Fish Pier Authority advances shore-power, pier-replacement plans and grant applications

The Portland Fish Pier Authority spent the majority of its meeting detailing infrastructure projects and grant strategies for the Portland Fish Exchange and Fish Pier.

Phil, who delivered the facilities update, said the shore-power upgrade contract incurred a change order "for just over $12,000," bringing the project to "about $337,000" and that materials are due to arrive in April. "That change order was for just over $12,000. So we're up to about $337,000 for it now," Phil said.

Staff and subcommittee reports described multiple grant applications now in process. Heather said the city has submitted three applications (two split to address each service peer) and expected reviewer feedback by early summer. She summarized one grant program as reimbursement-based with a 5% local match and said it could fund projects in the tens of thousands up to the low hundreds of thousands for some awards. "We only have to provide 5% match," Heather said, adding the reimbursement structure requires city planning for cash flow.

The board discussed a multi-year timeline for replacing two service piers. Staff referenced Tech Associates' inspection and recommended design work; the board described the full replacement cost for two service piers as a ballpark of about $4.8 million and discussed staging, bidding and permitting timelines that could stretch over several years. Phil described the procurement steps: design by Tech Associates, public bid package, pre-bid meeting and public award.

Members also considered resiliency elements to include in grant applications. Tracy and others raised solar panels to offset rising electricity costs at exchange facilities, while the chair discussed a "wave attenuator" to reduce storm wave energy on the piers and extend expected service life. The authority is also moving forward on operational items tied to infrastructure work: arranging signage and limited closure of service piers during construction, and planning site security improvements (fiber and cameras) next budget year.

Other operational updates in the same discussion thread included the PFE's pursuit of an intern to support social media and website improvements, plans to start scallop counts at the exchange, and staff outreach on derelict vessels and Cozy Harbor operations.

Why it matters: the projects discussed are major capital and resilience investments that affect pier operations, tenant access and local fishing businesses; grant awards and design work will determine whether projects can proceed on the expected timetable.

Next steps: staff will move ahead with Tech Associates for design/purchase-order processing, finalize grant follow-ups with grantor agencies, interview intern candidates and prepare procurement documents to post bids once grant awards are confirmed.