Finance Committee refers MOU with Triple R Grundy for port-slip project to full county board

Joe Phillips, speaking on behalf of Triple R (Triple R/ RRR) Grundy LLC, told the Grundy County Finance Committee the company wants to build a second river slip at its 6001 Cemetery Road port site to expand capacity and capture river-borne agricultural and bulk traffic.

The company bought the former Lyondell Equistar site in 2011 and has operated an east slip since 2014. "We wanted to build a second slip on the west end of the property," Phillips said, describing the site’s role handling cotton seed, distillers dried grains and inbound fertilizer and sand. He framed the project as a candidate for a federal port-infrastructure grant program, saying federal funds nationally amount to roughly $488,000,000 in the current funding cycle.

Phillips explained the draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) would make Grundy County the local government sponsor required by the grant program so grant proceeds could pass through county financial systems. An engineering and program manager with marine infrastructure experience—identified in the packet as Foth—would perform the day-to-day reporting and compliance tasks. "The grant requires a local government sponsor to, kinda be the vehicle where the money will pass through," Phillips said. He added the arrangement should impose minimal cost on the county beyond staff time.

The county’s Finance Director said he supported the project but reminded the committee that if a grant is awarded the contract would be to the county and thus subject to federal single-audit requirements and county oversight. He said the county added protective language to page 2 of the MOU (items I and J) to protect taxpayers and noted Foth’s role would simplify administration. When asked whether the county’s time would be reimbursed, the Finance Director said any added time would likely be modest because Foth would claim some administrative expenses; Phillips agreed.

Following discussion, Chair asked for a motion to move the MOU to the full board; the motion (mover: Deb; second: Jerry) was carried by voice vote and the item was referred to the county board for further action. The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript; the referral was made by voice vote.

The county’s next steps are formal referral to the full county board and continued coordination with the engineering firm named in the MOU. If the grant is awarded, the county will hold contract responsibility for federal reporting and single-audit compliance while Foth and the grantee will conduct most project-level grant administration.