City Council Study Session

CITY OF ROCK ISLAND CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION City Council Chambers, City Hall, 3rd Floor, 1528 Third Avenue, Rock Island, IL 2/10/2025 - Minutes 1. Call to Order Mayor Pro Tem Randy Hurt called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. and welcomed everyone. 2. Roll Call Mayor Pro Tem Hurt asked City Clerk Samantha Gange to call the roll. Present: Alderpersons Randy Hurt, Randy Tweet, Jenni Swanson, Dylan Parker, Mark Poulos and Bill Healy. Absent: Alderperson Moses Robinson and Mayor Mike Thoms Staff: City Manager Todd Thompson, Attorney Leslie Day, City Clerk Samantha Gange, and other City Staff. 3. Public Comment Mayor Pro Tem Hurt asked if anyone in the public wished to speak. No one was signed up. 4. Presentations a. Alter Logistics - Port Grant Community Development Director Miles Brainard explained that the City was given a grant to undertake a planning process in order to create a Port District Master Plan, and an RFP for consulting services was opened. He went over the scope of services outlined in the RFP. Mr. Brainard concluded that the plan is expected to address how the port should exist now and into the future, as well as what it can provide long-term. Economic Development Director Tom Flaherty introduced Alter Logistics Senior Vice President Paul Ferguson. Mr. Ferguson said Alter Logistics has been working with Bob Bretell of Prosody Group to obtain federal grants for the redevelopment and expansion of the Rock Island Port and presented the grant site plan. He said the plan addressed debottlenecking the on-site logistics, thus creating the opportunity to attract and generate more business at the port. Mr. Bretell went over the items detailed in the site plan. He explained that since the port exists in a tight area and it's critical to have the infrastructure at the waterline and inside the facility, their plan includes rehabilitating the dock wall and Buzzi dock area and installing a barge progression system. He said heavy lift and impervious pads are important to transload the over-dimensional, heavy cargo, especially if the Department of Defense utilizes the port. He noted that installing a conveyor system to move materials from the dock to the facility would eliminate thousands of roundtrip truck journeys. The plan also includes rehabilitating the existing rail service and adding a new track, which would permit an increase in outbound 1 and inbound traffic. When asked whether the conveyor system would cause job loss, Mr. Ferguson explained that the trucking service is contracted out to a third party. He mentioned that the Buzzi dock area is leased to Buzzi Cement to use as an offload site and stock location, but Buzzi plans to move their stock location closer to their plant. The dock area would then be available for Alter to rehabilitate and utilize for its own operations, allowing Alter to attract more businesses. 5. Adjourn a. Motion: Motion to adjourn. VV Voice vote is needed. MOTION: Alderperson Poulos moved to adjourn; Alderperson Healy seconded. VOTE: Motion PASSED on a 6-0-1 voice vote. Aye: Healy, Hurt, Tweet, Swanson, Parker, Poulos. Nay: None. Absent: Robinson. The study session concluded at 6:12 p.m. 2