27 May 2022 SE Indiana Regional Port Authority Meeting
ROLL CALL:
- Aurora: Mark Drury, Benjamin Turner (Treasurer)(ABSENT), Derek Walker
- Dearborn County: Jim Thatcher (Chairman), Tom Palmer (Secretary), Eric Kranz
- Greendale: Alan Weiss (vice Chair), Al Abdon, Angie Walters(ABSENT)
- Lawrenceburg: Kelly Mollaun( ABSENT), Lennie Fryman(ABSENT), Sarah Jordan
Also present: Andy Baudendistel, Legal Counsel
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: May 6th Meeting minutes approved
FINANCIAL REPORT/INVOICES- . CORBA Golf Outing reimbursement $440.00- Board approved to reimburse Tom Palmer who had paid the invoice. [NOTE: CORBA is the Central Ohio River Business Association. www.centralohioriverbusinessassociation.com While membership in this organization is a legitimate expense of SIRPA, it is not clear that Golf Outings would be under typical governmental financial rules. If the State Board of Accounts sees it in their audit, they can determine that.]
NEW BUSINESS:
Planning Grant Submission- Libby Ogard - President of Prime Focus LLC listed her credentials on inland Marne certification and started her carrier on trains-railroad. She worked on intermodal networks. All kinds of experience and knows a lot about truck parking. Has done a lot of planning and realized she needed to write grants. Listed several large ones she has done across the country. Ww aant more public benefit than public dollars spent. She is now independent and separate of BLN. She is a standalone business and has all the insurances we need.
Transportation Grant Submission- Prime Focus, LLC presentation
Rail Development ( in the fall) and Americas Marine Hwy Project Grant. Loans , federal, and state are the 3 types of grants. FRA manages grants on the federal tree.
Two possible site for trainload. Tanners Creek site could use container on barge with this site. It’s a much smaller footprint. The second site is near the intersection. Aurora site might be the better site with less issues to overcome.
CRISI GRANTS- Planning- Project Permitting NEPS, initial design ,and construction 20% match and nearly 2 years to do.
Issues are revolving around a source and store of revenue to match and fund this. Mission oaks and strategy were determined last year. But we have no real assets right now. We have some interesting recreation projects and the EV charging stations could provide revenue stream.
GennesseeWyoming would have to be worked with to get a revenue stream for a grant perhaps. How to use a trainload as a gateway to extend my franchise? To build a switch into the industry you need to have enough loads per week to justify it. You need to know what the revenue is needed to have an anchor tenant for the property. Then attract more customers to the properties around the line.
Container on barge 36 loads/48 empties
American Marine HWY- born in 2009- first called short sea shipping along the I-95 corridor. To take the trucks off that corridor. Now have 27 routes. Have to be on designated corridor. Need a project designation - M-70 corridor in 2018 and Robin at OKI had this set up. This was set to connect Nucor Steel in Gallatin KY with Cincinnati. $39,819,000 is available and due by June 17th and a 20% match required. SIRPA must register with SAM.gov and grants.gov to submit.
They will need to know what questions to ask. Average planning study is $315,916. You have to have site control- but you do not need site control to get a planning grant.
You can have a rail transload in 12 months. The planning grants take much longer. You also need to know that KY is doing this port work too. You need to work with each other to not spend time outcompeting each other. There is a better way to do this. Tonnage throughput, hours and miles get looked at for these grants. 10% moves on waterways in USA versus 40% in Europe.
Step 1- $15,000 for a grant application- to do a planning study and it can also be thrown back into the master plan. As a Port Authority you are already into the 3rd level. Rail trainload may provide additional freight. Ohio River is a way to get chemicals around the country. The larger planning grant for $350,000 needs a $70,000 match. Libby would then follow up and proceed with the planning.
Port Board approved $15,000 for a grant to be written by Libby Ogard and $70,000 to match for the $350,000 planning grant.
They will have to do several things right away so they get their electronic handshake set up and Libby will work with Benny Turner to get this info as he is the treasurer .
BLN - Beam Longest and Neff - Contract Discussion- BLN has been purchased and John DeDimasio has left them. Thatcher wishes to terminate that contract at this point. Board approved terminating BLN contract.
OLD BUSINESS: none
PUBLIC COMMENT none
CONFIRMATION OF NEXT MEETING Scheduled for July 15 , 2022 at 10 AM. They may see if G&W will meet then to see if they can work together up in the northern part of the county.
ADJOURNMENT - 1:45 PM
Christine Brauer Mueller
Lawrenceburg Township
