There is an article in the Eureka Times-Standard about this meeting. Here is the link:

[www.times-standard.com]

I have pasted the first part of the article below for easy reading. Follow the link for the full article.


The international financial firm Goldman Sachs and Co. wants to market the North Coast's dilapidated railroad and underutilized port to investors interested in making them another gateway for California goods.

As other ports like Long Beach and Oakland near capacity, there will be a strong need to increase handling capability for Pacific Rim goods, Goldman Sachs Vice President for Public Sector and Infrastructure Banking Jeffrey Holt wrote in a May 9 letter to the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District.

Humboldt Bay could be a natural gateway for exports of Central Valley produce and commodities, Holt wrote, and for extra container capacity. But without public funds to improve the infrastructure, private equity will be needed, he wrote.

Holt wrote that some $60 billion worth of investment capital in pension funds around the world is looking for long-term infrastructure as investments. Goldman Sachs wants to drum up that money for the district through an auction or other process.

”Making the improvements to the port and rail assets will potentially bring thousands of jobs to the region, including jobs in warehousing, distribution centers and light manufacturing,” Holt wrote.

The harbor district on Thursday voted 3-2 to enter into negotiations with Goldman Sachs to be a financial advisor, after hearing a presentation from the company's representatives. The proposed agreement would come back to the board
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for approval.