Submitted by Jeff Buster on Fri, 11/06/2009 - 23:23.
A friend brought this breaking news to my attention - knowing I am a conspiracy theorist. I reluctantly link to the Dirty Dealer.
Nice work, (IE severance) if you can get it. I am of the opinion that Mr. Wasserman was faced with ethical dilemas - and did not want to go the way of the Port Authority Board. I think Mr. Wasserman knew the proposed E55 st "New Port" was unsupportable BS, and the Board didn't want to hear it.
Funny that the Toledo Port Authority boss just left a few weeks ago.
With flagrant corruption in North East Ohio, Cuyahoga County, and the City of Cleveland the norm, maybe there's a RICO action on the south shore of Lake Erie?
That's Cleveland + Plus Toledo, Lorain, Ashtabula and every other deep water port along Lake Erie which handles construction materials, etc. Or maybe I am missing something....
Image 2.29.08 Philip Neri Church "New Port" dog and pony show, Cleveland, Ohio
Regional Economics Action Links North East Ohio
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Ed Hauser would have been on top of this
In another stunning demonstration that "we ARE the freak city of the nation.....
The publicly-funded $300,000 parachuting, previously-much praised, just trans-globally relocated President of the publicly-funded $ millions/year, previously much-praised (in the PD, at least) Port Authority has been lost or fired - a month after the operations director was lost or fired - as the Port leadership become increasingly harmful to the region, yet begins rolling out the most foolish undertaking in our lifetimes, with the full support and blessing of all our leadership and mainstream media - and that is the explanation we are given by the totally inside Plain Dealer, and those who appoint the Port Board.
Announced on a no-readership Saturday, without "warning", after days of "leaks" the "authority" is meeting "behind closed doors"... and who made this announcement?
This wouldn't be a surprise if Ed Hauser had been alive this past year - he would have been at every port meeting and seen this coming - he would have video taped every moment - he would have warned the community... we could have prevented this wasteful, foolish mess.
Now, I want to hear from 4-More-Years Jackson, his newspaper, the Port Authority and their sponsors.
I'll attend the next meeting, for Ed.
I agree with the Chairman of the Port Authority... "time for new leadership" there.
Do you sense Jackson has been set up for a McFaul?
Disrupt IT
Shady Port Deal - $5 million for East CLE building
Crazy world - why is there a loan origination fee-bond issuance cost of $1,134,937 listed as an asset? Wasserman connection w/AFM?
http://www.prweb.com/releases/ForestHillsParkApts/MatthewKing/prweb12989378.htm
http://ledahf.org/images/Fin_Statement_LEDAHF_9.30.15.pdf
LEDAHF – East Cleveland, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, is a newly created single asset entity, of which Linked Economic Development & Affordable Housing Foundation Inc. (LEDAHF), a Virginia 501(c)3 designated non-profit organization, is the sole member.
1. Promote the availability of affordable housing and to sponsor, acquire, develop, own, manage, and operate affordable rental housing for families, seniors, and disabled individuals;
2. Promote local economic development; and
3. To otherwise relieve the burdens of government. LEDAHF has helped local government finance and construct new county buildings, public schools, parks, senior centers, animal shelters, and other needed community facilities. LEDAHF can frequently deliver these facilities more efficiently, more quickly, and at lower costs than the government can.
The acquisition and improvements to the property were financed utilizing rated tax-exempt multifamily housing revenue bonds. The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority acted as issuer on the bonds. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned an “A-“ rating to the senior bonds totaling $5,460,000. Subordinate bonds in the amount of $480,000 received a “BBB” rating. The total amount of Multifamily Housing Revenue Bonds Issued by the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority was $5,940,000.
No additional investments in the bldg apparently we're required... Odd if you are a prospective bondholders and.expect your underlying asset to be well maintained and productive. 93 % OCCUPANCY was also untrue... To lie down like that on a security is a federal financial crime. The port authority you might imagine would want those monies invested in Cleveland... Not absconded with as has already happened. Elevators frequently don't work and have no certificates of inspection... Tenants told me in the last 14 weeks of new ownership things have not changed....
What is there to do for the next 20+ years?
About twenty or so years ago, the St Lawrence river was deepened. It was deepened from the Atlantic ocean to the Port of Montréal.
Montreal is the largest container shipping port within Canada. It also runs two container lines that are based there. It receives shipments from all over the globe from other lines, but it also has it own lines. Within the local lines it has ships that are container ships that can navigate to Cleveland. In navigate it is meant that they are of the size ship that can traverse the water ways, they are under the size limits.
The local lines of Montréal also run containers to other smaller Canadian ports.
If Cleveland had a container port there are already container ships that could serve it. Those ships are not as large as the ocean going ships, they are a fraction of their size. Often less than a third the size.
The containers are modular they can be transferred from larger Ocean going ships to smaller lake ships.
Of the two container lines based in Montreal one of those also has a cruise ship line. The proposal is nothing more than to have operations and services of those two lines that are based out of Montréal having service to the port of Cleveland. Container services that link to the world and cruises that link to Quebec and also the Island Provinces.
Shanghai!
Prediction: NEO real estate will be devalued enough, soon enough, for massive Asian investment. Practice your Mandarin Chinese :)
Hopeful
I am hopeful, despite our political idiocracy, that the resources we have in NEO--fresh water, a port and transportation network, a history of entrepreneurship and technological know-how, a temperate climate, educational resources, a medical and manufacturing infrastructure, agricultural bounty and an appreciation for arts and culture--will allow us to transcend the current morass.
It would help to have massive investment from Asia. I think that it will happen. If not, please let me just revel in the fantasy for awhile...
study the system in detail
Drawing in big players and that gets the word out, it shows the direction we are moving and the opportunities that it presents to investors.
Clustering on the rail, comprehensive review of the rail services high technology logistics and material handling. Then all around developing better esthetics, better spaces, better land use. Paying attention to the details.
There is real feasibility in creating an inland marina at the end of the west branch of the Cuyahoga. That would accelerate the filling in of the new port. Creating a better physical geography and leveraging that into developments.
While that is happening a comprehensive review should be done of all rail lines in the county. To identify locations for transfer stations and warehousing/manufacturing/distribution clusters.
Moving on water/rail/roadways a more synergistic model, a goal that could be defined by people at Alstom.
If they build that port it could bring new commerce, Montreal and Toronto are very tied to container shipping. But that is a rail link, I really have trouble convincing my self that those that drew the plan up for the port did not study the system in detail.
The time line for the port development will be slow, but could be accelerated.
Great lakes dredging
Global transport system analysis
I agree with you Oengus that we need a global transport systems analysis.
The only reason to consider putting a large container facility here is if it is the best location, from a global systems perspective - best economics and best location, including workforce, politics, etc. - and the best use of our scarce lakefront and other resources, including rights to pollute.
I not only need to see an analysis proving Cleveland is the best location on the Great Lakes for expanding container shipping, and that it is certain to expand, but also that it is the best thing for Cleveland and the region - I have not seen a shred of evidence any of that is the case, and those pitching this case are clearly doing so on incomplete data.
More important, it is complete bullshit we the public have not been provided complete disclosure an exactly what is going down with the port authority and two major resignations - we pay these salaries and are being deceived.
In a normal city, wouldn't their be a telvised press conference, with reporters and hard questions?!?!
Ed Hauser died November 14, last year, and the port has become this much more dysfunctional since.
Four more years?!
Nothing sustainable here, by 2019!!!
Disrupt IT
The Welland Canal is
The Welland Canal is scheduled to be rebuilt in 2030, nothing lasts for ever.
There is a reasonable good analysis with most all the caveats included on the ports web site.
Article about Oswego and the connecting of great lakes container shipping with Nova Scotia.
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/oswego_could_have_lake_ontario.html http://www.portofhalifax.ca/english/about-us/outreach/index.html
Consider that most transportation service on a twelve month contract, but it is a nine month season unless you have year round shipping channels kept clear with ice breakers. So for the other three month it switches to rail, so the contract is tiered. One contract is for year round transport the other is for transport access on rail for three winter months.
If the ports combines operations then it can become dynamic and if managed with a rail network and clustered developments its synergistic.
Most fear one logistical carrier dominating; as it becomes a monopoly, but certain routes are already being monopolized.
Logistics should be outside it, the shipping agents should see all options and they should negotiate the contracts with both sides and then seek options which are all services to get from A to B. Then they could negotiate rates on both sides for all forms of transport and secure the rates up front, contractual rates.
Your not going to see a complete analysis in the newspaper its a competitive market. Wasserman was and is an Urban Planner, he does not show a background in logistics or transportation, if they wanted that they needed to hire a person that is in alignment with Nova Scotia‘s port agenda. That or a former CEO of a logistical provider like Penske….not a “European Planner” He may have had a handle on it, maybe not? He was paid $300K for what not to say how limiting the board was? Maybe he did not feel like teaching logistics 101 every time they met?
Should all of the Ohio ports operate under one authority, should they work collectively? That’s done by changing the game and in a market economy asserting dominance and precedence, creativity and ingenuity. Sometimes it is about deal making but that has to be looked at and considered carefully, sometimes politician create bad guys out of heroes just to get a vote.
The interest in containers is coming out of Nova Scotia, I would have taken Scotia bank over PNC we came close to being a north American headquarters for a Canadian bank. Some di not like that idea and would be very foolish considering the alternate result.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Regional_Municipality
13995 Superior - update over 130K in unpaid taxes
The developers estimated that they'll need $35 million in public debt – bond debt that would be repaid using a slice of new property-tax revenues generated by the project – to make the deal work. "It is our intent to leave as much millage as possible for the school district while securing enough proceeds for public infrastructure," Liberty said in its submission to the city.
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2016/06/cleveland_heights_land_attract.html