REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)
TO LICENSE PROPERTIES IN THE PORT DISTRICT OF NEW HAVEN

The New Haven Port Authority (“NHPA”) is seeking parties to license and use four (4) properties located within the Port District of New Haven, CT (the “Parcels”), with uses that contribute positively to the growth of New Haven’s maritime economy and tax base Specifically, all the Parcels are located south of I-95 and the Q Bridge.  The New Haven Port Authority was created by an ordinance (the “Ordinance”) of the City of New Haven to “…stimulate the shipment of freight and commerce through New Haven’s port, to develop and promote the facilities within the Port District and thereby to create jobs and increase the tax base of the City of New Haven, to work with the City of New Haven in maximizing the usefulness of available public funding by consolidating and coordinating efforts to assist the waterfront of the City of New Haven and to cooperate with the state and federal agencies in connection with the maintenance, development, improvement and use of the facilities within the port district."

Please click here to read the RFP

 Questions and Answers relating to the Licensing Agreement RFP.

 

1.If respondent provides financial statements and/or other evidence of financial ability to perform under the License Agreement for the Parcel(s), are those financial statements subject to FOIA? How can respondent ensure that the financial statements and/or other evidence remains confidential?

Answer – The Port Authority cannot guarantee that the financial information of respondent’s ability to perform under the License Agreement for the Parcels will remain confidential under the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act, Conn. Gen. Stat. Secs. 1-200 et seq (the “FOIA”) or otherwise, for example, if subpoenaed. We refer you to the FOIA,   the decisions of the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission, which are on the internet, and Connecticut case law interpreting the FOIA.  Specifically, we refer you to Subsection 1-210(b) ((5) (B) which exempts from disclosure “Commercial or financial information given in confidence, not required by statute” and suggest that respondent take the appropriate steps to indicate that the financial information that respondent is providing in response to the RFP is being given in confidence.

2. Under NHPA rules/law, is there a maximum permissible duration for the License Agreement?

Answer - The Procurement Policy of the NHPA, Section V3 provides that the Board of Commissioners may enter into long-term agreements for its capital assets (generally for no longer than five (5) years.) However, by approving the RFP, the Board of Commissioners has authorized longer term license agreements, understanding that a longer-term license agreement may be appropriate in certain circumstance, for example,  if the respondent will be constructing improvements on the property. However, because under the Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services Ruling 93-12, a long-term lease or other ownership interest which endures for a fixed period of 99 years or more are subject to Real Estate Conveyance Taxes, a License Agreement from the NHPA will not exceed 98 years.

New Haven HarborThe New Haven Port Authority serves to enhance the economic competitiveness of the greater New Haven region and all of Connecticut through waterborne traffic.

The Port Authority was created by the New Haven Board of Aldermen in February of 2003 (Article II. Sec. 15-31) of the Code of Ordinances, in accordance with the General Statutes of the State of Connecticut CGS Sec. 7-329a. The Port of New Haven is the busiest port between New York and Boston and the largest deep-water port in the State of Connecticut. In the 2016 ranking by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of the top 150 ports in the United States, the port of New Haven placed fifty-third as measured by volume of cargo transiting the port.

Our Port is an integral component to the regional economy and represents a key connection in a comprehensive transportation network that includes water, rail, roads and pipelines. It was created for the purposes of promoting the shipment of freight and commerce through the Port of New Haven. We work closely with the private terminal operators supporting businesses to advance that agenda.

Since our creation in 2003, we have collaborated with several City departments to secure funding to improve security and air quality at the port, and will continue to seek funding opportunities to improve the port's infrastructure to promote a vibrant, secure and environmentally sound port.