To “get the attention” of the Jacksonville Port Authority, a member of the City Council Ad Hoc Committee on Funding the St. Johns River Ferry threatened to pull back money budgeted for pay raises and bonuses at the port after he grew frustrated with the port’s budget management.
The JPA recently voted to discontinue its operation of the ferry at the end of September. The ferry links Florida A1A at Mayport.
At a committee meeting Monday, City Council member John Crescimbeni discussed with Nancy Rubin, director of communications for the port, the work of multiple consultants hired by the port to determine how to fix aging infrastructure at the docking areas of the ferry.
“Between the money spent on TransSystems, RS&H and (The Shaw Group), it’s no wonder why you can’t do any capital improvements. You’re spending it all on consultants trying to tell you what you need to do,” said Crescimbeni.
The Shaw Group is designing plans to fix the ailing infrastructure so that the next operator can bid the construction jobs out quickly after they take over operations, Rubin said.
The problems with the infrastructure were discovered during a regularly scheduled inspection by TranSystems in June 2010, which estimated the cost of repairs to be about $750,000, said Michael Poole, chief financial officer for the port, at a previous meeting.
The port then notified The Shaw Group, its contracted engineering firm, to design a plan to make the repairs to the concrete and steel at the docks.
Shaw informed the port that the $890,000 it had budgeted for the project wasn’t enough for the needed repairs.
The port then decided on a third party, RS&H, to identify and prioritize repair issues with the ferry system. The report that was submitted by RS&H described $4 million in repairs that needed to be made in the 2011 fiscal year, and the port has only $890,000 in its budget for capital improvements to the ferry.
“I hate to say this Ms. Rubin, but it’s gotten to the point where I just can’t believe anything that comes out of the port authority’s mouth these days. It all requires verification. It’s just gobbledygook,” said Crescimbeni.
Crescimbeni then questioned Council Auditor Kirk Sherman about whether or not Council had the authority to revisit the port’s budget in the middle of the fiscal year. Sherman said he would research the matter.
“One burr that has been under my saddle since this story broke is the fact that the port authority came to us during the budget discussion last August justifying or claiming that they had to have $600,000 in pay raises and performance bonuses for their 150 employees,” said Crescimbeni.
“I’m going to do my best to rescind that to get y’alls attention,” he said.
Other funding sources discussed at the meeting included grants and contributions from the City’s independent agencies, the Beaches cities and neighboring counties that benefit from the ferry operation.
The committee also suggested increasing the price of the ferry coupon book, which includes coupons for 20 rides, from $60 to $80 and attaching an expiration date to the books to ensure regular riders are receiving the benefit.
“Increasing the coupon cost by a $1 for each ride still allows for a nice savings,” said Bill Gulliford, co-chairman of the committee.
Federal fuel grants, Florida Inland Navigation District grants and federal discretionary grants also were discussed, but those can’t benefit the ferry until an operator is designated to continue ferry service.
“Where we sit right now is we cannot apply for any more grants. JPA has committed to run the ferry through Sept. 30, but that really ties our hands because, in the interim, we can’t do anything,” said Michelle Baldwin, Mayport Village Civic Association president.
“We miss all of the grant cycles for this fiscal year. In the meantime, the ferry and the condition of the ferry continue to deteriorate. We are in limbo right now and the safety concerns that are being raised by the port authority and the reports that they are developing that will come out in April, once we get those reports we will not be able to do anything about it,” she said.
Rubin attended the meeting to listen to concerns and report back to the port about the committee’s questions regarding the operation of the ferry.
Although he didn’t see it as imperative that JPA CEO Paul Anderson attend the meetings, Gulliford did say that the port leader was missing an opportunity.
“(The port authority) will have to determine how important their relationship is with certain City Council members,” said Gulliford.
Council members and citizens from Mayport Village have voiced frustration with the current lack of grant applications submitted by the port over recent months, but the port didn’t want to apply for funds for a service it didn’t plan on continuing, Rubin said.
The port had been successful previously in pursuing grants for improvements to the ferry’s gantry system and repairs to the ferries.
A committee charged with helping the port and the Jacksonville Aviation Authority find and secure resources has been dormant.
Created in 2008 by former Council President Ronnie Fussell, the Council Seaport and Airport Special Committee’s last listed meeting minutes are from May 17, 2011.
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