Posted on October 15, 2018
Pieces of the port puzzle continue to land on the table to await proper placement.
The Board of County Commissioners unanimously agreed Tuesday to join the Port St. Joe Port Authority in a pre-application to Triumph Gulf Coast, Inc. for funding to dredge the federally-authorized shipping channel.
The pre-application would seek $15 million of the estimated $35 million needed to dredge the shipping channel to federally-authorized depths.
The Port Authority, using roughly $1 million in grant funds from the Florida Department of Transportation, has completed design for the infrastructure needed for spoil disposal and entered into an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the actual dredge work.
The BOCC Tuesday also approved going out for bids on the dry dock project, which the Triumph board requested as the first step in understanding the true costs of the project.
A decision, any decision, by the Triumph board on the dry dock project had been sought by the county to determine what Triumph would contribute and what other pots of money must be pursued.
The county is seeking additional grant funding from the governor’s Job Growth Fund.
The dredging of the shipping channel is all but shovel ready.
Source: News Herald
