A.G. Gancarski
Friday afternoon saw the Jacksonville City Council Finance Committee mull the JAXPORT capital budget — and the big item of interest was dredging.
Councilman Tommy Hazouri — not a member of that committee — visited and raised standing questions he’s had about a lack of public discourse on dredging. And he wasn’t the only Council member to raise such concerns, specifically relative to the city contribution down the road.
For FY 18, JAXPORT has $42.1M budgeted for the dredge: $23.3M from its own finance, and $18.8M from the state.
While that’s definitely a start for the project, there is no guarantee of recurring funding. And for those who have environmental concerns about the impact of the 11 mile dredge to a 47 foot depth, time is running out for any real dialogue.
These conditions made Friday afternoon a bit more interesting than normal in Jacksonville’s City Hall.
Councilman Reggie Gaffney, noting a hike in Asian container traffic, wanted to know how dredging would help.
JAXPORT CEO Eric Green noted that dredging had come in under bid by roughly 50 percent.
Then Hazouri took over with a series of questions.
“If you can’t answer some of these things because of what your attorney tells you, too bad because this is on the record.”
The first question: the length of the dredge, adjusted down to 11 miles from 13.
Green noted the board discussed this, and that those extra two miles may be needed down the road.
Hazouri continued to press Green with questions.
“What concerns me,” Hazouri said, “is I know y’all are anticipating 2020 before you come to the Council [for money] … I don’t want our hands to be tied.”
Hazouri pressed Green on cancelled board meetings.
“The July meeting was cancelled because there were no board items.”
Hazouri also pressed questions on mitigation — budgeted for $32M — expressing intense skepticism regarding the project affecting water quality.
“That particular question on mitigation is a slippery slope,” Green said, in light of the lawsuit.
“Where does that leave us in terms of a public entity knowing what you are doing? I don’t feel like you’re open to the public”
Hazouri expressed intense skepticism about impact on secondary tributaries, and flatly said he didn’t buy the job projections.
“The public wants to know. I hear them all the time … I don’t want to look like I’m trying to stave off the ability for the port to move on,” Hazouri said.
Port representatives noted that 15 years after the dredging wraps, the job projections will be fulfilled.
Councilwoman Lori Boyer suggested a shade meeting to resolve these questions, given that the independent authority is subordinate to the larger government in the charter.
“I want to crack the egg so we can get some light on this thing,” Hazouri said.
Finance Vice-Chair Danny Becton questioned the assertion that the dredge would provide ROI and draw business from Savannah.
A port representative noted that Jacksonville is new to the Asian market, and it’s already 30 percent of the port’s business.
“It’s the low-hanging fruit, and Savannah’s been doing it 20 plus years, maybe 30. We got into it in 2010 at the height of the recession.”
The port’s “aging infrastructure,” added Green, required capital investment. And because the harbor isn’t deep enough, Panamax ships come in and leave 40 percent loaded.
“You miss out on opportunities like that when you don’t have the facilities you need, as well as the depth of the harbor,” Green said.
The Council Auditor meanwhile wanted hard numbers and detail.
“I’d like the support that backs up the numbers,” Council Auditor Kyle Billy said.
