Jacksonville Port Authority Chairman Jim Citrano told the port's board Tuesday he will call a special meeting as soon as possible if CEO Paul Anderson decides to take the same job in Tampa.
The Tampa Port Authority board of directors offered Anderson its port CEO position Nov. 13 and has since been negotiating a contract with Anderson.
Anderson has not announced whether he will take the job, but Citrano expects a decision will be made by the Tampa board's Dec. 18 meeting.
"We expect to have a resolution to this issue by next week. It's been difficult because we can't make a decision if we can't talk to each other and we can't do that without a public meeting. It's difficult to be proactive that way," said Citrano.
Per the Sunshine Law, if board members want to discuss port business with each other they must post a notice of the meeting to allow the public the opportunity to attend.
If and when Anderson makes an announcement, Citrano said he plans to call a board meeting to appoint an interim CEO and begin the search for Anderson's replacement.
"We could save a considerable amount of money by using previous search information," said Citrano.
The CEO search data developed by Boyden Global Executive Search during the fall of 2010 is a little more than two years old, but only one member of the current board was involved with that process. Citrano said he doesn't want to reduce the current board's involvement in the process.
When asked how he would attract the port's next CEO, Citrano said it involved potential.
"We have yet to reach our full potential and we have a lot of the pieces in place to reach that potential," he said.
One of those pieces Anderson has identified, with which the board has agreed, is developing a strategic master plan.
Martin Associates was given the contract to develop a plan and provided its first presentation to the board Tuesday.
The plan will identify and incorporate changing business trends and adjustments of the maritime port industry for the next five years and include 10- and 20-year plans that are integrated into the master plan.
Board Vice Chairman Joe York asked what repercussions the loss of a CEO would have on its development.
"You do want to have input from the CEO on the development of the plan, but we can still do the market analysis and baseline research without losing time," said John Martin, president of Martin Associates.
Martin estimated the plan's development would take about 4-6 months to complete.
Also at the meeting, port Executive Vice President Roy Schleicher announced the port will sign a 20-year lease with Sea Star Line. The lease will include options for two 10-year renewals.
"I think anyone would be pleased with this deal," said Schleicher.
Sea Star also has ordered two new cargo ships that are expected to be the largest ships in the world — 764-foot long and primarily powered by liquefied natural gas. The 3,100 TEU — a term that describes a ship's cargo-carrying capacity and stands for 20-foot equivalent unit — are double-hulled ships that will operate between Jacksonville and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The port also plans to connect the final piece of the puzzle for the intermodal container transfer facility at Dames Point Marine Terminal by the end of the year.
It is finalizing the purchase of 2.4 acres of privately owned land at the price of $2 million from St. Johns Jacksonville LLC near the Dames Point property to allow for the construction of the intermodal facility that would allow for efficient loading and unloading of cargo from ship to rail.
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