1964, under the logo of "Building Today while Planning Tomorrow". The first Commissioners were Chris Knudsgon, George Dynes, and Norman Ovenell. In 1965, the Skagit Regional Airport was jointly deeded to the Port of Anacortes and the Port of Skagit County, though Anacortes gave up its share of ownership in 1975. The airport was initially created during the second World War as an auxiliary air field to the

Whidbey Island Naval Air Station Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI) is a naval air station of the United States Navy located on two pieces of land near Oak Harbor, on Whidbey Island, in Island County, Washington. The main portion of the base, Ault Field, is about ...

. The Bayview Business Park was initially created in the mid 1970s. There were nearly of industrial zoned property at the Port of Skagit County's airport area. The goal was to create a new crop of jobs in the area. The La Conner Marina was initially created June 1970, with 200 moorages. Approximately 3,000 attendees were there, including U.S. Senator

Henry M. Jackson Henry Martin "Scoop" Jackson (May 31, 1912 – September 1, 1983) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. representative (1941–1953) and U.S. senator (1953–1983) from the state of Washington. A Cold War liberal and anti- ...

. The Port has had a few notable tenants over the years. Draper Valley farms built a state-of-the-art factory in the BBIP in the early 1970s, and PACCAR built began construction on a piece of land bought from the port in 1979. The PACCAR testing center is still in use today.

Environment

In January 2007 the Port of Skagit County was issued a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II Municipal Stormwater Permit. The NPDES Permit Stormwater Program is intended to help the Port reduce the amount of

stormwater Stormwater, also spelled storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil ( infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed la ...

pollution reaching Padilla Bay.

References

External links

Official Port of Skagit Website
*Port of Skagit County is located at Government agencies established in 1964 Skagit County Skagit County, Washington 1964 establishments in Washington (state)