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OMI pleads case to RH Council
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It appears utilities management company OMI isn’t leaving Richmond Hill without at least a public attempt to strike a deal.
OMI Regional Vice President Gary Wood spoke to City Council members at Wednesday’s meeting, reading from a prepared statement while several of the company’s workers sat in the audience. Afterward, an OMI employee handed copies of Wood’s statement to the media.
The city voted last month to end its 14-year relationship with OMI, which takes care of much of the city’s public works, citing costs and the need to bring in house the running of its still-to-be constructed $25 million to $28 million wastewater treatment plant.
At the recommendation of Mayor Harold Fowler and City Manager Chris Lovell, the city voted to dump OMI and hire Braddy Enterprises to run public works in the interim — a move officials said would save the city more than $300,000.
That took OMI by surprise, said Wood, who repeatedly noted the company was under contract.
“With two-and-a-half months remaining in the second year of our five-year contract, we were deeply disappointed to hear the city is attempting to exit that contract to seek an alternative vendor as of Jan. 1,” he said, claiming OMI had “made significant investments in Richmond Hill based on the ability to recover our costs over a five-year term.”
Wood also questioned the city’s claims of savings.
At the time, the city’s contract with OMI was reported to be about $3 million annually, and Lovell said Braddy will cost about $2.6 million each year.
But Wood said OMI’s contract is actually $2.74 million annually and he offered to drop it to $2.6 million at Wednesday’s meeting.
That offer is “for the identical scope of services that were proposed for the alternate vendor and that we are currently under contract to provide,” Wood told council members who sat quietly while he spoke.
At one point, Fowler told Wood an attempt had been made to renegotiate the contract earlier, but he said  he was told there was no room for negotiation. Wood countered local OMI leadership had no authority to change the company’s price.
He also told council members the city had “not presented any official request to negotiate compensation for the 2014 contract year,” but the company was willing to work with city officials now.
City officials gave no indication when or if the matter would be addressed and had no comment after the meeting, which was moved to Wednesday from its usual Tuesday due to the municipal election.

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GPA grows trade, market share
Intermodal volume up 20 percent
port photo
Rubber tired gantry cranes handle cargo at the Chatham Intermodal Container Transfer Facility at the Port of Savannah. The Georgia Ports Authority's Mason Mega Rail project will double rail lift capacity to 1 million containers per year by 2020 - photo by Provided

The Georgia Ports Authority achieved 14 percent growth in March container volumes, moving 355,208 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers.

From July 2017 to March, TEU container trade grew by 9 percent, or 255,786 additional units for a total of 3.08 million, a new record for Savannah.

"Savannah's continued strength is a reflection of our customers' commitment, Georgia's leadership, and the many dedicated service providers, GPA employees and ILA members who come together every day to achieve great things," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "March marked our 17th consecutive month of business expansion thanks, in part, to a strong economy and growing market share."

Intermodal rail volumes jumped by 20 percent in March and 15.4 percent for the fiscal year to date, for a total of 318,454 containers handled over nine months – another record for the GPA.

"As the numbers show, our rail cargo is growing at a faster pace than our overall trade," GPA Chairman Jimmy Allgood said. "This is important because rail is playing a key role in our responsible growth strategy. We anticipate our rail infrastructure investments to take 250,000 trucks off the road each year by 2020."

The GPA recently broke ground on its Mason Mega Rail Terminal, on which the Port of Savannah will build 10,000-foot unit trains within its own footprint. From the expanded rail infrastructure at Garden City Terminal, Class I rail providers CSX and Norfolk Southern will provide direct rail service to major Southeast and Midwestern markets from Memphis to St. Louis, Chicago to Cincinnati.

An added benefit is that the Mason Mega Rail project will move all rail switching on terminal – improving vehicle traffic flow around the port.

In August, the GPA will open its Appalachian Regional Port in Murray County. Located in an industrial belt, including the production and export of carpet and flooring, automobiles and tires, the ARP will provide an alternative to all-truck transit to Northwest Georgia.

Each round-trip container moved via the Appalachian Regional Port will offset 710 truck miles on Georgia highways.

March was also a strong month for roll-on/roll-off auto and machinery units at the Port of Brunswick and Ocean Terminal in Savannah. Colonel's Island Terminal in Brunswick handled 66,144 cars, trucks and tractors, while Ocean Terminal added 4,050, for a total 70,194, a 17.2 percent increase.

"The global economy is thriving and our volumes are following suit," Lynch said. "As existing accounts grow their footprint in the expanding auto facility in Brunswick, Georgia's competitive logistical advantages are drawing additional business across all of our docks."

Lynch noted that for the fiscal year to date, Mayor's Point breakbulk terminal in Brunswick grew by 44 percent (34,515 tons) to reach 112,728 tons of forest products. At East River Terminal, bulk cargo expanded by 34 percent July-March (189,918 tons) for a total of 750,384 tons.

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