OSWEGO — With the interim tag recently removed from his title, Port of Oswego Authority Director William Scriber says the port has made significant strides in the past year and is “moving ahead quickly” to develop the Oswego city waterfront and increase shipping and storage capacity.
Scriber was appointed interim director at the port in 2017 following the departure of former chief Zelko Kirincich. Scriber served as county Board of Elections commissioner for more than a decade before joining the port in 2009 when he was named manager of administrative services.
Following a year in which the port set records for moving grain, Scriber says plans are in development to improve infrastructure and the surrounding area.
“In just one short year we’re moving as quickly forward as we can and I suspect in the next three years, you won’t recognize the port,” Scriber said in an interview with The Palladium-Times. “We’re looking to get back to the original focus of a community center that supports the city, the county and upstate New York.”
Scriber said the port Board of Directors charged him with looking for ways to reverse the port’s declining revenue.
“It’s something that’s exciting and exhilarating to be doing and with all the plans we have moving forward and the enthusiasm from the board members, it’s a fun job because we’re creating and recreating our port,” the new director said.
The Port of Oswego Authority applied for a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) export license in 2018 and created a grading office that included facility upgrades.
As a result, the port expanded grain exports significantly: In 2017, the port exported 12,000 metric tons of soybeans and with more than a week left in 2018 the port had exported more than 51,000 metric tons of soybeans.
“Our plan is 100,000 metric ton of soybeans by 2020 and part of that plan is on-dock increased storage for grain,” he said.
In a November statement, Port Board of Directors Chair Amy Tresidder noted the port’s “large economic impact” on the area, as it supports $26.7 million in financial activity and more than 209 jobs annually.
“Our port was built in 1961 so it’s time to build some new facilities and renovate some of the existing sites,” said Tresidder. “We are committed to investing in our future.”
Scriber said he’s also seeking funding from the state Department of Transportation to create a new grain tower on the east dock and expand storage facilities to accommodate customers.
Long-term, the port is seeking to develop the waterfront and increase shipping and storage capacity, Scriber said, noting plans are in the preliminary stages but “the port is really moving ahead quickly.”
“We’re king of going in many directions,” Scriber said. “We’re entering, I believe, the most important stage we’ve ever had as far as construction, reconstruction and moving ahead.”
The Port of Oswego has seen various transformations since 1650 when trappers first came to the head of the Oswego River and traded furs.
“We’re actually focusing on the future and moving ourselves ahead and our plans are centered on this facility and the waterfront facilities to move them ahead not only for commercial but for recreational expansion and tourism,” he said.
Part of that process will include expanding the Oswego Marina, Scriber said, replacing and updating docks, which he says would likely increase boat storage.
“We’ve decided we need to start focusing on not only our commercial business but our recreational and tourism business,” Scriber said, noting plans for on-dock diesel and gas stations. “We’re at the head of the canal system and we get a lot of traffic from that.”
Scriber said the port is also developing plan for an RV park at the marina, noting boat captains have asked for one for years in the belief that it could expand business. Plans are under review from the port’s Planning and Development Committee, he said, adding it would start as a 15-site RV park that would be connected to the marina.
“When people come into town, they can do the lake fishing and have the ability to bring their campers with them and stay on-site,” he said. “They’ll be able to walk to the bars and restaurants and it will create a new economic stimulus in the area.”
As a result of high water levels in 2017, the county qualified for high-water emergency funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in part due to the roughly $6.5 million in damages the port suffered. Scriber said the port is near finalizing reconstruction plans with state officials.
“We’re looking at that for next year,” he said. “That will bring jobs and construction to Oswego because of the amount of damage we had.”
Port officials are in negotiations with the developer of the Galloo Island Wind project, according to Scriber, who said it would be a continuing operation that would use the facility throughout construction. A 30-plus-turbine wind farm is planned for Galloo Island in the St. Lawrence River and the port aims to be the conduit through which Galloo’s equipment and supplies travel.
Scriber said one windmill project of similar size several years about brought more than $2 million to the city in local labor wages.
“That obviously was a big economic boom to the city for the year and a half that project ran,” he said. “What we do here has huge economic impacts not just at the port but for everything in the city and in the county.”
The port is also potentially seeking to develop West Pier, Scriber said, noting the area not as commercially viable as it once was.
“It’s been underutilized for years and now we’re looking at possible development,” he said, including a possible performing arts center on the water.
Scriber said the port “wants to be a positive, productive supporter” of the waterfront corridor. Owning a significant amount of waterfront real estate, Scriber says development plans should focus on increasing tourism and providing opportunities for people to enjoy the waterfront.
“We’re going to make as big of an impact as we can in a positive way for the community,” Scriber said. “We’re trying to make the port and this area better.”
Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow said he was looking forward to working with Scriba as “the port in an important component of our community and the local economy.”
“We have a lot going on with the waterfront now,” Barlow said, citing the city’s recent Harbor Trail Improvement Projects and upcoming River Dock Project.
“I lookforward to hearing more about future plans the port may have and hope to work together to make the most of our lakefront property,” Barlow said.
The city of Oswego developed from the water, Scriber said, and officials are focusing on the port’s heritage and trying to put the entity back in a position to being a large commerce center that provides economic opportunity and jobs to the area.
“We are a lake-faring community and the port has been the major commerce center for that,” Scriber said. “We have a long history of being water-connected and the port has always been a central part of that.”
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