Curtin hired to assist

Portland Redevelopment Commission has a new consultant.

The commission preliminarily entered a $60,000 contract with Ed Curtin of Seymour at its meeting Friday in hopes he can help advise the city on drafting a new long-term economic development plan, among assisting with other tasks.

“This will be the primary account for me next year,” said Curtin, who is currently finishing up a similar consulting role with the City of Madison. He said he expects that job to be finished by the end of the year.

Curtin, owner of consulting firm CWC Latitudes LLC, is considered an expert on how to best distribute redevelopment commission dollars for Hoosier municipalities. He previously served as executive director of the Columbus Redevelopment Commission and also helped with redevelopment efforts in Nashville, Indiana, in Brown County.

He still works for Nashville on an annual basis, but he said his primary focus will be on Portland economic development for the next few months.

As a consultant, he said he wants to help the commission decide what to do with its $1.23 million budget and help make sure it abides by state code when spending its funds, which are collected through the city’s tax increment financing (TIF) district and have different state regulations than regular tax dollars.

Curtin came at the recommendation of Jay County Development Corporation’s Ami Huffman and Portland Mayor John Boggs. Curtin also served as a consultant for Jay! Region when it was a finalist last year for Stellar Communities designation last year. His contract is contingent on him providing an estimate on travel expenses to the commission.

The commission also agreed to enter a contract with Indianapolis firm Barnes & Thornburg, which will provide legal counsel during the duration of Curtin’s time working with Portland. Baker Tilly will provide financial counsel and their services will be paid for by the city.

In other business, commission members Joe Johnston, Mike Simons, Rusty Inman and Reda Theurer-Miller, absent Dave Teeter, agreed to pay $4,500 to Display Craft for a new “Welcome to Portland” sign on U.S. 27 near Portland Golf Club.

The sign is outside of the city’s TIF district but, as Curtin pointed out, redevelopment commission dollars can be used for any project as long as it benefits the district.

The commission also received an update on Main Street Connect from Theurer-Miller. The recently established group has spent the year beautifying the downtown area, such as ordering new planters and Christmas lights that will debut downtown next month.

It also launched a new Facebook page — bit.ly/3kpTctA — that has posted regular updates and pictures on what’s going on downtown.