HOUSTON, Aug. 28, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority authorized funding of PHA's $9.9 million share of a Houston Ship Channel dredging and maintenance project and several other matters at its public meeting on Monday, August 28. Chairman Jim Edmonds presided over the meeting with Commissioner Steve Phelps, Commissioner Jim Fonteno, Commissioner Kase Lawal, Commissioner Jimmy Burke, Commissioner Janiece Longoria and Commissioner Elyse Lanier.
BAYPORT MATTERS
(Agenda items G8, G9) The commissioners approved two contract amendments totaling $321,166 for work on the Bayport Container Terminal. The first amendment, in the amount of $87,563.11, will be used to fund construction of extended conduit lines and supplemental power and communication manhole to handle communications with the container yard. The second amendment, in the amount of $233,603, is for additional drainage work under the railroad crossing and Port Road temporary detour and at Cruise Road inlets.
(Agenda item G10) The commissioners also approved a $945,731 contract amendment with Zachry Construction to stabilize the dredge fill material at the Cruise Road and parking lot construction sites. The measures are needed to ensure adequate sub-grade strength and required elevation.
(Agenda Item L1) The commissioners authorized PHA's staff to begin negotiating a contract with Prozign Architects to provide engineering services for Bayport Marine Emergency Building. Prozign received the commission's highest ranking of the three firms recommended by PHA staff.
(Agenda item L3) The commissioners authorized PHA's staff to begin negotiating a contract with Sparks-Barlow-Barnett Inc. for engineering services on the expansion of Port Road. Sparks-Barlow-Barnett received the commission's highest ranking of the three firms recommended by PHA staff.
PROPOSED TARIFF CHANGES
(Agenda item M7) The commissioners approved a staff recommendation to amend PHA Tariff No. 8 to include a terminal use and security fee applicable to container cargo that passes through a PHA terminal without being loaded or unloaded from a vessel. The terminal use fee of $40 per loaded container will go into effect on October 1, 2006.
(Agenda item M8) Commissioners approved a staff recommendation to amend Tariffs 8 and 14 to allow freight handlers to assess a fuel surcharge as a percentage of the freight handlers' invoiced loading and unloading charges. The charge is needed to offset sharp rises in diesel fuel costs. Surcharges range from as low as 1.75 percent, when diesel fuel prices range from $2 to $2.24 per gallon, to as high as 2.75 percent, when prices are $3 per gallon or higher. The surcharges will go into effect on October 1, 2006.
HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL MATTERS
(Agenda item G4) The commission authorized PHA's staff to begin negotiating a contract with King Fisher Marine Services, Inc. for maintenance dredging of Jacintoport Terminal's channel and berthing areas and Care Terminal's No. 1 and No. 2 docks. King Fisher received the commission's highest ranking of the three firms that submitted competitive sealed bids on the project.
(Agenda item M9) The commission's authorization of the $9.9 million payment to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will cover the PHA's share of expenses related to Houston Ship Channel work for fiscal year 2007. The PHA is responsible for 25 percent of the cost of channel construction work scheduled for October 2006 through September 2007.
ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS
(Agenda item M1) The commissioners approved a PHA staff recommendation to enter in a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with San Jacinto College for development of a nature preserve adjacent to the city of Morgan's Point. The PHA will now conduct a feasibility study, improve the shoreline property in the vicinity of Barbours Cut Terminal, and possibly purchase property for $150,000. Presently, PHA owns about 35 acres and San Jacinto about three-quarters of an acre of the land being considered for development. A separate MOA will foster the joint efforts of San Jacinto College and the PHA to forge new educational partnerships with Houston Ship Channel businesses.
(Agenda Item M3) The commissioners approved an interlocal agreement with Harris County to augment annual mosquito control service at PHA dredged material areas supporting the Houston-Galveston Navigation Channels Project. The port authority's portion of the costs for fiscal year 2006 would be $95,000. The action comes in response to an appeal by Harris County's Mosquito Control Division for additional financial assistance to effectively control mosquitoes in those areas.
MARITIME INDUSTRY MATTERS
(Agenda Item G7) The commissioners authorized PHA's staff to begin negotiating with Norbridge for the development of a Marine Terminal Optimization and Market Study that will focus on PHA's Turning Basin Terminal. Norbridge received the commission's highest ranking of the three firms recommended by PHA staff.
(Agenda Item M11) The commission authorized the PHA to sponsor the Third Annual Western Hemispheric Port Security Conference and Trade Exhibition, "SecurePort 2007". The conference will be held in Houston from January 29 through 31, 2007.
(Agenda Item M12) The commissioner authorized a $50,000 PHA sponsorship of the Second Annual Houston Port Region Coffee Symposium. The event is scheduled for October 19 through 20, at the Hilton Americas-Houston Hotel.
The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, more than 6,600 vessels call at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage, second in overall total tonnage, and 10th largest in the world. The Port Authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange. For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com
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