The Cole and Callaway county commissions have joined the Jefferson City Council in supporting the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce's effort to move forward with efforts to find funding for a regional port district on the Missouri River.
The two bodies gave approval during their separate meetings Tuesday.
The Cole County Commission approved its participation by a 2-1 vote.
"It's the best idea to take advantage of what the river offers," said Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher. He and Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman voted in favor.
Western District Commissioner Kris Scheperle voted against the measure, saying while he supports the port idea, he is concerned about the money requested by the chamber for the port authority capital improvements and design work.
"If we're going to design something, let's do it all at once, not just 20-30 percent at a time," Scheperle said. "Great ideas don't rely totally on government funding. There should be private funding that could help."
The commission approved the $150,000 the chamber requested, and it appears that money will come out of the county's general revenue fund.
Callaway County commissioners unanimously approved a motion to form the port authority and adopt the bylaws.
A second motion on approving the chamber's request for $75,000 for planning and design work was denied, with Presiding Commissioner Gary Jungermann and Eastern District Commissioner Randall Kleindienst voting "no" and Western District Commissioner Roger Fisher voting "yes."
The Jefferson City Council unanimously approved a resolution Monday authorizing a partnership between the city, Cole County and Callaway County to establish the regional port district, which will be called the Heartland Port Authority of Central Missouri. The council also approved a bill that uses $150,000 from Sales Tax F for the port authority capital improvements and design work.
The two counties and city are asking for roughly $900,000 in grant money from the Missouri Department of Transportation to do preliminary planning of the port, Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce President Randy Allen said. If they receive it, the entities will provide a 20 percent match. Jefferson City and Cole County would pay $75,000 each, and Callaway County would pay $37,500.
Jungermann suggested Callaway County commit to only the $37,500 - and only if the grant goes through. He and Fisher voted in favor of this approach, while Kleindienst voted against.
"I am in definite favor of the port; it just comes down to dollars and cents," Jungermann said. "I would feel much better, personally, looking at more of a guarantee that the grant's coming through. I really feel I need to be able to answer to my constituents in some way."
Allen said the vote allows the grant application process to continue, which is a step in the right direction, and the chamber will continue discussions with the Callaway County Commission if the grant isn't secured.
"At some point, I think you would tell your taxpayers, 'This is an investment," Allen said.
If the grant isn't approved, Jungermann said, the issue of more funds can be revisited, but "it's going to be tough to get anything additional from me," he added.
The next step in the process will be a public hearing July 26, and an application will go to MoDOT, which could decide whether to approve it by September.
Each of the entities could appoint three people to the nine-member port authority.
If they do not receive the grant, each government entity would pay double the amount.
"If we get the grant, then we can move forward a lot faster," Allen said. "I think we're looking at a project that would be done in three to four phases."
There are two options proposed for building a port. The first would build a port on the Missouri River in southern Jefferson City, adjacent to the Missouri National Guard Ike Skelton Training Facility. The second option would build ports on the site in southern Jefferson City and on a site along the Missouri River near OCCI Inc. in Callaway County. Dry bulk commodities would be handled at the south site using conveyor systems, while commodities moved by crane would be handled at the north site.
Building only on the south side of Jefferson City would cost at least $54.77 million, while the combined option would cost approximately $59.5 million.
There would be an additional $10 million cost for roadway improvements and $1 million to pay for engineering and planning services to build those roads, according to information provided to the three governing bodies.
The Callaway County Commission, Cole County Commission, Jefferson City Council and the chamber hired Atlanta consultancy firm Cambridge Systematics last year to conduct a feasibility study of a Missouri River port. The study found the port could have a significant economic impact on the area and potentially create more than 4,000 jobs over 25 years.
Fulton Sun reporter Helen Wilbers contributed information to this article.