July 28, 2016 8:10 p.m.
Editor’s Note: A Fernandina Observer Town Hall Meeting involving candidates for the Ocean Highway & Port Authority scheduled for July 15, was cancelled due to a tragic accident that claimed the life of an employee at the Port of Fernandina. Since scheduling another Town Hall within a short period of time was not possible, we presented candidates with five questions and asked for their written responses. This is the last in a series of five questions posed.
OHPA District 1 Candidates
Edward T. Coop, Pat K. Gass, Robert “Bob” Sturgess
How would you go about crafting a master plan for the Port of Fernandina?
“In ten years, when it is time for an updated OHPA Master Plan, I would use a consultant to do the heavy lifting. About a year out I would see that we begin to review the proposed plan during the monthly OHPA meetings to make sure everything is covered. I would also ask that the Master Plan be color coded. All those items mandated by federal government would have a color and all those items mandated by state government would have a different color. The third color would signal all those items which may be changed. This method would cut down on confusion about what may and may not be changed. I will ask that we set up a committee of citizens to review the proposed Master Plan independent of the commission and ask them to make recommendations to the commission.”
How would you go about crafting a master plan for the Port of Fernandina?
“This question probably refers to the “strategic plan” required by section 311.14(2) (Florida Statutes), which states, “Each port shall develop a strategic plan with a 10-year horizon.” Such a plan is also a prerequisite to FDOT / Florida Seaports Council funding.
The plan adopted in June 2014 by the Port Authority was titled, “Strategic Master Plan”, so I will presume that is why this question refers to a “master plan.” But the statute is very clear about how to “go about crafting” such a plan, including the requirement of components related to increasing business, infrastructure development and improvement, intermodal transportation facilities, etc.
Accordingly, I will further presume this questioner does not want to know how I would comply with section 311.14(2) and its various components in crafting a new master plan, but what I would change about the Strategic Master Plan in existence. (I will stick to the script and refer to it as the “Master Plan”.) In general, the current Master Plan is almost silly in that it plans to increase the port ten-fold or more in coming decades. It is thoroughly unrealistic, but nevertheless a reflection of the Port Authority’s desire to overtake the County.
More specifically, the component of the Master Plan that is the most offensive is the part of the plan written in compliance with subsection 311.14(2)(d) (Florida Statutes). It states each Port’s plan must contain, “A component that identifies physical, environmental, and regulatory barriers to achievement of the plan’s goals and provides recommendations for overcoming those barriers.” (emphasis added).
It turns out that you, I and our cities are the “barriers” the Master Plan emphasizes. In fact, we and our rights and property are referenced as “constraints” to the Port Authority. In the inches-thick Master Plan, there is not one express mention of how the Port Authority can benefit the citizens of Nassau County.
The Port Authority’s legislative purpose, however, confirmed by appellate courts, is to benefit us. So not only does the Port Authority have no intention of benefiting us, but we are mere “barriers” and “constraints”. As referenced in my answer to the first question, the Port Authority’s solution is its ability to exercise its virtually unlimited powers. That is, the Master Plan solves the problem of us “constraints” by simply exercising its authority over us.
We and our property and our cities are not ‘constraints’ on the Port’s Authority, as we are called in the Master Plan. Instead, we citizens are the intended beneficiaries of the Port Authority. I will work with the other Commissioners and the citizens and cities to assure the Master Plan’s primary purpose is to do nothing unless it benefits you, and does nothing to harm you, your property, or your city.”
Click here to view press release submitted to the Fernandina Observer.
How would you go about crafting a master plan for the Port of Fernandina?
“In 2014 a pending 10 year master plan was in the works. Until that plans is finalized or revised by the current authority it would be a waste of man hours and money to duplicate or replace the plan. Port, highway, railway and airport development were all considered in the 2014 plan and since I am not a members of the Authority I cannot speak to the current state of the plan. I understand in 2015 the plan was delayed due to consideration of hazardous material transport issues.”
District 2 Candidates
Jimmy Dubberly, Incumbent Danny Fullwood
How would you go about crafting a master plan for the Port of Fernandina?
“The present master plan is good for the next 10 years, however, if I were involved, I would set up a committee similar to the Charter Revision Committee. This would allow all parts of the county to have input that may affect that part of the county.”
How would you go about crafting a master plan for the Port of Fernandina?
“The Port Authority needs to engage with all the municipalities within Nassau County and develop and long-term master plan. This creates unity within our community to achieve a common goal for the better of Nassau County and the residents.
The Master Plan needs to provide a near and long-term strategy for the port that ensures the delivery of needed infrastructure that is fiscally responsible and sustainable, recognizes the value of transportation investments, and supports operational excellence through innovation.
Master Plan depends upon collaboration and collective problem solving. Thus, multiple constituencies and stakeholder groups should be involved throughout the planning process. By bringing residents and community leaders together for dialogues and design sessions is important to integrate issues across disciplines and allow constituent groups to address areas of common concern. In Nassau County we have municipalities with their own unique heritage and we need to make sure we keep those and not lose or destroy them.”
Click here to view Dubberly Press Release submitted to the Fernandina Observer.
Its quite amazing to me the total buzzword bingo stated by Mr Dubberly, clearly he’s delivering talking points to a specific constituency for a vote, but otherwise, to someone with actual commercial shipping experience (USCG COTP or working for a radio/radar firm does not qualify) he honestly has no clue what he is talking about.
If Nassau Terminals made grossed than $6mil a year in total, OHPA revenue and KMI stevedoring it would be surprising. It’s simple math, 250,000 tons break-bulk cargo, just figure a market rate 12$ a ton (actually it may be much less contracted negotaited), thats $3mil, The Somer Isles vessel makes 50 calls a year, and typically lands 120 boxes and loads back 150, the ship only holds 354 boxes and has anyone ever seen it full ? most of inbound boxes are empty containers and waste from Bermuda. Say the stevedoring on the containers is $20 a box, thats only $270,000 a year.
How many employee’s are there ?, possible KMI has $2.5 mil in just in salary to run it. What “millions” is Mr. Dubberly referring to ? Maybe KMI makes millions in pipelines, or liquid terminals, but their ain’t making it here that’s for sure.
The ports revenues are public record, manifest data is public record, it does not take much is genius, or just the willingness to ask some folks in the maritime business about the maritime business to figuring these things out.
I just figured that out sitting on my couch, and i dont even have a high school diploma, just decades working on the waterfront.
The port has old cranes, they need to be replaced, its a terrible short line, un-competitive for trucking, and 4 competing ports within a 200 mile radius. Container lines are bleeding cash, going broke, or consolidating and we are in the middle of one of the worst shipping and commodity markets in decades.
OHPA hired some idiot consultant to write a master plan, all public ports do that, most use the same firm, they place all kinds of rosy nonsense in these plans.
What markets does Mr Dubberly expect to attract to Nassau Terminals ?
Mr Dubberly may fool some with his buzzwords, but not all…..
I certainly understand your frustration in trying to breathe life into a badly failing business. Please add to the list of Port woes a rail line that from time to time goes under water in Fernandina on a seasonal high tide. What happens with sea level rise? My gut reaction would be to shut the Port down, sell it and put it back on the tax rolls so that finally Nassau County gets some revenue out of it. But here is the rub. Please check out this website concerning the DEED of some of the Port property: http://www.nassauclerk.com/publicrecords/oncoreweb/showdetails.aspx?id=405224&rn=0&pi=0&ref=search (Exhibit B 2). BIG PROBLEM. . . when the Container Corporation (now WestRock) GAVE the land to OHPA (the central part of the property) they put a restriction in the DEED. Please read the document. If the port stops being a “commercial seaport” WestRock gets to buy the land back for $200,000. And if there is an environmental clean up on the property, they pay even less. The up side of this information is that if the Port stops being a seaport (for more than 3 months), the wharf and warehouse sections are NOT owned by Container Corp. Therefore, someone could buy the actual wharf and warehouses for fair market value. The bad part is that the new scales that were put in, Custom House, and the area called the “yard” would likely go back to WestRock. That’s WHY candidates are trying to keep the Port going. However, there are NO conditions on HOW much cargo must be commercially shipped out of the Port. Even a small amount of cargo would meet the requirements of the deed to keep the property. However, it might be in the tax payers best interest to let WestRock pay taxes on the land now instead of being tax exempt with OHPA ownership. These are BIG decisions, but they cannot be made if the Port does not keep “shipping” until this is all sorted out. Hope this helps you understand Mr. Dubberly’s puzzling stance.
Also, all of this all may create a problem for WestRock despite its deed restriction clause. Since WestRock does not own the warehouses, this would make it difficult for them to ship their paper rolls out. They store their rolls in the warehouses. From looking at warehouse volume, I would say that WestRock occupies at least 70% of that space. The Port operator moves it from the warehouse onto the ship or onto the train.
Correction: after going back again to look at deeds, WestRock would not get Customs House, close call on the scales.
Maybe it is just me, but Mr. Sturgess’ written responses come across as condescnding. He starts off by correcting what he believes the proper wording of the question should have been when it becomes clear that he understood the intent of the question. Perhaps that is his legal training kicking in of being specific in a response so it cannot be construed by others in a way that is out of context.
I think most will agree that the “Master Strategic Plan” was written by an outside consultant with minimal, if any, oversight by OHPA. And that is a critical issue in and of itself. When backed in the corner about some of the specific content, some of the OHPA members felt obligated to try to justify the language. Any business operator has an obligation to continually seek new sources of revenue. Where there are “constraints” or “barriers”, they should be examined to see if there is a way to overcome them. Where there has been a real failure in the development of the Plan and has led to this backlash is the lack of consideration as to the welfare of the surrounding community. The Plan appears to adopt a mission of success at any cost. Some of the incumbents are now back peddling but the voter must determine how genuine is that change versus simply talking the talk to get reelected.
thank you Mrs Ross, that’s a great response, one I can handle, all this anti-KMI, anti-OHPA speech just has no merit in the discussion, it’s a looser for them too. KMI builds pipelines, everyone hates pipelines. KMI is no stranger to being disliked, and you can dislike big oil, big industry, politicians all you want, even a private small business, a new port operator contract, or individual port director hired by whoever may not be able to right the situation.
It takes a certain amount of revenue to sustain even a small cargo flow, as shippers want quick turn around, time is money, so it’s a catch 22 you need enough labor to turn the ships, not if enough business, you can’t retain skilled labor, or not enough business, loose money.
In that endeavor, your can’t scrutinize cargo, a container carrier cant offer sailing for a, b, c cargoes, but prohibit x, y, and z. there is sufficient federal law covering handling really dangerous materials. What enhanced risk is there in Fernandina that the City of Jacksonville is ok with ? As scary as some things seem, we live in a world surrounded by scary materials, but what is the true risk ?
To attract new business, you can’t make restrictions that are anti-competitive. Why would a carrier or shipper leave their current port ?, it would have to be bringing something different to the table. Or offer a lower price, example, if moving to Fernandina make their trucking or rail $1 a ton more, than you have to lower you revenue by at least $1 or what is the incentive ?
What new markets are out there that the current leadership is missing out on ?
So imagine Nassau Co kicks out KMI, runs it themselves, and county Tax payers subsidize the loss ? Or it shut’s down, the paper mill gets it back and sells it to developers who build condo’s ? or the city buys it back from the papermill for $.50 more, and makes it a park ?
are the currently OHPA commissioners and KMI really that completely incompetent ? or is the problem larger then them ? Others that may come behind them could just find themselves in the same situation, possibly even less equipped to manage what is left.
my point is, and hopefully agreeing with yours in the larger scale that there simply is no easy answer to this problem, for anyone involved.
Lewis, you ask “What enhanced risk is there in Fernandina that the City of Jacksonville is ok with ?” Simply looking at the JaxPort geographical area, there is a tremendous difference and reduced risk by not have the immediate surrounding area surrounded by residential and consumer focused commercial businesses.
my friend, the world is full of risks, do not hear me saying throw caution to the wind, but you are more at risk of death and injury playing golf than trucker having a accident that spills an ISO tank full of benezne, and if did, what would really be the impact of that ? if that impact better or worse of a trucker getting in accident with a flat bed of steel ? or spilling a container of fruit juice ?
people pour old gas, chemicals and oil into storm drains all the time, are we more environmentally from that or the once in a century chance a cargo container spills, or what are the statistics on accidentals with over the road hazmat accidents ?
so your saying, once a hazardous container leaves Jacksonville it remains only in an industrial area or it remains only in an industrial area for the first 1-5 miles, but then where to ? it never passes any community that has residential or retail ? or it just passes through communities that are less desirable.. ? look on google earth, seems to be a lot of residential and retail near Jaxport. so what is the comparison of population density that container passes from port to door from Jacksonville or from Fernandina ?
or…is even likely someone would move a container like that ? what are the statistics on waterbourne trade and hazmat ? how many containers a year of truly dangerous materials are handled and if so, in what markets to what destinations ?. Mr Dubberly maybe can attest to that, the USCG has regulations on whats called CDC (certain dangerous cargo)that he’s quite familiar with.
point being if you want a port, you have to service industry, and that comes with caveats and concessions. if you don’t want a port, let close buy back the land, make it a park
but am afraid that happy middle all so seemingly desire may not be there.
Let see, so far we have Ms. Gass who would repeat the same folly as this time, Pay someone who’s never set foot in Town to write a plan. Get the City residence all fired up, in responce to the next OHPA Master Plan, Stonewall on issues as long as possible, then “stack the deck” on a select committee to make suggestions (suggestions only) for change. Only next time Color Code everything. I think I’ve just lived this.
Mr. Sturgess, wants all the County Stakeholders (us) in our Port to be involved, from the Get-Go. To mold a Port Master Plan, which fits our Communities, and benefits all factions of Nassau County, and does not have the potential to destroy this Counties/Cities Quality of life. The Port of Fernandina should be a Valuable Member of this City. Which I’m sorry to say is not today.
Mr. Coop just doesn’t seem to know the History of this Port and our Citizens. Or doesn’t care.
Mr. Fallwood, Nothing new Here.
Mr. Dubberly, Again wants this Community Port to be Administered by The Nassau County Ocean, Highway and Port Authority. and the Master Plan should be a Document Crafted by this Authority and all the County Citizens for the Benefit of this Counties Residence. The Choice, to me is unmistakable. Mr. Sturgess and Mr. Dubberly, With these two Men on the Commission, there is a possibility of our Port to be successful, for all of us.
i have never understood all the concern over this Master plan issue, it my feelings are it’s typically a useless document ports create as a requirement to get funding from municipalities, simply a matter of formality. have never seen so much discussion on one. in most ports it’s deadletter the moment it’s filed. only other uses have seen as it’s talking points for appointed/elected port officials, it sounds really important kinda like talking about the panama canal when they get their name in the press. but really, it’s all nonsense, such is life when dealing with governments and ports, there are always redundant formalities.
master plan, no master plan, who cares ??, what business can the port obtain ? what new markets can it serve ? i am a simple man and commercial shipping is really not that complicated, ports have healthy trades in far less sophisticated places than fernandina beach and really, nature of running a port is not much different in 2016 then it was in 1916, it’s the same discussions on what makes it work and what makes it profitable.
are we going to solicit an Amazon distribution center and attract a major asian container service ? what is the market forecast for pulp and paper, are the mills going to increase exports ? what is the steel market forecast, will steel start exporting again or are there import markets can be attracted ? are new mills being built that could be serviced by fernandina, and if so, where are they ? if wanted to handle imported steel, what are the inland destinations for it ? is it economically feasibly to move by truck or box car service ? could the port handle unit trains ? can we build a cold storage or attract Caribbean container carriers and steal business from South florida, under what incentive would the move 200-300 miles north ? could we offer a lower freight advantage for shippers to move the fertilizers from Tampa to the east coast and export it from Fernandina, if so, where do fertilizer move to ? what is the market forecast for them ? do we build liquid tanks, import jet, diesel, and gas, connect it to a pipeline ? is there even enough footprint at the port to build giant tanks ? could we import coal and feed, well what coal fired plants ? where are the coal fired plants, how would the coal move there, again, can the port handle unit trains, heck, are coal fired plants still going to be in existence ? which ones are being phased out ? we are going to rail imported coal to coal fire plants in KY and OH who are right in the middle of applacian coal mining region connected to their adjacent river system, which moves, what ? primarily coal by barge ? could we build a grain elevator to receive imported grain, if so, how much imported grain a year comes into the country, worlds 2nd largest grain exporter, if so, what is the demand, where does it go ? maybe build an export grain facility, could we steal GPA’s grain exports from brunswick, again, what markets, what demand ? what is their current volume ?why move to another port ?
or my personal favorite, are we going to send commissioners to Cuba and sign a memorandum of understanding and have then come back and speak to the press how their port will grow tremendously, once, if, when trade to Cuba is unlocked to justify their trip which mostly consisted of a few photo opps, and a lot of free mojitos and cigars.. this is what nearly every port authority from Baltimore to Brownsville has done in the last 12 months. as if the opening of Cuba, and the deepening of the Panama Canal for that matter, is going to unlock pandora’s box of new trade….
wait a minute, some of those were in master plan no ? but are they even viable ? probably not….
master plan, schmaster plan…geeze, who cares, lets see someone with tangible ideas and realistic goals expressed in plain speak, not but buzz words and blue sky.
No doubt this is a tough situation. There are three very competitive large ports nearby, JAXPort, Savannah, and don’t forget Brunswick. All of the financial journals from the Wall Street Journal, Economist, etc. are trending the shipping industry downward with the use of huge (mega) ships and using fewer trips to cut costs. The new seaport model becomes one of a massive storage and distribution area for the mega ship. Tremendous amounts of automation are to be used to aslso cut costs. Could we face some facts? When the Port was created its purpose was to serve the local paper mills and wood products business. We are now changing the business model to a massive storage and distribution center with a massive amount of truck traffic. Due to lack of space on the island I am not sure that this anticipated shipping model will be possible without serious expansion of the Port’s physical footprint. So the question becomes, is it even possible to physically compete? Somers Isle (a small ship that calls at the Port) has found a niche in being a carrier to the Caribbean. Continuing to find the niches will be important in the near future for the Port. Also finding people who have a talent to offer in finding a path for the Port of Fernandina is critical. So far I see two candidates and possibly a third who either have legal or maritime experience who care about the welfare of the citizens of Fernandina and Nassau County and the type of hazardous materials that may come into the Port in the future. Contract negotiations are extremely important, and understanding the numerous legal constraints of the bonds and property is also critical to the future solvency of the Port. Any assistance in the way of talent and skill should be welcomed. In my opinion, this is no longer a fight for profitability for the Port, it is a battle just for it to survive (and it may not win). With an aging facility comes costly maintenance, and even with the Florida Seaport Council funding (Dept. of Transportation), someone has to come up with the “matching” funds to get the millions in grant money. Candidates with maritime/shipping experience and legal skill need to be tackling these problems. A major public investment is at stake.
I for the life of me cannot understand the incessant fear mongering over the HazMat.
Lewis Jones has very eloquently and completely explained that there are so many rules and regulations about shipping hazmat that to continue to expound on it is futile.
It is refreshing however to finally see that the Rosses’ agenda is no longer just a presumption that they would like to see the Port of Fernandina closed, but is out there for all the world to see.
Since Mrs. Ross and her compatriots have expelled and blocked me from their Facebook group because they couldn’t Bear to read an opinion that differed from their own I guess I can wax poetic on here.
The Rosses have a track record of thinking they are the savior to us poor ole backwoods bumpkins that don’t know no betta. Well, we don’t need saving, we need jobs so folks can earn a living without having to drive to Jacksonville, BRUNSWICK or Savannah. I can appreciate wanting to have a say in how things go in your community, but the only voice I hear calling for the port to be closed is the Rosses. Why is that? Does the metal clanging hurt their sensitive ears! Are their sensibilities offended by the working class folks at the port? Did they have some sort of utopian view of moving to Downtown Fernandina from when they spent a long weekend here a few years ago? Inquiring minds want to know.
But on to bigger matters.
Here’s a fact that Mrs. Ross fails to note when talking about JaxPort and where the terminals are located, Talleyrand Marine Terminal is located in Historic Springfield in Jacksonville. On Talleyrand we find containers and Breakbulk along with WestWay, which is a bulk commodities company that receives all manner of liquid bulk products such as caustic soda, next to it is Centerpoint terminal. (Formerly Chevron) which as you may guess is a petroleum terminal. Around the bend is Nustar another petroleum terminal. All within a stones throw of a HISTORIC DISTRICT. Gasp! The horror! Except that we see no protests, no desire to see the terminals mothballed. Why? Jobs. Plain and simple.
Yes, the new bigger ships are going to call the deeper draft ports, however what Mrs. Ross fails to mention is that there is still a need for feeder lines, see all this little islands in the Caribbean and some of those poor South and Central American countries can’t handle the deep draft ships, therefore smaller, shallow draft vessels are used to transship to these ports that can’t handle the Panamax vessels.
The OHPA master plan, like Mr Jones points out is a wish list of sorts and is at best a formality. The best course of action is for the OHPA once it frees up some more revenue is to have its own executive director charged with seeking out new business in concert with KMI. Having a dedicated business development professional is critical and the logical next step.
The open seat on the OHPA is one I’ll be watching closely, as for District 2, I wholeheartedly support Danny Fullwood, he has been open to discussing and taking suggestions from all citizens from all parts of the County. After all, this isn’t just an island issue.
Very well said, Mr. Avila. The fear mongering and cleverly hidden agendas need to come to an end so actual, realistic issues can be addressed.
Orlando buddy, I hate to tell you, but the Caribbean feeder lines are tanking too….major consolidations among them recently and ones left are hanging on by a thread. It seems very hard for me to see how Fernandina is going to poach that business out of Port Everglades.
The forecast is not pretty.
but that does bring another good point more to yours, look at the level of residential and retail, but more importantly, look at the property values in the area immediately adjacent Port Everglades, does not seem that a large container port, who also handles ~800,000 tons of imported construction steel and ~500,000 tons of imported bulk cement, industrial mill scale slag, bauxite and coal upset the Fort Lauderdale community very much now does it ?
oh wait, I forgot they have a huge airport and the nations largest passenger vessel trade.
am sure the amazing tax base and level of employment earned by all that is a fair trade for the inconvenience.
and yea, the cargo handling is performed by commercial stevedoring/terminal operating firms just like KMI, and they make a buck too
oh the Horror…
and…hold the presses, guess what ? the largest liquid storage in the south atlantic, that holds what ? Jet Fuel, Diesel Fuel and Gasoline ?
why ? cause your not going to fuel all those jets and rental cars that transport what other trade vital trade to Florida ?
tourism……..
Wow … A whole lot of legal jargon, hopes for a kumbaya moment and color coordination will not address the real issues facing the Port. After reading all of this, it seems to me that commenter, Lewis Jones, should have run for one of the seats. He appears to have a better and un-biased grasp on the actual issues and down-to-earth questions that need to be answered in respect to the future viability of the Port as a whole.
thank you Michele, I would hate to prejudice my good self by becoming a politician.
all it takes is willingness to listen, look at the facts, learn, understand each other, and most importantly have the humility to accept a different point of view.
it’s quite American to stand up for what you believe in, but it’s quite un-American not to listen and accept other points of view or be willing to admit when your wrong.
as a nation we have become selfish and lazy, look no further then the train wreck playing out on our national political stage or the negative consequences irresponsible activism based have created in recent months. If we were not, then there is no way that a bombastic reality show star, real estate mogul would be in contention against the most corrupt politician of our lifetime.
Times like this is how Bolshevism or Nazism took foot hold, the line is very thin between activism and fascism. Our founding fathers were able to find balance in that, but we are not the same quality people today.
Clearly a bigger statement than the debate on the Port of Fernandina, but what has been missing in this entire debate is simply fact and reason, no different then the larger issues that divide us today.