HOUSTON, Oct. 23, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Port Commission of The Port of Houston Authority approved access control enhancements for several of its facilities and other items during its April 23 public meeting. 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.
ACCESS CONTROLS
(Agenda item K8) The commission authorized issuance of a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for engineering design services associated with installing card readers and a closed-circuit television camera at the Barbours Cut Terminal C-3 Administration Building and for the replacement of older card readers at Barbours Cut container and cruise terminals, Sims Bayou Terminal and Southside Turning Basin Terminal. The new card readers will meet current federally mandated Transportation Worker Identification Credential requirements.
(Agenda item K9) The commission authorized issuance of an RFQ for engineering design services associated with access control at the PHA Executive Office Building and Port Coordination Center (PCC) and the integration of the Turning Basin Terminal closed-circuit television system into the PCC's fiber optics network. The design will allow for:
-- Installation of card readers in the Executive Office Building for
access control to sensitive areas. Card readers will be connected
to the PCC for continuous monitoring
-- Installation of card readers to automate the existing sliding
gates entering the PCC area and at the PCC building
-- Connection of existing CCTV cameras at the Turning Basin Terminal
to the PCC's fiber optics network.
(Agenda item K10) Commissioners authorized issuance of an RFQ for engineering design services associated with Morgan's Point's Ballister Street access control. The project will include an automated gate system with electronic access control card readers and cameras. Also, cameras will be installed on the fence line for perimeter control and will be connected to the PCC for around-the-clock monitoring.
(Agenda item K11) Commissioners authorized issuance of an RFQ for engineering design services associated with Woodhouse Terminal access control. The project will include installation of access control devices and closed-circuit television cameras at an entrance from Clinton Drive and another located southwest of the grain elevator.
BAYPORT MATTERS
(Agenda item G6) Commissioners approved a $745,230 contract with Aviles Engineering Corporation for Bayport Phase 1 Materials Testing. Aviles will set up a lab on the 48-acre Phase 1 site and provide testing of the soil, concrete and other elements and materials at the container yard.
(Agenda items G10, G11) Commissioners approved two contract modifications with McCarthy Building Companies totaling $126,139. The modifications will provide for:
-- A spare electricity transformer, designed to ensure continuity of
operations in the event of primary transformer failure;
-- Fencing changes;
-- Installation of a termination manhole, conduit and duct bank for
communications lines;
-- Additional road signs for Port Road as well as provisions to leave
a portion of the abandoned Port Road in place and minor
modifications to Port Road's roadbed, in lieu of a previous
planned demolition of a one-mile stretch of the road.
(Agenda item G12) The commission approved a contract modification with Zachry Construction Corporation for Phase 1A wharf work. The contract will provide for manual installation of cable into the revetment block in wharf sections 4, 5, and 6 of the Bayport Phase 1 wharf and dredging project.
(Agenda item G13) The commission also approved a contract modification with Dashiell Corporation for the electrical substation. The change will provide for installation of a 12-inch-thick concrete slab over a water line and four-inch gas line and a 24-inch storm water culvert under the lines along an asphalt access road from the electrical substation to Port Road. The modifications are necessary to comply with Pasadena city requirements for protecting the shallow utility lines.
(Agenda item M7) Commissioners also approved the creation of PHA Tariff No. 15 for Bayport Container Terminal. Tariff 15 will define the rules, conditions and rates for container operations at Bayport.
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 7,000 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.
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