The Callaway County Commission voted Friday to chip in toward the cost of a feasibility study for putting a port on the Missouri River.
Callaway County's portion of the costs will be $47,600, with Jefferson City, Cole County and the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce also contributing. Western Commissioner Roger Fischer and Presiding Commissioner Gary Jungermann voted in favor, while Eastern Commissioner Randy Kleindienst voted against.
"I see that this could be a big thing," Jungermann said. "If we don't do the study, we'll never know."
Kleindienst said he isn't against the idea of the port, but he doesn't currently have enough information to get fully behind it.
"The work you all are doing here is incredible, but I'm just not comfortable yet," he said.
The multimodal (multiple means of transportation, including rail and barges) port would be located near the border between Cole and Callaway counties - the feasibility study will determine the exact location.
Cambridge Systematics will conduct the study, Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce President Randy Allen said. The Missouri Department of Transportation has already contracted the company to evaluate the 14 port authorities in the state, so Cambridge Systematics is familiar with the subject.
Cambridge Systematics will do freight market analysis, site assessment and financial feasibility.
"The second part is economic impact: What would it do for the local economy, not just in terms of shipping but with businesses coming in," Allen said.
Results should be available in late September or early October, he added.
Fischer believes the impact could be enormous for both counties.
"A rising tide raises all ships," he said.
Fischer admits establishing a port facility in the area is one of his goals as a commissioner. He has a long list of businesses and industries that might use the port: clay from Callaway County, scrap steel, rebar, and a butchering and packaging plant for the area's growing farming industry.
"We've already had Pacific Rim countries expressing interest in (shipping out) corn and soybeans from the area," Fischer said.
Various businesses already have been unloading and loading barges at several points along the river in Callaway County, he added. Fischer said OCCI has a spot 2.5 miles downriver of the Missouri River bridge, Farmer Holding Company has one near its base, and Hermann Sand and Gravel loads barges 1.5 miles upstream of the bridge. Any of those places, he believes, could be developed into a commercial port.
Even if the feasibility study has positive implications, a fully fledged port is still a long way off, Jungermann said.
"It's going to take a while," Jungermann said. "It could take 15-20 years for it to potentially get to where it might be."
In the meantime, Cole and Callaway counties would develop a port authority to operate the port and work to secure state and federal funding for the project.