19 November 2021 SE Indiana Regional Port Authority Meeting
Present: Jim Thatcher, Tom Palmer, Mark Drury, Benny Turner, Derek Walker, Alan Weiss, EG. McLaughlin, Sarah Jordan, and Lenny Fryman.
Also present: Mike Perleberg, One Dearborn.
John from Beam Longest and Neff went over the workshop results:
Workshop looked at 6 potential projects. Prioritized below:
Aurora Cruise Terminal and Trail
RR Transload Sites
Truck Parking
Wilson Creek Marina Larry Boyd and his group have to get revenue stream to keep up with ongoing maintenance dredging.
Tanners Creek Fleeting- lot of issues with remediation and flood plain issues.
Tanners Creek Solar/Data Center similar above issues.
Port authority can be a regional conduit for for development, funding, and management.
Leverage and Collaborate with IDEC, INDOT, One Dearborn nd Ports of Indiana. and CORBA- Central Ohio RiverBusiness Association
Monitor AEP remediation activities
Create a revolving loan project
Pursue Grant Opportunities.
Prepare an on-call Support Contact until a full time staff is justified.
Complete a Port Comprehensive Plan
Public Re-Use of the AEP site
Prepare a Strategic Grant Plan to coordinate matching funds and prioritizing projects.
NEXT Steps:
Identify OKI funding available for freight and recreational development.
The Ohio River Recreational Trail Organization would benefit from multi jurisdictional coordination/
Support a freight rail trainload project.- secure site, grant application Indiana Railroad industrial funds.
Revolving loan funds
Leverage existing freight data
Tanners CreekAEP site Remediation will require public assistance to repurpose the facility.
Comments from the board:
Thatcher asked about the Greendale property with Rail right there along Oberting Road.
McLaughlin asked about how much revenue we are generating with various projects.
Thatcher noted with limited resources we have to do it right.
The RR transload site is there already and will generate ongoing revenue per Drury.
Weiss- we are trying to establish our identity. We need exposure. Part of the insfrastructure plan is electric charging vehicles. What if we said we were setting up quick charging stations in various good locations and while they are charging they might be going to various local businesses for 45 minutes. This could have our logo on it and it could generate some income and get our name out there. We are behind the trend now- but with grants coming down the pike we could use them. Charging stations can be around $90,000 each. A certain percentage of the cost of the charge would be sent back to the Port Authority.
A discussion ensued about the possibilities of this. 3 of the 4 entities on the board have their own utilities so setting up the electric contracts could work well.
There could be a lot of different providers for this per and you can lease or pay up front etc. Beam Longest and Neff will look into some of the funding options and grants. There may be competition in the future for these stations. Also the idea of billboards along I-74 site near West Harrison DCRC sites for income.
Some issues with the RR and truck parking sites can have negative aspects too- so avoid putting them in high visibility sites.
Solar power at the charging station to ties into the grid and offset some of the electricity used.
There are railroad grants that have increased amounts available. DNR has a number of recreational grants. Freight formula funds are being increased also with regard to truck parking, charging stations, or multi-modal. Build Back Better has passed and looks like it will be $1.7 trillion. This is an unprecedented times and with matches needed.
WEbinar on the charging stations will be set up before the January meeting by Libby at Beam Longest and Neff.
The people who are transloading often handle that operation- not the Port Authority. It depends on the commodities being loaded. There should be ongoing communication.
The board approved BNL giving a proposal with costs for going forward to look into trans load- charging stations- and the master plan.
$3,744.75 paid to BLN and $17,670.50 also approved for BLN.
No progress to report on the AEP cleanup.
Adjourned at 2:10 PM
Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township
