HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 10/12/2004 - JointI HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Joint
Meeting of the Corpus Christi City Council of October 12, 2004, which were approved by the City
Council on October 26, 2004.
WITNESSETH MY HAND AND SEAL, on this the 26th day of October 2004.
Armando Chapa
City Secretary
SEAL
MINUTES
CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS
MEETING OF THE CORPUS CHRISTI CITY COUNCIL
AND THE PORT OF CORPUS CHRISTI AUTHORITY
COMMISSION
October 12, 2004 - 1:25 p.m.
CITY COUNCIL
Mayor Samuel L. Neal Jr.
Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Noyola
Brent Chesney
Javier Colmenero
Melody Cooper
Henry Garrett
Bill Kelly
Rex A. Kinnison
Mark Scott
City Staff Present
City Manager George K. Noe
City Attorney Mary Kay Fischer
City Secretary Armando Chapa
PORT COMMISSION AND STAFF
Ruben Bonilla, Chairman
Bernard Paulson
Robert Gonzalez
Mike Carrell
Judy Hawley
John LaRue, Executive Director
Robert "Jake" Jacobi, Deputy Director
Frank Brogan, Director of Engineering Services
Mayor Neal called the meeting to order in the Sixth Floor Conference Room at City Hall.
City Secretary Chapa announced that a quorum of the Council was present to conduct the meeting
and the meeting was properly posted. Mayor Neal welcomed the Port Board of Directors and staff.
Chairman Bonilla introduced Mr. Frank Brogan, Director of Engineering for the Port, to update the
Council on a number of major port projects.
Mr. Brogan reported on the Joe Fulton International Trade Corridor project. He said the $55
million project would provide improved road and rail access to facilities on the north side of the
inner harbor. The proposed project would result in a two-lane road with one continuous left turn
lane. In addition, he said a substantial portion of land would be developed between the Tule Lift
Bridge and Viola Turning Basin. He said the project was a national high priority, and was included
in the MPO regional plan. The corridor was also included in the National Highway System (NHS).
Mr. Brogan stated the total cost of the Fulton Corridor project was $55 million, 54 percent
of which would be funded by the Port of Corpus Christi. The remaining funding would be obtained
through various federal, state, and local sources.
Mr. Kelly asked if the port was planning to close the Tule Lake Lift Bridge, a city -owned
bridge, as part of the Fulton Corridor project. Mr. LaRue replied affirmatively, saying the plan was
to close the bridge in 2008 and take it out of service. Mr. Kelly asked if the port had informed the
neighborhood about these plans, because he felt this decision would be controversial. Mr. LaRue
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October 12, 2004 - Page 2
replied the plan was to reroute traffic to the intersection of Carbon Plant Road and I-37 to provide
alternate access. Mr. Kelly reiterated this decision would be controversial to the neighborhood, and
said their concerns needed to be addressed.
Mr. Brogan reported on the Channel Improvement Project. He said one of the biggest
advantages of the Port of Corpus Christi was its proximity to deep water, more than any other port
on the Gulf of Mexico, which reduced the length of the channel. He said the plan was to deepen the
channel from -45 feet MLT to -52 feet MLT and to widen the channel from 400 feet to 530 feet. The
main benefits to the channel improvements were to allow larger ships to pass through it; to increase
safety by better separating traffic with new barge shelves; and to reduce channel congestion by
creating two lanes of traffic. The total cost of the project was approximately $200 million.
Mr. Brogan reported on a number of port security improvements. The Port of Corpus Christi
had been awarded $15,900,778 in grant funding for a total of $19,270,239 in improvements. He
listed the grants as follows: Grant 1 - Strategic Docks ($2.2 million); Grant 2 - Hazardous Docks -
$3.89 million; Grant 2 - La Quinta ($283,406); Grant 3 - Harbor Island ($1.24 million); Grant 3 -
Access Control - $2 million); Grant 4 - Hazardous Docks ($2.12 million); VTIS ($3.6 million); and
Texas Homeland Security ($500,000).
Mr. Brogan described a number of improvements to the Port Security Center. The center
would be processing new port identification cards, which would be color -coded based on access and
security levels. The port security center watch room was equipped with a 3-D Graphical Users
Interface, which allowed security to zoom into any particular area of the port and spin 360 degrees
around it. In addition, he said high mast lighting, security fencing, and infra -red cameras were
installed.
Mr. Brogan discussed the progress on the Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS). He
said for the last 70 years, the port primarily communicated with vessels on a ringband radio or by
sight. The new system would provide the following services: identify vessel particulars; track
location of vessels; improve safety and efficiency of vessel movements; and provide important
information to Coast Guard and Port for security purposes. Mr. Brogan said the project would be
funded with $3.6 million in federal funds, and was anticipated to be operational in Spring 2005.
Mr. Brogan reported on the new water taxi landing on the east side of the Ortiz Center,
scheduled for completion in July 2005. He said the new site would provide citizens with another
parking option.
Mr. Brogan discussed the baseball stadium parking lot plan. He said the Port Board of
Directors approved a $3.1 million contract to build more parking spaces. The plan included adding
2,200 parking spaces south of the baseball stadium and on the west side. He said the additional
parking would also help the Ortiz Center, which was experiencing a dramatic reduction in parking
spaces due to the Harbor Bridge project.
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October 12, 2004 - Page 3
Mr. Brogan reported on the Harbor Bridge Replacement project. He said the bridge was put
into service on October 23, 1959. The current bridge had 138 feet of clearance, while most current
bridges had between 175 to 185 feet of clearance. The recommended height for the new bridge
would provide 200 feet of clearance. The new bridge would be located approximately 3,000 feet
west of the existing bridge, and would start at the Crosstown/I-37 interchange, continue north, and
line up almost perfectly with Hwy. 181 going across Nueces Bay. The benefit to moving the bridge
over was that it nearly doubled the amount of land available for development in the downtown area.
In addition, he said a six -lane parkway could be created on I-37 to provide access to the baseball
stadium and arena areas. Finally, he said the project was scheduled for completion between 2015
to 2020.
Mr. Brogan reported on the Tule Lake Lift Bridge project. He said the bridge cost
approximately $1 million to maintain, and the Port was taking out a $1.5 million emergency contract
to replace an inoperable portion. He said the bridge presented a number of vertical limitations for
the Port, and was also a choke point in traffic.
Mr. Brogan reported on the La Quinta Trade Gateway project. He said the project would
provide the following elements: modern container terminal; good highway and rail connections;
increasing container traffic; and save transportation costs. He said the Port was working with a
number of proposed customers and looking at a number of financing options. The gateway
presented a tremendous opportunity to take advantage of the container traffic going to Houston on
Hwy. 181. Mr. Kelly asked if the Port had received any definite commitments. Mr. Robert Jacobi,
deputy director of the port, replied negatively, but said the port was visiting a number of large
shippers such as Home Depot to inform them about the future development.
Mr. Brogan discussed the Veracruz cruise ferry project. He said the Port Board of Directors
signed a Letter of Intent with the operator of this project. The plan was to operate the ferry out of
the Ortiz Center with one to two trips planned per week from Corpus Christi, TX to Veracruz,
Mexico. The maximum passenger capacity was 1,000 passengers per trip. Mr. Jacobi emphasized
the cruise ferry was a ferry boat, not a cruise ship, with cruise -like amenities, such as entertainment,
casinos, bars and restaurants. He said the trip would take approximately 30 hours. The economic
impact of the cruise ferry operation could be up to $6 to $7 million per year. This number could rise
to $10 to $15 million when it included the impact of Mexican visitors, potentially staying in the city
for two to three days. In response to Mr. Scott's question, Mr. Jacobi said the cost for a roundtrip
ticket would be approximately $350, plus $50 to $60 for food. By contrast, the average airfare cost
was approximately $800.
Mr. Brogan reported on the proposed LNG (liquid natural gas) terminal sites project. He said
the project would consist of offshore LNG fabrication yards and onshore receiving terminals.
Regarding the LNG onshore terminal at LaQuinta Channel, he said South Texas was particularly
well-suited for this type of development for a number of reasons. First, he said there was a
dwindling supply of domestic gas in the area. There was already a large natural gas pipeline
network in place, however, from when the South Texas used to send domestic gas to the central and
Minutes - Joint Council Meeting
October 12, 2004 - Page 4
northeastern United States. The LNG project could fill those pipelines with natural gas to send to
these areas. Second, the industrial plants in the area use a large amount of natural gas, so they will
be major consumers for the product. Third, the industrial plants in the area generate waste heat as
part of their manufacturing process. They currently use water cooling towers to cool down their
plants. By contrast, the LNG plants generate waste cold which they could transfer to the industrial
plants to cool down their plants. This would result in substantial savings in water use and
conservation for the plants. Regarding the offshore terminal construction at Harbor Island, Mr.
Brogan reported these artificial islands wer complex construction jobs costing $1 billion each. In
conclusion, he said the Port considered the LNG facilities a tremendous opportunity to stabilize gas
prices in the area and to serve as a major revenue source.
Finally, Mr. Brogan provided an update on military cargo going through the Port from
January 22, 2003 through September 2004. He said 53 ships had been loaded and unloaded, and
33,216 pieces of equipment had been handled using 7,693 railcars and 2,947 trucks. He said the Port
of Corpus Christi handled the most military ships of any U.S. port, and they expect eight more ships
by the end of 2004.
Commissioner Paulson asked about the city's transportation plan for the area. Mr. Noe
replied the city actually had two plans in place, one to cover the period before the baseball stadium
opened, and the period after it opened. Before the stadium opened, he said the plan was to offer
shuttle service and area parking at no charge to allow citizens to become familiar with the services.
After the stadium opened, however, the shuttle service and area parking would require a fee for
service. Mr. LaRue added the Port would not offer free parking either.
Mr. LaRue updated the Council on improvements to the military cargo effort. He said the
Port needed funds to improve their unloading equipment. The Port had applied for a state grant to
provide an additional $4.5 million in funding toward the effort. Commissioner Hawley stated the
city needed to improve their rail construction as well. She asked the Council to lobby the state to
provide more funding for this effort. Mayor Neal added the South Texas Military Task Force had
made an official request to Governor Perry to approve the additional funding.
Commissioner Hawley also asked the Council to attend the Transportation Corridor
Environmental Study hearing scheduled from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 19. She
said San Patricio County and Nueces County were not included in the study, and she asked the
Council to advocate for their inclusion.
Mayor Neal thanked the Port of Corpus Christi Board of Directors and staff for attending the
meeting today. He said the city needed to work closely with the Port during the BRAC process to
emphasize the importance of the LNG facilities to the strategic importance of the area.
There being no further business, Mayor Neal adjourned the meeting at 2:25 p.m. on October
12, 2004.