/ L’Observateur / November 15, 1999

LAPLACE – The search for a new executive director for the Port of South Louisiana is due to narrow down to a field of five or six candidates within a week.

At Wednesday’s meeting of the South Louisiana Port Commission, Greg Young of Greg Young and Associates agreed to provide a list of finalists from among the 27 resumes they now have on hand. Fourteen applicantsare from Louisiana, the others from outside the state.

All this is to replace Gary LaGrange, who departed the job earlier this year to accept a similar position at more pay in Biloxi, Miss.

The port commission, without the full membership present, could not agree to a time and date for the special meeting necessary to receive the finalist list.

A new director is expected to be hired at the Dec. 15 commission meeting.Commissioner Louis Joseph from St. John the Baptist Parish asked to seethe list of 27 names, but Young responded only that he would present only the finalists’ names, assisted by Tommy Parsons of Humaneering Company, from which a new executive director would be selected.

Joseph and fellow commissioner, E.J. Martin of St. John Parish, quizzedYoung briefly as to whether their selections were influenced by other commissioners, to which question Young responded they had no influence whatsoever.

“I’m not getting any input from who shall be selected from anybody here,” Young said.

The finalists will be provided with a detailed job description, which will lay out explicitly what is expected of them in that job, and Young will also carry out background checks on each finalist.

Following the meeting, Joseph expressed concern of the perceived rush to select a new director in the face of possible turnover of commissioners with the newly-elected parish presidents and parish councils in St.

Charles and St. John parishes.That could leave the new director, Joseph added, working for a commission which didn’t select him.

Commissioner Brent Tregre, likewise, expressed his reservations about hiring a new director when some of the commissioners will no longer be on the board soon. “That’s the hesitation about the new director,” he said.In other business, the port commission – Plans to meet this week, at a date and time to be announced, in a special meeting to accept insurance bids.

Discussed possible nominations to the Millennium Port Authority. Inthat, a containerized port is being developed near the Louisiana coast, and each deepwater port authority in the state is being asked for nominees for Gov. Foster to select members of that new port commission.One will be selected from three nominees from the Port of New Orleans, to serve six years. Two will be slected from a list of six submitted by thefive remaining deepwater ports (South Louisiana, Baton Rouge, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, Lake Charles), and also Port Fourchon with onenominee, who will serve five years.

One will be picked from a list of three nominees from the Ports Association of Louisiana, to serve five years. Two will be picked from thestate at-large, serving four years. One will be picked from the localgoverment where the main site of the port is physically located, once that is determined, from a list of three names.

One will be selected with at least 10 years of transportation experience in Louisiana, to serve four years. Finally, one will be picked from a list ofthree names submitted by the Red River Waterway parishes, to serve four years.

Approved an agreement with the Sugar Cane Producers League toward construction of a raw-sugar warehouse at Globalplex. The League and thePort will split the initial cost of $14,600, and the Port will foot an additional $9,600 for additional borings.

Agreed to a letter of no objection to ADM Growmark to install four monopile dolphins at their Ama facility.

Agreed to lease Globalplex’s Building 19 for raw sugar storage by the Sugar Cane Producers League, starting Nov. 19, on an initial six-monthlease at $7,000 per month.

Return To News Stories