Former Port Milwaukee director Adam Tindall-Schlicht led a transformative chapter in the port’s long history. He recently left that job to take a new position as the administrator of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp., under the Biden administration. During his four years with Port Milwaukee, Tindall-Schlicht spearheaded several projects, including the start of construction on the $40 million DeLong Co. agricultural maritime export facility and the return of cruise ships to Milwaukee. The city had its most successful cruise ship season this summer, welcoming more than 13,000 passengers. During a recent interview with BizTimes Milwaukee reporter Ashley Smart, Tindall-Schlicht reflected on his time at Port Milwaukee and shared what challenges remain for its next leader.
What about Port Milwaukee inspired you to create your grand vision?
“I think the word inspiration is fair, and I think it was a combination of several factors. One, being raised in the Milwaukee area and having that connection to Lake Michigan from my childhood but also previously working at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Over that time, I had become much more aware of the importance of Port Milwaukee. The inspiration that I brought four years ago was that our port was a sleeping giant. There were opportunities to expand the role of the port commercially and recreationally.”
How did the opportunity with the Biden administration come about?
“I wasn’t looking for different work. It had to be a really rare opportunity for me to consider leaving the port, especially at this time of growth and change. I was contacted by the White House, and we had those conversations about how I could bring best practices and the work that we’ve done here in Milwaukee into the national space. It was an exceptional opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.”
What kind of difference are you hoping to make at the federal level?
“I believe we have created something at Port Milwaukee that is replicable. Finding the balance between the work of the port, which has historically been viewed as strictly commercial, to one that is about contemporary freshwater utilization and stewardship. What I mean is expanding the contemporary role of the port to be inclusive of capital planning, stewardship, commercial growth, cargo diversification, recreational expansion … those are all things that we’ve accomplished here in Milwaukee. My hope is that we can take that model and expand upon it nationally and internationally.”
What were the most difficult aspects of seeing through both the DeLong terminal and cruise ship projects?
“Let’s start with cruise ships. Moving from 2018, when we had less than 1,000 cruise passengers, to this past season with 33 cruise ships and over 13,000 passengers, the hardest challenge has been creating those opportunities to advance Milwaukee as a tourism destination but also as an operationally efficient operation for cruise ships. We have a staff here that was able to recognize the opportunity (in cruising) that was becoming ripe and grab it. I cannot understate how much hard work has gone into supporting the cruise industry operationally. Our staff have worked countless weekends during the season, taking care of every aspect of those cruise ships.
“When I reflect on DeLong, I think we need to credit the Port Infrastructure Development Program because this opportunity would not have been realized had Milwaukee not been selected in the first round of that PIDP funding. In the early stages, the biggest challenge was identifying that public-private partnership that could create what we now know is a $40 million terminal. Putting those pieces together required a lot of effort, and it started with a handshake.”
How did you keep momentum in realizing these key projects?
“The secret is listening to your staff. If there was any one thing that I feel that I’ve tried to do in a very deliberate way, it’s engaging the voices of the staff of the port and the port’s customers and tenants. These are the real people that have the expertise and the insight. Creating a collaborative space in which employees can engage not only with leadership but with each other to share ideas creates the battery for passion and purpose.”
How close is the port to offering an intermodal option?
“We have worked with beneficial owners of cargo throughout southeastern Wisconsin to try to figure out a way in which the class one rail lines can bring that service back to Port Milwaukee. While we haven’t been able to accomplish that yet, I remain optimistic because there’s far too much economic opportunity here that the service won’t come online eventually.”
What will be the biggest challenges for the next port director?
“Climate change and coastal resiliency. Look no further than the flood event here that caused $2 million in damage in January 2020. That was a case in point about how climate change, major storm surge events and coastal resiliency are increasingly elements that we need to consider in how a port is operated and, I would argue, how any lakefront property is operated.”
What will you miss most about being Port Milwaukee’s director?
“The staff. I came here with an idea of what I thought I could bring from an inspiration perspective. I had a willingness to work hard and an optimism for the port’s potential. None of that would have been possible – all of the growth, all of the change, all of the ideas we’ve been able to pursue – without the dedication and expertise of Port Milwaukee tenants, staff, and customers. That partnership and what they have brought to my life personally and professionally will stay with me forever.”
Did you ever think the return of cruise ships would be this successful?
“I think we’ve exceeded our imaginations. We knew there was a ripe opportunity but to see 33 cruise visits this far on the western edge of the Great Lakes has been a really spectacular accomplishment. As I contemplate the future, I think Milwaukee’s sweet spot will continue to be 10,000 to 15,000 cruise passengers a year. There’s always going to be market fluctuation, but I think if that’s the target for the port and our regional tourism economy, that’s really going to consistently provide that value in this industry.”
What opportunities remain for Port Milwaukee?
“It’s not a new opportunity but it’s one that will require decades of work, and that is the effort to de-list the Milwaukee Harbor as an EPA-designated estuary area of concern. That work was ongoing before I arrived here but over the last four years, we created what I would argue is a catalytic step forward in de-listing Milwaukee. The port and MMSD, in partnership with community stakeholders, the federal government, and the state, are going to build a $150 million dredge material management facility here at the port in the coming years. It will hold all the contaminated sediment removed from the Milwaukee estuary. These sediments have been there over 100 years and removing them will create a hugely consequential difference in livability and the ecological health of Milwaukee’s three rivers.”
