Eversley: Shipyard Validates City’s Role In Maritime Business

East End shipyard
East End shipyard.

J. Goodison Company www.jgoodison.com, a Rhode Island-based marine and industrial maintenance and repair contractor, has been selected by the Bridgeport Port Authority to breathe new life into the city’s East End shipyard. Donald Eversley, director of the Bridgeport Economic Development Corporation www.bridgeportedc.org, recruited Goodison for a Bridgeport presence.

From Jennifer Bissell, Fairfield County Business Journal.

A new chapter is underway at the Bridgeport shipyard, where operator J. Goodison Company Inc. is seeking to resurrect the site after its previous operator was evicted earlier in 2012.

Selected by the Bridgeport Port Authority to operate the regional maritime center, J. Goodison secured two competitive contracts this month with the U.S. Coast Guard, worth more than $3 million over 5 years.

“The future is very promising for us,” said CEO Jack Goodison, who predicted that the shipyard could ultimately be one of the busiest in the Northeast. Three additional Coast Guard contracts are still pending and Goodison anticipates even more after that.

“We’re being flooded with phone calls from fisherman, ferry boat companies in Connecticut and New York, hub and barge operators,” Goodison said. “You put it all together–the deepwater access, proximity to New York, size of the property–it’s a recipe for success.”

Based out of Rhode Island, the marine maintenance and repair service company began leasing the shipyard in August, which has been vacant for months since Derecktor Shipyards, the previous tenant, declared bankruptcy and was evicted for failing to pay rent.

While Derecktor was heavily invested in yacht and other large boat construction, J. Goodison primarily serves the commercial marine service market with a number of government and military contracts.

Currently the company has about 25 employees in Bridgeport and plans to hire 12 additional employees within the next couple weeks. As they grow, Goodison said he anticipates a workforce of 75 people by the end of two years. J. Goodison is a certified HUBZone employer with the U.S. Small Business Administration and has agreed to hire staff living in the historically underutilized business zone.

“There’s a lot of interest in putting housing on the waterfront,” said Donald C. Eversley, director of the Bridgeport Economic Development Corporation. “But I’ve always been bullish on having a ship maintenance location.”

Eversley spent about four years recruiting J. Goodison down from Rhode Island and said he was pleased to see a repositioning of the shipyard, which has been impeded by Derecktor’s bankruptcy.

“In a time where Massachusetts and Rhode Island harbors are closing, we still have a site that is valuable,” Eversley said. “This is validation that we can play a significant role in the maritime business.”

Yet while J. Goodison and the city of Bridgeport are anxious to get the shipyard up and running again, much of the lot remains nonoperational, Eversley said. Derecktor still has a large amount of equipment and materials on the site that can’t be moved until the U.S. Federal Bankruptcy Court settles the case.

Because the court has been “so slow,” Eversley said the port authority is not only missing out on owed rent but also future rent from new tenants.

“It’s a double-edged sword against Bridgeport’s neck,” Eversley said. “All we can do is wait. And complain.”

Yet the new contracts are a start for the company to build up its workforce and start creating its footprint in Bridgeport.

“There are less and less places to go because a number of yards have gone out of business,” Eversley said. “We think (the shipyard) could be one of the most successful in the whole Northeast.”

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38 comments

  1. Driving by Derecktor on Stratford Ave I always had to slow down to check out the eyeful of ships that seemed to change every week … when everything else was slow, quiet or dying, that place appeared bustling–fixing ferryboats, fishing boats, tugboats and yachts. And of course there was the fabulous 150 ft. aluminum-hulled sloop for celebrated business hero Dennis Kozlowski …
    news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=20020924&id=RYwxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dqMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3360,4440014

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  2. It took Eversley four years to get a boat repair and maintenance company to locate here???
    Pretty much explains the story about Steel Point and Brass Balls Bait Shop.

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  3. “… J. Goodison secured two competitive contracts this month with the U.S. Coast Guard, worth more than $3 million over 5 years.”

    “Three additional Coast Guard contracts are still pending and Goodison anticipates even more after that.”

    “Currently the company has about 25 employees in Bridgeport and plans to hire 12 additional employees within the next couple weeks. As they grow, Goodison said he anticipates a workforce of 75 people by the end of two years.”

    This doesn’t sound good at all. A $3 million contract over 5 years, to cover the salaries and expenses of 75 employees in addition to other cost of running and maintaining a business going forward. This news raises more questions and concerns: It sounds like most of these jobs are actually part-time or seasonal jobs. If business wasn’t so good in Rhode Island, what is the worth of J. Goodison Company Inc.? Is this an expansion of J. Goodison Company Inc.? If so, again what is the company worth? How much cash and assets does the company own?

    “Derecktor still has a large amount of equipment and materials on the site that can’t be moved until the U.S. Federal Bankruptcy Court settles the case.”

    “Because the court has been “so slow,” Eversley said the port authority is not only missing out on owed rent but also future rent from new tenants.”

    “It’s a double-edged sword against Bridgeport’s neck,” Eversley said. “All we can do is wait. And complain.”

    The Speedy Gonzalez OIBitchslapping Co. rents property from Lennie Greenmaldi Properties LLC. OIBitchslapping Co., declares and files banckruptcy and fails to pay the rent to Greenmaldi Properties who then evicts OIBitchslapping for non payment of rent. OIBitchslapping leaves behind a stockpiles of white gloves and OIBricks after getting evicted and fails to remove its supplies left behind after receiving notices from Greenmaldi Properties. Everything left behind is considered abandoned property–the white gloves are donated to local churches in Bridgeport and the Bricks are donated to people in Easton, Connecticut. Why in hell is the City of Bridgeport still holding property that is abandoned by the former renter/tenant, who doesn’t own the building or land? Why didn’t the City include language in it lease/rental contract to avoid these kinds of situations in the first place? Is it really the court’s fault? If it were a poor person who couldn’t pay the rent on an apartment, all their property and belonging would be thrown on the street or hauled away by the City.

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  4. “All we can do is wait. And complain.”

    This is the statement/admission of the century.

    The city waits, crime takes a foothold and the city complains the CT Post is to blame for reporting acts of crime.

    The zoning board turns down a marijuana-growing facility proposal for the time being and the mayor complains it’s the commissioners’ fault development is stalled.

    We are still waiting and complaining for the economy to get better, but continue to tax and spend.

    We at OIB continue to wait and complain and that makes us pain in the asses and negativity-spewing jerks.

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    1. Joel, who or what wound you up today? Better yet, what the hell are you rambling about? Is it just me or is there actually someone out there reading your posts who can make heads or tails of what your point is?

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      1. It’s just you as always. Maybe you’re the one who put together the language of the lease agreement between the City of Bridgeport/Port Authority and Derecktor.

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  5. Wow. What a guy. Four and a half years later and ole Don quits sleeping around and pulls in something, maybe. If we multiply his salary times all those days, months and years, I wonder what the cost of this single development actually has cost Bridgeport taxpayers. Way to go, cool guy …

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    1. Wow, somebody (Baffled in Bridgeport) is finally doing some real basic math! You can take quite a number of the career staffers in “Economic Development” and use the same formula. Then, the cost of this vacant lot on Bridgeport Harbor goes up exponentially. What always baffled me is, with all the economic development accomplished in Stamford, they had only ONE City Planner on their staff!

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  6. Well, that’s very interesting.

    The Port Authority put out a Request for Proposals regarding the shipyard earlier this year. Eversley was involved in his capacity as the then-head of economic development. Several companies responded, amongst them the one I work for. I conceived and wrote the proposal for my firm, so I know the details of what the requirements were. The final selection process involved meeting with a selection committee to discuss the proposals. These meetings took place at City Hall Annex. Eversley was at those meetings. I found his questions somewhat bizarre at the time, though I chalked it up to lack of knowledge of the subject at hand.

    My company, a Connecticut-based corporation with as about as solid financials as you can find, proposed a two-part plan which would have seen us utilize one part of the property, with the old Carpenter Steel building leased out to multiple tenants at incredibly attractive rates (the concept being to lure business to the yard). The major percentage of those lease payments would have gone to the PA. The potential upside to the PA was larger than anything they’ve ever realized from the site.

    Before the selection was made two curious things occurred. First, Goodison called us and said they had the inside line to get selected. This puzzled us, as we know Goodison and they have no money and about 10 employees in Rhode Island, where they are based. A key part of the Request for Proposals was the ability to guarantee a total amount of revenue contained in the proposal to the PA in the form of a financial surety, be it an irrevocable letter of credit, a cash deposit or whatever. Even for us, who have sterling credit lines, this was not an insignificant requirement. We were baffled Goodison could even approach being qualified in this respect.

    The second curious thing that happened before the selection was revealed to interested parties was that Eversley left his position and the new guy was announced as head of OPED.

    Now we have Eversley stating he worked FOR FOUR YEARS TO GET GOODISON INTO THE SHIPYARD. So what was this Request for Proposals all about? Was this game rigged from the start? Somebody is lying here. Either the entire process was corrupt and Goodison is being allowed to skate the financial requirements or Eversley is lying about his ‘heroic’ efforts to secure Goodison. Or maybe both.

    I’m torn whether we should have attorneys look into this further or thank God we didn’t get dragged into the sewer of corruption and crony politics that is the City of Bridgeport.

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    1. Interesting Hadrian, indeed interesting. This sound like the game the City of Bridgeport played on the selected Steel Point Developer Alex Conroy. Notify the federal authorities is all I can suggest. This article left me with more questions than answers–especially the financials of Goodison. Can you answer some of the questions I raised? Like is a $3 million, five-year contract enough to run such a facility with a workforce of 75? How many of the Goodison employees in RI are actually family members of his? Paging Godiva2011, is there anything you can tell us about the comment by Hadrian?

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    2. If I were you I wouldn’t bother with the attorneys, but I would report it to the Feds. You never know, there might be an investigation in the works and this would be just one more nail in someone’s coffin.

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  7. *** Apparently it sounds like a little bit of both, no? A little premature boasting from Eversley and no real letter of credit produced as of yet from Goodison. All with the potential of the P/A and company ending up with egg on their faces in the near future! Sounds like things may have gone from bad to thank god there, Hadrian! ***

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  8. *** Well Booty, that certainly puts a bit of a spin on things. This whole P/A maritime business venture may end up having problems passing the old sight, smell, taste, etc. type of pretest needed to continue, no? *** BEWARE ***

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  9. Periodically I have to take a “time out” from OIB because it seems to be the dominated by several incredibly negative people … Most notably Grin Reaper and Joel Gonzalez.

    Derektor went bankrupt. They are pieces of shit as all of their suppliers and employees will attest. No collusion or malfeasance on the City’s part.

    Goodison comes in and in a very brief timeframe is doing well and forecasting they will grow.

    Yet bankruptcy atty. Gonzalez is unhappy and scours the internet to find a lawsuit that went against them as evidence. He then stupidly assumes the recent $3 million contract is all the revenue they will generate in five years.

    I know that most, myself included, do not use our real names and I do not know who Grin Reaper is. Other than being snarky and clever with a phrase, what is his field of expertise, what does he do for a living that makes him all-knowing on all matters municipal?

    With JG, all I know is he cut his finger off to make a point. That suggests to me he’s somewhat unbalanced but I could certainly be wrong … Again, I would love to know what he has accomplished that makes him so all-knowing.

    As to Hadrian … If he was one of the participants in this RFP process, he might as well use his real name. Frankly he sounds like a disgruntled suitor. Fortunately he will not have to wallow in this sewer. If he had a case, he would have brought in the attorneys.

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    1. Here’s some more negativity:
      Goodison signed a temporary lease for the space, but his bid to take up a longer lease on the site of the former Derecktor Shipyards was accepted by the Bridgeport Port Authority in a competitive process conducted this summer.

      “… in a competitive process …” Tell that to the better financed and prepared companies who were turned down. Like the one Hadrian mentioned.

      “To us, it’s a tremendous facility,” Goodison said. “To have deep water access, close to New York City. It was an opportunity of a lifetime. It was something we didn’t look for, but when we realized we could go down there we put a lot of effort into our proposal.”

      “… It was something we didn’t look for …”

      Eversley spent over four years with a company that wasn’t looking for a location. It just happened to be one in RI, where Eversley originally worked and lived before coming to Bridgeport. Notice this part from Goodison: “… but when we realized we could go down there we put a lot of effort into our proposal.” He (Goodison) had no desire and no proposal to come to Bridgeport. Only when someone reassured him he “could go down there” did he put the effort into his proposal.

      The RFQ and the RFP was just a formality. Funny how the likes of Denis OMalley and Godiva2011 feel I’m all negative. I mostly quote, copy and paste what the very people they protect write and say–I then point out inconsistencies and obvious (to me) attempts to mislead and exaggerate.

      Read more: www .ctpost.com/local/article/R-I-company-looking-to-reopen-Bridgeport-shipyard-3805321.php

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  10. Denis OMalley,
    It seems what we have here with this story is an “opportunity” for the City, to follow the current “problem” that is Derektor. Is that how you see it?

    By problem I mean the loss of jobs, of local expenditures, of payments to the City, etc. caused by the Derektor bankruptcy, to say nothing of the apparent lack of authorization in City documents to allow the City to move on, in this event, by clearing the site of “assets of a bankrupt entity.”

    The opportunity in this case is to find a replacement business that is fiscally strong and ready to commit for this special property in order to provide jobs for Bridgeporters, a flow of dollars to suppliers and workers, and money for the City as budgets contemplate. In that regard, I am interested in what Hadrian reports, in the form of fiscal curiosity: instead of terming him a “disgruntled suitor,” don’t you want to know how strong Goodison really is? (“have no money and about 10 employees in Rhode Island where they are based …” gives me a reason to investigate.) How capable of fulfilling expectations created? What is their business plan, when Congress finally gets to, or is forced to, look at all of the Federal budget, and cuts begin to be made?

    If I am in a profitable revenue-generating and growing business I may answer RFPs but when competitors (whom I have knowledge of and who appear to be in a less strong position than I believe I am) win an award, it is better for me to move on to the next opportunity often than to fight, especially where government is concerned. Businesses do not make regular money by retaining attorneys and suing because it is not part of their profit-making business plan. It is an activity for treating major wounds and has expensive and major risks in use of time, money and focus.

    I have come from BEACON2 to John Marshall Lee earlier this year. Perhaps you would like to use your real name, too? Then we might observe whom it is who is so “unhopeful” regarding some OIB posters. In regard to this story, where does your hope reside? Time will tell.

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  11. The people of Bridgeport have a right to be skeptical of large-scale redevelopment projects. There have been so many failures. Even one or two of the successes haven’t been too swell (see Crossroads Mall).

    Joel is a former alderman who has tried to make his neighborhood better in the city. He is more knowledgeable than many. He keeps up on issues. If only more did.

    One of the things Bridgeport has done poorly is properly vet potential developers. That one thing has led to some outrageous failures in redevelopment. Time after time the city has been victim to characters who could not deliver on their promises.

    Representatives for the City of Bridgeport should always be ready to fully explain why a suitor for development is qualified and capable of doing a contract. The city knows that on at least two levels. First, you’re supposed to do it anyway in an elected government. Second, city officials have screwed up so royally in the past, no one wants to believe anything they say. They have to take the extra time to explain things if they want it accepted.

    Joel’s questions sound very much like common sense if you are a resident of Bridgeport. He is not taking anything on face value. That is a good policy. That is good business.

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  12. “Good grief, people. Can anyone give Eversley some credit? Maybe this is also a good deal for the city.”

    This column is not a cartoon strip, Lucy. The subject is Bridgeport, not Donald Eversley.

    And since when do you provide credit for something you know precious little about? Oh, I forgot your GOOD GRIEF. Flashback to Peanuts where Lucy promised to hold the football so Charlie Brown could kick it. And what happened when Charlie, that trusting soul, went for the ball? He landed on his behind and Lucy laughed at his predicament.

    As Jim Callahan said, we have a long line of failed expectations around development in the City. It is good to ask questions. It is reasonable to expect factual responses with complete details at each stage of a venture. It is wise to investigate information that appears to portray weakness or is contrary to what has been assumed.

    When it is determined to be “a good deal for the city,” praise, rewards, including perhaps a statue at Shark Park may be in order. So don’t disparage folks with info that questions or probes for more info. That’s intelligent. Eversley has been receiving paychecks and benefits for about four years, right? Isn’t that credit enough until the questions are answered and the City is shown to be a winner? By the way, if you provide credit do you also critique less satisfactory endeavors? What would you say to Don about the Black Rock Bank & Trust building? Purchased by the City before Don got here for about $640,000 with multiple failed deals, is moving/has moved out of City ownership to a private developer for about $200-250,000 with more money required to get it opened and taxpaying. How many years of taxes did the City lose on ownership? How did they finance the purchase? If with debt, how long will we be paying on this? Economic development is the subject. Who has the answers? anna? Time will tell.

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    1. If you’re so concerned about answers why don’t you go talk to Eversley? We’re drowning in your pedantic drool. I can’t believe this, I’m agreeing with yahooy! Blech.

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  13. JML and JG,
    As I understand it, it is a temporary lease until the Derecktor bankruptcy settles. Also there are to be multiple tenants on this site, not just Goodison.

    Looking at the Goodison website, I see they are a GSA contract holder. That supports the Coast Guard contract and other federal entities. I don’t think it would go to a corrupt organization but I could be wrong. “Time will tell.”

    As to Hadrian, of course he/she is a disgruntled suitor. Do you know what their RFP response was? Why are you so willing to accept what he says at face value? If he were correct in his allegations, then go to the feds and somebody should go to jail. Otherwise–disgruntled suitor.

    If Hadrian’s proposal was so great and they had great financial backing, why didn’t they get the deal? Do you really think it’s “crooked?”

    Lastly, I don’t use my name because I don’t want to take the grief. To that end I give JML full credit.

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    1. I’m hardly a disgruntled suitor. What I am is a business person, and as a business person, when submitting a response to an RFP issued by a government entity, have a reasonable expectation that the process is fair and transparent and that the rules contained within it are followed.

      If Donald Eversley knew Goodison and had been trying for four years to ‘get them into’ Bridgeport, that’s just fine with me. What isn’t fine with me is that the same Donald Eversley was in charge of the RFP process and a member of the selection committee, without ever disclosing this relationship with one of the proposers. This is a clear conflict of interest and taints the entire process, not only for me but for the other proposers as well.

      As to my ‘allegations,’ the only allegation I make is what I just stated: the process was tainted if this relationship between Eversley and Goodison is factual, as it was not disclosed. Eversley should have recused himself from the selection process.

      In regards to the temporary lease of Goodison, there was absolutely no provision within the RFP for such an arrangement. Don’t take my word for it, the RFP itself is on the OPED website for anyone to read. If all the other proposers knew there could be such an arrangement then the very structure of their proposals could have, and likely would have, changed. I know mine would have.

      Goodison is not a bad firm, just a very small one with limited resources and limited abilities. I hope, for their sake, that they succeed and have no issue with them.

      I do have an issue with a city process that is not transparent.

      Lastly, in my original comments regarding this I called the City of Bridgeport a cesspool. I referred to the government and politics of Bridgeport, not the city itself. I’m quite fond of the city, am a former resident and still have ties to it. The city itself has great bones, as they say in the real estate business and it is unfortunate the place has such a bad reputation for crony politics.

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      1. Hadrian, thanks for your insight. But what relationship did Eversley have with Goodison? Did he once work for the company? Simply being familiar with the company from his days in Providence is not a conflict. What’s the conflict in the decision-making process?

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        1. Actively recruiting a firm for four years to locate to Bridgeport (Eversley’s statement, not mine), and then not disclosing that to other proposers and being on the selection committee IS a conflict of interest. If you do not understand that you are quite dim. The appearance of favoritism is obvious and could have been avoided entirely if Eversley had recused himself from the selection process.

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          1. So after actively recruiting the firm for four years to locate in Bridgeport, he’s supposed to turn around and say I didn’t actively recruit them when I was actively recruiting them? I guess I am dim. You want full disclosure from him. In the spirit of full disclosure who are you and what is the name of the firm you represent?

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          2. No, in a situation such as existed he simply should have recused himself from the selection process. Nothing more, nothing less.

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  14. *** Anna’s right, let’s give this some time to unfold and see what lies under the covers. But you must admit, OIB does have just cause to be skeptical, no? *** TO BE CONTINUED … ***

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    1. Below is the link to the RFP from the Bridgeport Port Authority (don’t click yet). From Denis OMalley: “With JG, all I know is he cut his finger off to make a point. That suggests to me he’s somewhat unbalanced but I could certainly be wrong … Again, I would love to know what he has accomplished that makes him so all-knowing.” I’ll briefly respond just so you can be a little at ease. The finger matter is one thing that threw and continues to throw people off. Often, the first thing it does is throw them off topic. The same way you think of me, based only on the finger matter, many pols felt the same, especially when I got elected to the City Council in 1995. He is just a crazy dumb Puerto Rican. I was crazy enough to dare stand up to all those trying to pull a fast one on me or my fellow council members. Anyone who may have thought I was dumb soon found out otherwise. I served during one of the best periods the city ever saw. The Ganim administration set out to develop the Steel Point Peninsula and appoint a Developer Selection Committee. Steel point was in the 131st district were I was one of the Council persons. When Joe Ganim named the committee members, I nor my district colleague were selected, but Lydia Martinez of the 137th was. Immediately, I protested and questioned why (I knew why) a council member of the 131st was not selected. I was added to the committee. From the begining I could see one of the developers out of the three who passed the preliminary screening was tied-in. Dennis Murphy gave it away when he constantly tried to convince me that Developer was the best. I did the best job I could to make sure the best developer was selected and Alex Conroy was hands down the best. We all should know the rest of the story.

      Lennie, you remember when Santa Ayala rejected the Mary-Jane Foster petitions. Keila Torres interviewed her and reported what her (Santa Ayala’s) answers were. During the court trial, some of the same questions were asked of Santa and she gave a different answer than she gave Keila Torres. What I’m getting to here is if anyone asks Goodison or Eversley about what the newspaper reporters wrote, they will say they said something different. I never said four years, I said four weeks. That’s not what I said! Can’t accuse them or charge them with perjury. It would be a different situation if the feds asked the questions. We can’t subpoena records of any kind to get to the bottom of things. I believe what the CT Post reporters wrote is what was said. One thing that is odd here is if Eversley was actively recruiting Goodison for four years, why didn’t Eversley put out the RFQ/RFP four years ago if the city wanted someone for the site, but instead waited until April of 2012? He definitely knew Derecktor had plans to leave prior to setting out to recruit or did everything possible for Derecktor to fail or move out. Trust me when I say I’ve tried to find reasons to explain this. I would love to be able to say: This is great! But upon reading the articles and reading the comments from Hadrian, it doesn’t smell right–smells fishy.

      As for Hadrian, I’m okay with your decision to use a handle to protect your identity. They (the city) have an idea as to who you may be better than any of us. They know who submitted an RFP and competed for the site. Having said that, it would be nice if you let us know the name and number of Companies that submitted an RFP to the Port Authority. I can’t find any news article or information on this (Shsssssss).

      Just in case you or your client looks into the matter and have to FOI documents from the city, pay close attention to what’s called Proprietary Information. Proprietary Information can’t be requested or released under FOI rules. But be suspicious of this as there is no way of one knowing if the information is really proprietary and this is a way the City Attorney’s office is likely to try to pull a ‘fast one’ on you. Not bad for a crazy, finger-cutting, dumb Puerto Rican, eh?

      www .bridgeportct.gov/OPEDExecutive/Documents/Bridgeport%20Port%20Authority%20RFP%20for%20Shipyard.pdf

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  15. One last thing. You may all believe J. Goodison and the folks at the Bridgeport Port Authority know all there is to be known about ships and ports. I question whether they know loose lips sink ships. If you sink all the ships, what would we need the port for?

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  16. Joel et al.,
    Let’s hope they know something about business. The city would get the property tax on the land anyway, so the lease price should be at least equal to the property tax. Then you have this. If the city sold the land it could put that money in the bank and collect interest or pay off debt obligations and save that interest. So the lease price should consider that. Then you have the cost of employing all the people who arrange and oversee the lease and wear and tear on the buildings (depreciation). The lease price should consider that. All those factors (costs) plus 10% (profit). That should be the lease price. Cities shouldn’t really engage in this kind of business because they are just not very good at it. Sell the property, reducing your liability, and let whoever buys it pay taxes. That is the business of government.

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