Diamond State Port Corporation
MINUTES OF BOARD MEETING
Public Session
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Friday, January 30, 2015 at 10:00 a.m.
Buena Vista State Conference Center, 661 S. DuPont Highway, New Castle, DE 19720
Chair: Alan B. Levin
Vice Chair: Jeffrey W. Bullock
Members: Michael A. Begatto
Shailen P. Bhatt
Karen C. Bifferato
Douglas B. Catts
Thomas J. Cook
Joseph G. DiPinto
Gerard L. Esposito
Quinton S. Johnson, IV
Michael L. Morton
Lewis D. Schiliro
Fred C. Sears II
David P. Sokola
Peaches M. Whalen
H. Hickman Rowland, Jr., Emeritus
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Present: Alan B. Levin Gene Bailey, Executive Director
Jeffrey W. Bullock Tom Keefer, Deputy Executive Director
Michael A. Begatto Parul Shukla, Director, Finance & Administration
Douglas B. Catts Randall Horne, Director, Engineeering & Maint.
Thomas J. Cook Frank Vignuli, Director, Operations
Gerard L. Esposito Inigo Thomas, Director, Technology Solutions
Quinton S. Johnson, IV Sylvia Kennard, Director, Human Resources
David P. Sokola Debra Thompson, Executive Assistant
Lewis D. Schiliro
Fred C. Sears II
Peaches M. Whalen
H. Hickman Rowland, Jr., Emeritus
The following members of the public were also present:
Jeff Montgomery, The News Journal
Julius Cephas (President), Paul Cutler (Vice-President), and four additional members of ILA 1694-1.
The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. with Alan B. Levin, Chairman of the Board, presiding.
The Board Chairman welcomed the Board members to the first meeting of the New Year and thanked them for their attendance and participation. He continued by introducing Senator David P. Sokola, Chairman of the Joint Committee on Capital Improvement (Bond Committee) serving with, among others, State Representative Quinton Johnson. Senator Sokola, he said, is a great addition to the DSPC Board and it’s great to have advocates on the Bond Bill Committee. He said, we are excited to have him and look forward to his guidance.
Secretary Shailen Bhatt, he announced, has been recruited by the State of Colorado as their new Transportation Secretary. He will officially leave the Board and the State on January 30th. He has served us well and will be missed. His replacement, Secretary Jennifer L. Cohan was confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday, January 28th and we will be well served and are looking forward to her service on our board.
HB #354 mandates that the DSPC Advisory Board meet at least quarterly, with the first meeting being held during the first quarter of 2015. The first meeting; therefore, has been scheduled for 9:00 am on February 12th, 2015 in the boardroom at the Port of Wilmington. The nine-member Advisory Board has one vacancy awaiting appointment by the Governor.
The Chairman commended the Port management and labor for their preparation and presentation of both the Port and the State during the visit of Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile. This was the first time the Port of Wilmington has hosted a foreign head of state. There was a gathering of over 100 guests including Governor Markell, Senator Carper, and Congressman Carney. She was a very impressive person and had wonderful things to say about the Port of Wilmington. Her trip to Delaware was the favorite part of her visit to the US, the Chairman said.
He then called for a motion to approve the minutes from the meeting of Thursday, October 9, 2014. Motion was made to approve the minutes from the meeting of Thursday, October 9, 2014. On a motion duly made and seconded, the minutes from the meeting of Thursday, October 9, 2014 were unanimously approved.
The Board Chairman invited the ILA Local #1694-1 president to address the Board.
ILA #1694-1 President, Julius Cephas, took the floor to express how disgruntled he was by a recent Delaware Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) decision. Deborah L. Murray-Sheppard, Executive Director of PERB, said in an opinion signed January 12th that full and part-time staffing levels "unequivocally" fall to the decision of management, and are outside of collective bargaining requirements.
The union President said that the ruling could become a standard practice affecting other unions, including State and County police agencies, and that he planned to hold a press conference on the matter.
Additionally, he said that the DSPC had hired attorneys to find a loophole through which they would not have to fill union positions.
The Union’s Vice President, Paul Cutler, said that he thinks that the decision is part of a vendetta against the Union, by the Governor, in retaliation for the loss of the Kinder Morgan public/private partnership deal.
Secretary Bullock said that he respects the Union’s right to speak; however, to suggest that the Governor played a role in the PERB decision was offensive to him and to the Board. He saw no need to bring the Governor into it and that the statement amounted to low brow politics. Deborah Murray-Sheppard’s rulings, he continued, are usually in favor of labor.
The Board Chairman added that a DSPC Board Meeting was not the time or the place to thrash out labor/management disputes and thereby ended the verbal exchange.
Executive Session - For the purpose of discussing matters of a confidential nature, on a motion duly made and seconded, the Board went into Executive Session at 10:18 a.m. On a motion duly made and seconded, the Board returned to Public Session at 11:40 a.m.
Resolution #15-14 – Approval of Increase in Port of Wilmington Tariff – The Director of Finance and Administration briefed the Board on the request for approval of a 3% tariff increase effective March 1, 2015. The Port’s increase remains lower than increases by other ports along the river, and, it is expected that the proposed increase will generate additional revenue to offset increases in the cost of operations for the year. After further discussion by the Board, on a motion duly made and seconded, Resolution #15-14 was unanimously approved.
Resolution #15-16 – Approval to Execute 30 year DMMP Plan w/USACOE – The Director of Engineering and Maintenance briefed the Board on the request for approval to execute a 30-year Dredged Material Disposal Plan (DMMP) with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). An assessment performed by the USACE has established the need for a DMMP for the maintenance dredging associated with Wilmington Harbor based on the projected useful life of the Wilmington Harbor North Disposal Facility. The USACE has developed a plan that addresses the disposal needs associated with maintenance dredging through the year 2041. This Resolution seeks Board authorization for the Executive Director to execute the USACE’s DMMP associated with the Wilmington Harbor Federal Navigation Project identified as Wilmington Harbor, Delaware; Thirty-Year Dredged Material Disposal Plan, 2012 – 2041 and dated January 13, 2015. After further discussion by the Board, on a motion duly made and seconded, Resolution #15-16 was unanimously approved.
The Board Chairman recommended that the Departmental Reports be accepted as written. He noted that there are a lot of good things going on at the Port of Wilmington and that we are very fortunate that things are going as well as they are. The next Board meeting will be held on Friday, March 20th at Buena Vista. He then called for new business and/or final comments. Hearing none, and there being no further business, the Chairman thanked everyone for their attendance and participation.
On a motion duly made and seconded, the meeting was adjourned at 11:50 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra Thompson
Debra Thompson
Executive Assistant
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