JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The second company to place a bid for the development of the Shipyards faces violations in unpaid fees from the Occupational Safety Health Administration.
Shitaki Marine Enterprises came forward in hopes to develop the shipyards property in downtown Jacksonville. They proposed a plan Friday to the Downtown Investment Authority to develop a facility that would be a dock for super-yachts--catering to the extremely wealthy. However, Shitaki Marine Enterprises has multiple violations with the OSHA that, unpaid, total to about $10 thousand.
News4Jax spoke with Eric Smith, the attorney representing the Shitaki Marine General Counsel.
"These are business issues that come up. You deal with them either in court or outside of court, and move on, it goes with the price of doing business," said Smith.
There are two violations still outstanding with OSHA-- one for $600 and another for over $10 thousand.
However, Shitaki Marine has a possible selling point in that they have offered to pay for the cleanup of the shipyards if the city offers them the land at a reduced rate.
While Iguana Investments is asking for $13 million from the city in cleanup costs, Smith does not believe the OSHA violations will be an issue.
"I don't think these things will affect our proposal. If they do, just fine. We'll do other things," said Smith.
This proposal is currently being debated by the downtown investment authority. A decision is expected to be reached in the next month or two.