Broward County Commission Regular Meeting

MOTION TO APPROVE substantial final form of a Sponsor Payment Letter (SPL) to directly pay for the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) legal fees in connection with a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) direct loan for the Intermodal Freight Connector Project at Port Everglades; and authorize the County Administrator to execute a final SPL, subject to approval by the Office of the County Attorney, upon conclusion of USDOT's internal selection process for legal services.  

ACTION:  (T-10:58 AM)  Approved.

VOTE:  9-0.

Board authorization is required to approve the SPL and directly pay for USDOT's legal fees in connection with USDOT's TIFIA loan approval process.  

Approves the substantial final form of the SPL and authorizes the County Administrator to execute the SPL to pay for USDOT's legal fees in connection with the USDOT TIFIA loan, subject to approval by the Office of the County Attorney.  

None.

THE PORT EVERGLADES DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDS APPROVAL.

This action supports the Broward County Board of County Commissioners' (Board) 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."

On June 6, 2017 (Item No. 12), the Board authorized staff to submit a Letter of Interest (LOI) to the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) for a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) direct loan to partially fund the Port Everglades Intermodal Freight Connector project, which includes the Southport Turning Notch Expansion and Southport Crane Infrastructure Improvements. The June 6, 2017 agenda item also authorized a payment in the amount of $250,000 to USDOT to cover USDOT's costs for its financial advisors during the TIFIA loan application process. USDOT recently advised Port Everglades Department staff that additional funds will be needed to cover USDOT legal fees. 

On September 18, 2018, the Port Everglades Department submitted the LOI to the Build America Bureau (the "Bureau"), which is the loan office of the USDOT. On April 3, 2019, the Port Everglades Department received notification from the Bureau that it has moved the Port Everglades Intermodal Freight Connector Project into the creditworthiness review phase of the TIFIA loan application process (see Exhibit 1).  In order to streamline the payment process, the USDOT also requires a sponsor payment arrangement by way of a Sponsor Payment Letter (SPL) (see Exhibit 2), whereby the County agrees to pay USDOT's legal fees directly to the third-party law firm providing such services.  USDOT will review and approve monthly invoices that will be provided to the County for payment processing.  USDOT has advised Port Everglades Department staff that the legal fees are not capped, but stated the legal fees would be "in an amount similar to those of a commercial transaction of this size and complexity."

The USDOT will conduct an internal selection process from a pre-qualified list of law firms. The final SPL will include the selected law firm and its fee structure prior to the County Administrator's execution.  

David Anderton, Acting Deputy Director, Port Everglades Department, (954) 468-0144 or danderton@broward.org