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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAugusta Port Authority Meeting Minutes Septemb Minutes Augusta Port Authority Meeting, September 15, 2016 Present were: Frank Carl* , Paul Muckenfuss*, Aishia Leverett*, Lawrence Washington* , Edward Dorr, Francis Christian, Tonya Bonitatibus*, Clarence Thompkins*, Gary Hegner, Patrick Regan, Frank Gibbs* , Darrell Bennett, Megan Luther, Brad Holdren, Brandt Bonin. *indicates voting member of Port Authority. The meeting was called to order at 9:00 AM by Frank Carl. After introductions and affiliations of attendees, the call for additions to the agenda produced four. Frank Carl added three items to the agenda that he was reminded of after he sent out the agenda of record: (l) an invoice from Steve Arnold of the Dive Team, (2) removal of the abandoned boat under the Fifth Street Bridge, and (3) removal (lowering) of the old seawall in the river spanning an area from upstream of the railroad bridge to below the Gordon Highway Bridge. Those items were assigned to times later in the agenda. The fourth addition was discussion of a press release on the search for a marina operator given that the City's Procurement Department released an RFQ for the marina/warehouse operator the morning of our meeting. Before the item could be assigned to a later time, a motion was made (Tonya/Paul) to write up a press release, run it by Procurement and send it to media outlets in Augusta, Savannah, Columbia, the Lakes and other communities with significant marina presence. Tonya volunteered to handle that press release and the motion passed by voice vote without dissent. A draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Augusta Port Authority and Augusta Richmond County for management of the riverfront (attached) was presented to the Port Authority. The Port Authority approved the draft by consensus as the initial negotiating position of the Port Authority with Augusta Richmond County for management of the riverfront. Frank Carl defended the simplified operating budget for the Port Authority that he has submitted to the City through both the Recreation and Finance Departments. The Recreation Department declined to include the requested operating budget into their requests, but the Recreation Department did request $210K for improvements and repairs on the riverfront. The Port Authority will continue to pursue the attached operating budget through the Finance Department and the Administrator. Frank Carl reported on event applications. $800 has been received from Tri-Augusta for the Gatorfest Event and $400 from the Dragon Boat races for rental of our warehouse dock and its move to Lake Olmstead. Southern Nationals appealed to the City for a waiver of their $6450 fee for exclusive use of the riverfront and the Commission approved the fèe waiver with the stipulation that the amount of the fee ($6450) would be credited to the Port Authority from the City. Frank reported that the City has a contract with the Ironman corporation that includes the exclusive use of the riverfront for the day of the event. Patrick Regan of the Augusta Sports Council promised that he will fill out the Event Application so that we can calculate the cost to the city for exclusive use of the riverfront by the Ironman event. The Port Authority will request that the amount calculated be included as income from the City in the Port Authority budget. Marina/Warehouse Report: Francis Christian reported that of the 87 boats or vehicles in spaces in either the marinas or the warehouse, the owners of 58 of those have been identified. The registration numbers have been taken from the unclaimed boats and sent to the DNR tor identification. The City and the Port Authority will have to come up with a mechanism for dealing with abandoned vessels and/or vehicles, because it appears that there will be a few. Frank Carl asked Steve Arnold to do two dives for the Port Authority, one to find the attachments for the upper end of Dock C on the bottom of the river and the other to investigate the seawall in the river with an eye toward removal. Steve was able to find one of the attachments for Dock C and he has reported on the construction of the sea wall. Steve billed the Port Authority $75.00 for each dive. A motion to pay Steve Arnold $150.00 for his service (Lawrence/Aishia) passed by voice vote without opposition. Tonya Bonitatibus indicated that Tom Roberts (Cranston Engineering) has the plans for the seawall in his archives. We may want to consult that before attempting removal. Tonya suggested removing just the tops of the posts around which the seawall is built. At normal water levels that should remove most of the hazard. In any case Tonya reminded the group that Corps permits would be needed to work in the river. Darrell Bennett reported that the 22 year old ice machine in the Gift Shop can no longer be repaired because parts are not available. A motion to approve the purchase of a new ice machine for the Gift Shop (Frank Gibbs/Clarence Thompkins) passed by voice vote. Frank Carl complained that he has been unable to find contractors willing to bid on the dock and pier repairs. He indicated that the estimate for engineering work to create specs for the actual work came in at six times the one actual estimate for doing repairs. In the meantime the docks and pier continue to deteriorate. Gary Hegner suggested that Frank get letters of declination from the contractors who were unwilling to bid and with those the City will authorize a single bid approval. At this point in the meeting Aishia Leverett realized with the immediate attention to the RFQ at the beginning of the meeting that the Authority had not reviewed and approved the minutes from the July meeting. After there was no response to a query about corrections to the minutes, a motion to approve the July minutes as written (Aishia/Paul) was passed by voice vote without dissent. Tonya Bonitatibus reported that the boat abandoned under the Fifth Street Bridge on the South Carolina side of the river could not be floated because of damage to the hull. She indicated that the North Augusta Utilities Department will attempt to pull the boat up the embankment (property of the Georgia DOT), load it on a flat bed trailer and haul it to Three Rivers Landfill at SRS. Darrell Bennett reported that he has asked Cruse Security to install two new cameras to monitor C Dock and the Boathouse. As the time approached for adjournment, Gary Hegner reminded the Authority that the budgeting process for the City for 2017 is essentially finalized by mid November when the next scheduled meeting would be held. He encouraged the Authority to meet sooner to decide on budget matters. The Authority decided to meet Thursday October 6, 9:00 AM, (Boathouse) for budget decisions. A motion to adjourn (Aishia/Tonya) passed by voice vote and the meeting was adjourned at 10:00 AM. Respectfully submitted, Elena Richards Acting Secretary