THE PORT EVERGLADES DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDS APPROVAL.
This action supports the Board's Value of "Ensuring economic opportunities for Broward's diverse population and businesses" and the Goal to "Increase the economic strength and impact of revenue-generating County enterprises balancing economic, environmental, and community needs."
Continental Florida Materials Inc. (Continental) has held cargo handler and stevedore services franchises at Port Everglades since May 21, 1987. On April 28, 2009 (Item No. 5-PH), the Board approved the most recent renewal of Continental’s nonexclusive franchise to provide cargo handler services at Port Everglades for a term of ten years, from May 21, 2009, through May 20, 2019. Continental has applied for renewal of the franchise for a ten-year term from May 21, 2019, through May 20, 2029.
Staff has reviewed the cargo handler services franchise renewal application against the enumerated renewal criteria set forth in Chapter 32 of the Broward County Administrative Code. Staff’s due diligence included corresponding with Continental’s representative to clarify franchise requirements and reviewing Continental’s corporate status, resumes of executive staff and list of managerial personnel, business history/experience, litigation history, insurance, financial documents and creditworthiness, discharge of previous financial obligations to County, compliance with all franchise terms and conditions and established County rules and regulations, required licenses and certificates, company programs and policies, list of equipment to be used at Port Everglades, statement of intended activities, and actions to promote and develop business growth at Port Everglades. Continental's safety and environmental history was also reviewed, and infractions are documented in Section Q of the application, as discussed further below. No false or misleading information was submitted as part of the franchise renewal application. Continental has, through the submission of the signed franchise renewal application, agreed to comply with all franchise conditions set forth in Section 32.24 of the Broward County Administrative Code. The complete application and supporting documents are on file in the Port Everglades Business Administration Division.
Continental has operated a cement terminal on a 4.91-acre parcel at the Port under a land lease with the County since 1981. On March 12, 2013 (Item No. 6-PH), the Board approved the most recent extension of the lease for a ten-year term, through February 28, 2023. Continental is a large supplier of building materials in South Florida, and shipped 513,350 tons of cement through its Port Everglades terminal in Fiscal Year 2018, generating approximately $1.85 million in revenue for the Port. In recent years, Port staff has responded to a number of complaints concerning dust emissions from the Continental facility during the offloading of cement from ships to the marine terminal, and has shut down cement transfers when necessary to have Continental address the emissions. While Continental has taken a number of actions to reduce the potential for dust emissions during cement transfers, on August 10, 2018, Continental was issued a Warning Notice (No. WRN18-0202) by the Broward County Environmental Protection and Growth Management Department (EPGMD), for causing, permitting, suffering or allowing ship unloading operations to generate unconfined particulate emissions without taking reasonable precautions to prevent such emissions in violation of Air Permit 0111012-006-AF, from August 14, 2017, to August 10, 2018. On March 12, 2019, the EPGMD issued a Notice of Violation and Notice of Hearing to Assess a Civil Penalty (No. NOV19-0004) as a result of continued non-compliance. A settlement conference between EPGMD staff and Continental to discuss compliance and the amount of penalty and costs to be assessed was scheduled for April 25, 2019, and the administrative hearing process may not be complete before the existing franchises expire on May 20, 2019.
Based on the review of information provided in the application, staff has determined that, with the exception of the pending Notice of Violation for cement dust emissions, Continental meets the criteria for renewal of the cargo handler services franchise. However, while cargo handler services franchises may be granted for any period of time up to ten years, in view of the open status of the environmental enforcement case pending with the EPGMD, Port staff is recommending that the franchise be renewed only for an initial six-month term, from May 21, 2019, through November 20, 2019, with an optional six-month extension to the initial term that may be exercised by the Port Everglades Chief Executive/Port Director. Granting the franchise for this short period of time allows Continental to continue to operate their business at Port Everglades while the EPGMD administrative process continues and any corrective actions are taken or agreed to be taken by Continental within an enforceable schedule. Port Everglades’ staff will continue to closely monitor the discharge of cement dust from vessels unloading into Continental’s marine terminal and from operations within the terminal to ensure compliance with all applicable County regulations and Port Tariffs.
The Resolution and Notice to Publish from the Request to set Public Hearing approved by the Board on April 16, 2019 (Item No. 9), are attached to this Agenda Item as Exhibit 1 - Resolution to Set Public Hearing Date, and Exhibit 2 - Notice to Publish, respectively. |