Councilmember Jean Godden
COUNCIL PASSES RESOLUTION URGING NOAA TO STAY IN SEATTLE
Legislators want National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the City
SEATTLE –Today, Seattle City Councilmembers voted unanimously on Resolution 30340 to express their support for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and use the service to keep its Marine Operations Center, Pacific, home-ported in Seattle.
“I am especially pleased to sponsor this resolution which recognizes the long and commendable history of NOAA in Seattle,” said Councilmember Jean Godden. “These operations are an essential facet of Seattle’s historic maritime heritage. They provide a significant economic benefit and a source of professional employment for Seattle and its residents.”
NOAA, which provides more than 70 Seattle-based jobs in the Marine Operations Center, Pacific, on Lake Union will be making a decision shortly on whether the agency will stay in Seattle or move to Everett, Bellingham or ports in Alaska. The question regarding NOAA’s future was prompted by the July 2006 fire which crippled the center and forced the agency to seek temporary berthing for its ships.
Seattle has been the principal NOAA ship base in the Pacific and is the center for marine charting and oceanographic research operations from the north coast of Alaska through California and Hawaii. Its ships began operations in Seattle and the Puget Sound area in the 1800s. NOAA is the nation’s oldest scientific and technical agency. The center had a budget of $7.6 million in Fiscal Year 2006.
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