The stop-and-start progress toward a new warehouse for the Port of Eastport got a shove Sept. 16 when the Eastport Port Authority’s board of directors, unanimously declaring its commitment to the project, sent a proposal to Federal Marine Terminals for completion of the structure this fall.
The action was driven, at least in part, by the threat of losing between 3,000 and 6,000 tons of export kraft pulp to Saint John, New Brunswick, because of a lack of storage space. The port has lost several thousand tons to Saint John in the past for the same reason,
A delegation of longshoremen was on hand at the meeting to emphasize the need for action on the warehouse, and the board was also presented with a petition from the truckers who transport the wood pulp from the Domtar mill in Woodland to the port.
Several of the longshoremen repeated the statement that the port needs to hold onto the business it has, needs to attract new business, and “without a new warehouse we can’t attract any new business.”
Sensing some impatience with the board by those in attendance, Eastport City Council Chairman and board member Greg Biss said, “Everybody at this table wants this warehouse built. In fact, everybody at this table wants this warehouse built – now.”
Added George “Bud” Finch, Eastport City Manager: “Anybody who thinks that we’re dragging our feet on this is just plain wrong.”
Attracting new business is crucial, said board chairman Dean Pike. “Domtar has told us time and time again that we can’t count on them totally for cargo. We need to get new business in here.”
The proposal that was forwarded to Federal Marine Terminals’ headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, is for a warehouse with a capacity of 46,000 square feet measuring 400 feet by 115 feet. Terms of the proposal call for Federal Marine, which handles the port’s cargo, to absorb the $805,000 cost of the warehouse itself while the Port Authority would contribute $350,000 for ground preparation and foundation work. Total cost of the project would be $1.155 million.
The warehouse would be a structure composed of a metal frame with a polyester fabric cover, constructed by the Rubb Group, an international company with its American office in Sanford.
The proposed timeline for completion of the project would be this fall, according to Finch who, with Skip Rogers, Federal Marine’s Eastport Manager, put the funding proposal together. The proposal’s funding is based on projected annual revenue from 350,000 tons of cargo through the port.
Eastport’s only current export is Domtar kraft pulp. Domtar purchased the Woodland facility from Georgia-Pacific in 2001.