Mayor Appoints Richard Wilson As Anchorage Port Director
ANCHORAGE- Today Mayor Sullivan announced the most recent appointee to his administration. Richard Wilson enthusiastically accepted the position as Port Director. "I'm thrilled that Mr. Wilson accepted the position and I'm confident that he will work conscientiously to address the current changes and issues with the Port expansion project" said Mayor Sullivan. Wilson starts at the Port on May 14th.
Wilson served as Development Director for thirteen years during major improvements to accommodate international air cargo expansion at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.
For thirteen years before working at the Airport, Wilson served as City Administrator of St. George, Alaska. He directed port planning, financing, design, and construction as well as negotiation of dock use agreements for a new commercial fishing port in that fisheries rich region of the Bering Sea. Faced with crisis resulting from a contractor who was unable to fulfill contractual obligations, Wilson led a successful transition to finish construction under City management. Industry marketing efforts landed four seafood processors who produced and exported snow crab to world markets.
Port expansion project back on the right track
BY ANCHORAGE MAYOR DAN SULLIVAN
The Port of Anchorage may be the most important piece of infrastructure in the state of Alaska. Nearly 90 percent of merchandise goods enter the Port of Anchorage from Tacoma, Wash., serving approximately 85 percent of Alaska's population. This includes more than 250 villages and rural towns across Alaska.
In addition to the 4 million tons of goods annually transported in more than 240,000 containers, the port provides 100 percent of the jet fuel used at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson (JBER) and 65 percent of the jet fuel used at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.
The port also is a designated Department of Defense (DOD) National Strategic Seaport, and has supported more than 30 deployments and moved more than 18,000 pieces of military cargo since 2005.
I mention these statistics to underscore the importance of the Port of Anchorage Intermodal Expansion Project, a project that will upgrade our 50-year-old port, and one that certainly merits the description of being "too important to fail."
Shortly before I took office in July 2009, it was reported that there may be significant construction problems with the expansion project. For the last 2 1/2 years, my administration has worked diligently to first determine the extent of the problem and chart a path forward.
Port of Anchorage launches new website offering immediate access to information
PORT OF ANCHORAGE INFORMATION RELEASE:
Port of Anchorage launches new website offering immediate access to information.
Director of Public Relations
Lindsey Whitt
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
907-343-6205
907-632-8646
On Friday, February 3, 2012 the Port of Anchorage launched a new website at www.portofalaska.com.
The new website has 40+ pages of information regarding operations, finances, fun for the community, historical information and recent reports regarding the Port Intermodal Expansion Project (PIEP) including:
- Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)
- PIEP Quarterly Reports
- The POA Distribution Study
All of which can be found at http://www.portofalaska.com/about/press-media.html.
The general public is encouraged to keep a look out for upcoming information for the USS Anchorage LPD 23 Commissioning Ceremony blog, calendar of events and volunteer opportunities that will be posted on the website soon.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Alaska District and its contractors are currently on schedule to release a suitability study and project analysis or technical review in spring 2012.
Help welcome the USS Anchorage to Alaska!
You did it Alaska! Thanks to your commitment to our military, many of you wrote letters of support and specifically asked for the USS Anchorage commissioning ceremony to be held in the greatest state in the union, Alaska. We are proud of you, now let’s roll up our sleeves and show the crew of the USS Anchorage what we are made of!