The Missouri Department of Transportation could decide whether to approve a port authority in Jefferson City as early as this September.
That's according to the latest update from Randy Allen, president of the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce, who spoke with Callaway County commissioners Friday.
Jefferson City, Cole County and Callaway County authorities have been jointly planning a potential port in on the Missouri River, and a recently completed feasibility study points to potentially big economic benefits.
"I think a river port could do a lot of things for these two counties," Callaway County Presiding Commissioner Gary Jungermann said.
An important step to moving the project forward is establishing a port authority to run the port. That's among the things included in the joint resolution the counties and city will vote on Tuesday.
"We have all the paperwork done," Allen said.
As currently designed, each will contribute three members to the port authority, one of whom may be a county commissioner or, in Jefferson City's case, a City Council member. Those representatives may be reappointed, or new ones chosen, every three years, although there are no term limits.
If the resolution passes, there will be a public hearing July 26 and the port authority application will be submitted in mid-June, Allen said.
Also in the works is a grant application for a Better Using Investments to Leverage Development planning grant, which would help pay for things like surveying, concept design and getting National Environmental Policy Act clearances. An application is due by July 19, Allen said.
The counties and city are asking for $937,500. If they receive the grant, the entities will have to provide a 20 percent match. Cole County and Jefferson City will pay $75,000 each, while Callaway County will be on the hook for $37,500. If the grant is unsuccessful, each entity will have to pay twice that amount, which still won't cover as much planning as would be possible with the grant, according to the joint resolution.
While Jungermann likes the potential return on investment for the county, he said he's concerned about the preliminary costs.
"We can't keep throwing money into this," he said.
Allen said eventually the port authority may be able to issue bonds to help pay back the counties and city.
"We can't generate that money until the port is in operation," he said, calling it a catch-22.
The feasibility study estimates the total cost of the project could be $60 million. Allen hopes most of that sum could be covered by grants, with the port authority (not the counties and Jefferson City) shouldering the remainder. If all goes according to plan, the port eventually could bring in up to $28.4 million annually in state and local sales taxes, according to the feasibility study.
"The numbers they're throwing out there - I like the ratio, that's fine," he said. "Granted, not all of that will come back to the county. I've been through a lot of these things, and the numbers seem to never be quite as good as they looked in the study. I think the sales tax return estimates are probably high, but I hope someone can make me eat my words."
There is no set start date to begin construction.