July 10, 2012
<br />WHEREAS Portsmouth has supported the Port of Virginia and the maritime
<br />economy in numerous important ways over the years, including designing Route 164 to
<br />accommodate rail service, clearing the Port Authority's title to ownership of Portsmouth
<br />Marine Terminal, providing funds to construct the Pinners Point Connector, obtaining
<br />federal funding for the Route 164 rail corridor, clearing title for the rail corridor, and
<br />helping to plan the Craney Island transportation corridor, and
<br />WHEREAS, for the past several years, APM Terminals ("APM") has operated a
<br />state-of-the-art maritime terminal in Portsmouth, and the terminal has met or exceeded
<br />every operational, efficiency and environmental goal, and APM has been a model
<br />corporate citizen in Portsmouth and has contributed in numerous ways to improving the
<br />quality of life for Portsmouth citizens, and
<br />WHEREAS, APM has submitted to the Virginia Secretary of Transportation an
<br />unsolicited proposal under the Virginia Public-Private Transportation Act to lease and
<br />operate the Port of Virginia, and
<br />WHEREAS, APM Terminals is part of the A. P. Moller-Maersk Group corporate
<br />family ("Maersk"), and Maersk, a Danish company, is the largest and most successful
<br />shipping company in the world, and
<br />WHEREAS, having a Maersk company operate the Port of Virginia is likely to
<br />cause very substantial growth in ship visits here, with vast potential economic benefit for
<br />the state and for Hampton Roads, possibly causing the Port of Virginia to become the
<br />largest port on the East Coast, and
<br />WHEREAS, the APM proposal would entail making certain cash and property
<br />payments by APM to the state in exchange for being able to operate the Port of Virginia
<br />for a term of forty-eight years, and
<br />WHEREAS, the property payment would be to transfer ownership of the APM
<br />Portsmouth Terminal to the Virginia Port Authority at the beginning of the lease, and
<br />WHEREAS, the APM Portsmouth Terminal presently generates real property
<br />taxes in excess of $4,000,000 per year to Portsmouth because it is privately owned, and
<br />transfer of ownership from APM to the Virginia Port Authority at the beginning of the
<br />lease would make the property tax exempt as of that date, and
<br />WHEREAS, Portsmouth already has the highest real estate tax rate in the
<br />Hampton Roads region, primarily because almost half the real estate in the city, by
<br />assessed value, is tax exempt, primarily due to ownership by either the federal
<br />government or the state government, and
<br />WHEREAS, the loss of real estate tax revenue from the APM Terminal would
<br />have a devastating effect on Portsmouth's real estate tax rate, its ability to pay for
<br />essential city services such as police, fire, and public education, its bond rating, its
<br />businesses, and the quality of life for working Portsmouth families, and
<br />WHEREAS, the Portsmouth Marine Terminal currently pays little or no taxes to
<br />Portsmouth, and
<br />WHEREAS, it is presently contemplated that the APM lease be signed by the
<br />Secretary of Transportation alone after a relatively brief review period, and
<br />WHEREAS, extreme care and thorough study should be used before making any
<br />major decision about the future of the Port of Virginia,
<br />NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of
<br />Portsmouth, Virginia:
<br />1. That the Secretary of Transportation and the Virginia Port Authority, each
<br />exercising their respective independent powers and duties, are respectfully requested:
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