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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 04-09-2009 o\ FORT PIERCE HARBOR ADVI=ORY COMMI'~'1'EE '9~ in Held On Meet g April 9, 2009 Convened at 3:03 p.m. Adjourned at 4:40 p.m. This meeting of the Fort Pierce Harbor Advisory Committee (FPHAC) was held Thursday, April 9, 2009 at 3:03 p.m. in Conference Room 3 on the third floor of the Administration Building, 2300 Virginia Avenue, Fort Pierce, Florida. ROLL CALL Roll call was talzen. Members Presenit: Howard Conklin, Chairman Mary Chapman, Vice Chairman Gerald Kuklinski, Commissioner Grande's Appointee John Holt, Commissioner Smith's Appointee David Souza, St. Lucie Village Pieter Stryker Also Presents Commissioner Grande, District 4 Katherine Mackenzie-Smith, Assistant County Attorney Bob Bangert Edie Schor, Representing the Indian River Lagoon Margaret Seiler John Parry, Waterfront Council Martin Murphy, Port Business Owner Doug Bond, Waterfront Council John Walker Hans Van Zonneveld, Port Land Owner Don West, St. Lucie County Public Works Director George Byfield, Comet Creative William Blazak, Harbortown Marina/Culpepper & Terpening Engineering Marty Laven, Marine Industries Association of the Treasure Coast Ken Roberts, Indian River Terminal Jeanne Heam, Waterfront Council APPROVAL OF THE MINIITEf: The minutes from the January 8, 2009 meeting were discussed but the committee forgot to approve them. At the next meeting, May 14, 2009, the January 8th and the April 9th minutes will be discussed and up for approval. Page 1 of 12 NEW BUfINEffe Guest Speaker -George Byfie/d, Comet Creative George Byfield is the marizeting consultant for St. Lucie County's Tourist Development Council. Mr. Byfield said, "My job is to basically loolx at trends in the market place and to position St. Lucie County as a destination throughout the markzet place. We will lookr at different segment groups that are struggling and find markreting strategies. So far we have Izind of leaped beyond what we were called to do. We also believe in partnerships so we have aligned St. Lucie County with Grand Bahama Island. This has given us what we what we calla `loss lead' in that we are able to now create more buzz, more interest for people who would not consider St. Lucie as a destination to now start thinkting of St. Lucie to spend their vacation here. There are several things that are not in place to make this happen. One is our airport and one main one that you are very intimate with is our seaport. With that, we are moving very aggressively in putting St. Lucie more `on the map', if I could use that term, and to allow small businesses to benefit from the campaigns that we're doing and the relationship we're leveraging." Vice Chairman Mary Chapman said, "I have heard you speakr before the Tourist Development Council and you were talking about an arrangement with Delta Airlines to bring people from the Bahamas to here, is that still ongoing or are you talking about catamarans?" Mr. Byfield replied, "We are going to talk about two things. What Mary Chapman is asking about is the airport right now and we are looking at several aircraft to come into our international airport to move people from up north into our region and then spend a couple of days here and leap frog over to Grand Bahama Island. There are certain things we have to work on with our airport. As far as the airport is concerned and doing more commercial flights leaving out of our international airport that is an ongoing process. Right now we are looking at straightening out our runway and we are looking at enlarging or making our facility tape in people for baggage claim and so forth. As far as the carriers, Delta does not have a small enough aircraft to land at our airport, so we are looking at other partners. As far as the seaport, not that we got a warning from anyone but a concern was do not bring in any large ships into our port. We want to maintain the quality of life and also maintain the quality of our seaport, so instead of looking at a big cruise ship coming in we're more thinking of a catamaran. The catamaran we are looking at is a fast speed catamaran that will carry at least 500 people and can also carry cargo at the bottom of the catamaran. We will have a discussion tomorrow with a possible investor who is looking at purchasing a catamaran and that will also man the service. We want to look at what it is that we need to secure that relationship. Do we have the infrastructure to house a large catamaran and is our waterway deep enough or secure enough to even carry that vessel? Where are we? Who is this person? They are checked out already. They have been in the marine business for years, since 1960. They heard about our relationship with the Bahamas and what we want to do. They have come forward to purchase a catamaran and looking into what is it County's and City's will do to maintain this relationship. So provide a feeder market for us. It will do two things, one when people are coming from surrounding catamaran is the way we are looking right now. What will that do for you? That's going to areas to leave here to go to the Bahamas they will spend at least two days here. This will give you a lot of options to create packages and things for them to do before they leave to the Bahamas. Now you will also have people coming from the Bahamas and this is not necessarily the Bahamians but those who are visiting the Page 2 of 12 Bahamas who like to come to Florida will now come through Ft. Pierce as the gateway to Florida. Again we have opportunities to start creating packages for these people when they get here. Timeline -we're not sure of the timeline yet. We're hoping we're able to execute this as soon as possible but we krnow we have to talze all the possible steps to secure a vessel, to secure a partnership and also to loon at all of our facilities to ensure everything is in line before we announce or 'breakr the bottle' so to speakr on this catamaran. We want to move aggressively but we also want to move timely and carefully in our decision malting." Chairman Howard Conltlin aslted, "Where would it be dockred at the County dockr on the south side of the causeway or somewhere else?" Mr. Byfield stated they are currently bolting at two options. William "Bill" Blazalt, General Manager of Harbortown, stated, "Harbortown Marina is an option. I thinkt the other thing we would have to look at is we would be fine for passengers and we've offered to facilitate customs as well, but we've got to lookr at the cargo, the loading and the handling of baggage. Maybe it will works better in Ft. Pierce, that's what we are going to start talkting about as well as customs. I thinlt we've got to workr together to find a place for it. I thinks it's a good start. It's a fast service people lilte that. The vessel lookrs enticing if we've got somebody interested. I think: if the businesses and the community work: here, I thinks it's something we can makte happen." Jerry Kultlinslti askred, "Does this thing have over night capabilities?" Mr. Blazakr answered, "It's a two hour run, no. It runs 3o krnots, so 4o miles per hour. I've been askted to sit on the adhoc committee and meeting with the Bahamians I thinks initially they want to get people in and out of here likte a same day deal or an overnight. The important thing is the cargo and that's what's encouraging about this vessel because what they buy they want to tape with them." John Holt said, "I'd likre to say that there are several sizes of these things. The huge one doesn't necessarily have to be first." Mr. Blazalt replied, "It doesn't but when you start lookring at the economy of it, you can bring 400 passengers and then the two entities can works on subsidizing. That Discovery runs $99, they're talkting 1,500 people and that's subsidized. You have to be competitive. They're not going to pay $200 when they can go to Fort Lauderdale on a big ship and takre a 6x6 cargo bin backr with them. We have to get something very worltable to start with." Mr. Byfield stated, "But I hear what you are saying. We may not start with 500, it may be a vessel that can only takte 300." Mr. Holt replied, "Considering our economy right now another couple years we may not have 500. We'd be happy to get 200." Mr. Byfield replied, "We understand that but we have gone ahead and done a feasibility study so we realize there is a demand." Mr. Holt asked if the economy had been taken into consideration. Mr. Byfield stated, "Yes sir and that is why what Bill is saying makes sense. We cannot put that price point to high then we will definitely shoot ourselves in the foot, but if the price point is a sweet point where someone just wants to go over relax, enjoy, shop, come back then that is something that is good for us. This is why the volume will make sense versus' having a low volume and a high price." John Parry, Waterfront Council, asked, "What is the length and beam of this say 400 passenger vessel?" Mr. Byfield stated, "There are several options that we have. There is one before us right now, I don't have the full dimensions for you but we're looking at several different options." Mr. Blazak replied, "It is about 110' x 35' wide, Italian made catamaran, jet powered." Mr. Parry asked, "So it's something that could come in and be tied to where your Page 3 of 12 gas doclz is?" Mr. Blazak~ said, "Yes, we've had several 150' boats in there this year. With the turning basin at Taylor Creelz it's not a problem." Edie Schor, representing the Indian River Lagoon, stated, "I'm wondering is the feasibility study you mentioned, is that available to be examined?" Mr. Byfield said yes and would provide a copy to the committee for their minutes. Chairman Conlzlin created a summary of facilities and attractions at the port: 1. Three Boat Marinas -The Pelican, Harbortown Marina and the Inlet Marina 2. Two Haulout Yards with Travel Lifts -Chairman Conklin stated, "The haulout yards can handle fairly large sized boats and those are obviously seeing a decline in business." 3. Dry Storage 4. Water View Restaurants -Chairman Conklin stated, "One in which the County has an interest because we are the landlord to Chuck's Seafood." 5. St. Lucie County Marine Center /Smithsonian Aquarium 6. St. Lucie County Historic Museum 7. Inlet State Pariz 8. Dynamite Point Beach -Chairman Conklin stated, "During the summer there are hundreds of small boats utilizing that County property to anchor and enjoy the inlet." 9. Fishing at Inlet and Bridges /Boat Rentals 10. Three Boat Launching Ramps plus one on the North Side of NA1A 11. Deep Water Port (28' draft when fully dredged) -Chairman Conklin stated, "There is some shoaling but when it's cleared it will be 28'." 12. Terminal Operations -Chairman Conklin stated, "They were here to talk to us and so far have not seen any dramatic decline in the business even though it could be better I'm sure." 13. Harbour Point County Pariz -Chairman Conklin stated, "It is located on the comer of Taylor Creek and the Intracoastal which is underutilized to date for various reasons." 14. Ft. Pierce Causeway Beach (newly renovated) 15. Water View Motels on the South Side of the Inlet -Chairman Conlzlin stated, "They are definitely seeing a decline in their business." 16. Customs /Immigration within minutes of the Port -Chairman Conklin stated, "Right now boats clearing have to take a cab out there and obviously if we had a customs facility even at Harbortown that would, I think, entice a lot more boaters to use this as a gateway." t7. Nearby attractions include the Navy Seal Museum, Sunrise Theater, etc. Chairman Conklin stated, "I think this is a nut shell of what we have there. I just googled the intemet `Ft. Pierce Inlet' and all I got was the State Park, which has a very elaborate website to explain what goes on at the park and the surrounding area. There is not a website a mariner could go to to say `Okay I am going to come into the Port of Ft. Pierce what's there?' There's no website to alert them to all these facilities. It certainly would be a wonderful thing to have a website to show all the businesses in the Port, the hotels, the haulout yards, the marinas, the gas facilities, you name it. Most mega yachts have on board intemet access. We're going to submit these minutes in detail for anyone that speaks today. Please identify yourself, what business you are here representing and what has deteriorated in your business. In other words we want to hear the actual bad news because that's how I think the County Page 4 of 12 Commissioners will react if they know what's going on out there and how bad it is, perhaps they'll be more inclined to come up with some suggestions." Mr. Blazakr stated, "Let me just add a little highlight to your concern about a website. Most of the people that cruise and use the waterway use www.waterwayguide.com. Business as a whole I can tell you is down a solid 309% this year. Marty Laven's here from the Marine Industries Trade Council, we all meet monthly and work: together. Our fuel sales are Yz of what they were. Diesel fuel a year ago was over $5, right now it's $2.50 and that price changes weekly. Even with diesel fuel down $2.50, gas is ahead of it right now, gas is $2.84. The actual gallon volume is down. Our sales are Yz of what they were in fuel last year. Our overall rentals and dockage is down 30~o without a doubt. People with big boats aren't moving this year." Chairman Conklin asked Mr. Blazak what the controlling depth was. Mr. Bazak replied, "Right now at low tide we're about 4' because of the mucky in there. I just did some cross sections after the storms even though the channel that Don dredged to 12' is about 10' or 11' in some spots. Fay pretty much wiped all the silt out of Taylor Creek and it's down in there in that basin right now. I was at the F.I.N.D. meeting three weeks ago and spore with them. They are very supportive to work with the County and obviously they are participating with the permanent spoil site but to clean that whole area. If we can get that basin and all the way out to the Intracoastal I don't think we'll have that problem for many, many years. Fortunately we just dredged Harbortown last year. We spent $1,500,000 to dredge Harbortown and we're starting to get the ooze coming back in on us under our `I' dock." Chairman Conklin asked Mr. Blazak if he could tell everyone how many people make a living off the boats and the marine activity in the Port. Mr. Blazak replied, "There are 1,800 hard waterfront jobs related to the marine industry just in Martin, Indian River and St. Lucie County affected by all of this. I think: looking ahead if we can get through this a lot of our good marinas and a lot of our good areas are going to be in great shape." Chairman Conklin stated, "The way I look at it is there is nothing the County can do to stimulate boat demand but what they can do is increase our share of the pie that even though admittedly is shrinking. If we don't do anything to promote the Port we will take a bigger cut than we should. I think that if we come up with some recommendations as to how the County can promote the Port, its businesses and something that can be implemented very quickly as opposed to two or three years out. I think: that's our immediate objective." Marty Laven, President of the Marine Industries Association of the Treasure Coast, stated, "George has put his finger on something which is bind of like what's the picture, how do we want to be perceived? I think: what we are suggesting is we should leverage what we know with the technology and position ourselves in the context of other boating destinations. Palm Beach County had a boat show recently and as of today they are unveiling a 220' pier and a couple of major docks. The idea is to maize the community assessable from the waterfront. I'm not suggesting to you that that's a template I'm simply saying that we have that same opportunity. We have terrific resources, the missing element if 1 may, might be the fact that we don't have a shared vision." Chairman Conklin asked Mr. Laven if he had any anecdotal information about trades and what their membership is can-ently going through. Mr. Laven replied, "I would suggest that all Page 5 of 12 our non-profit groups and various disposable income businesses are experiencing the same thing. People are maintaining their vessels. They are repairing. They are repowering them and we want to keep those boats out there moving in the water. One of the things we are doing on July 25th is we are going to have a three County waterway cleanup of 125 miles across the east coast to bring awareness about water quality and what great resources we have here. We're doing that with a sponsorship of the F.I.N.D. and a number of stake holders. We have a lot of great positives. I'd like to point out our assets if I could. All of the bait shops are busy as heck, it's a low cost family friendly Izind of weekend. We have all types of fishing with all sorts of destinations. Our service yards are busy. There's not a great deal that we can do other than channel some of the Federal, State and County resources in a more coordinated effort to do a better job." Martin Murphy, owner of Cracker Boy Boat Works, Inc., said, "We have been on the Taylor Creek since 1963, last year was our slowest year. This year is, believe it or not is better than last year. Basically the point that Marty Laven brought up was that people are maintaining their current vessels that are paid off rather than being able to sell the used boat into the market because they can't get financing. The 1.800 number Bill stated is an old number. We don't know what that number is now. As you all know Pursuit has cut way back, some of the large producers/distributors have enough inventory that they are cruising right now. They're not bankrupt. There have not been the sales because there hasn't been financing. The only thing that's helped people that come to our boat yard has been the reduction in fuel prices." Chairman Conklin asked, "You have a lot of independent contractors come into your yard, could you give an example of the types of trades that actually make a living from the boats that come in?" Mr. Murphy replied, "We have electronics people. We have canvas people. We have the sail people that do all the rigging on the mast for all the sail boats. We have mechanics that can repower, repair or rebuild an engine for you. We have fiberglass people. We're not a full service yard we're sort of a repair shop compared to an automobile place where you take your car and get your breaks done or change the oil. The 30% number Bill talked about is a true number everywhere. That's a good number too, in other areas where I travel such as South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, it's down way above 500. Chairman Conklin asked Mr. Murphy if he thought it would be a good idea to have a website with the possibility of an overhead shot of the Port with a description of the businesses. Mr. Murphy replied, "Bill mentioned that it's in the cruising guide and if that cruising guide could be plugged into the Ft. Pierce Marina you got it like that. There's no use the County spending a lot of money on that." There was a picture of a catamaran on the table and Mr. Murphy stated, "They were in business at the Port of Palm Beach in West Palm Beach, you need to check into that. They had a lot of trouble. They didn't have a good business and they sort of were undercapitalized." Mr. Byfield replied, "This is not the same company. The main thing I would like to share with everyone is I think the theme is collaboration. At this point we do need to collaborate and bring all minds together to create that demand and allow this area of the marina to become a demand but we cannot do that alone. We're realizing in our study that every time an industry or a city divides itself automatically they fail. We need not to wait for a 9/11 for us to come together. This is a perfect time for us to look at ideas that you're sharing and everyone's sharing around the table and collaborate together. I am asking you to please let's start dreaming again. Our marina is one of the best but it's not promoted the way it should be promoted. We're not doing any kind of activities on our seaway. There are no Page 6 of 12 events on our waterway to draw people to it. That's an untapped area or real estate if I could use that." Ken Roberts, Indian River Terminal, stated, "I guess we don't have a requirement for public money other than we need to have the inlet dredged. Mr. Chairman you mentioned it is at 28', the actual depth right now may be under 20'. Fifteen months ago it was at 20.5' of shoaling just in a couple of spots out there by the turn but that's enough to limit what can come in here. The County did take some steps about a year ago to request funding from the federal government through our local delegation and nothing got into the budget this year so that's still an urgent problem. There is not a current permit for dredging, that expired several years ago and nothing was done by the County to reinstate that permit. That would takre some time and would delay whatever could be available for funding or put it to use. I would hope that there could be some mention made of this in the minutes." Chairman Conkrlin mentioned the correspondence about the dredging attached to the last set of minutes and asked if it was from last year or this year. Mr. Roberts stated, "It was probably about a year ago because the survey was done in January and I contacted Doug Anderson within four weelzs. The letter was probably done in March or April." Chairman Conlzlin asked if there was an effort to move forward. Mr. Blazak stated, "I believe it has federal deep water status. I don't think maintenance dredging requires a permit." Hans Van Zonneveld, Port land owner, stated, "I've been involved with these gentlemen for a number of years trying to put something together. The economy's been tough but one of the things that just totally limits the use of the Intracoastal running up and down is that it's shallow in parts. You can't run a big boat up the Intracoastal safely anymore. You used to be able to 20 years ago but you can't anymore. F.I.N.D. should jump on that because a lot of these guys will use the Intracoastal if it's available. It's a beautiful way to cruise. They'll take their boat up and down and they'll stop in Ft. Pierce. Once they get to know the place they'll spend a lot more time here." Mr. Roberts stated, "As far as our economic situation is concerned we're not doing too badly. We supply what people in the islands need for daily living. I would say our traffic is probably down about 15%. We employ about 35-4o people on a regular basis. We probably put $10- $12 million a year into the local economy with truckers, suppliers, local fabricator shops, tire shops, etc." Chairman Conklin stated he understood if the shoaling continues it could put Mr. Roberts out of business. Jerry Kuklinski asked, "What's your limit at this point draft wise?" Mr. Roberts replied, "The largest draft we have is about 15 so we're okay right now but if it keeps shortening this way we're in trouble." Mr. Kuklinski stated, "I don't understand why they can't get in if its 28'. For a long time it was 28' and we didn't have any ships come in there." Mr. Murphy explained how the Swale and size of the ship affect everything. Chairman Conklin stated, "I think we'll simply mare a motion to that effect to move that the County Commission look into the issue of dredging and permitting that has been apparently neglected for the last year." Ms. Chapman seconded the motion. All committee members were in favor except for Jerry Kuklinski, he opposed. Commissioner Grande suggested that not all marinas or marine facilities have fuel docks that maybe that should be added as another item on the list. Page 7 of 12 Mr. Parry stated, "Pump outs, for instance in Delray Beach I go up and down the Intracoastal, the only place where I can pull up to a municipal pump out is in Delray. Perhaps a public pump out. Harbortown has one, but you have to go way in there to use it. How many motel rooms do we have?" Chairman Conlzlin stated, "I'd say my guess would be about 200." Mr. Parry replied, "Aren't most of our rooms out near the Turnpike and I-95? I see new hotels going up there every time I loon, perhaps some sort of shuttle service." Mr. Byfield stated that it would be a good idea to provide shuttle service to those hotels. Ms. Chapman stated, "I remember, as I'm sure you all do fondly, the Radission on North Hutchinson Island. I used to go there frequently but invariably and your talking before the 2004 hurricanes there were large groups of foreigners, British people, Germans, French who had come in from wherever thought they had died and gone to heaven because for the price for what they were paying they were getting wonderful accommodations. A prettier beach than they had ever seen and they were being offered a schmorgis board of places to go. We really, really messed up by the Radission going away and what are we going to do because that was a heck of a draw and for the maritime community as well?" Bob Bangert stated, "And we're talking about a catamaran bringing in 500 people. I'd hate life hell to have to find the lodging for them in Ft. Pierce." Pieter Stryker stated, "You were talking about the coordination of everything and you mentioned that Delta wasn't interested, is that Delta commuter and not only that but in addition to customs has anyone talked to Diana Lewis out at the Airport about their ability to facilitate whatever kind of aircrafts are coming in?" Mr. Byfield said, "Yes for Delta to land we do not have the capacity or the runway, so they're making plans to straighten the runway. We're making short term, medium term and long term plans towards that. We couldn't even approach Delta." Mr. Laven said Commissioner Dzadovsky is taking the lead on that for the County with specifics as requirements to weight tolerance and type of traffic. Hans Van Zonneveld stated, "About 20 years ago I was approached to facilitate Disney coming in and running their boats out of Ft. Pierce. We were going to build large hotels, drive them down from Disney, house them for the night, use the beach facilities and then they cruise off to the islands. Disney went up and built the timeshare thing in Vero and they are currently working out of Cape Canaveral. The major obstacle which I looked at at that time was getting it timely through environmental permitting and some of the objections that would be brought up from the community. Currently Ken Roberts is in here running a very good commercial hub to the islands which support all kinds of their businesses within the community and so forth nearby. There is a need to get that inlet dredged to where it can service larger boats at some point in the future. Not everybody, and myself included, can live in a very wealthy community and not worry about whether I'm going to live off of what goes on here. We have 50,000 people sitting in this county right now that are probably under economically served and the Port would help an awful lot." Chairman Conklin stated, "The Corp. of Engineers unfortunately has a rating criteria that if the commercial usage is not to a certain degree they're not willing to come in and dredge arbitrailily." Mr. Roberts replied, "Yes you're right, but when the depending occurred in the mid 9o's, I guess it was the late 90's, the County was obligated to generate additional traffic in terms of the financing arrangement that was worked out with the Corp. That didn't happen Page 8 of 12 for long time and when we tookr over the Port facilities in October of 2001 we were way under what that requirement was. That requirement was roughly 250,000 tons a year in shipments. As of this past report that we filed with the State our traffic was about between 500,000- 550,000 tons a year so we're well above what the Corp. expected at that time but the problem is we don't have the permit through the D.E.P. and the Corp. to get the dredging just to maintain it at its current level." Mr. Blazakz stated, "Grand Bahama Island, there container ship yard is second only to Miami. Their ship yard repair facility is second only to Norfolkz. They can handle the largest tankrers and container ships in the world." Hans Van Zonneveld stated, "I'd lilte to bring this into perspective, all the large major heavy shipping will bypass this port. This port will become a localized port for localized operations basically to the islands. So if you're afraid we're going to have monster shipping going through here it will never happen." Mr. Holt stated, "I'd likte to put things into perspective if you will, this is the only port on the Indian River. The Indian River is an estuary of natural concern. It's very sensitive to biological changes. We've lost worldwide so far 90% of our large fish only partially over fishing and part of its habitat loss. Every fish out there gets either its food or it's young from the Indian River. This is not a canal or a waterway of some sort that you treat only for business and money. If any of you have any children that you think might appreciate a decent environment when they grow up you better thinkr about it now." The recording becomes inaudible due to arguing. Chairman Conlzlin attempts to get everyone to refocus on the businesses that are already there such as the marinas, restaurants and hotels, not about 20 years from now and what might happen. Chairman Conkrlin stated, "We are concerned economically about the next six months to a year. We have many people in this county that are suffering that have livelihoods affected by what is happening right now. The purpose of our meeting today, as on the agenda, is really recommendations on how we can help. I'm just going to throw out some of the things that I thought about. The County has a parr, Harbour Pointe, totally underutilized. I recommend that the area be used for perhaps on a monthly basis have a nautical flea markxet. It's a prime location. It's on the water, you have many residents wanting to sell a boat or buy used equipment. Vou have dealers with used boats and motors that would love to come there and display. That would give them a forum to at least help out those that want to sell and buy used marine equipment and it would be a focal point." Mr. Bangert stated, "We do have a Port Master Plan that has to be a guide." Chairman Conlzlin replied, "Well you're not putting any structure there, you're having an event." Mr. Blazalx said they are worl2ing on having a flea market at Harbortown sometime in May. Mr. Bangert asked, "Who is the current Port Director?" Chairman Conklin replied, "It basically is the same as the County Administrator." Mr. Bangert stated, "It was Doug Anderson." Chairman Conlzlin said he is retired. Mr. Bangert replied, "I know he's retired, but I don't think Faye Outlaw knows the first thing about ports." Chairman Conklin said, "George mentioned our activities in the port. The other thing I thought about was compared to Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach and some of the other Page 9 of 12 cities we have a great venue for boating parades. In other words, even though our Christmas parade went down if you loolt at the geographical setting of the port people can line south beach, they can line Harbortown marina. Unlilte other venues, we don't have to close down any bridges or cause traffic delays or anything of that nature. My recommendation is to think? of water events, not boat parades at night, but just a simple thing likre bringing down the Disney characters and putting them on boats and having them circulate during daytime hours. The amount of families that would come out and view that and create economic activity, spending money while they are looping at this big parade with all these characters on board each boat. We could get plenty of people to volunteer their small boats to carry the characters around. In this environment you better believe Disney and Universal would love ways to markret their parkrs. As you krnow they are laying off hundreds of people and they krnow very well that Florida residents are one of their Izey clienteles. What we're lookring for is quick? things, not things that are going to be five years in the malting. I already mentioned my suggestion about a website just for the Port and the businesses there." Mr. Laven stated, "The Marine Industries recognizes there is a huge gap between clean marinas and clean water. We don't want to be viewed as an industry that doesn't hold water quality near and dear." Recording becomes inaudible. Chairman Conktlin stated, "We had the park? manager here and they have throughout the year so many events in the park? and yet we don't coordinate that with any other events in the Port." Jeanne Hearn, Waterfront Council, stated, "I have a question for Mr. Roberts, did I hear you correctly that you have 25-30 employees?" Mr. Roberts replied, "35-40, that's just on the land side, then there's another 30 or better on the ships." Ms. Hearn stated, "But in the minutes of last month's it says `Mr. Roberts stated that there are just over 60 employees with Indian River Terminal."' Chairman Conltlin advised everyone that Mr. Roberts was not at the meeting it was Mr. Shields. Mr. Roberts stated, "We have to lookr at several things Jeanne because we employ a lot of truclters who are not part of the Indian River Terminal operation itself. I thin!? what he is referring to in that case was probably including the ships crews as well." Ms. Hearn replied, "Is there any way to correct that to the County so they would ltnow what type of employees and whether or not their part-time or full-time because I've heard 85 employees at one meeting, 45 at another, I thinkr it's important that the County knows. In the minutes it stated that ancillary jobs are in addition to that 60." Mr. Roberts said he would get some clarification. The minutes have been corrected to state Mr. Shields instead of Mr. Roberts. Ms. Schor, stated, "I was thinkring about that video that was made by those three teenagers that got selected and went to the national competition. It's too bad they weren't here because there's nobody to spealt for the Indian River Lagoon. Everybody wants to makte money because of the Indian River Lagoon, but the history has been it has been degraded since humans have been here. 1'll bet you these people who own these businesses around here would have a lot better business if there were a better place to come to. You don't have to bring in cartons, train loads or car loads, whatever you're trying to bring in to enhance businesses that are already here. They evidently must have been malting a good living at some point. So if you cleaned up the Indian River Lagoon and everyone thinkts it's cleaned up but the porpoises or the dolphins, they have diseases everything is retrograde." Chairman Conkrlin stated, "We're getting a little off the subject but that's more of a function of the run offs, the phosphates and everything else that really are generated from the sugar, agricultural interest and development." Mr. Laven stated, "I agree with the lady and I just wanted to point out there's a pollution prevention control group meeting this coming week?. I sense that Page 10 of 12 in the room there are people who have a concern that there are others in the room that don't consider themselves to be good stewards of the water. I simply want to say again that I don't thing there are cross purpose interest in this room. I just thing that this body has certain initiatives and there are some issues that may be allied, but I don't thing that they don't warrant further discussion." Chairman Conplin stated, "In terms of existing businesses the fuel docps are really controlled now in terms of spillage and so forth there are very strict environmental controls on that and also the underground tangs. So the existing businesses are really not the major polluters." Ms. Schor replied, "I didn't thing they were. I'm saying just the opposite. They're the ones we need to help out and we can do it by malting sure the Lagoon is a nice place." Chairman Conplin stated, "I thing it's in everybody's interest to protect the beautiful environment because if it's not then no one will come, I agree with you completely." Mr. Parry stated, "May I say something here, we're both aware of course that the biggest enemy to our species that exist here would be invasive species. The single biggest reason for animals to go on the endangered species list is the introduction of exotic species from ballasted water. The people in the room aren't worried about spills, we're not stupid people. That's what we're worried about, large shipping problems. There are studies on this. It comes hand in hand with large commercial shipping operations. To say that we're all on the same page, that's not true. There are people here and they're not evil people, but they are cross purpose to us. They want large commercial shipping." Chairman Conplin stated, "Tape the Terminal operations their boats basically cruise in Bahamian waters and I thing what you fear are ships coming from perhaps Asia that do contaminate the water." Mr. Parry replied, "Mr. Roberts said quite clearly that he would lipe to see it deeper to bring bigger ships. We're not complaining about what is coming in now at 15'. The idea of it bouncing off the bottom because it's only 20' I get that but that is not the real issue. We are looping at people that want to bring in much larger ships." Chairman Conplin stated, "Again you raise a point that we've talped about at this meeting many times and I don't thing anyone on this committee is anxious to see a huge BLCC tanper come into our Port." Mr. Parry replied, "Well we need to establish that." Chairman Conplin stated, "I thing the issue of the shoaling is a valid one for existing operations to have a 20' or 18' shoal out there could impair their business and put them out of business. I've heard the dredging criteria and to go beyond 28' would tape almost an act of god. I'll tell ya I don't thing it's in the cards. I don't thing it will ever happen." Hans Van Zonneveld stated, "I lipe to mape a comment that 20 miles offshore you have one of the busiest shipping waterways in the world." Mr. Holt replied, "And you don't have people dumping ballasted out there." Hans Van Zonneveld stated, "I wouldn't say so when I was a pid they dumped it all the time." Mr. Murphy stated, "Everything this gentleman has talped about is true, but the only problem about it is we're talping about the 7o's and 80's. If you come up to the current marpet these ships that you're worried about and I'm worried about them too, we don't need to worry about them anymore because of the regulations now on the ships that come to our ports..." Mr. Holt replied, "I've read the regulations but there not enforced." Mr. Murphy stated, "I listened to you, listen to me a minute. I'm not trying to sell you. I believe lipe you guys believe. I was bom here in Ft. Pierce. The ships that come in these ports, the ballasted control is out of this world for permits." Mr. Parry stated, "We have been trying to get the Coast Guard in Miami, who's responsible for checping ballasted water her in Ft. Pierce, to give us a Page 11 of 12 report on any time they've checl?ed ballasted water on any of the ships that come in here..." Recording becomes inaudible due to arguing. Chairman Conlzlin said, "The greatest thing we have going for us to prevent abuse of our harbor is that the economic scale is actually going up and not coming down, so the ships are getting bigger and bigger. They don't want to operate small ships, it's uneconomical. So we're not a port that's going to compete with Jackrsonville, Cape Canaveral or Fort Lauderdale so I thinlz a lot of the fear is actually going to be resolved by economics." Mr. Pany replied, "So let's decide what the boundaries are for cargo." Chairman Conklin stated, "Well that's not on the agenda for today." Mr. Parry replied, "Well when will it be its 2009?" Chairman Conklin stated, "Well I'm worried about people trying to get through this year without going into poverty and food stamps and this port has a lot to do with the livings of a lot of people in this County. Our discussion today was existing business and how can we help them, not bringing in new businesses or creating new structures or new ships." Mr. Kuklinski asked if Mr. Byfield has contacted the Tourist Development Council, Mr. Byfield said yes he works with them. Mr. Kulzlinslzi stated, "They in turn should be doing some of these things like you suggested instead of just doing tourism for the City itself, why can't they expand into..." Chairman Conklin stated, "I think we are going to have Charlotte Lombard from the Council come to the next meeting and also Michelle Miller from Marine Industries." Mr. Kuklinski asked, "What has happened with the RFQ for Harbour Pointe? There was the original one sent out, two replies, they were discounted and there was suppose to be a new one sent out." Katherine Smith said she was not aware of one but would check. Mr. Kuklinski stated, "I was going to suggest we get John Ward here and have a discussion as to what they plan to do with Fisherman's Warf in conjunction with the RFQ for Harbour Pointe, he's with the Ft. Pierce Redevelopment Agency." Chairman Conklin said he would loon into it. Mr. Murphy stated, "I noticed in last month's meeting minutes that there was a memorandum from Mr. Anderson to the Board of County Commissioners about funding for the dredging, do you know what the follow up on that was?" Ms. Smith replied, "You asked and this was all I was able to find." Chairman Conklin stated, "Mr. Shields said that it was sort of left in limbo and has he had an update on that at all?" Mr. Roberts replied, "No, I've had some conversations with Sherry McCorkle to try to see what's happening but nothing happened when Tim Mahoney was in office." AD~OIIRNMENT~ At 4:40 p.m. the meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be held Thursday, May 14, 2009 at 3:00 pm in Conference Room 3, on the third floor of the Administration Building. Respectfully submitted by Stephanie Bush Page 12 of 12 FAST FERRY PRELIMINARY FEASIBILITY STUDY CURRENT SITUATION & MARKET OVERVIEW From mainland United States, commercial passengers can choose transportation to Grand Bahama Island by air or sea. To reach the Grand Bahama Island by commercial boat from the U.S., there is currently only one choice -Discovery Cruise line. Discovery Cruise Line departs daily (except select Wednesdays) from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Previously, there was a fast ferry service from West Palm Beach that is now defunct. Discovery Cruise Line from Fort Lauderdale • Sails every day (except select Wednesdays) to the Bahamas • Departs 7:45 a.m. and runs to Fort Lauderdale at 10:00 p.m. • Gives customers three options: 1. Bahamas Fun Day Cruise o Departs 7:45 a.m. Fort Lauderdale, Arrives Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, 1:00 p.m. & Departs 4:45 p.m. Freeport; Arrives Fort Lauderdale, 10:00 p.m. o Special promotions • From only $49.99 per person (Florida Residents Special) • Cruise free during the month of your birthday • Bring your mother free during the month of May o All-you-can-eat buffet breakfast on the way to Grand Bahama Island o Spacious sun deck & pool o Indoor and outdoor games, bars, entertainment & shows o A Las Vegas Rules style Casino with slots and table games including Craps, Blackjack & Roulette o A video arcade o Live Music & Dancing o All-you-can-eat buffet dinner on your return cruise to South Florida o Three hours to enjoy Grand Bahama Island 2. Cruise `N Stay'"" Bahamas Resort Getaways o Can stay overnight or longer o Packages include Hotel Stay in Grand Bahama & round-trip cruise from Fort Lauderdale 3. Transportation Only The Defunct Cloud X Fast Ferry Service The Cloud X provided fast ferry service from West Palm Beach to Grand Bahama Island but was discontinued two years ago due to "numerous factors" as cited by the previous operator: the damaging hurricanes that hit the Bahamas which interrupted service, poor marketing and other factors. Atone time the service was based at the Port of Fort Pierce but they moved it so that the boat would be in fresh water and would not have to be moved in the event of a hurricane. • The boat received a lot of Bahamian passengers who came to the United States to shop; however, they did not draw, as they should have from the United States due to poor marketing, according to the former boat operator. • The traffic was heavier in the winter due to the snowbirds. • Ticket prices were $99 rundtrip. • Food was catered and there were two bars on the boat for passengers. • Sailed from Friday to Monday, departing West Palm Beach at 9:00 am and arriving at Freeport at 12:00 noon; departing Freeport at 5:30 pm and arriving in West Palm at 8:45 pm. Three hours. Ride Ocean Zoom (http://www.rideoceanzoom.com) Ride Ocean Zoom is a new fast ferry service from West Palm Beach that will be launched in August 2009. Initially they advertised Spring 2009 but this has been revised. The company advertises its mission as providing customers with a luxurious method of travel with speed to destination service to and from the Port of Palm Beach, Florida and Freeport, Bahamas in two hours "Every Day, On Time, Every Time", with service levels akin to first class air travel. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, a variety of meals, and snacks will be available onboard. Passengers will have onboard conveniences to purchase memorable photographs, gift shop mementos and other souvenir and duty free items. Planned Daily Schedule: Palm Beach FREEPORT FREEPORT Palm Beach Departure Arrival Departure Arrival 8:30 A.M. 10:30 A.M. 5:30 P.M. 7:30 P.M. Preliminary Prices • Adult Fare $85 each Way Roundtrip $ 170 • Child Fare (under 12): $ 70 each way Roundtrip $ 140 • SAME DAY Island hop Fare $99 Roundtrip • Small, Medium & Large Cargo Storage: $75 $135 • Frozen Cargo: $50 to $75 Fast Ferry Preliminary Review, 4/28/09, Comet Creative Inc. Page 2 • Same Day Document Service: starting at $50 per package • Each passenger will be assessed an additional Governmental Tax $30-$60 tariff fee BASIC EQUIPMENT/INFRASTRUCTURE/PERSONNEL NEEDED Vessel The vessel used for the fast ferry needs to have a flushable head (toilet) installed and/or sport-a-potty, hold as many passengers as possible, and be seaworthy enough for offshore, trans-Atlantic travel. • The SWATH Vessel 365 Passenger boat, spare equipment, and reservation system from Cloud X is now for sale for $11 million (negotiable). Top speed of the boat is 27 knots and is able to go at full speed even in 14 foot seas. • The seaworthiness of a catamaran style boat needs to be investigated further. Program Administrator The Fast Ferry service would need a program administrator to oversee all functions. This could be assigned as an additional duty for a County staff member. Customs Although the St. Lucie International Airport customs also clears private boating passengers, the Airport would be unable to accept shuttled passengers for customs clearance as they are unable to clear more than 20 passengers at any time. Also, customs personnel would need to be onsite at point of entry for international cruise ship/commercial vessel passengers. • The recommendation is to have an onsite area for customs and utilize the airport personnel at the marina as well as is done in Fort Lauderdale: The same employees go over to the marina and they schedule arrivals and departures accordingly. If the ferry service becomes increasingly successful, the U.S. customs official may consider extended hours for the personnel, etc. • Although there is apre-clearance customs service available for those departing from Freeport, U.S. passengers would still need customs service upon re-entry into the United State. • As the time approaches Diana Lewis, St. Lucie International Airport Director, has volunteered to call a meeting with the Customs Port Director in Palm Beach, who would be the one to talk with about arranging for scheduling and logistics and would whether any equipment investment is needed. Ground Crew Must have at least one person on the ground to accept/greet passengers and take tickets. Boat Operator(s) Must have a captain at a bare minimum staffing level. To sail international waters, you must submit your crew plan to the Coast Guard and have them approve it. Insurance Insurance is required to operate this type service. Fast Ferry Preliminary Review, 4/28/09, Comet Creative Inc. Page 3 MARKETING Good marketing is vital to the success of any venture. Lack of marketing is one of the top five reasons new businesses fail. In particular, the failure of the Cloud X Fast Ferry versus the success of Discovery Cruise Line service points to this need. Heavy investment will be required to get the word out about the service and ensure the success of the service, such as: • Newspaper/Magazine Ads • Radio Ads • Television Ads • Outdoor Ads • Internet Marketing (SEO) • Facebook and Twitter Pages • Possible Partnerships with Travel Sites Expedia, Travelocity, TripAdvisor, Visit Florida and more • Partnership with Grand Bahama Island • Creative Packages around events MARKET NICHE/POTENTIAL A fast ferry service from Fort Pierce, Florida to Grand Bahama Island would have one major unique selling point: It would be the most Northern departure point on the East Coast of Florida to provide this type of service. Target market segments include: • Treasure Coast -this would appeal to local residents as a convenient, affordable one day or weekend getaway to the Bahamas. • Grand Bahama Island Residents -because of the high cost of goods on Grand Bahama Island, Bahamians love to come to the United States to shop. St. Lucie County is closer to Orlando, which is a popular destination among Bahamians, and the cost of goods here is conceivably lower than it is in Fort Lauderdale or Miami. • Northern Florida Residents - to northern Florida residents, this is the northernmost point of departure for a commercial boat trip to Grand Bahama Island. • Georgia & Alabama State Residents - as neighboring states of Florida, Georgia and Alabama would be prime marketing opportunities for the Fast Ferry service as a "drive and a ride away" from a Grand Bahama Island vacation for a day, a weekend or longer. Fast Ferry Preliminary Review, 4/28/09, Comet Creative Inc. Page 4 CONCLUSION 1. Opportunity exists in the market for a fast ferry service to GBI from Fort Pierce, as this would be the closest point to the northern market. 2. The new ferry from West Palm is targeting a more upscale segment and their expansion plans are all South Florida based. 3. The launching of this new service from West Palm Beach is a threat as well as an opportunity. a. A threat due to the increased number of players in the market, therefore this would impact pricing and require innovative marketing. b. An opportunity in that we could approach this company to consider service from our port as part of an expansion plan or within the planned schedule. RECCOMENDATION 1. Proceed with current dialogue with an investor, but ensure that we are targeting an affordable solution. 2. Formulate a team to contact the Ocean Zoom operator in West Palm Beach to discuss any partnerships or extension of service. 3. A County and City partnership is required towards the creation of a ferry terminal/operating facility, which will include customs, baggage and cargo holding, fueling, restrooms and ticketing area. Fast Ferry Preliminary Review, 4/28/09, Comet Creative Inc. Page 5 FORT PIERCE HARBOR (north boundary -North Bridge, south boundary South Bridge ) Facilities and attractions summary Boat marinas 2 haulout yards with travel lifts dry storage water view restaurants St Lucie County Marine Center/Smithsonian Aquarium St Lucie County Historic Museum Inlet State Park Dynamite Point beach/ day small boat achorage Fishing at inlet and bridges/boat rentals 3 boat launching ramps plus one on north side of NAIA Deep water port 28 ft draft when fully dredged Terminal operations Harbour Point County Park Fort Pierce Causeway Beach (newly renovated) Water view motels on south side of inlet Customs/immigration within minutes of port Nearby attractions include the Navy Seal Museum, Sunrise Theater etc St. Lucie Bahama -Twin Partnership Passenger Ferry -Fort Pierce i\~~ Pi ~ i a ~ ~ , 1 ~ j P . ~ ~aC '7i. _ .4~» S^ ~ ~sx~„ W R 11 . ~ M: ' ~ I ~~y~n ~ ~ ~ y~ ~ P171 ~ s~ a~ 5 ~ ~ ~ , t o.. , ~zt. - i ,I ~ ~ ~ , x=. i , F r a ~ ~ ~~~e~~~~ ~F, r ~ .a A~ Y ~~u r o- ~ °~:~s K . ~ ~ d'~,~ ' , ~ ~ rr ~ ~ b . ~ t ~ e ti N~ e ~ _ s~; 1~ t i e .~r ~ ~ e ~ ~I ~ ~ r ~ i ,~;;h x ~z : + Hull Type: Catamaran Capacity: 450 passengers Speed: 34 knots Vehicles: 69 cars or 110 trucks