Submitted by Richard Bruce
Ocean Highway & Port Authority
Nassau County, Florida
Commissioner, District One
September 2, 2014 6:35 a.m.
Given the recent meetings, media reports and blogs concerning the Ocean Highway &
Port Authority (OHPA) and its pending 10 Year Master Plan it’s important that the citizens of Nassau County are given the facts about your OHPA and how it effects you. The OHPA is not a familiar household word or a topic most people in our county understand. This series of articles is needed to inform all 75,000 citizens of Nassau County about the “what – where – how – and why” concerning this remarkable asset.
WHAT- The OHPA was chartered in 1941 by the State to enable Nassau County to prosper and grow in new ways. We are a “body politic and corporate”, a public entity created by the legislature operating within Florida laws governing corporations. We are an “independent district” meaning we are not an arm of the county or any city governments. We don’t tax, pass or enforce laws. We are a publicly owned business (yours) with vast opportunities and serious obligations to benefit all 75,000 of us in our county and the 1,500,000 citizens in northeast Florida.
HOW – We are authorized to engage in enterprises that stimulate the economy and create our ultimate objective … jobs. These include the ocean terminal, owning and/or operating a pulp or paper mill; oil refineries; radio stations; hotels and motels; entertainment, parks and recreation facilities; gas, water, sewer and electric utilities; roads, railroads, bridges, airports and more. The list is extensive. See the Charter on line by searching “Florida Chapter 2005-293”. (PDF
version) Surplus earnings from these businesses can be used to pay down our debt or as seed money for new enterprises with the same goal of improving the area economy and creating jobs. We are funded by our earnings from operations, issuing bonds and certificates and from grants when available.
WHERE – The OHPA may operate in Nassau, Duval, and Baker Counties in Florida. We may also operate anywhere in Georgia as long as our business complies with the laws of that state. We know of no other port charter providing such a broad scope of opportunities. We must not waste them.
WHY – Our purpose as stated in the charter is to ”benefit the citizens of Nassau
County and Florida.” We can provide that benefit only by engaging in our authorized business activities. On our maritime side the ships and cargo loading and unloading at the terminal are a means to that end. Every resident of Nassau County and northeast Florida is a beneficiary of the OHPA activities. According to Enterprise Florida our economic impact pays off at a ratio of seven to one! Each dollar invested by the citizens in their port yields a positive financial impact of seven dollars. Where else can you get a 700% return on investment?
GROWTH OF THE MARINE TERMINAL ? – Your port terminal is very small with no elbow room to expand today. A Fernandina Beach City ordinance prohibits our growing southward into the Historic District. The property to our north is owned by RockTenn Paper. If they allow the OHPA to purchase any of their property, we may be able tophysically grow a little. Property to our east is 2 acres of saltwater wetland. To make use of that land we would be required to mitigate (replace) it by creating new wetlands at a ratio making it unaffordable and impractical. The Amelia River lies to our west.
INLAND GROWTH -About two years ago the OHPA engaged the services of a local developer to assist in finding economic development opportunities. That has resulted in many ongoing efforts such as participation in the Crawford Diamond project in the western part of our county, fiber optic cable lines, and a new manufacturing company that will export through our port with enough non-truck volume to begin ship service to/from Asia.
Look for another article about the port soon.
Editor’s Note: Richard Bruce began representing District One on the Ocean Highway & Port Authority following his election in November 2012. Prior to his election, he spent forty years in the maritime industry and was Vice President and General Manager of Amelia Maritime Services, Inc. His maritime career has covered all types of cargoes and ocean carriers and many ports. He has been an active member of various maritime related organizations including The Propeller Club of the United States, and numerous World Trade organizations.
Good article.
Please attend the Community Forum about the proposed Port expansion Tuesday Sept 2nd, 6:30 PM at St. Peters Church (hall), to learn from concerned citizens what the Master Plan is saying. While you might love the Port and it’s opportunity, these come at a price for the people that live in Nassau County.
There is a lot of rumor and misinformation, so the forum will only refer to the Master Plan, and the port’s proposal to the City for changing the City’s own Comprehensive Plan.
While some may say, “Oh, it ‘says’ that in the Master Plan, but that’s not the intent’, this forum is for reviewing what the facts are in the Master Plan, and what could be in Nassau County’s future.
It’s your home; why not learn what’s coming?
Chuck, thanks for taking the lead on this port issue. I feel this is the most important issue this community has ever faced. I’ll not be with you for the tues. night forum. I’ve committed to help at grace’s kitchen in yulee. Make sure you invite the news people even Jacksonville if possible. Are any of our representatives going to be there? I’ve been asking my neighbors about the expansion, most have no clue. sad. How about petition to be placed around town.? Our folks in this community need to be educated on what’s going on. Anything i can do.? Thanks again.
Positive economic impact is a wonderful thing, but I suspect the 700% return might be a bit of the broken window fallacy first expressed by the economist, Frederic Bastiat, as well as looking only at one side of the equation. Yes, additional jobs and capital investments extend out to more work for support services, etc. But on the infrastructure cost side to the general community, the broken window fallacy really comes into play. If St. Peter’s has to spend $10,000/year dealing with structural damage to its facilities, while that money goes to the repairs, it takes away $10,000 that could be used to invest in community programs that benefit a far larger number of people in more significant ways. The expanded economic impact figure is always used as a strong selling point, but it is important to understand the details of how that return is calculated.
Before we talk about the money that the Port COULD make. We all might want to read the Florida Uniform Commercial Code filing (the debt, revenue bond) for the Ocean Highways and Port Authority. It states that ALL proceeds from sales or revenues from OHPA’s operations go to the holder of the bond, in this case the Bank of New York. NO monies go to the taxpayers no matter how much money they think they can make. The last time the OHPA borrowed 38 million (of which they still owe $14 million). Things did not work according to plan. Kinder Morgan had to bail them out for another $5 million, even when the Port pays no taxes.
For the pain of the last bond issue our roads and buildings are damaged, properties are taken off the tax rolls, the Port pays no tax on its revenues, the historic district is slowly being eaten away (which 83% of the tourists want to see), tourism jobs are lost due to the loss of our “island paradise” due to excessive truck traffic. Raynier is doing a great job of creating jobs at Crawford Diamond and with the retirement of 38% of its workforce.
We hope that other members of the Port Commission will find a way to put their special interests aside and provide the best plan for public at large. Please understand that Mr. Bruce makes his living from the Port, he is a Customs Broker.