Minutes 11/08/1955 - Laserfiche WebLink

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November 8th, 1955. revival the Chamber of Commerce has surveyed our port assets', actual an~ potential, and has determined that Portsmouth has an unparalleled opportunity to]bring into full ~sefulness the remaining waterfront~ which is suit- able for development. Our port will not develop itself. In' this day of specialists, port plaunin'g, as in city planning, can not be left to chance. On the contrary whatever is done must be done according to a plan prepared by those who understand the complex problem of port building, In our sur~ey, we consulted with the professional staffs of the Norfolk Port Authority To benefit by their studies and experience. Port Development is an 'area' opportunity. Portsmouth and Norfolk should not be considered competiter$ for port facilities or port traffic. A study of the ownership cf the waterfront property both in Portsmouth and Norfolk reveals one important fact: there is an extreme scarcity of property which is available and can be developed. The Federal Government owns a large percentage of the waterfront. This, plus l~e property Owned m~y'~-~niIroads ~ud industries, and property used for residences and ~ecreation, means that the greatest part of 'the Port'smouth-Norfolk water, rent is unavailable for development. The proper~y which could be used in both cities for port facilities will not,~ in ~h~ future, be enough to adequately handle our port traf-~ ftc. Therefore, it is imporZant that we plan ~ar the future by taking definite steps now to see that as much of our waterfront as possible is forever dedica ted to maritime commerce. 1. Create a PortsSmouth Port Commissi~ under the State E~abl~nE Legislntion. 2. Ap~t a ~ard of C~m~ssioners o~ the ~t Co~ssi~ ~ outst~ng bus.ess and civic lea~rs of Port~outh to se~e ~thout pay. 3. ~k the Cheer of Co~er~ to se~e ~ Secret~izt, bering wha~ e~enses may he necessa~ in ~inistration, emc. of the Port ~issi~. 4. ~rk closely with the Po~ Co~issi~ ~ acquir~g cert~ ~terfront properties including the ferry te~al ~d possibly Ia~er on ~e Seabo~d pro~rty, the Atlantic Coast ~ne and the Southern pro~rty. The 57 acre site o~d by the Pe~syl~ia ~ilroad is ~ ex~llent site for a sizeable devel~pmen~ although considermble dred~ng would be necess~y. With these steps ~ccomplished, the Por~ Covmw~ssion could begin a cons~rnctive program of port develop~ent. Even though there is a need and a demand for port facilities now, the development of the port will take considerable time. The major properties which lend themselves to development were enumerated in Re?ommenda- I tion 4 above. The Seaboard, Atlantic Coast Line and Southern properties were used· mainly for the coastwzse trad.e.~ The suspension of coastwise service during the War, although necessary, was unfortunate from the port's standpozn~. ]~ost of this traffic is n°w heine handled by motor carriers, bypassing the port area entirely. The high cost of H vessel replacement and operation has made the coastwise operation unprofitable because ~its rate structure must be held at a low ~nd unprofitable level to compete with the motor carriers. There is evidence that %he coastwise businegs probably will be renewed and emerge as a ma3or form of tr~usportation along the coast. The trailer-ship er roll-on roll-off ships offer the opportunity. This type of operation eliminates the expensieve handling of c~r~o which the coastwise industry was unable to bear as an expense. For instance, four handling operations are elininated using the trailership as versus the coz ventional coastwise operation. A number ofcompanies 'ar~ already e~perimenting with or ~lanning such operations, i.e., T.M.T. Trailer Ferry, Inc. of NLiami; Pan-Atlantic Steamship Company; American-Hawaiian Steamship Company~ and others. The Federal Government has interegted i~seIf in such eperations and during the last sessicmof Con- gress, a bill which ~uld guarantee 8T½% of the co~t of constructing vessel~ especially designed for this type of operation. This ~uarantee has spurred interest in trailership operati6ns. There is every reason to believe that within a reasonable length of time Portsmouth, because of its geographical location, can become a major terminal for a trailership operation. The Portsmouth Ferry Terminal we are advised by Port authori¢ies, would make an e~cellent, l location for a terminal. Other than s~] office, a bulkhead and sufficient land for parking, very little is neede~ in the way of facilities. ' ~ While we have discussed at length the trailership terminal, our pot~tial is not limited I to this kind of operation. There is a need for general cargo terminals and warehouses. A number of steamship officials have confirmed this statement. Pier ~'If' at L~mberts P~int is the only modern commercial pier in the pert. The Army Base facilities, while large and f'airly sdequate, do not lend themselves to a satisfactory commer- cial operation because of the military. The piers which were constructed by f~he City of Norfolk over 30 years I ago are of sound construetion~ but are smalI and inadequate for today's ~needs. A port development program for Portsmouth should make ad~.~ate provision for ultimate const~uctioh of a complete modern marine terminal .We can expect continued industrial exPausiqn in our area s!ud in most cases the~ will be imporiing ar ~J~porting, creat- ing the need for more terminals and~ at the same time, assuring their economic success. For instance, the Lipton~ Tea plant and the Nescafe plant at Suffolk located i~ this area because of its proximity to the port. They will be importing large quantities of tea and coffeeJ If facilities are not ~provided and the present deep-sea termi-~ hals continue to operate at capacity, what~m~ill it do to our industrial expansion program? With the closing of the ferrie~ and pending movement df the Seaboard offices, the entire ~waterfront may become ~'co~merci~l slam area:. It is bound to spread to adjacent areas and result in loss of tax revenues to the City and payrolls to our citizens. In this modern age, we must gear our port to ~e needs of modern-day commerce. The City CounCi~ of the City of Portsamouth is hereby requested to ~make possible the proposed ~ffort by taking necessary steps to .create a Portsmouth Port Commission, as authorized under the State Law~ The Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee will recommmd that the Chamber of Commerce serve as Secretary to the Commission without cost To ~the City or the Commission." adopted. Motion of Mr. Howard to' refer ~o ~the City Atto Cin Clerk. Approved - Pre sidel%t.