Port of Palm Beach District Request for Discussion and Commission Action
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
July 21, 2016 Regular Board Meeting - E. CONSENT AGENDA PORT OF PALM BEACH DISTRICT REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION AND COMMISSION ACTION CONSENT AGENDA ITEM – E-8 PREPARED BY: Manuel Almira Executive Director July 11, 2016 SUBJECT: CORRESPONDENCE BACKGROUND: The following press releases are attached for your information: Port of Palm Beach Receives 8,800 Short Tons of Steel Port of Palm Beach Releases Audited Financial Statements for FY 2015 Business View Magazine Article on Port of Palm Beach ______________________________________________________________________________________ ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ATTACHED: No Yes X RECOMMENDATIONS: Informational Only Respectfully Submitted By: Manuel Almira, Executive Director DATE ACTION TAKEN: Approved: Motion By: Disapproved: Seconded By: Deferred To: Unanimous: Yes No Incorporated into Minutes: By: 185 July 21, 2016 Regular Board Meeting - E. CONSENT AGENDA Press Contact: Tara Monks [email protected] 561.319.0098 Port of Palm Beach Releases Audited Financial Statements for FY 2015 Riviera Beach, FL – (May 20, 2016) Port of Palm Beach released its comprehensive annual financial report for FY 2015 during its monthly board meeting on May 19, 2016. The report found the port’s net assets increased by $5,590,834, or 6% in FY 2015 from the year prior. The final audited net position for Port of Palm Beach for FY 2015 is $106,302,831, with a total profit of $1,566,228. The Port of Palm Beach fiscal year begins October 1 and completes September 30. Key elements of the increase in net position for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2105 include, among others: ∑ Operating revenues have achieved a compound annual growth rate of approximately 5% between FY 2008 and FY 2015 ∑ The port’s operating expenses before depreciation and amortization decreased 1% between FY 2008 and 2015 “With guidance and support from the Board of Commissioners, port management executed aggressive marketing campaigns that resulted in attracting new business and growing current business to increase revenues,” explained Port of Palm Beach Chairman Wayne M. Richards. “As revenues increased, port management also reduced expenditures through outsourcing peripheral staff, expanding in-house roles, and implementing other conservation efforts. I commend our team for running a successful operation.” The port’s capital program is funded through a combination of the Florida Department of Transportation Seaport grants programs, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, port facility fees and charges for services, public and private contributions, non-operating revenues, and revenue bond issues. Comprehensive annual financial audits are performed and released every year. The full 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for FY 2015 can be found at www.PortofPalmBeach.com. About Port of Palm Beach Port of Palm Beach is a full-service, diversified port, offering cruise and cargo services to more than 30 onsite tenants and users. At only 162 acres, the port’s efficiency is unparalleled – Port of Palm Beach processes over $7 billion in commodities, over 2 million tons of cargoes and more than 350,000 cruise passengers annually. More than 2,850 people are employed by the Port of Palm Beach and its tenants, making it one of the largest employers in Palm Beach County. And through the contribution of more than $185 million in business revenue and $17.5 million in tenant-contributed state and local annual tax revenue, it is one of the largest economic engines in South Florida. 186 July 21, 2016 Regular Board Meeting - E. CONSENT AGENDA Press Contact: Tara Monks [email protected] 561.319.0098 Press Contact: Tara Monks [email protected] Port of Palm Beach Receives 8,800 Short Tons of Steel On June 22, 2016, the Asia Pearl VIII delivered 8,800 short tons of steel to be used within the local construction markets. The importing agency, Teeters Agency & Stevedoring reported the ship unloaded 3,642 bundles of rebar and 638 coils of rebar. The last shipment received marked a milestone for Teeters Agency & Stevedoring. On Tuesday, January 26, 2016, the agency discharged 6,100 metric tons of rebar and 500 metric tons of rebar coils within 34 hours, which marked their fastest time to date. Prior to this milestone, on November 14, 2015, Teeters Agency brought in the first steel ship to enter the Port of Palm Beach in 8 years. Teeters has imported 21,454 short tons of steel during FY2016. Teeters Agency & Stevedoring has handled container and general cargo vessels at the Port of Palm Beach since 1983. Owned and operated by The Teeters Family, the firm uses patented equipment Engineered by William Teeters to transfer and store steel. The machinery offers faster and cleaner movements than competitive companies, with a minimum-to-none damage rate. About Port of Palm Beach Port of Palm Beach is a full-service, diversified port, offering cruise and cargo services to more than 30 onsite tenants and users. At only 162 acres, the port’s efficiency is unparalleled – Port of Palm Beach processes over $7 billion in commodities, over 2 million tons of cargoes and more than 350,000 cruise passengers annually. More than 2,850 people are employed by the Port of Palm Beach and its tenants, making it one of the largest employers in Palm Beach County. And through the contribution of more than $185 million in business revenue and $17.5 million in tenant-contributed state and local annual tax revenue, it is one of the largest economic engines in South Florida. 187 July 21, 2016 Regular Board Meeting - E. CONSENT AGENDA The Port of Palm Beach www.businessviewmagazine.com /port-of-palm-beach/ Business View Magazine Import, export, your port The Port of Palm Beach is located on Florida’s Atlantic coast, about 80 miles north of Miami and 135 miles south of Port Canaveral. The Port of Palm Beach District covers a land area of 971 square miles or approximately 50 percent of Palm Beach County, while the port, itself, covers 162 acres. It’s the fourth-busiest container port in the state and the 18th-busiest in the nation, functioning largely as an export hub, with approximately 80 percent of its cargo heading outbound, primarily to the island nations of the nearby Caribbean region. The area in which the Port is situated has been utilized as a shipping hub for nearly 150 years; early settlers and their descendants worked to build and improve access to waterborne commerce on the northern shore of Lake Worth. In 1915, industrialist and railroad magnate, Henry Flagler, approached General George Goethals, the head engineer of the Panama Canal, to oversee a construction project at the Lake Worth Inlet, which was being used as a transshipment point for lumber delivered by rail from Central Florida and points north to the Miami area by barge. The Lake Worth Inlet District, later to become the Port of Palm Beach District, was subsequently created by the Florida Legislature to formalize the efforts towards inlet maintenance. In 1935 the federal government assumed maintenance of the inlet and its channels as part of the Lake Worth Inlet/Palm Beach Harbor project, and the District assumed local partner responsibilities with the federal government for port operations. Today, the Port of Palm Beach District is an independent, special taxing district. It is governed by a Board of Commissioners elected at-large by the voters within the District. Its administration is through an Executive Director and professional staff of approximately 50 employees. The Port is a landlord port and maintains all piers, docks, dredging, and improvements to District-owned properties. The turning basins, which are within the Inlet, are federally-owned and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Shipping and passenger services are provided by tenants under long-term agreements with the Port. All maritime services are performed through privatized, licensed permit holders including agents, stevedores, warehousing, and chandlers. Pilot and tug services are also privately owned. In addition, the Port owns and operates five miles of rail, and train operation is done in-house by Port staff. Manny Almira is the Port’s current Executive Director. He talks about some of the necessary upgrades and major improvements that the Port is now making, as detailed in its Master Plan which lays out significant objectives to be achieved between the years 2012 and 2022. “We are one hundred years old,” he begins. “Therefore some of the Port’s infrastructure, while we maintain it on a daily basis, needs some required attention and sometimes replacement. We just finished a $26 million project that consisted of the redevelopment and reconstruction of our southernmost slip, Slip Three. All of the sheet piles that hold the earth from bleeding into the water were replaced, an additional three feet of depth was added, and the entire slip was moved to the north to allow for future development to the south. Another item on Almira’s list is a redevelopment of Berth 17, south of Slip Three. “Berth 17 will be our southernmost berth at the Port,” he explains. “It’s a notch that we’re cutting in so that small roll-on/roll-off vessels can work on that particular berth. We’re also considering that berth for a possible rail/barge service. We have been discussing that plan with railroad companies and there seems to be a very high level of interest for that future use. We did it in the past, so we’re back to the possibility of having a rail/barge service to Cuba. In 1957, the Port of Palm Beach had more cargo to and from Cuba than any other port in the United States. I’d like to duplicate that. It’s a tall order, but nothing’s impossible and it could develop into something bigger and better than it was back in the 1950s.” 1/3 188 July 21, 2016 Regular Board Meeting - E.