County authorizes staff to pursue federal port‑infrastructure grant with CHS, subject to legal sign‑off

The Muscatine County Board of Supervisors on May 18 voted unanimously to allow county staff to proceed with a federal Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) grant application in partnership with CHS, a nationwide farmer cooperative.

CHS representatives, including Kyle Carlson (director of state government affairs) and Roger Baker (vice president overseeing the project), told the board the Muscatine‑area dry fertilizer/port facility — originally built in 1968 — is at the end of its useful life and requires substantial upgrades for safety, efficiency and flood resilience. CHS estimated the facility rebuild at roughly $33 million and said an upgraded site would provide roughly 10–15 seasonal jobs and expanded storage (on the order of 46,000 tons of dry storage).

CHS said it is seeking a public sponsor because PIDP requires a public‑entity applicant; CHS would be the private operator and intended recipient of funds as a pass‑through arrangement. In the presentation CHS described the PIDP program as a competitive, multi‑round federal grant program (transcript referenced totals of up to $450 million in available funding), and CHS and its grant writer said they were close to a complete application but needed the county as the eligible applicant. There was some inconsistency in dollar figures on the record: the meeting agenda listed $1,250,000, while CHS and consultants later discussed applying for a small‑project carve‑out that could reach $11.2 million; staff noted the application and MOU drafts still needed final numbers and legal review.

County staff and the board emphasized due‑diligence needs: the county attorney and staff asked to review all application assurances and the draft memorandum of understanding and said any authorization should be contingent on satisfactory legal and administrative review. CHS and its consultants agreed to provide drafts and to accept reasonable edits.

After that exchange the board voted 5–0 to authorize county staff to continue working with CHS on the application and to empower the chair to sign the MOU if it met the county’s legal and staff review standards. Staff said they would return final drafts and negotiate post‑award public‑private partnership terms only if the grant is awarded.

What happens next: CHS will share application materials and a draft MOU for county review as the group finalizes its June 1 application. If Muscatine County becomes the award recipient, the county and CHS will negotiate a more detailed P3 agreement governing asset monitoring, administrative responsibilities and cost reimbursement.