Staff Writer
Crane placement, counsel big-ticket items
The Jacksonville Port Authority Awards Committee approved contracts totaling more than $800,000 Wednesday.
The committee consisted of Chief Financial Officer Michael Poole and Senior Director of Government and External Affairs Eric Green. It has the authority to approve individual contracts up to $250,000.
The contracts approved:
• Cargotec Crane and Electrical Services of Helsinki, Finland, was awarded a contract for $228,600 for container crane placement at the Blount Island Terminal, where a summer storm in August 2008 contributed to the collapse of two container cranes.
“We will be taking two cranes off of the rails and reconfiguring them to better serve our customers,” said Louis Naranjo, director of procurement services for the Port Authority. “The project will be 100 percent funded from the insurance funds from the crane loss.”
• A contract for milling and asphalt repair services for the Port Authority was awarded to Jacksonville-based Pars Construction Services Inc. The total contract amount is not to exceed $140,000, with the work done as needed, and the Port Authority reserves the right to send a project quoted at $12,000 or more out to bid, said Naranjo.
“(Pars) is very well qualified and has a good performance record with us,” said Naranjo.
• The committee approved the renewal of a contract for the law firm of Foley & Lardner to provide bond counsel, tax counsel and disclosure counsel for a year for an amount not to exceed $110,000.
• The committee agreed to contract with RS&H Engineering Inc. for a heavy-lift analysis at the Talleyrand and Blount Island terminals to ensure that the heavier shipments that will be delivered to the port by larger ships will be safe while transiting from the wharfs. The contract amount is $97,192.
• Jacksonville’s Robin Shepherd Studios Inc. was approved for a contract to redesign the Port Authority website for an amount not to exceed $95,000.
“Our staff spends too much time helping people navigate through the site, so we are going to try to make it less static and more user-friendly,” said Poole.
“It’s mostly utilized by our marketing department and current and potential clients, and they are fully behind the redesign. It should have happened a long time ago.”
• Other projects: A contract for installation, maintenance and repair of electrical systems and equipment for the Port Authority was awarded to Westside Electric Industrial for an amount not to exceed $85,000; re-grout of crane rail at the Blount Island Marine Terminal awarded to RS&H Engineering for $72,186; and window replacement at the Port Authority Conference and Office Building awarded to C.C. Borden Construction Inc. for $59,300.
• Also, the Jacksonville Transportation Group was renewed as the on-demand taxi and shuttle service provider for the Dames Point Terminal, which includes the Jacksonville cruise terminal and Carnival Cruise Lines. In this case, the Jacksonville Transportation Group is expected to pay the Port Authority $47,502 for the licensing fee for 2010-2011.
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