Home Send Us Your Thoughts Request a Speaker Facts About Revitalization Procurement FAQs   The Port of Gulfport Restoration Program (PGRP) is pleased to provide you with this quarterly newsletter. Minority Participation More than 130 representatives from companies across the state and region attended the PGRP’s Minority Contractor Outreach event on October 6, which was sponsored by the Mississippi State Port Authority (MSPA), the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) and the Mississippi Minority Business Enterprise Center. Visit the Procurement page of PortoftheFuture.com to view the PowerPoint presentation and attendee sign-in sheets from the meeting. Representatives from MDA and other state agencies recently appeared before a joint Mississippi legislative committee studying minority business participation in public contracts, and MDA representatives discussed how the PGRP encourages minority participation and mentoring plans in its contracts. Environmental Professional Services The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has selected PBS&J for the PGRP’s 3rd Party Environmental Impact Statement - environmental professional services relating to the implementation of the Port of Gulfport Restoration Program. For more information about the PGRP’s Minority Participation Plan or the 3rd Party Environmental Impact Statement, visit the Procurement page of PortoftheFuture.com. Port of Gulfport aerial photo with simulation of redesigned terminal. Public Hearing on November 2 The Mississippi State Port Authority has filed a request with the Department of Marine Resources for reaffirmation of Phase III of an existing permit to conduct regulated activities under the provision of the Coastal Wetlands Protection Law Act, Title 49, Chapter 27, Mississippi Code of 1972. A public hearing for the proposed project will be held at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, at the Mississippi State Port Authority offices, which are located at 2510 14th Street in Gulfport, on the 14th floor of the Hancock Bank Building. The public hearing will not be a question and answer session, but will be a medium for interested parties to make comments about the previously permitted project. Phase I of this project has been completed and Phase II is currently under construction. Phase III consists of the filling of the final 24 acres. The configuration of the 24-acre fill will conform to site conditions to avoid an existing federally maintained navigation channel. In addition to the hearing, any person wishing to make comments or objections to the proposed regulated activity can submit them in writing to the Department of Marine Resources at 1141 Bayview Avenue, Biloxi, MS 39530 and the Office of Pollution Control, Post Office Box 2261, Jackson, MS 39225-2261 before 1 p.m. on November 8, 2010. Request for Ideas for a Port Loan Fund The Mississippi Development Authority and the Mississippi State Port Authority are seeking project proposals for consideration under the proposed Port Float Loan Fund Program. The Request for Ideas (RFI) is available by contacting the following office between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.: Mississippi Development Authority Attention: Daron Wilson 501 North West Street, 6th floor Jackson, MS 39201 Phone: 601-359-9176 Fax: 601-576-2506 Email: rfiquestions@mississippi.org Questions regarding this solicitation must be submitted by email to rfiquestions@mississippi.org. Questions will be received through noon Central on November 29, 2010. Responses to all questions will be distributed in writing via email or fax to all known Proposers as an amendment to the RFI by 5 p.m. Central on December 1, 2010. The submission deadline is Thursday, December 9, 2010 at 10 a.m. by mail or hand delivery to the above address. All submissions should be sealed with name, address and phone number of offeror on the outside face, along with the following words: “RFI FOR PORT LOAN FUND”. For the latest news and progress updates on the Port’s restoration program, please visit PortoftheFuture.com.