Mary Maguire
Nassau County Independent
www.ncflindependent.com
November 25, 2014 2:49 p.m.
Editor’s Note: Nassau County has another news blog available to interested readers. Mary McGuire, a reporter who covers the Nassau County beat, launched her own website on October 13. Please visit NC FL Independent website and subscribe. We thank Mary for allowing us to post articles related to the Port of Fernandina and a recent port authority meeting.
Board members for the Ocean Highway & Port Authority for the Port of Fernandina defended their right at the Nov. 12th meeting to pursue new business opportunities, but they admit they have a public relations problem.
The board wants to explain the Port’s role in economic development, which they say is important to the financial health of the community, and they have asked their attorney to set up a public meeting with the City of Fernandina Beach. No date has been set, but the Port’s administrator Joanna Cason said Monday that it is likely to be held in January.
The board is concerned about the recent public outcry over its management company’s unannounced plan earlier this year to ship coal through the port, which they have previously said took them by surprise too. But they said they are also puzzled by what seems to be a growing public effort to hamstring business and job growth. There was also talk at the meeting that the opposition is the start of an effort to have the Port shut down so a bicycle trail can move in.
What follows is an unofficial transcript of this conversation. Not all of the words were captured from the audio recording. Board members do not identify themselves.
“This is an issue the city has to address.”
“It’s a political issue.”
“We’d appreciate you looking at the legal issues.”
“Talk about these things at the meeting.”
“Bring in other people that are involved in economic development to speak or do what they do.”
“Doesn’t state law supersede local authority?”
“We need experts who can handle issues on safety and legal issues…things like LNG (liquid natural gas).
“The public is up in arms…”
(There is about one minute of unintelligible conversation here.)
“There was an outcry initially. …It hasn’t been coming to the Port. That said, they want clean energy. Where does the clean energy come from? Probably from a coal plant somewhere in Jacksonville. Clean energy from methane products which is clean and a natural resource….(people say they want). I’m not quite sure what they’re wanting out of us. To me it’s kind of turned into a personal thing about the Port and not what’s good for the community. And I’ve been told by (at least two people) we want a bike trail through that area and that they’re perfectly fine with shutting down the Port of Fernandina. This will put people out of work. they could lose their house, their cars, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. So what’s the problem here? I’m not sure it’s clean energy. They want to shut down the Port of Fernandina and put people out of work.”
“They think there are 59 people on the dock at Kinder Morgan. They don’t understand the economic impact of echo effect. …suppliers, drivers. (Impressive numbers about jobs and economic impact are cited here from Ports in Georgia, including 360,000 jobs and $6.8 billion in impact.) We’ve got an education problem with our public. We can fix it. We’re sales people. We can do this. We have brains and meet with the public. We have to try.”
“We need to educate the public.”
(It sounds like a joke is made about educating the public about bicycles and there is laughter.)
“Be sensible about it. There are so many things that aren’t facts …on social media.”
The conversation among the board stops here to allow the new Executive Director of the Nassau County Economic Development Board to speak. Laura DiBella replaced Steve Rieck, who retired, on Oct. 1st. DiBella told the Port board that she identifies with its recent public relations problem.
“People don’t understand my role,” said DiBella. “We view ourselves as the educators for what is happening in this county. We’re more than ready to (help) outline why we’re here. And why you’re an integral part of this community. I look forward (to working with you).
DiBella is told that she is part of the Port board’s staff now and she is asked for a photograph that can be posted on the website. She is told that the board will meet with her individually and sunshine laws are mentioned.
“We’ll get you filled in.”
I don’t know where I would even begin to comment on some of these comments.
I do!
“We’ve got an education problem with our public. We can fix it. We’re sales people. We can do this.”
Wow. We are their education problem. And because they’re sales people, they can fix us. If that isn’t a red alert, then River City needs a boys band.
I’d turn it around this way: we’ve got a sales people problem. There’s only a true “education problem” if we refuse to educate ourselves against those holding material interest in selling us their product/pov/agenda.
Maybe you should start, with the incompetent reporting of the writer. I thought you were smarter than that Mr. Lott
Danny – The reporter talks facts. Listen up.
Danny,
I would respectfully suggest that the attitude shown in some of your responses are some of the reasons the OHPA has a PR problem. My comment was so ambiguous it could either be taken as a negative towards the OHPA or as a negative towards the writer’s content – but you chose to assume it was the former. Yet read my comment in Phil Scanlon’s post and you will see that I challenge Phil’s basic premise. I have always sought to be fair and objective, but if you and the other members of the OHPA look in the mirror you have to understand why there is so much frustration and distrust between the conflicting messages that the OHPA puts out that is contradicted in the Master Plan. Yes, you have a major public relations problem as a result and until OHPA eats some humble pie and acts as if it wants to be contributing part of the community and not with such a carefree attitude, things are not likely to improve.
David, well said
Mr. Fullwood:
Incompetent reporting and conjecture can be easily dismissed by the simple use of the OHPA website in a more “robust” fashion. You must agree that facts cannot be disputed.
A couple of suggested “posts” to improve the communication and avoid the additional expense of a PR consultant:
Financial Information:
1. Upload the last 10 years of OHPA Annual Audited Financial Statements
2. Upload the last 10 years of annual gross tonnage through-put and revenue for the port
3. Upload for the last 10 years the average number of days per month a ship is docked at the port
4. Upload the current (2015) OHPA operating budget with line items compared to FYE September 2014 and October 2015 actuals. Budget to be updated monthly during 2015.
Job Creation:
1. Provide the last 5 years of actual gross port operation salary expense
2. Within the 5 years, breakout the number of full-time jobs, their salary/hourly rates per job and the extent of benefits, if any.
3. Within the 5 years, breakout the number of part-time jobs, their salary/hourly rates per job and the extent of benefits, if any.
Agreements with the Port Manager:
1. Upload the Original Operating Agreement with K-M/Nassau Terminals and any modifications/amendments thereafter
2. Upload the 2011 documentation covering the 11 year option exercised by K-M/Nassau Terminals
3. Upload the Guarantee Agreement between, OPHA, Nassau Terminals, Kinder-Morgan and Well Fargo Bank
OPHA Meeting Minutes:
1. Upload the last 5 years of OHPA meeting minutes
2. Upload current meeting minutes on a continuous basis
Standing ovation for Ms. Corso! And seconding her motion that OHPA use its website for “educating the public” via basic governmental transparency protocols.
Wow! Lady, you can write! And I don’t see any responses from Mr. Fullwood telling you that you don’t know what you’re talking about or you’ve twisted your facts!!
I’m ready to back you with your own newspaper!
While visiting ncflindependent.com to read the original article, I found another article just below, “Port Cancels Plans to Extend Pier, Returns Money to State Agency.” Seems Kinder Morgan’s commercial director Val Schwec gave back 7.5 million dollars in grant money to the Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development Council. I find this interesting: at the same time Kinder Morgan and our (OHPA) commissioners are fighting with this community over the Port master plan to expand the Port’s container throughput to increase by a factor of 4, that the Port returns 7.5 million dollars (free money). I would submit that the master plan is a red herring to distract the community from the real objective: shipment of LNG through our Port of Fernandina, aka Kinder Morgan Terminal. For our Commissioners reading this, the last part is only conjecture.
The article cited by Mr. Crounse:
http://ncflindependent.com/2014/11/24/with-business-down-port-of-fernandina-cancels-pier-extension/
Wow. The Port Authority seems to be completely out of touch with the community. They have $19 million in debt and no plan to pay it off. These folks need to go.
Good jobs are jobs here – not in some port plan that destroys the community and benefits corporate shareholders and executives elsewhere. You want to expand, pay the price to the community you function in, and don’t socialize the risk of your enterprise among your human neighbors. We live here. We like what hard work has given this eclectic community. Perhaps it is time to listen and integrate the community in your plans, not sell us promises. Trust, once lost, is quite hard to regain.
Robert Warner for Port Authority Board.
wow!! Well said all of you. If the Port even reads this website, they need to do every single thing suggested in Ms. Corso’s response. These are the REAL facts. Why is Kinder Morgan hiding all of this information? The Port has a website. Use it like it should be used by informing the public. You have a PR problem and it’s been brought on by you alone. You have no one to blame but yourselves.
The definition of miscommunication ——-read above article
The definition of miscommunication—-Read above article
Well their you have it folks. These are our elected officials in control of our Port. If any body had any question of were the problem is. I pretty much think we’ve got the answer. We’re paying this august group to manage our Port of Fernandina. Is it any wonder that Kinder Morgan has snowed these men, or worse. Someone said at the meeting that they are sales people.? What have they been doing with this talent. Why has Port business dropped off 47% in two years? Why is the Port in the toilet to the tune of 19 million? and why does Kinder Morgan have a strangle hold on our Port.?
The only one getting snowed here is you. Get your facts straight sir. That is if you care about facts which I sincerely doubt.
mr. Fullwood, The first portion of my comments are mere conjecture. The latter parts are facts. from Nassau county Ocean Highway and Port Authority report. Fact: Port income, 2012= 2.8 million; 2014= 1.5 million. 47% decrease. Fact: Port loans, 14.5 million Bank of New York. Port loan, 4.5 million Kinder Morgan Corp. Sorry to confuse you with that conjecture stuff.
Yes Mr. Crounse, more facts and less conjecture is what is needed from everyone. That’s all we have ever asked for.
The miscommunication here is on the part of Ms. McGuire. She is very good at not telling the entire story and is probably one reason she is now an independent reporter. As she admits, she was not even at the meeting and the recording she takes her report from was at times unintelligible but, apparently that did not stop her from making up what she couldn’t understand. Even what she was able to hear seem to keep her from piecing it together into statements of intelligent facts. Maybe it’s time for Ms. McGuire to find a new profession. If you deduce anything from her attempt at reporting, then you are not interested in fact or truth either and your agenda becomes very clear.
Sounds like Mary Mcguire hit a sore point. One good reason to be an “independent reporter” is that one doesn’t have to take marching orders from anyone.
Mr. Fullwood, rather than answer posts by criticizing the writers, why don’t you write something in rebuttal with specifics that are incorrect or misleading telling us why they are? Don’t just make a blanket statement saying the writer has miscommunicated without giving specific examples. It is my belief that you enjoy attacking someone’s credibility without giving any reasons as to why you disagree. Innuendos just don’t cut it anymore. Your responses and posts on here and elsewhere are doing nothing but harm to our Port and the rest of your Board Members. Why don’t YOU find another profession? BTW, I don’t know for sure, but I don’t believe you are paid a salary or stipend for serving on the Board. Is that correct? Now folks, if he answers, then they don’t get paid but if he doesn’t answer, he apparently does get paid. And if so, how much? Your turn Mr. Fullwood.
Mr. Fullwood, Just what do you and the rest of the Commission think our agenda is.? If you think , we are concerned about what negative impact the 10 year Port plan would have on our way of life, on this Island . If you think, we are concerned about the negative environmental impact it would have on our wild life. If you think that we fear that Kinder Morgan we’ll obtain complete control of the Port because of unsustainable financials. ( outstanding loans ). Increased truck traffic though our town and historic district. the demise of our 350 million plus tourist industry. and the safety issues involved in a toxic fossil fuel terminal in our town. So you’ve figured us out, that’s our agenda, to stop this from ever happening on this Island or this County. Yes, Mary did not do the commission any favors. But see did open a dialog between the OHPA commissioners which is a good thing. I would suggest that, if the Commission want’s to educate the community. They should hold the Dec.9 th meeting in the evening when people can attend. Your constituents, want to know the truth. thank you
Just read in the News Leader that we have a new Commissioner from the 3rd district. Did i miss an election? who appoints a new Commissioner to the Authority.? when are the elections for these people. Help me out. Oh, did you’ll see in the paper that St.Marys is getting a Port like the one we envision, A few ships from the Banana Republics hauling, lumber, Steel, Bananas, No fossil fuels were mentioned. I wonder how this news fits in with our ports 10 year plan.
OHPA District 3 Commissioner Brian Reaves was ineligible to seek re-election this year, because following a county redistricting effort, his residence was no longer included in District 3. Only one person — Adam Salzburg — sought the District 3 seat. At the end of the qualifying period, he was therefore declared “elected,” along with incumbent OHPA commissioners for Districts 4 and 5 who faced no opposition. This occurred during the summer. The same situation applied to those seeking seats on the Nassau County School Board. Where there was no opposition (Districts 1,3, and 5), the single candidate who had qualified for each seat was declared “elected” with no contest. The election cycles for the different positions, along with primaries, are set by the state. If you feel that they need to be made less confusing, contact State Rep. Adkins and State Sen. Bean.
Coal is already brought on to the island every single day. Coal is brought in by diesel trains and taken to Rock Tenn to be used in the manufacture of paper and cardboard boxes. Wouldn’t it make sense to inquire as to the feasibility of bringing that coal (which is already being transported to the island) in by ship? Would the increased tonnage and diversification help the port and therefore the community? Seems worth exploring to me.
Does anyone think that individuals are elected to office (like the OHPA or the FBCC) with the intention to destroying the town from which they were elected? Is that a reasonable thing to think? I would seem instead that those individuals would like to help the community and their vision of how best to do that differs from some people in the community. I believe this to be the root of the “salesman/PR” comments. If the OHPA is operating in what they believe to be the best interests of the community, then it would seem by the outcry that they certainly have failed at “selling” what they see as the benefits of the ports operations and future plans.
I think it is important to note that the port came first. Fernandina simply would. not. exist. were it not for the port. Which makes for an interesting discussion: is the port encroaching on the Historic District or is the Historic District encroaching on the port? Which provides more to the community? The place where residents work (the Port) or the homes wealthy residents and expats purchase and refurbish (the HD)?
As for the article itself, it would have been more reasonable to post the entire conversation as a recording and let the listeners make their minds up for themselves as to the content. The extraction of quotes (and incomplete quotes at that) without attribution AND context is ill advised (if not reprehensible) and effective only in spreading misinformation, riling people up and sending them off half cocked.
Ross – “Selling” means just what it says. I have always preferred before buying into a sales pitch, reasonable knowledge of both the pros and cons of what is being “sold”, what is being given up as consideration in return, informed negotiation between parties, and precise – enforceable – contractual language. A broad mandate with unforeseeable consequences 10 years down the road seems an unwarranted leap of faith. Enough has already been set out in other Fernandina Observer articles (with subsequent comments) over the last several months, – including links to other ports and their own port impact issues, Kinder Morgan’s Master Plan for Port Expansion and it’s role in company expansion, the Port debt issue, and the coal permitting matter – to provide an initial basis for grappling with a solution that considers the interests of all stakeholders in the community. I expect Port commissioners to educate themselves on technology, consequences, and alternatives, not rubber stamp a port master plan that will assume a life of it’s own. This just might be too hard, and “selling” might be the only unfortunate alternative. Who was it that said “trust, but verify”?
As regards what came first, Fernandina or the port – a bit of historical perspective.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernandina_Beach,_Florida
Mr Warner,
I would expect far more from you than a citation from Wikipedia.
http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k70847&pageid=icb.page346376
It is silly to argue what came first, the port or the city. The natural harbor came first and enabled the development of a port city. Over the years as society and technology changed so has our port city.
It is what it is, Ross.
Ross, you bring out a good point. One that I don’t think many know. Coal is being brought in to town Via the Rail Road. Should anyone want proof of this, go have a drink at the Salty Pelican and sit on the top rail at sunset and look down as the train goes by. Car after Car of coal. This is not giving an opinion on all the pro’s and con’s on this issue, it is just a fact that coal does in fact come through our town at present.
I do not need to be “sold” on the Port of Fernandina as an economic engine of Nassau County. $19 million in loans and in the red ? Plain and simple 59 people work “directly” at the port. I am more than sure Jax Port a mere 40 minutes south could accommodate these highly trained folks. Can we please stop with the wealthy residents garbage. The City of Fernandina is more than happy to collect the tax dollars generated of the relocated. In fact it would appear these “wealthy residents” are subsidizing the port!
In 1984 I am sure “the Port” was a great idea. Play it forward 30 years not so. As this “economic engine” hick ups along, the tourism industry making Amelia Island a destination location has exploded. The Commissioners? Really how’s about some forward thinking folks? Gloucester MA fishing industry destroyed by over fishing the Grand Banks. Local community development turns the docks and downtown into a tourist mecca. Hundreds of construction jobs created, continued employment soaring property values. A win win.
Oh so too far north for the Commissioners tastes…..Savannah GA, The River Walk. Again tired worn down river properties turned into a tourist mecca, jobs and property values soar. Again a win win. I would submit that the river side just to the north of historic downtown Fernandina Beach lends itself even more so to such mixed use development. Problem is the Gatekeepers(The Commissioners) are stuck in their ways(the past) and seem to thrive on “idea bashing”. Pick up your phones Commissioners, email and get educated as to the options. Are we not paying you to do this? Attempting to push Kinder Morgan? I’d suggest you reach out to residents in Portland OR, Savannah GA or Bellingham WA as I am more than sure they can educate you to KM’s corporate philosophy of “it’s just a location”(this is directly from KM materials) See what coal import backed port facilities did in those locations.
Downtown Fernandina Beach as been recently featured in NY Times travel section as well as many regional papers up and down the east coast. Why? Because folks it has retained it’s southern charm sands coal dust. For industry on the waterfront go north. I’m sure it’s a wonderful destination location. For now rather than bashing find workable solutions. At the very least attend the meetings and have the meetings in the evenings.
Great to see FO collaborating with NCFLI!
With regard to Rock Tenn’s use of coal brought to the island by train, isn’t the plant in the process of transitioning to natural gas?