Gary City Council wants port authority
Contributed By:The 411 News
Administration sees it as economic development tool
By a 6-2 vote, the Gary City Council approved an ordinance to set up the governing board of the city’s new port authority. Gary’s port authority was established by ordinance in 1977, but its board of directors was never seated, thereby leaving the port inactive for the last 40 years.
Voting against the ordinance were councilpersons Rebecca Wyatt and LaVetta Sparks-Wade.
At first, Wyatt liked the idea as a way of moving the city forward and would have voted yes. That vote turned against the ordinance after finding out the city council would not have 2 appointees to the five-member board. “A board with all the mayor’s appointees would be like a superboard and that’s not right. There should always be a check and balance. My concern is we should do it right and have a board qualified to negotiate with developers,” said Wyatt.
During the ordinance’s discussions in the council’s finance committee meeting, Sparks-Wade was highly skeptical of the port authority and debated its legality with the city’s economic development director Bo Kemp.
Betting on the port authority as a tool for growing the city were councilpersons Herb Smith, Mary Brown, Linda Barnes-Caldwell, Michael Protho, Carolyn Rogers, and Ron Brewer. Councilwoman Ragen Hatcher did not attend.
Council member Smith, responding to comments that the port authority couldn’t be held accountable for its actions, said, “The ultimate authority to establish the port came from the council. There’s a safety valve here – the council. If in the future we don’t like the way it’s going, we have the right to rescind it.”
At Tuesday night’s council meeting, Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson revised her list of appointees. She asked the council to approve only 4 members with the fifth to be appointed later. They are Delta Jones Walker, Ken Stalling, William Godwin, and Gene Champion.
Previously, the mayor had named councilman Ron Brewer, Lake County Commissioner Kyle Allen, Delta Walker, Ken Stalling, and Michael Chirich.
It’s not a traditional port requiring a deep water harbor for large cargo ships, like the port at Burns Harbor, the city’s economic development director Bo Kemp told the finance committee. “It’s for logistics and distribution companies that have a keen interest for locating in Gary.”
Because of the major highways and rail lines that cross the city, Kemp said companies like Amazon or Walmart would bring warehouses, terminals and other facilities, creating jobs for Gary residents.
The port authority board will determine where in the city those facilities would be located. According to state law, the board will have the power to acquire, own, hold, sell, lease, or operate real or personal property for the authorized purposes of the port authority.
When acquiring land, if the port authority and property owners cannot agree, the board has the power to condemn the property. The board can ask the city to authorize general obligations, mortgage, or revenue bonds.
Story Posted:09/22/2017
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