Mayor Alvin Brown has been working on a reorganization of City government to fulfill a campaign promise of more efficiency and he let it be known after a news conference Tuesday that he expects more from the Jacksonville Port Authority.
The Port Authority is working to gain approval and funding for its Mile Point and channel deepening projects, but hasn’t discussed developing its cruise business since David Kulik, immediate past chairman of the port’s board of directors, stepped down in the spring.
“We can do more than one thing at a time,” said Brown. “That’s why I have Senator Tony Hill focused like a laser on the port. If we continue to grow the cruise business, that’s more jobs and revenue for Jacksonville.”
Hill, a former state senator, serves as Brown’s federal government liaison.
The port was considering building a permanent cruise terminal on property it owns in Mayport because it had an agreement with Hanjin Shipping Co. to build a terminal where the temporary cruise operation is located.
That agreement was renegotiated and the shipping terminal deadline was moved from 2014 to 2016.
The port recently completed a feasibility study about the best site among the properties it owns for a cruise terminal.
“We own property in Mayport, and it is still the likely candidate should a future board of directors and staff move forward with a recommendation to invest in a new terminal,” said Nancy Rubin, director of communications for the port.
“But at the time we were talking about a new terminal it was at $40-$60 million. That’s a significant financial decision. Would we like to grow the business to more than one ship? Sure, but only if it makes sense, with all of the other financial commitments we have to our cargo customers,” she said.
Currently, the Carnival cruise ship Fascination docks at the Jacksonville terminal and has a capacity of 2,052 passengers. Carnival’s newest ships carry nearly 3,700 passengers, but they would not be able to move under the Dames Point Bridge to reach the current terminal.
Brown gained a national platform recently to talk about the opportunities at the Jacksonville port and ports across the country.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, vice president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, announced Brown’s appointment to the conference’s Metro Export sand Ports Task Force via teleconference Tuesday. The Daily Record reported the appointment Tuesday morning.
“Mayor Brown has been appointed as chair of the Metro Exports and Ports Task Force. As chair, Mayor Brown has the stage to tell the story of Jaxport’s success. We are really looking forward to his leadership in this area,” said Nutter.
“Many of our cities, unfortunately, are suffering from high unemployment. Our ports have historically provided great jobs of more than living wage. I’ve been in a number of meetings now and personal conversations with Mayor Brown and he talks with great passion about the port being one of the biggest ingredients for turning around the Jacksonville economy,” he said.
Brown attended a U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Los Angeles in July where he met its president, Antonio Villaraigosa, and Nutter.
“This appointment will boost Jacksonville’s profile as we seek solutions for Mile Point and the deepening of our waters for post Panamax traffic. We want to position our port to be the best and get the best return on investment,” said Brown.
“We have a lot going on in Jacksonville and we should showcase our success to help build trade lanes all over America,” he said.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,191 such cities in the country. Each is represented in the conference by its chief elected official, the mayor.
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