Riverport Authority meets, problems continue By JOE REDMON The Meade County Riverport Authority met Dec. 4 in regular session. Chairman Don Bewley and members Joe Wright, Greg Hager, Clark Hardsaw and Edd Pike addressed funding concerns appearing on the agenda. An issue arose over the mixing of private money with public money in the construction of the road leading to the port. Chairman Bewley contends there is money to start, but an agreement with the Meade County/Brandenburg Industrial Authority over the exact location of the road hasn’t been reached. Consultant Flint Group representative Deanna Sanders agreed to check into that and report. The authority discussed updating its business plan, now that the county owns 550 acres including and adjoining to the port. During the chairman’s briefing, it became clear there is money to get started on the construction of the road and there exists an anxious partner (Consolidated Grain & Barge) as well as plans for an ethanol plant on the site. It is time to build a road, according to Bewley. When questioned about the cooperation between the Riverport Authority and the Industrial Authority, it was quickly apparent there was none. When asked who was responsible to effect such cooperation when the parties couldn’t seem to reach basic agreements on how to proceed, the answer from Chairman Bewley was, “the judge executive.” The judge executive attended the Riverport Authority meeting but had no comment. The chairman of the Industrial Authority, David Pace, was notified of this meeting but couldn’t attend, and no other members of the Industrial Authority were in attendance. The Riverport Authority and the Industrial Authority have similar missions, share an interest in developing the same property, and must pursue similar federal and state funds to build roads on the same property. The task now at hand is finding a way to accomplish these goals.
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