The National Weather Service is predicting a double-dip La Niña winter, similar to last winter. This weather pattern typically results in colder, wetter conditions in our region - including more snow. The teams at King County International Airport-Boeing Field are ready for whatever comes our way. At a recent discussion, the Operations and Maintenance teams detailed their winter weather preparations:
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- For 2021-22, the airport will use a new Priority surface clearing map, including taxiways A and B as Priority I (from Priority II).
- Thanks to some new hires, Operations (Ops) now has 24-hour around-the-clock coverage. Both Ops and Maintenance will go into 24-hour coverage during any snow event.
- 27,000 gallons of liquid E-36 de-icer (airside) and 31,000 pounds of NAAC solid de-icer (landside) are available for use. Three additional E36 tanks are being installed in mid-November and will add 27,000 more gallons of capacity, for a total capacity of 54,000 gallons of liquid de-icer.
- Ops, Maintenance and Fleet Services will do practice snow removal runs in early November. These allow the team to ensure the equipment is in perfect working condition and give the drivers hands-on practice for navigating the airfield as a team.
- Our request for new snow and ice removal equipment is under review for FAA funding, but won't be here in time for this winter season. We're requesting Multi-tasking Equipment (MTE) units – single operator units that include a snow plow and a snow broom.
Welcoming flights of all kinds – from small private planes to Boeing jet deliveries – is part of business as usual at KCIA. But this season, there are some new customers: the Kraken and other hockey teams flying in and out of Seattle!
“We’re happy to welcome the Kraken and other NHL teams for the inaugural Kraken season,” said Matt Sykora, Properties and Business Development Administrator for KCIA.
“This month is the pinnacle of sports charters,” he added.
A majority of the sports charters flying in and out of Seattle already use KCIA, including all Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer teams, Sykora said. A handful of National Football League teams and several college teams fly in and out as well.
Photo: Facilities Management Division Security Officer Michelle Calicut raises the Kraken flag at the King County Administration Building.
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A little rain didn't wash out our latest street cleanup around King County International Airport-Boeing Field in mid-October. A few hardy souls like airport project delivery manager Raleigh Salazar, at left, braved the soggy, chilly conditions to collect an estimated 1,300 pounds of trash and debris along Airport Way and Ellis Avenue. In total, employees have picked up about 5,300 pounds of garbage during four events since 2019.
Many thanks to everyone who pitched in on a damp day to help our neighborhood look better.
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Coming to the airport for work or play? Employees, tenants and the public can bring non-perishable food to donate to the second annual Fly Washington food drive through Nov. 19. All donations will be given to the Georgetown Food Bank.
“It’s a competition among Washington airports to see who can collect the most food by Thanksgiving,” said Matt Sykora. Donations will be weighed to see which airport wins a coveted trophy.
The airport is also collecting gently used clothes.
There are donation cans at the main terminal and at each of the fixed base operators (FBOs).
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There are lots of ways to participate in the King County Employee Giving Campaign’s annual giving drive, now underway. You can donate via payroll deduction, by donating vacation time you might lose if you don’t use it, and you can use sick leave to volunteer! During the campaign, you can also learn more about various nonprofits by attending virtual Expos. If you have questions or ideas for the campaign, contact Ellen Knowlen or Lorenzo Stubbs, who are the airport’s dedicated ambassadors. |
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They say flying can be in your blood, right?
Ties to flying, and to King County International Airport (KCIA) in particular, go back many years for some employees, including airport employees David Decoteau, Raleigh Salazar and Vanessa Chin.
David Decoteau
David Decoteau fell in love with airplanes at KCIA as a child.
“My dad used to take me when I was a little guy to watch airplanes,” Decoteau said. “My entire career has blossomed from that airport.”
Decoteau took some flight training at KCIA and did his internship here in 2003 in maintenance, mentored by late airport deputy director Mike Colmant. He worked his way up and held several positions in maintenance and operations over the next 10 years.
“I was part of the first operations group at the airport,” Decoteau said. “Before that, the sheriff’s office did operations in addition to their public safety function.”
Decoteau returned to KCIA as deputy director in September, after managing airports in California and Renton.
“It means a lot to be back at the airport and do what I can do to help see it excel and continue to see it developed as the asset it is to the county and the community,” he said.
Decoteau’s ties with the county go even further back.
“My dad was with the county for 45 years and my sister works with the county as a social worker,” he said. “The county is deeply ingrained in my family.”
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Raleigh Salazar
Raleigh Salazar, Project Delivery Manager, has long ties with KCIA, too, also returning to management.
“I grew up as a teen for a time in Georgetown,” Salazar said. “I actually started at Boeing Field at 16 years old working as a busser at the old 'Blue Max' restaurant in the Arrivals Building.”
As a teen, Salazar became fascinated with aircraft and airports. He frequently hung out at KCIA, Renton and Sea-Tac.
“It really made me realize I wanted to have a career in aviation,” Salazar said.
Salazar eventually went into the Air Force.
“I became a tactical fighter aircraft crew chief and I experienced working on the most advanced airplanes in the world at interesting airfields like Edwards Air Force Base, Nellis Air Force Base, and Osan Air Base in Korea along with many others. Eventually I ended my Air Force career at McChord then joined Metro and King County,” Salazar said.
“When a supervisor position opened at the airport, I jumped at the opportunity to be part of the Airport team. Since then, I have shared this place with all three of my kids and now as adults all have pursued aerospace careers themselves,” Salazar continued.
“It’s my home airport,” he added.
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Vanessa Chin
Vanessa Chin, Business Information Management Manager, lives just two and a half miles from the airport in Beacon Hill. While studying at the University of Washington, she created her own internship at the airport in 2002, becoming one of the first interns.
“I was part of the airport community, I was like, ‘Maybe I should get an internship there,’” Chin said.
She worked on a project management system for the airport while earning two undergraduate degrees, one in sociology and one in geography with a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) concentration.
“That spawned my love for furthering my career in GIS and aviation,” Chin said.
After interning at the airport in several different sections, from the Noise Office to Planning and Operations, she left to work at Microsoft for a year, working with AutoCAD in their real estate division.
She earned her master's degree in GIS in Edinburgh, Scotland, and within a month of returning to Seattle, landed a term-limited-temporary job at the airport as a GIS analyst. She rose through the ranks to become Business Information Manager, overseeing a team of five, while also serving as the equity and social justice deputy program manager for DES.
“I know I am in the right place,” Chin said. “There’s so much possibility. I enjoy inspiring others to achieve their full capacity if not more. That drives the business and makes us thrive.”
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