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STEVE HUETTELCommissioners aren't swayed by comments that the new gates to the complex could disrupt business. But the tone of the argument draws concern.
TAMPA - Tampa port commissioners got an earful Tuesday from tenants who complained that new security plans have gone overboard and will hurt their businesses.
Commissioners weren't convinced that a $10.8-million security gate complex to be built at the busiest intersection of Hooker's Point would seriously disrupt commerce.
But Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio and Hillsborough County Commissioner Pat Frank expressed concern that tenants accused port authority staff of ignoring their opinions and intimidating tenants who disagreed with them.
"What concerns me about the comments is the lack of a partnership between tenants and management," Iorio said. "When people stand up in a public forum, they have been pushed to that point because they tried other avenues."
The immediate concern of port tenants and businesses is a plan to construct the complex, a tollbooth-style gate with 12 lanes and a building where security personnel can issue ID cards and monitor closed-circuit cameras around the port.
A handful of tenants - including Tampa Bay Shipbuilding & Repair Co., Maritrans and A.R. Savage & Son - are now outside the port's two temporary gates. The new complex at Maritime and Guy N. Verger boulevards will restrict access to all businesses in the port's industrial center, holding up employees and visitors, tenants said.
Representatives of Tampa Bay Shipbuilding and Maritrans said they didn't find out their businesses would be behind the new gate until plans were completed. That will be more than an inconvenience, said Arthur Volkle, legal counsel for Maritrans, an oil shipping company headquartered in Tampa.
Ship crews going to its port warehouse could exceed their regular duty hours, he said, and delays for shipyard employees could throw off scheduled repairs on its tankers and barges.
Port director George Williamson said his hands are tied: state law requires that anyone entering port-owned waterfront property pass through a port-operated gate and show a port-issued ID.
Tenant arguments Tuesday didn't sway port commissioners either. Commissioners said a terrorist incident would do far more damage to port businesses than delays for security.
"I do not see any economic detriment to the tenants and think the inconvenience can be worked out," said Frank. "I'm strongly in a position of protecting that central (gate) access."
But she was bothered by comments about how the port staff developed the gate plans and reacted to criticism. More than a dozen tenants and port businesses signed a letter last week asking commissioners to put off construction until review.
"Others didn't want to sign because of concern for retribution from their port landlord," said Tim Shusta, an attorney for Tampa Bay Shipbuilding. Port officials pressured the Propeller Club, a group representing maritime interests, not to write a letter supporting the tenants, he said.
"There is a problem here at the Port of Tampa," said Volkle, the Maritrans legal counsel. "The port authority simply takes an approach of what they want to do, springs it on the port community and tells the community it's too late to change it."
Williamson said port authority officials simply told the Propeller Club they didn't think the group's bylaws allowed taking a position on port issues. He wasn't aware of tenants complaining about his agency not consulting them on issues other than the gate, Williamson said.
In other business Tuesday, local attorney Ralph Fernandez warned commissioners against making a trip to Cuba to promote shipping U.S. agricultural products from the port. The anti-Castro attorney led criticism last year when former Tampa Mayor Dick Greco made a trip to Cuba.
Fernandez said Cuban officials are tempting Tampa with the prospect of trade to build support for lifting travel restrictions for U.S. citizens. But large volumes of goods will come through Florida after Castro's fall regardless of ties forged now with the government, he said.
"This is a business reality when the time comes," Fernandez said. Port officials hope to make the trip at the end of July, said Williamson.
- Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or 813 226-3384.