by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Florida Gov. Rick Scott told voters he would put Florida to work during his campaign, and he toured Jacksonville port facilities Tuesday to find out how Northeast Florida could contribute to that plan.
Arriving a day after the port’s board of directors announced a new time line for the construction of a container terminal for Hanjin Shipping Co. of South Korea and deepening the river channel to 50 feet, Scott was ready to pursue the funding needed to help the port develop into the best on the East Coast.
“One of my jobs as governor is to get the state back to work, and this is a very important port for the state,” said Scott.
“We’ve got to make sure we have the money and infrastructure in place to keep these jobs in Florida and not let them go to Savannah, Charleston, New York City or any place else,” he said
The governor sounded well versed on the role that shipping could play in the future of Florida’s economy.
“With the expansion of the Panama Canal, as well as the expansion of world trade, we’ve got to make sure we have the ports in Florida to take the traffic from the shipping industry,” said Scott. “That is something I am going to be very focused on, making sure we have that funding to bring global trade to Florida.”
Along with Jacksonville Port Authority CEO Paul Anderson, Port Board of Directors Chair David Kulik and Secretary Reginald Gaffney, Mayor John Peyton and City Council President Jack Webb, Scott toured the port’s facilities Tuesday, including the Talleyrand, Dames Point and Blount Island Marine Terminals.
The governor was asked during a stop at the TraPac Terminal at Dames Point if he thought there would be federal money available to help with dredging the St. Johns River channel to 50 feet from its current depth of about 40 feet, which varies with the tide.
“I hope so. The project here, from what I understand, is $650 million, so I am going to be spending a lot of time in Washington to ensure we get our fair share of dollars,” said Scott, “because this is the right part of the country to be expanding and I am responsible for making sure that the citizens of this state have jobs.”
One person who would like to see Scott bring back money from Washington, D.C., is Dennis Kelly, TraPac regional vice president and Jacksonville general manager. He used a ship in port as an example.
“That ship isn’t fully loaded because of the draft restriction of 38 feet caused by Mile Point. It came in draft restricted and will go out draft restricted, which means we aren’t making as much money as we could if they were fully loaded,” said Kelly.
“A fix for Mile Point and deeper water would be great,” he said.
The port consists of three cargo facilities, a cruise terminal and a public river ferry. The port said it generates 65,000 jobs and more than $19 billion in annual economic impact for the North Florida region.
356-2466