Business View Magazine - July 2016 127
shore of Lake Worth. In 1915, industrialist and rail-
road magnate, Henry Flagler, approached General
George Goethals, the head engineer of the Panama
Canal, to oversee a construction project at the Lake
Worth Inlet, which was being used as a transshipment
point for lumber delivered by rail from Central Florida
and points north to the Miami area by barge. The Lake
Worth Inlet District, later to become the Port of Palm
Beach District, was subsequently created by the Florida
Legislature to formalize the efforts towards inlet main-
tenance. In 1935 the federal government assumed
maintenance of the inlet and its channels as part of
the Lake Worth Inlet/Palm Beach Harbor project, and
the District assumed local partner responsibilities with
the federal government for port operations.
Today, the Port of Palm Beach District is an indepen-
dent, special taxing district. It is governed by a Board
of Commissioners elected at-large by the voters within
the District. Its administration is through an Executive
Director and professional staff of approximately 50
employees. The Port is a landlord port and maintains
all piers, docks, dredging, and improvements to Dis-
trict-owned properties. The turning basins, which are
within the Inlet, are federally-owned and managed by
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Shipping and passenger services are provided by ten-
ants under long-term agreements with the Port. All
maritime services are performed through privatized,
licensed permit holders including agents, stevedores,
warehousing, and chandlers. Pilot and tug services
are also privately owned. In addition, the Port owns
and operates five miles of rail, and train operation is
done in-house by Port staff.
Manny Almira is the Port’s current Executive Director.
He talks about some of the necessary upgrades and
major improvements that the Port is now making, as
detailed in its Master Plan which lays out significant
objectives to be achieved between the years 2012
and 2022. “We are one hundred years old,” he begins.
AT A GLANCE
WHO:
The Port of Palm Beach
WHAT:
The fourth busiest port in Florida
WHERE:
Riviera Beach, Florida in Palm Beach
County
WEBSITE
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