MARKETING WILL BE KEY AT THE PORT

SCOTT CITY -- With a condemnation suit and other legal disputes with West Lake Quarry resolved, Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority Executive Director Allan Maki told the port board Monday that the way has been cleared to mount a marketing campaign to attract tenants to the port.

"A significant impediment to development of the port has been removed," said Maki. "Now is really the time to focus on marketing. With the (land) title question cleared up, it is time to begin some aggressive marketing."

As part of an out-of-court settlement Friday, the port authority purchased 170 acres from West Lake Quarry that it previously had been leasing as part of a long-term agreement. Until the ownership question was resolved, leases with the port's first two tenants, Midwest Agri-Chemico and Girardeau Contractors, could not be finalized.

Now, with the legal questions resolved, Maki said both companies have expressed an interest in making some capital improvements on their sites.

The tenants were signed nearly one year ago.

Lanny Cook, president of Girardeau Contractors, which operates a public dock facility at the port, said he is interested in talking with the board about constructing a warehouse near the dock, Maki related.

Maki called a meeting of the board's marketing committee for next week to discuss a strategy for targeting prospects and to share information he gathered at a conference on marketing small ports that he attended recently in Houston, Texas.

Maki also reported a second- consecutive good month for moving tonnage through the port. Maki said that during February 4,503 tons had been moved through the port, which, added to 4,172 tons in January, gives a total of 8,675.

Two months into 1989 tonnage totaled 1,290. After the first two months of last year tonnage was 1,900.

For all of 1990, the port had tonnage of 28,500, Maki said. "We are one-third of the way there, and just one-sixth through the year," he said. "We're off to a good start this year, and I think we'll make our goal of 50,000 tons for this year."

He advised the board that work on the port's foreign-trade zone application was proceeding and that businesses that had expressed an interest in the zone were being interviewed about needs.

In those interviews, Maki said he observed a growing interest in container traffic through the port, which is a future priority of the port.

Maki said he hopes to have a foreign-trade-zone application submitted to the U.S. Department of Commerce before July 1. A foreign-trade-zone designation would make it easier for the port to export and import both raw materials and finished goods.