For whatever reason this nutty Escanaba Harbour Port Feasibility Study is really the focus of my day so far. As much as I want to work on GSRA stuff and get cranking on this and that and the other, the fact that the city has spent all of this money to see if an existing cart can go before a dead horse is gettin under my skin. The documents are starting to be available to sort through the blunderous brief history of this project, and I'd say the details are murky at best. After the reading I've done and given the state of things at this point, it looks to me like the city got duped into buying a study that they didn't even generate the scope for. Any consumer will say that purchasing something sight-unseen will bite you later; later has arrived for Escanaba's taxpayers.
The public already seems to be in an uproar over noise and dust concerns at the Port of Escanaba. Two things come to mind: an empty port isn't very noisy and no port that generates dust is worth developing during this day and age. Interestingly, the Lakes Carriers' Assocation (LCAships.org) was contacted and they expressed tremendous interest in expanding the bulk trades in Escanaba. If Delta County wants to benefit from a port, they need to first benefit from something new that can be shipped, not an expansion of the tiny domestic dry bulk trades. Shipping for shipping's sake won't work, nor will shipbuilding. In my opinion the whole plan should be scuttled...cut losses and hang your head, city council.

posted at 12:50 PM - comments