By David Ball

david.ball@panews.com

Floyd Gaspard, director of the Port of Port Arthur, has worked the waterfront for so long that there wasn’t even a Port of Port Arthur as organized today when he started.

“I started fresh out of high school, the day after I graduated,” Gaspard said. “It was a summer job before the port was built. I worked for some private docks.”

That was 53 years ago.

Gaspard, moreover, made a surprise announcement Wednesday at the regular meeting of the Port of Port Arthur Board of Directors and Navigation District that he would be retiring as director.

Deputy port director Larry Kelley will succeed him.

“It’s been a long summer,” he said with a laugh. “It’s been a privilege, honor and blessing to serve as director for 17 years and as only the third port director.”

He has been attending board meetings for 32 years.

Gaspard said when he started in the mid-1960s, the port was 500 square feet with a 3,000-square-foot warehouse and a 1,200-foot-long dock.

Now, the port includes 150,000 square feet with multiple warehouses and plans to extend a dock and build a new and longer dock in the future. The port also has $90 million in the bank.

“I’ve left the port in the best condition it’s ever been in,” he said.

John Comeaux, president of the board, said Gaspard has been an asset to the Port of Port Arthur over the years.

“He helped grow the port tremendously the last few years,” Comeaux said. “We loved working with him. We’ll miss him and we wish him the best.”

Both men said Kelley is ready to step in as director.

In other POPA business, the board discussed the status of the 600-foot extension construction of Berth 5 project and the 1,000-foot construction of the Berth 6 project.

Steve Curtis, a quality control consultant, said five bids for the project have been received. The drop deadline is Jan. 5.

He said they are on track to open of bids Jan. 17. The port will sell bonds to finance the project.

Kelley said the expansion would allow the port to be more flexible and capable both for handling military cargo and for accommodating larger vessels.

Chip Conrad of Collins Engineering is the contractor for the Berth 6 project. He said the schedule has been delayed due to design issues, but they have been resolved and the project is back on schedule. After completion, this dock will nearly reach the MLK Bridge. Thirty percent of the designs will be submitted by late January.

Voters approved the $89.95 million bond in a May 2016 election.

Kelley said the Berth 5 project would cost from $25 million to $35 million. The Berth 6 project will cost from $55 million to $60 million.

James F. Gilley Jr. of U.S. Capital Advisors said the sale of the bonds for the projects had six bids; CitiGroup Global Markets offered the low bid at 3.79376 percent.

Moody’s Investors Service assigned POPA a credit rating of Aa3 for the bond sale, describing the outlook as stable.

Gilley said the port’s largest asset is its cash reserve. He urged the board to maintain liquidity.

“The rating also incorporates our expectation that Hurricane Harvey will not have a material long-term impact on the district’s tax base, which is heavily concentrated in petrochemical-related companies,” the Moody report read.

Comeaux said the bids were very competitive.

Scot Sheldon, port attorney, said the city of Port Arthur and POPA reached an agreement where the city will abandon Houston Avenue from Fourth Street to the channel.

JBS Packing, the port’s neighbor, has a warehouse on Houston Avenue and said there are security issues at night. Residents have been parking on the avenue and JBS has reported some break-ins.

Sheldon said he believes this move will mean better security for the port and its tenants.