Seattle’s Dinsmore refutes press reports of land swap
Port of Seattle Chief Executive Officer Mic Dinsmore has denied press reports Friday that the port is preparing to take money it had set aside to replace an aging viaduct with a rail tunnel, and use it instead to entice King County into a land swap that would garner the King County International Airport for the port authority.
The Seattle Times reported the potential for a swap Friday, including quoting Dinsmore as saying the swap would be a legal way to get around a regulatory hurdle.
“Dinsmore ruled out the port directly buying the county airport because it, too, receives federal money,” the newspaper reported. “The land swap sidesteps the federal restrictions, he said. ‘It’s not a sleight of hand,’ (Dinsmore) said of the swap. ‘It allows us to do it legally.’ “
In a statement Friday, Dinsmore disputed the report.
“Contrary to some press reports this morning, there have been no discussions by the Port of Seattle commissioners, nor by executive leadership of the port, about financing a proposed land swap with King County with money previously earmarked for a tunnel along the Seattle waterfront,” he said. “No money has been voted for either project. The Port of Seattle commissioners have studied ways to finance their potential participation in the tunnel project. Port finance staff, under the direction of the commission, brought forward a plan in which the port could pay $200 million toward the tunnel financing. Under that scenario, which has not been voted on or approved by the commission, the port could pay $20 million a year for 10 years, beginning in 2009. There has been no discussion of diverting those funds for another use.”