Jacksonville makes recommendations to port

The City of Jacksonville's office of general counsel has recommended tightening procurement procedures in the wake of a FBI investigation of the Port of Jacksonville and contractors that have done business with it.

A memorandum from Cindy A. Laquidara, the city's chief deputy general counsel, to members of the Port of Jacksonville's board of directors and Rick Ferrin, the port's executive director, proposes a number of reforms -- including eliminating the ability to override procurement procedures, and a suggestion that all procurement awards should be approved by the executive director and legal counsel and be reported to the board each month.

Earlier this year, the Jacksonville Port Authority responded to an FBI subpoena that sought documents on bids or work performed for the port if they were associated with a dozen companies or individuals.

Included in that list was Tony Nelson, a member of the port's board of directors who resigned last month.

The same subpoena also requested employment records and documents from various port officials, including the port's deputy executive director and chief financial officer Ron Baker, who left his job in June.

No one has been charged with any wrongdoing in relation to the ongoing investigation by the Justice Department.

The city's office of general counsel memorandum noted that it understands the port authority is not a target of the FBI investigation, but said there are structural inefficiencies and errors at the port.

The memo said that during the procurement of services related to construction of a new terminal in the port for MOL, a company called Rham Construction Co. was retained, but that the expressed reason given for procuring Rham's service's failed to actually substantiate its retention.

The memo said, The stated reason for Rham's retention was to fill an engineering void on the MOL contract due to the management of the JPA of the construction component of the contract by a non-engineer, and to act as a check on the existing design consultant, but that at the time Rham did not employ an engineer, but only a single employee who held a general contractor's license and not a professional engineer's license.

According to port spokesman Nancy Rubin at a press conference last week, Ferrin outlined a number of steps the port is taking to make sure future procurement is done properly:

   Review of all contracts made over the past year.

   Assuring that all contracts awarded under a program for "small and emerging businesses are reviewed by a staff member appointed for that purpose and that review is not overridden.

   Posting sole source contracts on a City of Jacksonville Web site so that if other companies can protest if they feel they also should be able to bid.

   Appointment of a full-time attorney for the port who will act as an inspector general if staff members have concerns about procurement or other matters. 

Source: American Shipper