Sacramento port faces questions over governance, revenue
In an interview Wednesday, Port of Sacramento Director John Sulpizio responded to media reports of the port's looming bankruptcy and disruptive political turf wars.
Sulpizio said the port's long-term outlook is positive, despite a prolonged slump in revenue that has seen the port lose more than $5 million over the past five years. He said Sacramento is in a period of transition as it moves away from a reliance on exported timber and toward growth in dimensional lumber from New Zealand and imported cement and aggregate.
Sulpizio said the rumors of bankruptcy are unfounded. He also said that tension between officials in Sacramento, West Sacramento and two counties that lie on opposite sides of the Sacramento River over which side should have a stronger hand in governing the port only exacerbates the problems.
'When people talk about running out of cash, that assumes the do-nothing scenario,' he said, adding that the port is actively looking to divest itself of its operational function on the docks by leasing the terminal to a third party operator. One of the parties to have filed a proposal is the Port of Oakland, which could be looking to set up a short-sea shipping route with Sacramento to ease traffic on the Interstate that connects the two cities.
The port is also looking to sell a 33-acre piece of property to raise $7 million. There are currently 150 acres in the terminal and 500 acres of undeveloped land owned by the port.
'It's a bridging strategy,' Sulpizio said. 'No business can continue to sell off assets as a long-term strategy.'