OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Port Authority of Evansville Regular Meeting – June 8, 2026

City CouncilMonday, June 8, 2026
BodyEvansville, Indiana
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, June 8, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 23:08
Transcript — Verbatim
2:42

Okay, it's officially twelve oh five, twelve oh four uh PM.

2:48

Um, want to start the call to order the Port Authority of Evansville regular meeting for May, excuse me, for Monday, June the eighth, twenty twenty-six, please.

2:59

Uh, the first of agenda item is our meeting uh memorandum.

3:05

I'd like to ask for a motion to approve the meeting memorandum for April the sixth, twenty twenty-six.

3:12

Uh, unfortunately, uh, we had no quorum on May eighteenth, twenty twenty six for our meeting.

3:17

So moved.

3:20

Second.

3:20

All those in favor, please signify with the I sign.

3:23

I think those opposed.

3:25

Motion carry to accept the meeting memorandum.

3:28

Next, we have O Business, and um, Mr.

3:32

Gunnar, I'd like to ask if you'd be so kind to uh just give us uh a uh follow-up uh update of uh what has taken place in regards to your last discussion with um with uh our commission as well as Markle and your thoughts about moving forward with the board.

3:51

Right.

3:52

We're talking about the uh the uh barge there at Marina Point.

3:58

We're paying almost five thousand dollars a month in rent uh to have it more there.

4:03

So I originally thought we would use the city uses this site called Gov Deals, where we auction off surplus vehicles, equipment, um, and things like that, where it's open to pretty much anyone who wants to register.

4:19

But it's it's really geared toward uh police cars, fire trucks, and you know, things like that.

4:26

So I did some looking and I found a couple sites that actually deal with barges, so I'm thought about if the board's okay to reach out to them to see if they would be willing to look at this barge and see if it would be something they could auction on their side.

4:45

So that's kind of where I stand and I uh, uh, didn't know if the board would be okay to do something like that, or go with our original option of just putting it on the up deals.

4:58

Do you need a motion for us to it would help to have a motion?

4:59

And what we can do is have it have someone look at it and give us an assessed value, maybe, and that we can set a reserve.

5:11

So if we don't get the reserve, then we don't sell it.

5:13

So I will make the motion to give the city the ability to investigate the specific board or barge site and get some estimates.

5:24

Okay, we have a second.

5:25

Before we do that, I have a friend that um his family owned Evansville Barge Marine Services, and he runs a site now, it's called Waterway Exchange.

5:38

Okay.

5:38

I've talked to him, you can just put that in your search engine, it'll pull up his.

5:44

And he's interested in helping.

5:46

Okay.

5:46

He just recently moved to Nashville, so he doesn't live here anymore.

5:50

But he's very knowledgeable about what's down there.

5:54

I talked to him last week about it.

5:56

So I'll get in touch with him as well and okay.

6:00

Thanks, Dave.

6:00

Find out how he would handle it, or maybe I need to find out how we would handle it as far because he'd kind of be the middleman.

6:08

And essentially he would broker the deal or whatever with, but he already said a few people came to mind that would be interested.

6:19

So and that's what we would need is get it publicized so that those who are in that business would know that we're doing this, and if I put it on dove deals, that's not gonna happen.

6:30

So I'll get with Paul and see if we can take it to the next step with him.

6:36

But if the board's okay with that uh that approach, okay.

6:41

There's a motion on the table.

6:43

I still I still would wonder if we should talk to local entities like legal top or other portal owner, Fleagle Top.

6:52

He owns the just down there, um what's it called?

6:56

Now I can't remember the name of the and a marina?

6:59

Not Molser, they have an actual name for the their port that's down here, but those entities.

7:07

Is it all about the gravel?

7:09

Is it on a mansion of gravel?

7:11

Let me all I uh I can look it up real quick.

7:14

But if there's any other local entities that might be interested to.

7:22

Maybe we can get the news reporter, the newspaper to do a story on it and drum up some publicity on it.

7:30

That's a good idea.

7:32

Actually, um, I think the through the resources you're talking about, as well as you, Dave and your Andrew.

7:39

I think that you know, combined effort would give us the best outcome and and best uh return on our investment as well.

7:46

Now, as you talked about Dave, this gentleman, your friend, he brokers and he works as as a broker.

7:53

So I think he would have a lot of insight about this as well to help us.

7:57

Yeah, okay.

7:58

As long as his fees are not too uh, sorry.

8:00

As long as his fees are not too extreme.

8:03

Well, yeah, I don't know.

8:04

Just teasing.

8:05

But no, it'd be good to have his expertise as well.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Fiscal Sustainability█████████████████████████████████████████████61%
Procedural████████████████████████32%
Environmental Protection█████7%
Summary of Proceedings

Port Authority of Evansville Regular Meeting – June 8, 2026

The Port Authority of Evansville held its regular meeting on Monday, June 8, 2026, at 12:05 PM in Room 307. The board approved the April 6, 2026 meeting memorandum (the May 18, 2026 meeting lacked quorum), discussed the sale of a barge moored at Marina Point, reviewed financial statements for May 31, 2026, voted to change future meeting dates to the second Monday of each month, and approved the accounts payable voucher register.

Approval of Minutes

  • The board approved the meeting memorandum for April 6, 2026. The May 18, 2026 meeting was canceled due to lack of quorum.

Old Business: Barge Disposition

  • Mr. Gunnar reported that the Port Authority is paying approximately $5,000 per month in rent to moor a barge at Marina Point. Initially considered using GovDeals (a city surplus auction site) but noted it is geared toward vehicles and equipment, not barges.
  • Several alternatives were discussed: specialized barge auction sites (e.g., Waterway Exchange, recommended by board member Dave), contacting local entities like Legal Top and Fleagle Top, and publicizing through local media.
  • Dave noted his friend runs Waterway Exchange and is knowledgeable; the friend indicated some people might take the barge for free just to remove it.
  • The board agreed that an up-to-date assessment of the barge's value is needed. A 2021 assessment valued the barge between $1 million and $1.6 million, but values may have changed.
  • Motion: To authorize the city to investigate specialized barge auction sites and obtain estimates. The motion passed unanimously.

Financial Report (May 31, 2026)

  • Mr. Gunnar presented financial statements comparing May 2026 to the prior year. Revenues are down due to lower interest rates and lower cash balances. A transfer from the parks fund covers the annual shortfall.
  • Expenditures: Electrical service increased nearly 36%. The rental line item of $24,008 is for the barge moored at Marina Inland (the barge's landlord recently changed to an entity related to Moyd Concrete out of Henderson).
  • Month-end figures: Expenses over revenue of $26,873; ending cash balance $108,036; encumbrances $70,616.
  • Discussion of future dredging: The board noted it may need to budget for dredging in FY 2027. Previous bids were around $180,000. Mr. Gunnar will bring contractor names to the next meeting.
  • If the barge sells for a significant amount (e.g., $1.5 million), the funds can be invested in a money market or CDs, separate from general funds.
  • Motion to accept the financial report passed unanimously.

Meeting Date Change

  • The board discussed and voted to change the monthly meeting date from the first Monday to the second Monday of each month, effective immediately. The time remains 12:00 PM in Room 307. Motion passed unanimously.

Accounts Payable Voucher Register

  • The board reviewed and approved the following invoices (summarized):
    • Southern Indiana Gas and Electric: four invoices for electric service at 840 LST Drive and 610 Northwest Riverside Drive (amounts: $150, $6,355, $141.70, $4,212.51)
    • Inland Marina: $4,978.33 for May lease payment for barge mooring
    • BFI Waste Services: $409.51 for waste removal at 600 Northwest Riverside Drive
    • City of Evansville: $500 for Q2 2026 legal fees; $20,180 for Q2 liability insurance; $2.06 for April postage
    • Evansville Waterworks: $169.50 for water service at 610 Northwest Riverside Drive
  • Motion to approve the voucher register passed unanimously.

Adjournment

  • The meeting adjourned. Members were cautioned about heavy rain outside.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, it's officially twelve oh five, twelve oh four uh PM. Um, want to start the call to order the Port Authority of Evansville regular meeting for May, excuse me, for Monday, June the eighth, twenty twenty-six, please. Uh, the first of agenda item is our meeting uh memorandum. I'd like to ask for a motion to approve the meeting memorandum for April the sixth, twenty twenty-six. Uh, unfortunately, uh, we had no quorum on May eighteenth, twenty twenty six for our meeting. So moved. Second. All those in favor, please signify with the I sign. I think those opposed. Motion carry to accept the meeting memorandum. Next, we have O Business, and um, Mr. Gunnar, I'd like to ask if you'd be so kind to uh just give us uh a uh follow-up uh update of uh what has taken place in regards to your last discussion with um with uh our commission as well as Markle and your thoughts about moving forward with the board. Right. We're talking about the uh the uh barge there at Marina Point. We're paying almost five thousand dollars a month in rent uh to have it more there. So I originally thought we would use the city uses this site called Gov Deals, where we auction off surplus vehicles, equipment, um, and things like that, where it's open to pretty much anyone who wants to register. But it's it's really geared toward uh police cars, fire trucks, and you know, things like that. So I did some looking and I found a couple sites that actually deal with barges, so I'm thought about if the board's okay to reach out to them to see if they would be willing to look at this barge and see if it would be something they could auction on their side. So that's kind of where I stand and I uh, uh, didn't know if the board would be okay to do something like that, or go with our original option of just putting it on the up deals. Do you need a motion for us to it would help to have a motion? And what we can do is have it have someone look at it and give us an assessed value, maybe, and that we can set a reserve. So if we don't get the reserve, then we don't sell it. So I will make the motion to give the city the ability to investigate the specific board or barge site and get some estimates. Okay, we have a second. Before we do that, I have a friend that um his family owned Evansville Barge Marine Services, and he runs a site now, it's called Waterway Exchange. Okay. I've talked to him, you can just put that in your search engine, it'll pull up his. And he's interested in helping. Okay. He just recently moved to Nashville, so he doesn't live here anymore. But he's very knowledgeable about what's down there. I talked to him last week about it. So I'll get in touch with him as well and okay. Thanks, Dave. Find out how he would handle it, or maybe I need to find out how we would handle it as far because he'd kind of be the middleman. And essentially he would broker the deal or whatever with, but he already said a few people came to mind that would be interested. So and that's what we would need is get it publicized so that those who are in that business would know that we're doing this, and if I put it on dove deals, that's not gonna happen. So I'll get with Paul and see if we can take it to the next step with him. But if the board's okay with that uh that approach, okay. There's a motion on the table. I still I still would wonder if we should talk to local entities like legal top or other portal owner, Fleagle Top. He owns the just down there, um what's it called? Now I can't remember the name of the and a marina? Not Molser, they have an actual name for the their port that's down here, but those entities. Is it all about the gravel? Is it on a mansion of gravel? Let me all I uh I can look it up real quick. But if there's any other local entities that might be interested to. Maybe we can get the news reporter, the newspaper to do a story on it and drum up some publicity on it. That's a good idea.

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