Questions about property maintenance as visitor attractions come online and ongoing job openings at the Port of Los Angeles led to a marathon harbor commission meeting on Thursday, April 11 — when staffers rolled out the first look at POLA’s 2024-25 budget.
The bulk of the four-hour meeting featured department heads going over their proposed upcoming budgets for the five-member LA commission, which is set to vote on the budget in early June.
But besides the budget talks, Executive Director Gene Seroka and Port Police Chief Thomas Gazsi also made brief remarks on the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after it was struck by a container ship that lost power on March 26 in the Port of Baltimore.
The Vincent Thomas Bridge, Seroka said, has a different construction that is land-based.
“The legs, or stanchions as they are called, are on land” at the Port of LA, Seroka said.
While Seroka cautioned that a federal investigation is ongoing and that limited his remarks, he told commissioners he would invite experts to talk to the panel about protocols.
Commissioners also were assured by Gazsi that tugs accompany ships for the distance both in and out of the harbor in the Port of Los Angeles, which is bordered by the Angels Gate Lighthouse and breakwater.
“We always have tugs (accompanying ships) and we wouldn’t have it any other way,” Gazsi said. “It takes 20 minutes to restart a container ship when it loses power.”
Earlier this week, Los Angeles Councilmember Tim McOsker requested a study be done on the Vincent Thomas Bridge in light of the Baltimore accident.
Port practices, Gazsi said, are still being reviewed in light of the accident, but added, “we’ve got a remarkable safety history.”
The 2024-25 budget, meanwhile, anticipates operating revenues to be at $685.2 million and operating expenses at $402 million.
Cargo projections, Seroka said, continue to look strong going into the next year.
A number of comments were directed at both security and maintenance staffing as the port looks ahead at the West Harbor waterfront attraction coming online in San Pedro in 2025; an outdoor amphitheater is also expected.
Elise Swanson, CEO and president of the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce, said that organization advocates increased funding and staffing for the port’s maintenance and construction plans.
“We’re so excited to see all of the improvements coming online at the LA waterfront,” Swanson told commissioners, noting both the improvements on the San Pedro and Wilmington side. “This is a world-class port welcoming thousands of cruise ships” along with events such as L.A. Fleet Week, she said.
“It’s crucial we have the staff in place so we can shine and show off these improvements,” Swanson added.
Among challenges brought up by port leaders listening to complaints regarding weed maintenance in port parks was that the banning of chemical weed killers has made the work much slower and more difficult.
Commissioner Ed Renwick also raised concerns about potential impacts to port revenue in future years, noting that the Alameda Corridor, for which he is a board member, continues to only operate at 30% capacity. More needs to be done, he and other commissioners said, to bring that into more use.
“We’ve been doing well for a long time,” he said, “but I want us all to be aware there is this issue that’s out there.”
Along with that, commissioners noted, financials will always rely on cargo numbers, which can be drastically impacted by both world events and policies. Renwick, for example, raised concern over former President Donald Trump suggesting he might hike tariffs by as much as 60% if elected in November.
“We have a man running (for president) who says he wants to institute 60% tariffs,” Renwick said.
“What would that do to our revenues?” Renwick said. “I’m fairly confident it would not be good.”
Clean port initiatives, which raise port costs for cargo owners, can can impact decisions on whether to start using other ports in the U.S. to ship goods.
“We are the cleanest port in the world, which is great,” Renwick said. “But that drives up our cost structure.”
