The Port of Longview Commission has formally approved a
five-year strategic plan that outlines its top priorities, including property
development and expansion, as well as improving the utilization of current port
property.
The plan focuses on five strategic areas: external
relations/economic development; regional transportation; marine terminal
operations; port administration; and land use, acquisition and development.
Among the goals stated are increasing the cash flow from
current marine terminals; implementing a capital improvement plan; developing a
community outreach program; and investigating the possibility of securing a new
port headquarters building and commission meeting space.
The commission frequently conducts its public meetings at
Longview City Hall due to a lack of space at the port.
But the perhaps biggest task outlined is the development
of the port’s 275-acre Barlow Point property, which the port recently added to
by buying a 7.5-acre sliver of land on the Columbia River in June for about $63,000.
The land, which the port bought from Millennium Bulk
Terminals, could accommodate multiple new docks.
The strategic plan, which the three-member commission
approved July 13, is long on generalities and short on specifics however, such
as funding and timelines for each of the goals listed, as well as the steps to
be taken to reach some of them.
The full plan, which is an update of a strategy devised
in 1999, can be seen at: http://www.portoflongview.com/Portals/0/Documents/Strategic%20Plan/_%20Draft%20_%20Final7-13-12.pdf
