HOUSTON, Jan. 18, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The Port Commission of The Port of Houston Authority (PHA) will consider advertising for the construction of an additional wharf at the Bayport Terminal complex, a contract estimated to value up to $74 million. Additionally, the Commission will consider $9 million for the purchase of unleaded gasoline and Texas low-emission diesel fuel (TXLED), and H. Thomas Kornegay, PHA executive director, will give PHA's year-end review, highlighting another record-breaking year, on Tuesday, January 22, beginning at 9 a.m. in the board room of the PHA Executive Building, 111 East Loop North (Exit 29 off Loop 610) in Houston. Chairman Jim Edmonds will preside 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 K1) The Commission is being asked to authorize advertising and receipt of competitive sealed proposals for Bayport Terminal Complex Phase 1 Wharf for up to $74 million. Plans and specifications for the construction of about 1,330 feet of additional wharf, including associated dredging and material disposal on site, have been prepared.
BARBOURS CUT MATTERS
(Agenda G3) Commissioners are being asked to award a construction contract to Forde Construction Company, Inc., for pavement replacement at Barbours Cut Terminal for $1,000,000. This contract will facilitates periodic maintenance of the pavement in the storage yards and wharf areas in container terminals C1 through C6 as well as the ro/ro transit shed area at Barbours Cut terminal.
TURNING BASIN MATTERS
(Agenda G4) The Commission is being asked to award a construction contract to Statewide Tree Services, Inc. for landscaping and irrigation system installation on Port Pavilion Drive at the Turning Basin for $82,800. To enhance the drive to the Sam Houston Pavilion at the Turning Basin, PHA will plant additional landscaping and install associated irrigation along Port Pavilion Drive. The Sam Houston Pavilion is the gathering place for nearly 30,000 people who annually board the PHA M/V Sam Houston tour boat.
ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS
(Agenda G6) Commissioners are being asked to award a contract to TRC to provide air quality consulting, and monitor and maintain particulate samplers at the Bayport Terminal construction project. It is expected to be a two-year, $225,000 contract. To comply with the Army Corps of Engineers permit for the PHA Dust Plan for Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal, the PHA has been monitoring nonpoint source air pollution from two stations since the construction of Bayport began in June 2004.
(Agenda K2) Commissioners are being asked to authorize specifications and advertising and receipt of competitive sealed proposals for the purchase of unleaded gasoline and Texas low-emission diesel fuel (TxLED) for Barbours Cut Terminal, Bayport Container Terminal and Turning Basin Terminal and also two storage fuel tanks for Barbours Cut Terminal for a two-year period for $9.2 million. This two-year port-wide proposal reflects an expected $2.5 million increase over the previous two-year contract, due to expanded operational needs and current and future mandates from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) regarding fuels for the Houston area.
GENERAL MATTERS
(Agenda M1) The Commission is being asked to authorize an Industrial District Agreement with the city of Seabrook. Pursuant to the Memorandum of Settlement Agreement with the city of Seabrook entered into by the PHA in November, the Commission agreed to consider entering into an Industrial District Agreement with the city of Seabrook. The agreement would provide that during its 15-year term, certain Bayport Container Terminal property belonging to the port authority would maintain its newly enacted extraterritorial status within the district and outside the city, and be exempt from certain city powers. Earlier this month, the city of Seabrook authorized the agreement.
This news release is not a substitute for the official PHA agenda. To view the complete agenda, please visit: http://portofhouston.com/publicrelations/meetings.html
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.
For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com
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CONTACT Port of Houston Authority
Lisa Ashley-Whitlock, Communications Manager
(713) 670-2644
Cell: (832) 247-8179
lwhitlock@poha.com
Argentina M. James, Director of Public Affairs
(713) 670-2568
Cell: (713) 306-6822
ajames@poha.com