On Tuesday, September 26, the Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority convened its regular monthly meeting after an August break. During his opening comments, Port Commission Chairman Ric Campo applauded Commissioner Roy Mease, who is stepping down at month end as Port Commissioner representing the City of Pasadena, Texas.

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Congressman Wesley Hunt attends the Port Houston Commission meeting to personally express sincere appreciation for Port Houston and the Houston Ship Channel. He underscored that he and local members of Congress work together for the benefit of the community and the greater good of the Houston region. (Photo: Business Wire)

Chairman Campo commended Commissioner Mease’s years of service and dedication to Port Houston, and added that the Pasadena City Council had appointed International Longshoremen Association Union leader Alan A. Robb to succeed Commissioner Mease, effective October 1.

In attendance at the public meeting were community members, non-profit groups, and representatives from industry and maritime partners including the Houston Pilots and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – but a meeting highlight was the appearance of Congressman Wesley Hunt.

Congressman Hunt shared that he was there to personally express his sincere appreciation and support for Port Houston and the Houston Ship Channel, underscoring that he and the members of the local Congress delegation “all work together doing things for the benefit of our community and the greater good of the Houston region.”

Chairman Campo thanked Congressman Hunt for his leadership of recent bipartisan efforts to provide for $24 million Community Funded Project funding, to support the ongoing work of the Houston Ship Channel expansion – Project 11.

In his staff report that followed, Executive Director Roger Guenther remarked that Project 11 continues to move forward: work on the Bayport Channel will be finished later this year, and the 27 miles of ship channel improvements through Galveston Bay should be fully completed by the end of 2024. “This project is vital for commerce, jobs, and – overall – for the future of our region,” Guenther stressed.

Chairman Campo emphasized Port Houston’s mission to create jobs and economic prosperity, remarking that “The most important job is that one job a person gets to support his or her family.”

During his staff report, Guenther updated progress on the community outreach work supporting Project 11. As first noted earlier to the Port Commission, Port Houston staff was looking forward to meeting with scientists and engineers representing the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, and community members, with the shared goal of alignment on the facts of dredged material handling and the other work done in the Channel.

Guenther said, “The Port Houston team has been working with our Federal partners, is ready for that meeting, and welcomes the opportunity to have continued dialogue.”

Other highlights of Guenther’s report included a review of Port Houston’s recent business success, and its progress on landside and waterside investments, that continue to keep up with the growth in container and multi-purpose cargo calling the region.

Port Houston’s latest cargo business report can be found here.

The next Port Commission meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 24, at 9:00 a.m. CT.

About Port Houston

For more than 100 years, Port Houston has owned and operated the public wharves and terminals along the Houston Ship Channel, including the area’s largest breakbulk facility and two of the most efficient container terminals in the country. Port Houston is the advocate and a strategic leader for the Channel. The Houston Ship Channel complex and its more than 200 private and eight public terminals is the nation’s largest port for waterborne tonnage and an essential economic engine for the Houston region, the state of Texas and the U.S. The Port of Houston supports the creation of nearly 1.5 million jobs in Texas and 3.37 million jobs nationwide, and economic activity totaling $439 billion in Texas and $906 billion in economic impact across the nation. For more information, visit the website at PortHouston.com.

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