Port Commission

We the People News submitted a request for public information to the Nueces County District Attorney Anna Jimenez asking for copies of materials submitted originally to Carlos Valdez by Attorney Tony Canales regarding Robert Kostelnik's appointment to the Port Commission. Questions of whether Kostelnik was legally appointed because of his residence status were explored by Canales in depositions, affidavits signed by Kostelnik and financial records.

In the latest twist to the Naval Station Ingleside (NSI) story another last minute company surfaced just as the previous mystery bidder fell to the wayside. Since taking on the development of NSI in April of 2009 Texas A&M University System and its Development Director Dennis Beal seem to have struck out. In an suspiciously emerging pattern, every time their development skills are questioned, a last minute cash suitor shows up only to quickly fade.

Sources at the Port say that currently all of the previous offers except Swiftships/APEX Group of Companies have failed to produce and A&M refuses to present that offer to the commissioners. Promises by Service Marine LLC, a company that proposed using the facility for a deep water drilling support operation and a tourism submarine builder have disappeared and a Mag-Lev train building Indian tribe failed to follow through on local meetings including one between Chief Grey Wolf and County Judge Loyd Neal.

Loss means 1,000 clean, skilled jobs won’t come to NSI

Changes in the A&M contract with the Port seem to not have had any positive impact on negotiations with Apex Group of Companies who was seeking to bring Swiftships 1,000 shipbuilding jobs to Naval Station Ingleside. General Counsel Faisal Gill left a day early after the Port meeting last Tuesday to negotiate with Pascagoula, Mississippi and Brownsville, Texas to locate there.

Port revenues down $4.5 million
Texas A&M not only agreed to fees of 6% for a sale and 8% of any lease they develop. A&M can earn an additional 2% by getting a substantial signed contract for sale by July 31, 2010 and closing by Jan. 31, 2011. If they do not produce a substantial sale or lease by that date they will be terminated. In order to meet the "substantial" requirement, A&M must secure a deal with a minimum of a $5 million dollar downpayment.

Wants $5 million to install infrastructure

Ingleside City Council attended today’s Port Commission meeting to address their needs in any potential sale of lease of Naval Station Ingleside. After Mayor Stella Herrmann talked about mutual benefit and cooperation before introducing City Manager Jim Gray who laid out the considerations that Ingleside needs in any redevelopment plan. Ingleside Council has previously stated that unless the Port was cooperative in meeting their needs no water, sewage or zoning would be forthcoming from the city.

Kostelnik skips meeting votes tie 3-3

The big story today at the Port was that the City’s controversial appointment Robert Kostelnik was absent. Kostelnik has reportedly been getting encouragement from his Port Industry sponsors to rethink his support of Chairman Mike Carrell’s A&M deal for Naval Station Ingleside (NSI). It seems that the industry officials don’t see any gain in financial assistance to support the port if it goes to a non-taxable, non-tariff paying, non-rent paying developer. The base operations will be transferred to the Port on May 1, 2010 and with it an estimated $3 million a year in maintenance costs. The result was a number of 3-3 votes that stymied any clarity in the negotiations with companies for NSI.

Chairman of Apex, Lutfi Hassan, sent a letter dated April 1 to John LaRue, Executive Director of the Port of Corpus Christi suspending negotiations for Naval Station Ingleside. Hassan reiterates his interest in the property and the local labor force, but says they are “contemplating the suspension of talks for NSI until we believe we have a serious partner in negotiations.” Hassan writes, “we believe that unnecessary roadblocks have been put in place since we began our discussions and there is not a local consensus on how to move forward in the redeveloping NSI.”

Port Commission fiduciary responsibility to public questioned.
When local and national commercial realtors were asked how the terms of the proposed Texas A&M contract to develop, lease or sell Naval Station Ingleside (NSI) compared with industry standards the responses were, “Outrageous” “Unheard of” and my favorite, “How can I get in on that deal!” Universally they all stated two things 1) fees on deals that size normally range from .7-1.3% on sales and leases and up to a high of 4% on a developer fee that would include the developer assuming all of the sales, development and management costs. 2) None of them wanted to be identified due to the political clout of A&M.

Plan likely to kill thousands of jobs.
On April 28, 2009 Texas A&M University System’s Chancellor Mike McKinney promised “… researchers who think things that have never been thunk before,” Most Corpus Christi residents took the Caller-Times description of the much hyped agreement, “The A&M System will be the master developer under the agreement responsible for bringing tenants to what is been described as a research and development center.” at face value. Few would have imagined that McKinney, along with Rick Perry buddy John D. White, meant A&M would gain control of the redevelopment of Naval Station Ingleside and be paid by the Port and backed by the taxpayers to develop it for its own purposes.