GREEN BAY - The Port of Green Bay and Brown County have already started to pursue additional grant money to cover a $19 million increase in the cost to expand port operations.

Port officials expected it would cost about $30 million to develop a state-of-the-art port facility with convenient access to rail and interstate highways on the former Pulliam Power Plant site. A newly received engineering cost estimate put the price tag above $48.7 million, a more than 60% increase. The cost increase was attributed to increases in labor and material costs, said Dean Haen, director of the Port of Green Bay.

The expansion project could increase the port's economic activity by $87 million in the first five years after it is completed, according to estimates shared earlier this year. The project also captured the Green Bay area's attention because it could lead to the relocation of the coal piles site out of the central city, a decades-old community dream.

Construction crews have almost completed demolition of the former Pulliam Power Plant owned and operated by Wisconsin Public Service Corp. WPS started to take apart the coal-fired units on the site in October 2018 and expects to finish the job by spring 2021.

The Brown County Board this week approved the port's request to apply for a $17.6 million Harbor Assistance Grant from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The grant would require the county to provide $4.4 million in matching funds, equal to 20% of the project's full cost.

Port optimistic about state grant funds; other options to explore

Haen is optimistic the state will award the port at least some of the $17.6 million requested, but he said it's far from the only option staff will explore. The port expansion project already received one other Harbor Assistance Grant from the state.

"I feel like we will get some grant dollars, but we will stay at it with state and federal grant requests to fill that newly found gap in funding," he said.

Another option could include seeing if the Green Bay area's state legislators, many of whom have already supported the port expansion plans, would request additional money from the state's sizeable budget surplus.

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"There's a conversation to be had with local legislators," Haen said. "There's significant public support for this locally, at the state and federally. Hopefully that interest continues and we're able to find the funding necessary."

New $48.7 million price tag still could change

Haen pointed out the engineering report itself is a tentative cost estimate which could change between now and when the county hopes to start work. He said the actual cost to do the work will be based on multiple factors that include material prices, labor costs and contractors' availability.

"Maybe costs come down between now and then. Until we have a bid, we're still working off estimates," Haen said.

A GLC Minerals worker walks through the area where material is loaded into trucks on July 19, 2021, in Green Bay, Wis.

GLC Minerals purchases part of Pulliam site from county for expansion

The county also this week approved the sale of part of the port site to a longtime port operator which intends to expand its operations and workforce.

GLC Minerals bought 7.38 acres of the Pulliam property for $664,200, though the size and price could change based on land survey results. The property is located along the southwest corner of the Pulliam site and abuts GLC’s existing operations.

GLC plans to install bulk materials handling machinery and equipment in order to expand its processing and storage capabilities for calcium carbonate, magnesium and gypsum products used by farmers and several industries.

An overhead image of the Pulliam Power Plant property. The land Brown County bought from Wisconsin Public Service is highlighted in yellow.

What's involved in the port expansion plan?

Brown County agreed to purchase the former J.P. Pulliam power plant site from Wisconsin Public Service Corp. in January 2021 for $2.7 million. The site was used to generate electricity from 1927 until 2018 when WPS shut the two coal-fired power plants down.

WPS, by 2021, cleared much of the 43.75-acre site on the western shore of the Fox River and Bay of Green Bay. The county saw an opportunity to expand port operations on the site, which also has the potential to facilitate relocation of the coal piles.

Port officials said the site would need a variety of major improvements and upgrades as part of the project. A major component of the project would involve dredging along the site and installation of a steel dock wall to enable ships to dock at the site. Construction plans include:

Construction of a rail spur;

Filling in the docking slip on the Pulliam site;

Building space to contain stormwater;

New mooring facilities and crane pads for port operations;

Sea wall repairs; and

The steel dock wall and dredging.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., presents U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg with Green Bay Packers jerseys for Buttigieg's two young children, born in 2021. Buttigieg visited Green Bay to tour the future Port of Green Bay expansion site.

Where's the money coming from to expand the Port of Green Bay?

The port already has $30.8 million from federal, state and local sources to pay for the improvements. They are:

What about the coal piles?

The Port of Green Bay's primary focus remains on adding the new port terminal to the riverfront, but the Pulliam site also could serve as a new home for coal piles owned by C. Reiss Coal Co., a subsidiary of Robindale Energy.

The tentative idea would be to stop coal deliveries to the 35-acre site located just south of Mason Street and east of Broadway, and start them on a portion of the Pulliam site. The existing coal piles would slowly run out. Brown County, the city of Green Bay, and C. Reiss would need to agree to terms for such a plan and there is no guarantee it will happen.

Still, the hope is that doing so would free up 35 acres of prime, riverfront real estate just south of Green Bay's redeveloping central city. Haen said preliminary discussions with C. Reiss continue.

More: A port, a power plant and partnerships: How Green Bay and Brown County could finally relocate the coal piles

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Contact Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JeffBollier.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Port of Green Bay expansion needs another $19 million