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The regular meeting of the Port Commission was Thursday, December 5.
Among other topics, the Port Commission discussed the recent maintenance on lights in the harbors.
This issue was brought up at the last Port Commission meeting.
Harbor master Greg Meissner says this is fairly routine work. He says it’s important to have good lighting on the docks and around the harbors, especially in the winter.
Members of the Port Commission – Photo by Shady Grove Oliver/KSTK
“Well, at this time of year, of course it’s dark by 3:30. We start to see just how many lights are out around the harbors. We started with a few complaints about the lights going out. So we had staff go around and make a list of lights that need to be replaced. Our staff took care of the shorter lights that we can reach with a ladder. The line department gets their climbing gear on and they climb the old creosote pilings and replace the ones they can reach. Shoemaker still needs to be done. That’s the next one the electrical department will do,” said Meissner.
However, Meissner says his staff has found a problem with the lighting in one of the harbors that needs some special attention.
“Inner Harbor is having some electrical issues. They’ve replaced some lights and even the whole head itself. But we’re still having some electrical issues. So, I need to get an electrician down there who is licensed to go down there and troubleshoot what’s going on. Because—we’ve got about half the lights at Inner Harbor working right now—that’s all. So, if people can be patient, we’ll get the electrician down there and figure out why they’re not working,” said Meissner.
The commission discussed a topic that’s been on the table at many of the past meetings—the Mariner’s Memorial.
Commission chair Brennan Eagle says the project is moving forward, at least conceptually.
At the last meeting, commissioner John Yeager offered to write up a narrative on some of the history and timeline of the project to this point.
Eagle says the idea is solid, and it’s time to work on making it happen. But, he says, the first step is finding funding.
“We’ve got an idea of the shape we want and everything. But is it a cast concrete thing, is it a block thing, is it a metal thing? Some of that stuff. And that ties back into funding for it, too. So, that’s kind of where we’re at. We’re at the nuts and bolts part of it right now, instead of the concept part of it,” said Eagle.
Commissioner John Martin suggested consulting a few different community members with experience in grant writing. Then, he says, they can hopefully find the money to really solidify a design plan.
Finally, Port Commission chair Brennan Eagle awarded a plaque to former commissioner Bill Knecht for his 21 years of service.
“Bill was on the Port Commission. He was a long-time server when I started on the Port Commission. It’s always great to have a historical person on the body because if you have questions to ask about why something got somewhere, it’s a really good perspective to have. You did a really good job. I just to say thanks a lot for your time,” said Eagle.
The next Port Commission meeting will be scheduled for early January.
