HOUSTON, Oct. 19, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Port Commission of The Port of Houston Authority (PHA) will consider proposals for professional third party claims administration (TPA) services and for property and casualty insurance, and will also consider bids for trash disposal and recycling services on Tuesday, October 20, beginning at 9 a.m. in the board room of the PHA Executive Building, 111 East Loop North (Exit 29 off Loop 610) in Houston. Chairman Jim Edmonds will preside over the meeting with Commissioner Steve Phelps, Commissioner Jim Fonteno, Commissioner Kase Lawal, Commissioner Jimmy Burke, Commissioner Janiece Longoria, and Commissioner Elyse Lanier.
ADMINISTRATION MATTERS
(Agenda H3) Commissioners will consider advertising for proposals for professional TPA services for the Port of Houston Authority, for an expected contract with an initial term of three years, effective March 1, 2010, and with an option to renew for one successive two-year period. PHA is considering directly contracting with TPAs, rather than working with its insurance company to subcontract the claims administration function. These TPAs adjust PHA's workers' compensation, auto liability and general liability claims and perform related ancillary services.
(Agenda H4) Commissioners will consider advertising for proposals for the Port of Houston Authority's property and casualty insurance for a term of one to three years, including workers' compensation, marine, property, equipment, liability (general, auto, public officials and environmental), business interruption, and other policies as may be needed. As PHA's broker of record, McGriff, Seibels and Williams will participate in developing insurance specifications and submitting them to selected insurance companies, evaluating submitted proposals and formulating recommendations for placement of coverage.
OPERATIONS MATTERS
(Agenda K5) Commissioners will consider advertising for competitive sealed proposals for trash disposal and recycling services for a two-year period for the Turning Basin, Barbours Cut and Woodhouse terminals and the Fireboat Barracks. The goal is to re-use dunnage and other materials collected from the wharves that may be economically and efficiently segregated off-site and recycled. Trash disposal services are necessary to maintain efficient, clean and safe facilities, and the recycling program furthers PHA's environmental stewardship efforts.
PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT MATTERS
(Agenda L7) Commissioners will consider amending a Memorandum of Agreement with San Jacinto College District and purchasing approximately 3.56 acres of property near Barbours Cut Terminal. The MOA was entered into on October 2008 to pay costs of up to $150,000 to study the feasibility of improving this property in Morgan's Point in the vicinity of Barbours Cut, or potentially acquiring the property. Since that date, shoreline protection has been completed and both parties have agreed to cancel the MOA requirement to further improve the property. Instead, PHA would now acquire it, and grant San Jacinto College an easement for educational purposes on its Memorial Tract property.
The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, there are more than 8,000 vessel calls at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage and second in overall total tonnage. The port authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. The second recertification of those facilities in 2009 included an extension for the state-of-the-art Bayport Container Terminal. PHA is the first port authority in the world to receive ISO 28000:2007 certification for Port Police and the perimeter security operations at both the Barbours Cut and Bayport Terminals. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange. For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com
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